GROUND ZERO DEFENCE INSTITUTE

January 2016

• 31 members of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have signed corporate taxavoidance agreement in a bid to stem fiscal (tax) evasion by multinational companies (MNCs).

• Sudan has offered ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas investment arm of ONGC, three more oil and gas blocksfor exploration and production. Sudan has also sought the help of Indian firms to set up a coastal refinery

• Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd (KRCL) has announced plans to construct railway siding facility forMangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) in Mangaluru.• After completion, around 2,800 tonnes of products are expected to be transported by railway everyday.

• Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd has announced it has commissioned a 520-MW coal-based thermal generatingunit of the Hinduja Group near Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

• IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd, a Mumbai-based road developer bagged the Rs.10050 crore Zojila Passtunnel road project in Jammu and Kashmir.

• India’s biggest state owned gas importer Petronet LNG has signed a revised contract with RasGas of Qatar toimport gas at a significantly lower price than earlier.

• Union Government and Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed $80million loan agreement to improveurban services in two North Eastern cities Agartala and Aizwal.

• Rajasthan Government along with its power distribution companies (DISCOMS) has signed a MoU to join

• State DISCOMS part of this MoU are Jaipur VidyutVitran Nigam Limited (JVNL), Jodhpur VidyutVitran NigamLimited (JVVNL) and Ajmer VidyutVitran Nigam Limited (AVNL).

• Andhra Pradesh Government has launched GiriputrikaKalyanaPathakam Scheme to support the tribalwomen in their quest for livelihood.The NaiManzil scheme was launched for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir. The scheme was launched forgirls in Srinagar in three institutions- Skill Development Centre, University of Kashmir and two Madarsas. With 3 month skill development & 4500 Rs stipend.

• The country’s first ‘water tourism’ will begin in Madhya Pradesh next month with the aim of attracting moretourists to the state.Named as ‘Jal Mahotsav’, the 10-day extravaganza will be inaugurated in Hanuwantiya at IndraSagar Dam,one of Asia’s largest man-made water reservoir.

• A freshly-trained contingent of 500 women personnel will become the first 'mahila' squad to be deployed inhigh-altitude posts along the India-China border. The squad was commissioned into the Indo-Tibetan BorderPolice (ITBP) in Panchkula.Sikkim becomes India’s first fully Organic state

• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the ‘Pradhan MantriFasalBimaYojana’ - a path breaking scheme for farmers’ welfare. The highlights of this scheme are:a)There will be a uniform premium of only 2% to be paid by farmers for all Kharif crops and 1.5% for all Rabicrops. In case of annual commercial and horticultural crops, the premium to be paid by farmers will be only5%.b) The premium rates to be paid by farmers are very low and balance premium will be paid by theGovernment to provide full insured amount to the farmers against crop loss on account of naturalcalamities. Telangana becomes first State to make gender education compulsory. BHEL commissioned 600 MW Kakatiya Thermal Power Plant Stage-II in Telangana

February 2016

1. 12th South Asian Games began in Guwahati on 5th February 2016.2. 50% of government jobs in Assam will be reserved for women, Chief Minister TarunGogoi

GROUND ZERO DEFENCE INSTITUTE

recently announced.3. A 12-member team of the Indian Army was participated in the “Cobra Gold” multilateralexercises, which was hosted by Thailand, along with its counterparts from China and Pakistan.4. A report by the Central Electricity Authority has stated that power generation in India grew by6% in January 20165. According to a recently released United Nation's report, India has been named the third mostdisaster-hit nation in 2015.6 . According to recently released MHRD data, 96 million schoolchildren were covered under theMidday Meal Scheme in 2015-16.7. According to SocialCops analysis of data from the National Tiger Conservation Authority, thetiger population (over 1.5 years of age) in India has increased since 2006.8. After scoring a total of 199 runs in three T20Is against Australia at an average of 199.00, ViratKohli became the top-ranked T20I batsman in the world.9. American space agency NASA has invited the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) amongother space agencies for a meeting in the US to discuss a possible international collaboration ona Mars mission10. Bihar became the 6th state to join Union Government’s UDAY Scheme for financial restructuringof debt of power distribution companies. [after Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, UttarPradesh and Gujarat11 . British Formula One racing team Manor Racing has signed Indonesia’s Rio Haryanto, making himthe first Indonesian Formula One driver. 12. Dubai International Airport was declared the world's busiest airport for international passengersin 2015.13. Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) announced an increase in interest rate onProvident Fund (PF) deposits for 2015-16 to 8.80% from 8.75% in the previous two fiscals. 14. For the first time in India, a job fair for the transgender community was organised in Chennai. 15. India and Afghanistan recently signed a MOU for Visa-Free Travel for diplomats.16. India and Brunei signed three agreements. They are, MoU in health cooperation, MoU onDefence cooperation and MOU on cooperation in youth and sports affairs.17. India and Nepal signed Nine partnership deals to help develop infrastructure, improve culturalcooperation, and utilise India's $250 million post-earthquake reconstruction grant.18. India and UAE signed seven agreements on cybersecurity, insurance and infrastructuredevelopment in a bid to improve bilateral ties.19. India continues to remain the world's largest arms importer, accounting for 14% of the globalimports in the 2011- 2015 timeframe, in yet another indicator of the country's enduring failureto build a strong domestic defence-industrial base (DIB).20. India has launched the lightest gun ever which weighs as less as 250 grams, and it has beennamed 'Nidar'. 21. India ranks first in Milk Production, accounting for 18.5% of World production.22. India test-fired its indigenously developed Prithvi II missile from a test range at Chandipur inOdisha, as part of a user trial by the army.23. India women cricket team clean sweep three match ODI series against Sri Lanka.24. India’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has launched ‘Japan Desk’, a single window forinbound Japanese investments in India and viceversa.25. India’s poorest district, Nabarangpur of Odisha launched a 45-day campaign, called 'Jyoti', totrain 4,400 traditional healers as the number of tribal children falling victim to local healingpractices in the district has increased. 26. India's first transgender sub inspector PrithikaHasini along with 21 other members of thecommunity recently received appointment orders. 27. India's Tourism Ministry has proposed that all international visitors using the electronic TouristVisa facility get SIM cards on arrival. 28. Sindh became the first Pakistan province to adopt landmark Hindu Marriage Bill, 2015 in orderto allow the minority community to register their marriages.

GROUND ZERO DEFENCE INSTITUTE

29. Slovenian high-jumper RozlePrezelj has been elected the new Chairman of the InternationalAssociation of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Athletes' Commission. 30. The Ministry of Railways signed an MoU with Government of Chhattisgarh for “Formation ofJoint Venture Companies for Development of Railway Infrastructure in Chhattisgarh State".31. The 13th edition of World Spice Congress (WSC) was held at Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Theme ofWSC 2016 : ‘Target 2020: Clean, Safe and Sustainable Supply Chain’32. The Haryana government launched the 'KanyaJanamdinUtsav', to celebrate birthdays of girlstudents, with their parents.33. The HRD Ministry announced to make the installation of the national flag compulsory in allcentral universities on a 207 feet high mast on their campuses to signify "strong and unitedIndia.”34. The ICC removed India, England and Australia as the permanent members of its decision-makingexecutive committee

