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A monthly magazine of Current Affairs

April -2016

Chief Editor

Kanchan Deep Chaudhary

________________________________

Edited, Owned,

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Circuit House Road, Jodhpur (Rajasthan)

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Website: www.crackclat.com

CONTENTS

CRACK CLAT Bullets………..2

Latest in General Knowledge…4

Appointments

Awards & Honors

Books & Authors

Constitutional/Law

Defense

Economic Scenario

Ecology & Environment

Places

Report & Index

Software & Telecom

Persons in News………………9

Current Topics – India………..9

Current Topics – World……....13

Latest in Sports………………..16

Static GK Capsules……………18

Current Affairs MCQs………..21

Answer Key of MCQs………..28

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separately, and is only for our registered students.

All rights reserved. No part of this issue can be

reprinted in whole or in part without the written

permission of the publishers.

The editors and publishers of this magazine do their

best to verify the information published, but do not take

responsibility for the absolute accuracy of the

information.

All disputes subject to Jodhpur jurisdiction only.



CRACKCLAT Bullets

National

Which Bill would enhance compensation for air

travellers in case of death, injury, lost baggage or

even inordinate delay in flights recently passed by

the Upper House with changes? The Carriage by

Air (Amendment) Bill, 2015

The Union government released a new

categorisation of industries recently based on their

pollution load. Which new category of industries

will not require Environmental Clearance and

Consent and will help in getting finance from

lending institutions? Practically Non-polluting

Which Bill extends the ambit of the Bureau of

Indian Standards to include services, processes and

products while ensuring production of world class

goods? Bureau of Indian Standards Bill 2015

The Union Minister of Shipping, Road Transport &

Highways, Nitin Gadkari said on March 9, 2016

that projects in the ports and shipping sector, worth

an investment of Rs 120000 crore will be

showcased before potential investors at which

summit? Maritime India Summit 2016

The Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit

Singh Flagged off the first ever all girls National

Cadet Corps (NCC) Mount Everest expedition. In

this regard, all India trials at how many selected

hubs were carried out? 25

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister

Narendra Modi has given its ex-post approval

recently for the Memorandum of Understandings

(MoU) between India and which country on

Technical Cooperation in Cyber Space and

Combating Cyber-Crime signed in February, 2016?

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Who has given its approval for grant of „no

objection‟ to the proposed change in shareholding

in the Container Terminal Projects of Dubai Port

World (DPW) Limited in major Ports? Union

Cabinet

The Rajya Sabha approved recently a bill that seeks

to put in place an effective regulatory mechanism

for orderly growth of the sector which is the second

largest employer after agriculture? Real Estate

(Regulation and Development) Bill, 2016

International

India and which country have signed a

Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) for

construction of six nuclear reactors of 1650 MW

each at Jaitapur in Maharashtra? France

Matt Salmon, Chairman of the House

Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific introduced

the legislation in the US Congress asking the

Obama administration to help which country join

the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)

forum? India

Which country became a dialogue partner of the

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a

Beijing-based regional security grouping, after a

memorandum was signed? Nepal

Which country agreed to Nepal Prime Minister KP

Oli‟s request to build a strategic railway link

between the two countries through Tibet? China

Which State government and Japanese International

Cooperative Agency (JICA) signed an agreement on

„Capacity Enhancement for Sustainable Agriculture

and Irrigation Development‟ in March, 2016?

Mizoram

Which country alongwith Iran agreed to open two

additional border crossings to enhance trade. They

also witnessed the signing of six agreements related

to trade and economy including a „Five Year

Strategic Trade Cooperation Plan‟? Pakistan

As per the report „Global Trends in Renewable

Energy Investment 2016‟ by the UN Environment

Programme, the developing world committed a total

of $ 156 billion in new renewable capacity 2015, up

19% from 2014. Which countries are included?

China India and Brazil

the United Nations Children‟s Emergency Fund

(UNICEF) launched a series of animated films to

help frame positive perceptions towards the tens of

millions of children and young people on the move

globally. What was the name of that film? Unfairy

Tales

Which country‟s High Court recently rejected a

petition by a Hindu advocate of Bangladesh in a

very secular justification that challenges the

constitutional provision recognizing Islam as the

State religion of the Muslim-majority nation?