MARCH 2016

1. A 108-feet tall idol of Rishabh deva, the first Teerthankar of Jains, has entered the Guinness World Records as the world's tallest Jain statue. 2. According to the World Happiness Report 2016 published by the United Nations, India has ranked 118th out of 156 nations in a global list of happiest nations. 3. Denmark takes the top spot as the happiest country in the world. 4. After the ambitious Make in India Week, Mumbai will host another international summit, the BRICS Friendship Cities Conclave, on April 14. 5. Allahabad High Court has celebrated 150 years of its existence. 6. Andhra Pradesh government inaugurated India’s first river linking project viz. Pattiseema lift irrigation project connecting Godavari River with Krishna River from the ongoing Polavaram Multi-purpose Irrigation Project. 7. Australian golfer Adam Scott won the 2016 WGC-Cadillac Championship. 8. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) announced that it successfully commissioned a 600 MW coal-based thermal power plant in Telangana. 9. Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has commissioned its first 700-MW supercritical thermal unit in Karnataka. 'Bharat KesriDangal', a freestyle wrestling tournament of 3 days, recently held at Gurgaon. 10. China plans to land a probe on Mars in 2021 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China, the sole governing political party of the country. 11. Citizens of Bhutan planted 1,08,000 trees to welcome the birth of a son to King Khesar and Queen Pema. 12. Denmark's 17-year-old Mohamad Al-Bacha was crowned the FIFA'16 world champion after winning the final in New York Dubai has announced to host the Robot Olympics in December 2017. 13. European and Russian space agencies have successfully launched ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, an unmanned spacecraft on a mission to find evidence of alien life that exists or may have existed on Mars 14. Germany has announced that it will help India to develop 3 Indian cities as Smart Cities. They are, Kerala's Kochi, Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore and Odisha's Bhubaneswar. 15. Hanle village in Ladakh was short-listed as a prospective site to house the World's largest telescope named 'Thirty Metre Telescope International Observatory', estimated to be worth around 98.26 crore. 16. India has won the 2016 Asia Cup T20 trophy for a record sixth time after beating Bangladesh by 8 wickets in the final. 17. India Inc. became first in the world to formally adopt the United Nations’ (UN) agenda for the world’s sustainable development and 17 goals identified for its implementation. 18. Indian wrestler Hardeep has became the first Indian wrestler since Mausam Khatri 12 years ago to book a quota place for 2016 Rio Olympics in the Greco-Roman category. 19. India's Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve has been added to UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserve among 20 new sites. 21. Karnataka government has launched MukhyamantriSantwana Harish Yojana to provide Free medical treatment to road accident victims for the first 48 hours (2 days) in the nearest government or private hospital.

GROUND ZERO DEFENCE INSTITUTE

22. Nuclear-capable ballistic missile Agni-I was successfully test fired from a mobile launcher from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Odisha's Abdul Kalam Island. 23. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Belgian counterpart Charles Michel remotely launched Asia's biggest telescope, the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), built with Belgian assistance. 24. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched 'KisanSuvidha' app for farmers to provide information on weather, market prices, seeds, fertilisers, crop protection and agricultural machinery 25. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated the ambitious Rs 50,800-crore SetuBharatam project, under which a total of 208 railway crossings will be replaced by rail over bridges (ROBs). 26. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a three nation visit to Belgium, United States & Saudi Arabia. Private lender Lakshmi Vilas Bank has tied up with National Bulk Handling Corporation (NBHC) for Collateral Management and Warehousing Services. 27. Rest of India has won the Irani Cup Cricket title by beating Mumbai by four wickets. 28. Scientists from Japan have discovered a new species of bacteria, called Ideonellasakaiensis 201-F6, that can eat plastic. 29. The 4th Nuclear Security Summit -2016 was held in Washington DC, the United States.

April 2016

1. A Nanosatellite named PISAT, developed by 250 students of PES University in Bengaluru will soon be launched by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). 2. At least 171 nations, including India, have signed the Paris climate agreement at the UN headquarters. 3. Australia has won the 25th edition of Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament 2016 for record ninth time 4. Europe has become the world’s first region to wipe out Malaria, a mosquito-borne vetor disease with zero cases reported in the year 2015. 5. EvgeniaMedvedeva, a 16- year-old figure skater from Russia, won the World Figure Skating Championship in Boston, US. 6.Government has reconstituted Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA) board. 7. The Committee will be headed by : Ashok Lahiri (former Chief Economic Advisor) Greece passed an Asylum amendment bill that is needed for the implementation of the European Union-Turkey migrant deal that will take effect soon. 8. Haryana government has decided to rename its largest city Gurgaon to 'Gurugram'. 9. Heart of Asia (HoA) conference was held in New Delhi. Focus of the conference was to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan. 10. India and South Korea signed a MoU for cooperation and mutual assistance in development of ports. 11. India and Sri Lanka have signed an MOU to supply 150 boats and fishing equipment to the fishermen of Mullaitivu. 12. India extended a Line of Credit (LoC) of 1 billion US dollars to Mongolia. 13. India has banned the import of milk and milk products from China after finding them substandard 14. India has jumped three places to rank 133 out of 180 countries in the 2016 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders. Finland has ranked first for the sixth consecutive year, and is followed by Netherlands and Norway. 15. India has overtaken China as the world's top destination for Foreign Direct Investment by attracting greenfield capital investment worth $63 billion in 2015. 16. India’s indigenously developed surface-to-air Akash missile was test fired for second consecutive day from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near Balasore in Odisha. 17. Indian artistic gymnast DipaKarmakar has created history by becoming the first Indian woman gymnast to qualify for Olympics. 18. Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced plans to set up a 'Department of Happiness' to infuse "positivity" into the lives of people.

GROUND ZERO DEFENCE INSTITUTE

19. Mairaj Ahmad Khan has won the Silver medal in the skeet event at the ISSF Shooting World Cup in Rio de Janeiro. 20. The HRD Ministry has announced IIT Madras and IIM Bangalore as the best engineering and management institutes respectively in India. 21. The Indian Navy has recently announced that women officers completing seven years with the Navy will be eligible for permanent commission in the law, education and naval constructors branches. 22. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is going to build Exclusive Holiday homes for its jawans. 23. The International e Games Committee (IEGC) has announced that Brazil's Rio de Janeiro will host the first “E Olympics”, an e Games tournament coinciding with the upcoming Rio Summer Olympics in August 2016. 24. The Lok Sabha passed the Regional Centre for Biotechnology Bill, 2016 to provide statutory status to the existing Regional Centre for Biotechnology in Faridabad, Haryana. 25. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has ranked India 6th in its biggest military spenders list for 2015. 26. The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) has reserved seats for Transgenders under the Most Backward Class Category (MBC).

May 2016 Geetakshi Arora of South Asia institute won the first Noor Inayat Khan prize in London. British mathematician Andrew Wiles was named as the winner of the prestigious 2016 Abel Prize . Priyanka Kakodkar&Raksha Kumar were named as joint winner s of Chameli Devi Jain award for

women journalist The loksabha passed constitution order bill 2016 to include certain communities in the list of Scheduled

castes from four states namely Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Kerala, West Bengal, Odisha Oscar awards 2016

1.Best Picture – Spotlight 2. Best Actor – Leonardo Di Caprio (The revenant)3. Best actress – Brie Larson 4. Best foreign language film – Son of Saul

Aadhar bill 2016 passed. It aimed at transferring government subsidies & benefits to people. Pradhan MantriUjjwalaYojana approved. The scheme aims at providing free of cost LPG connections to

women from BPL households BIMSTEC convention on mutual legal assistance in criminal matter approved. IAF conducted day night exercise ‘Iron Fist’ in Rajasthan. India Seychelles joint training exercise lamitye 2016 concluded at Victoria, Maheisland in Seychelles. Pawan Hans & IRCTC have joined hands to promote helicopter tourism by managing various catering &

hospitality outlets. India & France have signed an MoU for a joint committee on science &technology, cooperation. India &Maldieves have inked for avoidance of double taxation India has signed an MoU with UAE on technical cooperation in Cyber Space & combating Cyber crime India will supply 18 meter gauge Diesel electric locomotives to Myanmar to meet increasing demand. India adopted UN’s sustainable development goals & became first in the world to formally adopt. India ranked 118th out of 157 countries on UN world happiness Index 2016. Union government gave their approval for Atal Innovation mission &self employment and talent

utilization in NITI aayog. Agasthyamala biosphere reserved was included in UNESCO. Agni I Ballistic missile successfully test fired for trial purpose on A P J kalam island off the coast of

Odisha. HtinKyaw sworn in as President of Myanmar.

GROUND ZERO DEFENCE INSTITUTE

47th Dada SahebPhalke award will be given to veteran Bollywood actor HarikrishnaGiriGoswami, popularly known as Manoj Kumar.

‘In other words’ is a book written by JhumpaLahiri. It is an attempt to reclaim herself& to forge a new direction in her work.

India recently commissioned a coast guard patrol vessel in Visakhapatnam named - ICGS Arnvesh 8th annual summit of BRICS will be hosted by India on October 15-16, 2016 in Goa. Defending champion services defeated Maharashtra at SEC railway stadium, Nagpur to retain senior

national football championship title, also known as Santosh trophy.

June 2016 The associated press won the Pulitzer prize for public service for reporting on abuse in seafood

industry. PM Narendra Modi remotely activated the Aryabhatta Research institute for observational Science

telescope, along with Belgium PM Charles Michel. Union cabinet has given its approval for expansion of India – Chile preferential trade agreement

between India & Chile PM launched self governance campaign for villages. Under which ‘gram uday se bharatuday’ abhiyan is

launched in Udhampur. Under Din DayalUpadhyay gram jyotiyojana, Udhampur will achieve 100% rural electrification by 2017.

UN to observe Ambedkar’s birth anniversary on April 13. Nauru become 189th member of IMF and world bank. On April 22, 2016, as many as 175 countries, including India, China, USA, signed the Paris agreement on

climate change at New York to coincide with International Mother Earth Day 13th India EU summit 2016 was held in Brussels. To remain firm in the fight against hatred, terrorism, to

cooperate on climate change, for collective efforts & inclusive growth, towards sustainable development etc.

India & Mauritius inked MoU to promote traditional medicine under AYUSH ( Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa rigpa& Homoeopathy.

India inked 5 agreements with Saudi Arabia to counter cross border terrorism like technical cooperation etc.

India, Afghanistan & Iran finalized draft of Chabahar agreement. It will allow indian goods to reach Afghanistan without having to first bypass Pakistan.

The new development bank, formed by the BRICS group of emerging nations, on april 16, 2016, has approved its first loans $811 million for renewable energy projects in Brazil, China, India & S. Africa

ISRO scientist developed world’s lightest material Silica Aerogel. It is also known as frozen smoke. Europe became world’s first Malaria free region, with zero cases reported last year. Philippines launched world’s first public immunization programme for Dengue. Third phase of mission indradhanush launched to provide vaccination to children below 2 years of age

& pregnant women. India’s Rotavirus Vaccine to Combatdiarrhoeal deaths has been launched. Nuclear capable surface to air missile Akash were successfully test fired from Chandipur in Odisha. Indian army conducted Shatrujeet exercise in Rajasthan. Defence expo 2016 held in Goa to help in boosting make in India initiative. West Indies emerged as champions against England at the ICC cricket world Men’s T20 2016 cup final

played at Eden gardens in Kolkata. West Indies has won their maiden women’s world T 20 title by defeating reigning champions Australia.

GROUND ZERO DEFENCE INSTITUTE

DipaKarmakar created history by becoming the first Indian woman gymnast to qualify for 2016 Rio Olympics games berth to be held in august 2016.

NATO launches biggest ever joint military exercise anaconda 16 in Poland Ethiopia, Bolivia, Sweden, Kazakhstan elected non permanent UNSC members.

JULY’16

RiyadMahrez has became the first African footballer to win the professional footballers associations player of the year award for the 205 – 2016

Prominent cartoonist VT Thomas, passed away. Andhra Pradesh chief minister launched chandrannabimayojana, which is an insurance scheme for the working

class people. Man Booker international prize 2015 – South Korean author Han Kang for the novel ‘The Vegetarian’. Nelson Mandela award 2016 – Tabassum Adnan, a women’s rights activist from Swat valley bestowed with such

award in Bodota, Colombia for the individual activist category. Government cleared Infosys proposal to set up SEZ in Bengaluru Union government launched UJALA scheme in Bhopal. UJALA is the largest non subsidized LED programme in the

world. Minister of railways launched one E – enabled application to have a watch over the lifecycle of any project of the

railways. Bharat darshan tourist train for pilgrims covering all the important tourist places in the country. India – Papua new Guinea signed four crucial agreements on HIV / AIDS, development of infrastructure, ICAR for

agriculture etc. India inked historic pact with WHO to promote yoga, Ayurveda, unani, panchakarma. (AYUSH ministry and WHO) India &USA held first round of discussions at New Delhi on maritime security dialogue. India & USA concluded their 4 week ‘Red flag’ aerial combat exercise at Alaska in the USA. Tropical cyclone ‘Roanu’ hit in eastern India, Bangladesh, Myanmar. Indigenous missile ‘Ashwin’ successfully test fired. Indian Army conducted Chakravyuh – II training exercise in suratgarh, Rajasthan in a follow up to exercise

shatrujeet. The South Goa based defence shipyard launched Shaurya, offshore patrol vessels. Indian naval ships Veer &Nipat Decommissioned. India – Mongolia joint military exercise Nomadic elephant 2016 held India to host 2018 commonwealth Judo championship. Assembly elections held in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Puduchurry. HP government launched PEHAL – prerna – primary education, educating people on forest rights, health &

sanitation, anti drug campaign, livelihood & women empowerment. India, Bangladesh economic cooperation : $ 3 billion R power project gets Bangladesh approval India’s own space shuttle successfully launched at Sriharikota India & Iran made a bilateral agreement to develop the Chabahar port, infrasture, etc. Tsai Ing – wen sworn in as the first female president of Taiwan G7 finance ministers conference held in Japan to clamp down on financial support for terrorist. (G7 include USA,

UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan) sunilLanba became navy chief. Rishi nair wins 28th annual national geographic bee Crown. (5th consecutive time an Indian American) Azerbaijani investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova was honoured with UNESCO Guillermo Cano world press

freedom prize 2016. She exposed corruption. President confers national Florence nightingale awards 2016 to 35 nurses. 42 year Sherpa woman from US summits Everest for record 7th time. Indian navy recently commissioned INS Tarmugli which is a water jet fast attack craft. The Indian coast guard commissioned a fast patrol vessel named ICGS Arush.

GROUND ZERO DEFENCE INSTITUTE

Shan – e Punjab express becomes first indian train having CCTV surveillance.

August 2016

India’s PankajAdvani clinched the Asian 6- red snooker title by defeating Malaysian Keen Hoh Moh in Abu Dhabi. Lt. Gen SK Saini took over as the 46th commandant of IMA. Noted Kannada writer D. Javare Gowda, popularly known as De JaGow passed away. Bollywood actress Dia Mirza has been named as Ambassador for Swachh Bharat Mission’s youth based

SwachhSaathi, programme. Indian American author Akhilsharma won the prestigious £100000 International Dublin literary award, for a

single novel for his second novel ‘Family life’. Food safety standard authority of Authority of India (FSSAI) has banned Potassium Bromate as a food additive in

bread. Indian mixed recurve team of Deepikakumari&Atanu Das has won silver at the archery world cup in Antalya. Rio 2016 organising committee revealed official slogan for the first Olympic & Paralympic games in South

America, ‘A new world’. Ministry of power launched UJALA scheme &Vidyutpravah& URJA app. Poly metallic sulphides which contains Fe, Cu, Zn, Ag, Au, Pt is going to be explored in deep seabed. Afghan – India friendship Salma Dam inaugurated on river Hari Rud, in Herat. Malabar exercise, close to South China Sea held among India, Japan, USA. Indian coast guard ship Arush commissioned India, Qatar ink agreements to improve ties, raise investment India joins the Hague code of conduct against ballistic missile proliferation. ISRO successfully puts 20 satellites in space. President Pranab Mukherjee’s 3 nation state visit to Ghana, Ivory Coast & Namibia. India enter elite Missile tech group MTCR. Kalinga sikshasathiyojana launched in Odisha to provide education loan at 1 % interest to students for pursuing

higher studies Novak Djokovic (Serbia) won French open men single against Andy Murray (Britain). Garbine Muguruza (Spain) won against Serena Williams in French open 2016. Leander Paes& Martina Hingis (Switzerland) won French open mixed doubles. Avani, Chaturvedi, BhawanaKanth&Mohana Singh became first women fighter pilots in IAF. Prof. Sanjay Mittal has been chosen for G D Birla award for scientific research. SainaNehwal clinched the Australian open womens singles badminton title N S Vishwanathan has been appointed new deputy governor of RBI. Chile won the 2016 Copa America football crown. Jalrahat is a joint initiative taken by the Assam state govt. and the armed forces.