Bangladesh

Economy & Banking

BP Sharma, Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family

Welfare launched a largest survey of its kind which

will survey more than 60000 elderly over 25 years

plan. What is that? Longitudinal Ageing Study in

India

The US Agency for International Development and

which Bank signed a Memorandum of

Understandings (MoU) recently to provide $ 848



million of funding for the development of solar

parks across India? Asian Development Bank

Which motors have signed a follow-on contract for

the supply of an additional 619 units, of its high-

mobility (HMV) 6X6 multi-axle truck, from the

Indian Army? Tata Motors

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has

signed 11 more unilateral Advance Pricing

Agreements (APAs), taking the overall number to

how much 59

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)

raised the Foreign Portfolio Inventors (FPIs) in

Central government securities shall be enhanced to

Rs 140000 crore on April 4, 2016 and Rs 144000

crore on July 5, 2016 respectively. What was the

existing limit? Rs 135400 Crore

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has canceled

registration of 22 Non-Banking Financial

Companies (NBFCs) including that of Amazan

Capital and Mascot Commerce on March 30, 2016

in exercise of the powers conferred on it under

Section-45 IA (6) of which Act? Reserve Bank of

India Act, 1934

Which bank has signed a Special Currency Swap

Agreement with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka,

Under which the Central Bank of Lanka can draw

up to $, 700 million for a maximum period of three

months? Reserve Bank of India

The Union government extended the safeguard duty

on some steel imports by what time to protect

domestic industry from onslaught of cheap supplies

from China amid a global glut? Two Years, Till

March, 2018

Science & Technology

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and

Climate Change (MoEFCC) released a new four-

colour classification scheme recently. Which

category of industries get funds from lending

institutions? White

Located in South Gujarat, which nuclear plant shut

down after coolant system developed leak?

Kakrapar

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

established the Gadanki Ionospheric Radar

Interferometer (GIRI) at the National Atmospheric

Research Laboratory (NARL), an autonomous

research institute of the Department of Space near

which place? Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh)

Which reserve of India was included at the

International Coordinating Council of the Man and

the Biosphere programme of UNESCO that

concluded in Peru in March, 2016? Agasthyamala

Biosphere Reserve

The Health Ministry launched the country‟s first,

indigenous rotavirus vaccine to combat diarrhoeal

deaths recently. What is its name? Rotovac

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

decided to launch a record number of 22 satellites in

a single mission in May, 2016. The PSLV C34

rocket will blast-off from which space centre?

Satish Dhawan Space Centre

As per WHO, which disease no longer constitutes a

public health emergency of international concern?

Ebola

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar flagged-off the

first indigenously built huge bow mounted sonar

dome for naval warships at Kineco‟s state-of-the-art

composites manufacturing facility at which place?

Pilerne (Goa)

Sports

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has

suspended recently which South Africa spinner that

he will not play the first two matches of the three-

match T20I series against Australia? Aaron

Phangiso

Which Russian failed a drug test at the Australian

Open due to a substance she has been taking for 10

years for health issues? Maria Sharapova

Which pair won the All England badminton title in

the men‟s doubles category by defeating the

Japanese pair Hiroyuki Endo and Kenichi

Hayakawa? Vladimir Ivanov/lvan Sozonov

(Russia)


the women‟s doubles category by defeating the

Chinese pair Tang Yuanting and Yu Yang? Misaki

Matsutomo/Ayaka Takahashi (Japan)


the mixed doubles category by defeating Denmark

pair Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna

Pedersen? Praveen Jordan/Debby Susanto

(Indonesia)

Who won the Grand Prix Gold Badminton

tournament title in the mixed doubles category by

defeating Thailand pair of Bodin Issara and Savitree

Amitrapai? Wang Yilu/Chen Qingchen

Who claimed the BNP Paribas Open title in the

category of women‟s final at Indian Wells?

Victoria Azarenka

Who beat Milos Raonic of Canada and won Indian

Wells title 2016? Novak Djokovic

Who conferred with the Player of the Year honours

at the 2nd

Hockey India Annual Awards ceremony

for 2015 at Bengaluru? PR Sreejesh/Deepika

Which Russian grandmaster has won the prestigious

FIDE World Chess Candidates Tournament held in

Moscow by defeating American grandmaster



Fabiano Caruana in the final round with a score of

score 8.5 points? Sergey Karjakin

Who has been appointed captain of the franchise for

the for the upcoming 9th edition of Indian Premier

League 2016 season? Zaheer Khan

Miscellaneous

Who has retained his no 1 title in 2016 also with a

net worth of $ 75 billion as per Forbes‟ 30th annual

ranking of the world‟s billionaires list? Bill Gates

Which founder and former Director of the National

Film Archive of India (NFAI), passed away in

Pune, Maharashtra recently? Paramesh Krishnan

Nair

Which Popular Malayalam actor proved his mettle

in the film „Vasantiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne

Njanum‟ where he played the title role of a blind

man and won him the special jury award at the

national and the State-level in 2000, passed away

recently? Kalabhavan Mani

Francois Richier, Ambassador of France to India,

conferred the Chevalier de la Legion d‟ Honneur

(Knight of the Legion of Honour) recently on

whom? Anand G. Mahindra

Which Palestinian teacher from the West Bank has

won a $ 1 million Global Teacher award on March

13, 2016, at a ceremony in Dubai, for her innovative

approach of using play to counter violent behavior?