September 2016

Argentina women’s team has won the 2016 champions trophy title of hockey by defeating the Netherlands. NASSCOM unveiled India’s first center of excellence focused on internet of things at its startup warehouse in

Bengaluru. 2 day long NATO summit concluded in Warsaw (Poland). It was the 27th biannual summit of NATO since its

inception in 1949. Election commission of India launched national electoral roll purification 2016 programme to improve health of

electoral rolls. A new AIIMS at Gorakhpur to bring the best possible super speciality health care to the region. 2 BRICS youth summit held at Guwahati with the theme’ Youth as Bridge for Intra – BRICS exchanges’. Mahasthangarh in Bogra, Bangladesh has been selected to function as the SAARC cultural capital.

GROUND ZERO DEFENCE INSTITUTE

Dr. RaghuveerChaudhari won 51stJnanpith award. He has written columns for newspapers like Sandesh, Janmabhumi, Nirikshaka, Divyabhaskar.

Country’s first e – court opened at Hyderabad high court 2nd unit of kundankulum nuclear power plant got operational. ‘Prashikshak’ – a teacher education portal was launched by HRD ministry. Ministry of external affairs launched operation sankatmochan to evacuate Indian nationals from war torn south

Sudan. Asian Infrastructure investment bank (AIIB) has approved four projects in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia &

Tajikistan. UNESCO announced 11 new world heritage sites, including Nalandamahavihara, khangchendzonga national

park,chandigarh’s famed capitol complex etc. India ranked 91 on networked readiness index 2016 . 11th Asia Europe meeting summit held in Mongolia with the theme ’20 years of AEM : Partnership the future

through connectivity and included 2 plaenary sessions & retreat session. SCO summit 2016 held in Tanshkent, Uzbekistan. With India’s entry into SCO as a full member. First Su -30 MKI with Brahmos missile flied successfully Marine commandos unit INS – Karna commissioned IN Vishakhapatnam. It is a dedicated base for Marine

commandos New generation pilotless target aircraft medium range surface to air missile (MRSAM) developed by India &

Israel was successfully test fired from Odisha. India’s first integrated defence communication network launched. Andy murray won 2016 wimbledon title by defeating Milos Raonic. Serena Williams won against Angelique

Kerber. ‘Ace against odds’ is the autobiography of Sania Mirza The union cabinet approved a new major port in Tamil Nadu at Enayam Karnataka born hukan rights activist Bezwada Wilson andnoted South Indian classical musician TM KRrishan

were declared the winners of the RamonMagsasay award for 2016. Paul Romer has been named new chief economist of world bank. Portugal emerged the champion of Euro cup 2016 beating France. Mahasweta Devi, Eminent writer and social activist (Jnanpith, Padma Visbhushan& Magsaysay awardee)dies. Tabla Maestro PanditLacchumharaj dies in Varanasi. Abbas Kiarostami, legendary Iranian director died.

CURRENT AFFAIRS OCTOBER 2016

Singer and song writer Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature for ‘having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition’.

Dylan is the first American to win the prize since novelist Toni Morrison, in 1993. Dylan’s some albums are; ‘Bringing it all back home’ & ‘Highway 61 Revisited’ (1965), ‘Blonde on Blonde’ (1966), ‘Oh

Mercy’ (1989), and ‘Modern Times’ (2006). World sight day-13/October (2nd Thursday of October)[Theme- Stronger together], It was originally initiated by the Sight

First Thailand’s king BhumibolAdulyadej, who was the world’s longest reigning monarch (for seven decades after ascending

the throne in 1946) died in age of 88. His son and heir apparent ,the 63year old crown prince Mahavajiralongkorn, is expected to become new king.

Maldives quits Commonwealth grouping. It becomes the latest to leave the commonwealth after Gambia which quits in 2013.

Nobel prize-winning Italian playwright, director and political activist Dario-fo has died aged 90. He won the nobel prize for literature in 1997.

The Global TB Report 2016, recently released, has revised the estimates for the tuberculosis (TB) burden in India upwards. The country has 27% of the global burden of incident tuberculosis and 34% of global TB deaths.

GROUND ZERO DEFENCE INSTITUTE

KIGALI AGREEMENT- * The Kigali agreement is significant in that it amends the 1987 Montreal Protocol, initially conceived only to plug gases that were destroying the ozone layer, to new include gases responsible for global warming. * This has been the turf of agreements such as the recently ratified Paris Agreement pushes countries to cap global warming to ‘well below 2 degrees Celsius’ by 2100. (India follows up its ratification of the Paris Treaty with a promise to phase out HFC use). *Nearly 200 came to an agreement to phase out a family of potent greenhouse gases by the late 2040s and move to prevent a potential 0.5 degree Celsius rise in global temperature by the end of the century. * Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are a family of greenhouse gases that are largely used in refrigerants in home and car air-conditioners. They are currently the world’s fastest growing gases, with emissions increasing by up 10% each year. *India will freeze HFC use by 2028 on a 2024-2026 ‘baseline’, which means It will not emit more HFC after 2031 than it does in 2024-2026.

PARIS AGREEMENT- The Paris agreement is an agreement within the United Nations framework convention on climate change s(UNFCCC) dealing with greenhouse gases emissions mitigations, adaption and finance starting in 2020. It was signed on 22/4/2016. Its location is in Newyork. The aim of convention is described in article 2. The agreement will come in affect from 4/11/2016. Its depositary secretary is the general of the U.N.

SCIENTIST PRODUCES ELECTRICITY FROM WATER WITHOUT USING ENERGY- In a major breakthrough, scientists at Delhi’s National Laboratory (NPL) have developed a novel way of producing electricity from water at a room temperature without using any power or chemical. * A team led by Dr. R.K. Kotala used nanoporous magnesium ferrite to split water into hydronium(H3O) and hydroxide(OH) ions and used silver and zincs as electrodes to make a cell that produces electricity. * Since magnesium has high affinity for hydroxide, it spontaneously splits water into hydronium and hydroxide ions. The hydronium ions get trapped inside the nanoporous of magnesium ferrite and generate an electric field. The electric field helps in further dissociation of water. Magnesium ferrite is made as an oxygen deficient material and has plenty of oxygen vacancies. To further enhance the activity of magnesium ferrite, about 20% of magnesium is replaced with lithium. The substitution of lithium at magnesium site increases the sensitivity of magnesium ferrite. This is helpful in dissociating water at room temperature as the electrons get trapped in the oxygen deficient sites. Because electrons are trapped in the oxygen vacancies they attract the water molecules towards the surface of magnesium ferrite. Only when water molecules is brought very close to the magnesium atom can magnesium have any affinity with hydroxide and start the dissociation process.

Star shuttlerSainaNehwal has been appointed member of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Athletes’ commission.

Beginning her political journey, IromSharmila announced a new political party, named ‘The Peoples Resurgence and Justice Alliance’ (PRJA), will contest the assembly polls in Manipur in 2017. She will be contesting from two constituencies in the state, Thoubal and Khurai( her home constituency).

Virendrakumar Malhotra is going to be the next member-secretary of the Indian council of social science research (ICSSR).

In order to protect and increase wild tiger population, ‘the project C.A.T.- conserving acres for tigers’ by discovery communications and NGO world wildlife fund (WWF).

The headquarters of world boxing organization is located in San Jaun, Puerto Rico. Sino India cooperation 2016, a joint tactical excise, between India and China was recently held in Ladakh. Antonio Guterres who was appointed as the next Secretary-General of the United Nations by the General Assembly is the

former Prime Minister of Portugal. The Union Cabinet approved signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Hungary on

cooperation in the field of Water management. The country that formally joined China's One-Belt One Road Initiative and has elevated its bilateral relationship with

China to Strategic Partnership agreeing to co-operate in all regional and international issues is Bangladesh. The theme for the 2016 International Day of Rural Women is Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too. The First World Tsunami Awareness Day will be celebrated at the Asian Ministerial Conference for Disaster Risk

Reduction 2016 on - 5 November 2016 Person appointed as Prime Minister of Morocco recently- AbdelilahBenkirane

GROUND ZERO DEFENCE INSTITUTE

The winner of the 2016 China Open Women's Singles title is - Agnieszka Radwanska The theme for the 2016 International Day of the Girl Child is - Girls' Progress = Goals' Progress: What Counts for Girls Person who won the 24th Ekalabya Award for the year 2016- Srabani Nanda The actor who will be awarded with the 44th Chaplin Award for the year 2016 by Film Society of Lincoln Center is -

Robert De Niro India completed its nuclear triad by inducting country's first indigenously-constructed nuclear submarine named - INS

Arihant into service Country ranked as the safest place as per Global Travel and Terrorism Report 2016 of World Economic Forum- Finland Cricket team of which country recently became the world first team to play 900 ODIs- India Kigali V Ndahindurwa who passed away recently was the last king of – Rwanda The World Bank has pledged 2 billion US dollars aid to tackle climate change to – Bangladesh The city that became the first Indian city to be officially declared as one of the venues for hosting the 2017 FIFA U-17

World Cup is Kochi. Union Government unveiled a Regional air connectivity scheme - UDAN (UdeDeshkaAamNaagrik) Sandra Lee Bartky, an influential feminist philosopher, argued that women were subconsciously submitting to men by

accepting an unnatural cultural standard for the ideal female body, died aged 81. What she called the “tyranny of slenderness”.

The TATA SONS board sacked Cyrus Mistry, Ratan Tata will lead group till new chairman is appointed. Anti-Vietnam war (1960s) activist Tom Hayden dead. He was a member of the “Chicago 7” convicted on federal charges

of conspiracy and incitement to riot over anti-vietnam war protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. ISRO started the first set of a series of ground and aerial tests related to the critical moon landing of Chandrayaan-2. The

latest aerial tests took place at ISRO’S new site at Challakere in Chitradurga district, some 400km from Bengaluru. Chandrayaan-1 was successfully launched under the leadership of Dr. Annadurai who was also the project director in 2008.

Bird flu (avian influenza), caused by H5N8 virus has been detected among ducks. D S Rana & Arvind kumar of Sir Ganga Ram hospital here have been selected for the presitious Dr. B C Roy award for

excellence in the field of medicine. The awards will be presented by the president next year. Paul beatty’s novel “the sellout,a blistering satire about race in America”, won the Man Booker Prize.

CURRENT AFFAIRS NOVEMBER 2016

• The winner of the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy for men is India defeating Pakistan(hosted in Malaysia).• The winner of the 2016 Mexican Grand Prix is Lewis Hamilton.• The Rashtriya Ekta Diwas is observed annually to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabh bhai Patel. The theme of the 2016 Rashtriya Ekta Diwas is Integration of India.• The state that recently became India’s open defecation free state is Himachal Pradesh.• The first Indian state to be declared Open Defecation Free is Sikkim.• State declared as India’s third Open Defecation Free (ODF) state is Kerala.• Indo-Nepal joint military exercise Surya Kiran recently commenced at Saljhandi in Nepal. It is the 10 th edition of the exercise.• The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) (General) Rules, 2016 notified for Union Territories (UTs) will be applicable in these five UTs are ; Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, and Lakshadweep.• The state that celebrated 51st year of its making as Golden Jubilee (Swarna Jyanti) across the state is Haryana. • India and Palestine signed a Memorandum of Understanding for setting up of Palestine-India Techo Park in Ramallah.• The 92-year-old Indian Navy veteran who won a gold medal in a 5000-metres race walk at the World Masters Athletics Championships being held in Perth is Commodore V Sriramulu (Retd).• First woman chief minister of Goa who died recently was Shashikala Kakodkar.• International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists is observed globally on 2 November.• The state that topped the Agricultural Marketing & Farm Friendly Reforms Index is Maharashtra.• The first ever Agricultural Marketing & Farm Friendly Reforms Index was launched by NITI Aayog.

GROUND ZERO DEFENCE INSTITUTE

• The Twitter India Head who resigned recently is Rishi Jaitly.• The all-time World Cup top-scorer who announced his retirement from football on 1 November 2016 is Miroslav Klose.• The state that topped the list of state-wise Ease of Doing Business rankings that was released by Union Government is Andhra Pradesh. The International Forum on Adopting an ICT Perspective to Education and Learning has started in New Delhi from October 31

and will continue till November 4, 2016. The forum is being organized by International Bureau of Education (IBE), UNESCO in partnership with Google.

Kim Byong-joon has been appointed as the new Prime Minister of South Korea on November 2, 2016. He succeeded Hwang Kyo-ahn, who was sacked as Prime Minister amid the 2016 South Korean political scandal as President Park Geun-hye tried to rebuild confidence in her administration.

The World Vegan Day is observed every year on November 1 by setting up stalls, hosting potlucks and planting memorial trees to benefit the veganism for humans, non-human animals and the natural environment.

The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016 formulated to curb black money came into effect on 1 November 2016.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently launched the “Saur Sujala Yojana” at Naya Raipur in Chhattisgarh that would provide solar powered irrigation pumps to farmers at a subsidized price. Chhattisgarh would be the first state to implement the scheme. Under the scheme, solar powered irrigation pumps of 3HP and 5HP capacity worth Rs 3.5 lakh and Rs 4.5 lakh would be distributed to the farmers by March 31, 2019. The beneficiaries would get the pumps at the subsidized price.

Bollywood actor Rekha will be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 13th edition of Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), which will be held from December 7-14, 2016.

Kwon Taek Im, the renowned South Korean director, will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 47th edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa.

The Bhitarkanika National Park is a national park located in the Kendrapara District, Odisha. It is in news because a two-member technical evaluation mission team of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) deputed by the UNESCO has recently visited the National Park. The purpose of the visit is for the ground-zero assessment of the bio-diversity of the unique mangrove eco-system of park.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently inaugurated Asia’s largest man-made “Jungle Safari” at Naya Raipur in Chhattisgarh. It is nearly 800-acre Nandanvan Zoo and Safari. The Jungle Safari has been divided into 8 zones viz. Monument zone, Parking zone, Administrative zone, Water zone, Waiting zone, Zoo zone, Safari zone, Management zone. It will have wild animals moving freely in natural surroundings. The eco-friendly vehicles would take the visitors around to have the enchanting glimpses of wild-life and nature’s beauty. There would be safaris for tigers, lions, bears and other wild animals. The area would also have separate zones for the carnivorous and herbivorous animals in the Safari.

India will host 7th session of Conference of Parties (COP7) on tobacco control from November 7-12, 2016. Maharashtra will be the first state in India to launch cyber police stations in each district to nab cyber criminals. Team India’s limited-overs cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been named as the top most valued athlete in India, as

per the recently released Forbes Fab 40. Where as, Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer has been named as the most valued athlete in the world. Forbes Fab 40 list is a unique list which estimates the brand value of top sports labels, athletes, teams and events every year using different methodologies and is one of the most accurate listings in the world.

• The state that declared all 14 districts as drought-hit is Kerala.

Imja Tsho, located at an altitude of 16437 feet, just 10 km south of the world’s highest peak, is the fastest growing glacial lake in Nepal.

The Chinese Consulate General in association with Nalanda University in Kolkata has decided to use the work of Seventh century Chinese pilgrim and scholar-monk Xuan Zang (Hsuan-Tsang). The themed seminar on “Xuan Zang and China India friendly interactions”• State that launched the Parippida Mission recently ,Under Parppida Mission, the government plans to ensure housing for all.- Kerala• Theme of 2016 World Savings Day- Grabbing hold of your financial future • Theme of the 2016 Vigilance Awareness Week- Public participation in promoting integrity and eradicating Corruption • India and Bangladesh will conduct a joint military training exercise at Tangail, Dhaka from 5 to 18 November 2016 is - SAMPRITI• Organisation that released Freedom of the Press 2016 report is - Freedom House• Railway Ministry appointed him as the brand ambassador of Swachh Rail Mission - Bindeshwar Pathak• Saur Sujala Yojana was recently launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in - Chhattisgarh• Kolkata-born Sarabjit Singh Marwah recently became the first Sikh to be appointed to the Senate of - Canada• Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently presented the Ramnath Goenka Awards. The awards are given in the field of

GROUND ZERO DEFENCE INSTITUTE

- Journalism• M N Sharma, who passed away recently, was the first chief architect of - Chandigarh• Name of the designer of the FIFA World Cup Trophy, who passed away recently, is - Silvio Gazzaniga• Padma Shri singer and composer of Sri Lanka who passed away recently- Pandit Amaradeva• Company that tied-up with Archaelogical Survey of India for virtual tour of monuments- Google• For the first time, Mizo History in Hindi language titled, "An Introductory Brief History of Mizo Tribes" was released by - the Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla(Mizoram)• The Article of the European Union treaty that can’t be revoked by government without Parliament’s approval to process the BREXIT is – Article 50 • India’s first titanium project recently started its test production in - Odisha • Largest ever space telescope that is expected to be launched by NASA in 2018- James Webb Space Telescope• Former Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister who passed away recently- Mangat Ram Sharma • Theme of the World Tsunami Awareness Day- Effective Education and Evacuation Drills• Person appointed as the Prime Minister of South Korea recently- Kim Byong-joon• International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict is observed globally on- 6 November• The theme of the World Tsunami Awareness Day is - Effective Education and Evacuation Drills• Asia’s largest man-made Jungle Safari is located in- Chhattisgarh• Aware and Care health awareness campaign was launched by- Punjab• The report that ranked India at the second position on the global business optimism index during the third quarter (July-September 2016) is - Grant Thornton’s International Business Report 2016• Indian Women's hockey team lifted the Asian Champions Trophy 2016 by defeating - China • The winner of the 2016 WTA(women’s tennis tournament) Elite Singles Trophy is - Petra Kvitova• World’s first hydrogen-powered and zero-emission passenger train was recently unveiled in - Germany• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change recently constituted a four-member team for conservation and management of - Loktak Lake• The author of the book titled “An Era of Darkness : The British Empire in India” that was recently released by released by the Vice President of India M. Hamid Ansari is - Sashi Tharoor• The first female U.S. Attorney General who passed away recently is - Janet Reno• Mission of NASA that created Guinness World Record for highest altitude fix of GPS signal recently- Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission• Two newly identified biomarkers that will help in easy diagnosis of drug resistant Tuberculosis- miR-16 and miR-155• Lost ancient river Chandrabhaga flowed near- Konark Sun Temple• President Pranab Mukherjee presented the 2016 Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam IGNITE Awards to the winning children of IGNITE competition. The competition was organised by – National Innovation Foundation• He was awarded with the Reporters without Borders (RSF)-TV5 Monde prize in the journalist category - Hadi Abdullah• India and UK signed two agreements in the field of - Intellectual property rights and the Ease of doing business• India’s first LNG-powered bus was recently launched in - Kerala• The first ever India-American to win the U.S. Senate seat from California is - Kamala Harris• The first India-American woman to be elected to the U.S. House of Representative is - Pramila Jayapal• The theme for the 2016 World Science Day for Peace and Development is - Celebrating Science Centres and Science Museums• Scientists of US Geological Survey and NASA recently discovered water on- Psyche(the largest metallic asteroid in our solar system)• State government that has decided to start Deendayal generic medicine stores to sell generic medicines which will remain open 24 hours and sell around 1000 generic drugs to the poor patients at 40 to 80 per cent lower rates is - Gujarat• In Jammu and Kashmir, the Regional News Unit of Radio Kashmir, Jammu started Morning News Bulletin in one of the most widely spoken language of the State. The language is - Gojri• The country that will host the 2016 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is - Peru• The state that recently received the Union Government’s nod to introduce pneumococcal conjugate vaccine under Universal Immunisation Programme is - Himachal Pradesh• The Competition Commission of India would host the 2018 ICN Annual Conference at New Delhi. The 2017 ICN Annual Conference will be hosted by - Portuguese Competition Authority• Guy Ryder was recently re-elected as the Director-General of - the International Labour Organisation• Pulsar navigation satellite launched by China - XPNAV-1• World Diabetes Day is observed every year on - 14 November• State that launched Lakshya Bhagirathi campaign to complete the irrigation projects - Chhattisgarh

GROUND ZERO DEFENCE INSTITUTE

• Noted geophysicist who passed away recently and was a former Director-grade scientist at the National Geophysical Research Institute - Janardhan G Negi• He is the author of the Marathi book ‘CHARAIVETI, CHARAIVETI’ is - Ram Naik, Governor of Uttar Pradesh • The theme of the 2016 World Pneumonia Day is - Keep the Promise, Stop Pneumonia Now•The winner of the 2016 Hero Women's Indian Open is - Aditi Ashok(became first Indian women)• Nawaz Sharif recently inaugurated the operational activities of the Gwadar Port, which is a strategic part of - China Pakistan Economic Corridor• The focus country in the 2016 India International Trade Fair (IITF) is - Belarus• The Partner Country of the 2016 India International Trade Fair (IITF) is - South Korea• The moon, termed as Supermoon, that was seen on 14 November 2016 was last seen on – 26 January 1948• He became the first Indian to be elected the President of the International Hockey Federation - Narinder Batra• He lifted the Brazilian Grand Prix 2016 - Lewis Hamilton Indigenously developed drone for surveillance and attack, had a successful first flight. The first prototype of the pilotless or

unmanned combat air vehicle was flown for about 10 min.- Rustom-2 What allows the centre to declare that “any series of bank notes of any denomination ceases to be legal tender”. – Section

26(2) of the RBI Act 1934 Which word Oxford Dictionaries has named as its International Word of the year (2016) is- Post-Truth (it relates to situation

where objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion) • The sixth India China joint training exercise commenced at the parade ground in Aundh Military Camp, Pune. The exercise is named as - Hand- in- Hand 2016• The Indian city, which was the host of the 2016 National Children’s Film Festival, is – Jaipur (Theme-Make in India)• It became the first state of India to adopt a resolution that welcomes the demonetisation scheme of the union government – Chhattisgarh• Israeli President who was first to visit India in past two decades is - Reuven Rivlin• The Supreme Court held that a child adopted by a Hindu widow will not have any rights on the property of the woman's deceased husband under- Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956• The 2016 World Internet Conference was recently held in – China Lt. Gen. SK Sinha who passed away was appointed ambassador to Nepal in 1990, as governor of Assam (1997-2003) and then

J&K (2003-2008). He was also among the World War II veterans and had served in Burma and Indonesia in the last stages of war.

• Person conferred with 2016 Sumitra Charat Ram Award for lifetime achievement in the field of Indian classical music- Pt Hari Prasad Chourasia• He was posthumously awarded the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice(introduced in 2005) for 2016 - Faraaz Ayaaz Hossain• She won the women’s singles title of the 2016 China Open badminton tournament – PV Sindhu• The Nigerian female weightlifter who will become the only second Nigerian to win an Olympic medal in the sport after IOC stripped two weightlifters off their silver and bronze medals from 2008 Olympics is - Mariam Usman• Guided Missile Destroyer ship commissioned into the Indian Navy recently by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar- INS Chennai The 47th International film festival of India (IFFI) inaugurated at Panaji in Goa. The Indian panorama opened with a Sanskrit

film for the second consecutive year, Isthi ; directed by G. Prabha. The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia.

Andy Murray clinched his first ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Tour finals title to become the 17 th man to hold the top of the world ranking after victory over Novak Djokovic.

The 8 year old Kashmiri girl, Tajlum Islam won the international kick boxing championship, held in Italy. World no. II P.V.Sindhu clinched her maiden super series premier title edging out Sun Yu of China in the finals of the China

open badminton tournament. India became an associate member of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), the world’s largest nuclear

and particle physics laboratory and best known as operator of the large Hadron Collider, which found the elusive higgs boson in 2012. India was inducted as an “Observer” at CERN in 2004. The latest upgrade allows Indian companies to bid for lucrative engineering contracts and Indians can apply for staff positions at the organization. Now India can choose to apply for full membership after 2 years or continue with this status for 5 years.

CERN is based in Geneva on the French-Swiss border. It has 22 member states and 4 associate member states and other member associate members transitioning to full member status. Associate members pay about 10% what full members pay. Pakistan became an associate member of the body in 2014.

• The renowned physicist and former ISRO Chairman who passed away recently is - MGK Menon• US President Barack Obama recently awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The award was established in the year – 1963

GROUND ZERO DEFENCE INSTITUTE

Balmuralikrishna, maestro of Carnatic music, passed away.in 1978 he was awarded the Sangita kalindi of music Academy, and was honoured with Padma Vibushan. He was featured Mile Sur Mera Tumahara , a song that promotes national integrity.

Ram Naresh Yadav, the former C.M. of U.P. and governor of M.P., passed away.• She (becoming the first Indian American) was named as the US Ambassador to the United Nations by President-elect Donald Trump - Nikki Haley• India’s rank in the 2016 Information Society Report that was released by UN International Telecommunication Union is – 138 (Republic of Korea topped the list of 175 nations)• The Assembly Constituency that became the first e-assembly constituency of India is - Palampur Assembly Constituency in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh• The Prime Minister of Portugal who will be the Chief Guest at the 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is - Antonio Costa “Allama”, a film directed by T.S. Nagabharana, has been nominated as Indian entry for the International Council for

Film, Television and Audio-visual Communication (ICFT) UNESCO Gandhi Medal. ICFT Paris in collaboration with UNESCO will award the film that best reflects the Gandhi ideals of peace, tolerance and non-violence, a prestigious Gandhi Medal and Certificate. “Allama” is a film about 12th century metaphysician, a son of a temple dancer who embarks on a quest for knowledge and answers to his four core sentiments, yearning, and obsession – Maddales, failures and self-realization.

• The National Milk Day is observed on - 26 November• The Bollywood film invited for a special screening at the UN Headquarters is- Pink

December Supreme Court makes national anthem mandatory in cinema halls. The order came in a writ petition

by Shyam Narayan Chokeshey. The petition which referred to the prevention of insults to National Honour Act of 1971, claimed that the “national anthem is sung in various circumstances which are not permissible and can never be countenanced in law. It also referred t0 article 51(A) of the constituted to contend that it was the duty of every person to show respect when the anthem was played. SC said there was no space for the ‘perception of individual rights’ in this issue. It further banned the exploitation of the national anthem for financial benefit and ordered that there should not be dramatization of the anthem or its inclusion as part of any “variety show”. It ordered that the anthem or part of it should not be printed or displayed in places “disgraceful” to its status. It also banned the display, recitation or use of the abridged version of the anthem.

The Rohingya people are a muslim minority group residing in the Rakhine state formerly known as Arakan. The Rohingya people are considered stateless entities as the Myanmar government has been refusing to recognize them as one of the ethnic group of the country. Hence they lack legal protection from the government. They regarded as mere refugees from Bangladesh and face strong hostility in the country. The 2015 Rohingya refugees crisis refers to mass migration of thousands of Rohingya people from Myanmar and Bangladesh to southeast Asian countries including Malaysia, Indonesia(world’s largest Muslim-majority country), Thailand and Philippines by rickety boats via the waters of the strait of Malacca and the Andaman sea. Rohingya people claims of gang-rape, torture and murder at the hands of the security forces.

Cuba’s sensual rumba dance and Belgium’s thriving beer culture brought new effervescence to UNESCO’s coveted list of “intangible” heritage. The Cuban delegation to the Addis Ababa meeting dedicated the rumba’s selection to longtime leader Fidel Castro. UNESCO noted that Belgium produces some 1500 types of beer, while in cuba because the rumba sprang from poor communities the dance is an enduring “expression of resistance and self-esteem”.

The Tamil Nadu Fisheries Department issued an order that banned all forms of fishing within a radius of 5 nautical miles (9.3km) at 90 sites along the state’s coastline. It was passed to safeguard migrating olive ridley sea turtles. The regulation of marine fisheries does remain a key issue here. In the 1960s, the state’s fisheries department began focusing on increasing production and offered

GROUND ZERO DEFENCE INSTITUTE

extensive support for mechanized fishing. This created intense conflicts because small-scale fishers found themselves marginalized by the department’s programmes on land and mechanized fishers at sea. It was to protest against such biased policies that the national fish workers’ forum was formed. One of its significant moves was to force the government to pass the Tamil Nadu Marine Fishing (Regulation) Act in 1983. The act restricts the operation of mechanised vessels (over 15 HP) to areas beyond 3 nautical miles (5.5km) but within the territorial limits, so that coastal waters are reserved for small scale fishing.

“Ishti” was the opening film (Director G. Prabha) in the Indian Panorama section of the recently concluded International film festival of India in Goa, depicts the customs and rituals of the Namboodiris, the high caste Brahmin community of Kerala. Up to some decades ago, only the eldest son of a Namboodiri family could merry a Namboodiri woman, while the other brothers were not allowed to merry. The eldest son inherited all the property and headed the family. The younger brothers could have liaisons with women of ‘lower’ castes, but these women and children born of such relationships had no property or other rights as part of the family. Namboodiri girls, meanwhile, could only be given in marriage to the eldest son of a Namboodiri family.

India hosts the Heart of Asia (HoA) conference this week (6th edition) in Amritsar. It is aimed at speeding up reconstruction in war-torn Afghanistan and bringing peace and normalcy to the nation. It will see participation from 14 states: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and The United Arab Emirates. The HoA process, supported by the wider International community, originated under the aegis of the Istanbul conference in November 2011. Mr. Modi’s visit to Afghanistan to inaugurate the new parliament building last year and the decision by New Delhi to gift Mi-24 attack helicopters to Afghan forces are meant to underline India’s resolve to preserve its equities in a troubled neighbour. India also signed the TAPI pipeline agreement to showcase its continuing commitment to Afghanistan’s economic viability.

With the World Health Organization releasing guidelines on HIV self-testing, a major obstacle in improving access to diagnosis has been cleared. The WHO approved Ora Quick HIV self-testing is based on HIV antibodies present in oral and blood samples. The test can detect antibodies developed within three months of getting infected. It is a screening test, and a positive result should be reconfirmed though blood based test. The Ora Quick self-testing makes diagnosis easier and faster, besides ensuring privacy and confidentiality, thus encouraging more people to get tested, but there are challenges in terms of counselling and sensitivity, with the accuracy of the tests pegged at around 93%. Counselling has to be done through innovative ways such as over the telephone, as in the case of the U.S. unlike the conventional method of getting tested at ICTCs (Integrated counselling and testing centres), people self-testing should be more aware about the possibility of false negatives. 23 countries have in place policies that support HIV self-testing. It is time India adopted it quickly to enable more people to test themselves and help break the transmission cycle.

India’s sole Sanskrit daily newspaper is “Sudharma”, based in Mysuru. The first lexicographer of Malayalam language was Hermann Gundert. The biography of him is

published in Malayalam as a translation from German by Albert Frenz. German formula one Nico Rosberg announced that he was retiring only days after achieving a

lifetime ambition by winning his first world championship. He is only the second son of a world champion to win the title. In 1996 Damon Hill emulated father Graham. Rosberg’s win came 34 years after Keke’s success.

National stock exchange chief Chitra Ramakrishna resigned as the MD and CEO. J. Ravichandran appointed as a new chief of NSE.

The Indian government allowed Urgyen Trinley Dorje, the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, to address a public gathering at Mon in Arunachal Pradesh. The Gyalwang Karmapa is the head of the Karma Kagyu school, one of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism. He escaped from Tibet in 2000.

GROUND ZERO DEFENCE INSTITUTE

After 900 years, the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa could again visit Mon in AP. The last visit was by the 3rd Karmapa.

Mission “Raftaar” was launched with the objective of doubling of average speed of freight trains, and increasing the average speed of all non-suburban passenger trains by 25 km/hrs. in next 5 years.

Under “Janani Suraksha Yojana” , pregnant women choosing to deliver at the hospital and the health (ASHA) worker who motivated her to take the decision get cash incentives. It is a 100% centrally funded scheme.

The environment ministry has indefinitely postponed an ambitious plan to update India’s forest policy. The current forest policy launched in 1988.

A sea of humanity was witnessed during the “Panchami” Theertam Chakrasnanam making the finale of 9 day annual Tiruchanur Brahmotsavams (Kartheeka Brahmostsavams) at sri Pasmavathi devi temple at Tiruchanur, Andhra Pradesh.

Under the “Sagarmala Project” 6 ports are decided to develop are as: vizhinjam international sea port (kerala), colachel seaport (TN), vadhavan port (MH), Tadadi port (Karnataka), Machilipatnam port (Andhra Pradesh), Sagar island port (west Bengal).

Taiwan and China are divided by Taiwan strait. Tropic of cancer passes through Taiwan. The Indian government signed the letter of agreement and acceptance (LoA) with the U.S.

government under the foreign military sales programme for 145 M777 Ultra Light howitzers. The Army’s field artillery rationalization plan of 1999 envisages inducting nearly 3,000 guns of various types to equip the 220 artillery regiments. Of the 145 guns, 25 will be imported while the rest will be made in India. BAE system has selected Mahindra Group as the local offset partner to set up an integrated unit in India. M777 weighs less than its predecessors due to use of titanium. It has digital fire-control system to provide navigation and self control.

KONKAN 16, the 2016 edition of the annual bilateral maritime exercise between the Indian Navy and the Royal Navy, would be held from 5-16 dec in Mumbai and Goa. It was institutionalized in 2004 and hosted in rotation by both the Navies.

PSLV-C36 is the 38th flight of ISRO’S PSLV. PSLV-C36 will place the 1235 kg RESOURCESAT-2A into an 817 kg polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO). It carries three payloads are: 1) A high resolution Linear imaging self -scanner (LISS4) camera. 2) Medium resolution LISS-3 camera. 3) A course resolution advanced wide field sensor (AWiFS) camera.

According to global hunger index India in 2016, has a serious rate of hunger with a score of 28.5, theme- “getting to zero hunger”. The GHI scores are based on 4 indicators – undernourishment, child wasting, child stunting, and child morality.

INS Betwa that tipped over and crashed during undocking in Mumbai. INS Betwa was commissioned in 2004. INS Betwa is of the Brahmaputra class frigates, which are the guided missile frigates of the Indian Navy.

Helen Marten has won the 2016 Turner Prize. The youngest on the shortlisted, Marten uses sculpture, screen printing and writing to create her work. This prize associated with visual art.

The global education monitoring report 2016, is published by the UNESCO. It has claimed that India will be half a century late in achieving its universal education goals. The reports also states that India will achieve universal primary education by 2050.

The 21st International Film festival of Kerala inaugurated. Kerala is the only state in India to host a film festival.

John Glenn, who became one of the 20th century’s greatest explorers as the first American to orbit Earth and later as the world’s oldest astronaut, and also had along career as a U.S. senator, deid.

Nepal has rejected India’s “open sky” offer to allow unlimited flights between two countries. India and Nepal signed a memorandum of understanding to set up a joint technical committee to examine Nepal’s request for developing new air routes and air entry points at Janakpur, Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj. Nepal is building a major international airport at Bhairahawa, near the Uttar Pradesh

GROUND ZERO DEFENCE INSTITUTE

border, and airport at Pokhara will soon be brought to international standards. Hence it is believed that India and Nepal should give each more access to the other skies and move with the times.

Japanese PM Shinzo Abe visited Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor, the site of a sneak attack by his country that provoked America into entering World War II, to reinforce what the leader called “the power of reconciliation”. He became first PM who visited the spot in 75 years.

Pakistan received a major boost as a China-backed 340 MW nuclear power plant in its Punjab Province. The fourth nuclear power plant Chashma-3 is located about 250 km southwest of capital Islamabad at Chashma in Mianwali district where another plant, Chashma-4, is also being built. Pakistan’s first nuclear power plant was supplied by Canada in 1972.

Cyclonic storm Vardha hits to make landfall along north Tamil Nadu and South Andhra Pradesh coast with speeds of 80-90 kmph. Most places to get moderate rain with possibilities of heavy rainfall upto 20cm.

Cristiano Ronaldo won his fourth “Ballon d’Or” to get one over his nemesis Lionel Messi in their long-running duel for the title of best footballer on the planet.

Qatar formally announced the end of its controversial “kafala” system, arguably the biggest ever labour reform under taken by the host of the 2022 football world cup. Under “kafala” all foreign workers working in Qatar require a local sponsor, in the form of an individual or company, and need their permission to switch jobs or leave the country. The system was compared to modern-day slavery and left vulnerable workers with little protection and open to abuse. The new law is the latest step towards improving and protecting the rights of every expatriate worker in Qatar.

A hospital in northern Italy said that it had achieved a world first by successfully transplanting a kidney in the place of the spleen in a six-year-old girl. The child had been on dialysis since birth because of a rare kidney anomaly and a malformation of the abdominal blood vessels.

Rio de Janeiro has entered the U.N.’s list of world heritage sites in recognition of its soaring granite cliffs, urban rainforest and beaches.

NASA launched eight mini-satellites to measures surface wind deep in the heart of hurricanes to aid in weather forecasting.

The 2015 was the year Svetlana Alexievich got the Nobel Prize in Literature. It was the first time a journalist had been awarded the nobel prize in literature.

Lt. Gen. Bipin Rawat is next Army Chief. The appointment goes against the long-held tradition of appointing the senior-most eligible officer to the post. The last time the senior-most eligible officer was not appointed in 1983 when PM Indira Gandhi choose to appoint Lt. Gen. A.S. Vaidya as the Chief, contrary to expectations that Lt. Gen. S.K. Sinha, would take over. Lt. Gen. Sinha , then vice-chief, choose to resign in june 1983 though he was due to retire in early 1984. It is customary to announce the names 2-3 months in advance. Lt. Gen. Rawat is currently the vice-chief of the army. He was commissioned in the 5th Battalion of the Eleven Gorkha Rifles in 1978.

Air Marshal B.S. Dhanoa, presently the vice-chief of the IAF has been appointed the next Air Chief. Olive Ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) mate in the waters of the Bay of Bengal off the mouth of

the Rushikulya River in Ganjam District, some 140 kms south of Bhubaneswar. The turtles migrate every winter en masse from nest in three rookeries in the Odisha coast.

The Indian team takes a victory lap after beating Belgium in the Junior World Cup final in Lucknow. This was Indian Hockey’s first-ever world-level title in 15 years, the last being its maiden win in the same competition in 2001. It was also the first time that a host has won this title.

Hong Kong gives Indians unconditional visa-free entry. It has introduced “pre-registration” for Indian nationals to prevent illegal immigration. Under the previous visa agreement, Indian visitors could visit the Hong Kong special administrative region for 14 days. visa-free travel for Indians is allowed in Bhutan, Belize, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Grenada, Haiti, Indonesia, Jamaica, Macau, Mauritius, Micronesia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Senegal, Trinidad, Vanuatu. Apart from ‘visa-free

GROUND ZERO DEFENCE INSTITUTE

status’, India & Nepal have porous borders. India has bilateral agreement with 71 nations on visa waiver for diplomats & ordinary passport holders.