Hanan Al-Hroub

Who has been appointed as the next Vice-

Chancellor of the University of Canberra and

currently a Vice- President of the University of

Toronto? H. Deep Saini

Which renowned American mathematician, who

won the Nobel prize for economics in 2012, died

recently? Lloyd Shapley

Which Shehnai exponent, the man who gave

Doordarshan‟s signature tune died recently? Ustad

Ali Ahmad Hussain Khan

Which British mathematician and research

professor at the University of Oxford has won the

Abel Prize in math for cracking a centuries-old

hypothesis? Sir Andrew J. Wiles

AAHAR International Food and Hospitality Fair,

the five day B2B trade platform and B2C shopping

extravaganza observed from March 15 to 19, 2016

at which place? Pragati Maidan (New Delhi)

The World Sufi Forum or the Bain-ul-Aqwami Sufi

Conference held with a message of peace and

brotherhood and a new ray of hope in which place?

New Delhi

Latest in General Knowledge

Important Days

April 5: National Maritime Day

April 7: World Health Day

April 11: National Safe Motherhood Day

April 17: World Haemophilia

April 18: World Heritage Day

April 21: National Civil Services

April 22: Earth Day

April 23: World Books Day

April 24: Panchayat Raj Day

April 26: World Intellectual Property Day

Appointments

Myanmar parliament elects Htin Kyaw as first

civilian President: Myanmar‟s parliament has

elected Mr. Htin Kyaw as the country‟s first non-

military president since the army took power in a

1962 coup. Mr. Kyaw took the oath on March 30,

2016. A close adviser and loyal friend to Ms. Aung

San Suu Kyi, the 69-year-old was nominated by the

National League for Democracy Party and voted

into the presidency by parliament. A final tally

giving Mr. Kyaw 360 out of 652 votes was met with

applause. The two runners-up, military nominee

Myint Swe and ethnic minority Chin candidate

Henry Van Thio, became first and second vice-

presidents, respectively. Egyptian diplomat Ahmed Aboul Gheit named

Secretary General of the Arab League: Egyptian

diplomat and former Foreign Minister Mr. Ahmed

Aboul Gheit was named as Secretary General of the

Arab League on March 10, 2016. The 22-member

organization voted unanimously in favour of Mr.

Aboul Gheit. 73-year-old Mr. Aboul Gheit, a former

ambassador to the United Nations, succeeds Mr.

Nabil El-Araby. Mr. Gheit served as Egypt‟s

foreign minister during the final seven years of Mr.

Hosni Mubarak‟s rule, leaving his post in 2011,

following the mass protests that toppled the

Mubarak regime. Mehbooba sworn in as Chief Minister of J&K:

Ms. Mehbooba Mufti, President, Peoples

Democratic Party, took oath as the first woman

Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on April 4,

2016. The State had been under President‟s rule for

11 weeks since the demise of chief minister Mufti

Mohammad Sayeed. Governor Mr. N.N. Vohra also

administered oath of office to the BJP‟s Deputy

Chief Minister Mr. Nirmal Singh and 22 other

Ministers. The PDP-BJP tie-up is only governance-



centric and not an alliance of political ideologies

according to the BJP. Former SC Judge B.S. Chauhan appointed 21

st

Law Commission Chairperson: The Union

Government on March 10, 2016 appointed former

Supreme Court judge Justice Mr. Balbir Singh

Chauhan as the Chairperson of the 21st Law

Commission. The post had been vacant since

September 2015 when the Commission was

constituted. Before this, Justice Mr. Chauhan was

heading the Cauvery River Water Disputes

Tribunal. He was a judge of the Supreme Court

from May 2009 to July2014. Earlier, from July

2008 to May 2009, he served as the Chief Justice of

Orissa High Court. Justice (retd.) Permod Kohli appointed

Chairman of Central Administrative Tribunal:

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on

March 23, 2016 approved the appointment of

Justice (retd.) Mr. Permod Kohli as the Chairman of

Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). He is a

former Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court. He has

been appointed for a period of five years with effect

from the date of his assumption of charge of the

post, or till attaining the age of 68 years, whichever

is earlier. Justice H.L. Dattu appointed as member of

International Coordinating Committee Bureau:

Chairperson of the National Human Rights

Commission (NHRC) and former Chief Justice of

India Justice Mr. H.L. Dattu on March 22, 2016 was

appointed a member of the International

Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights

Institutions Bureau in Geneva. NHRC, India will

now be representing Asia-Pacific Region along with

Mongolia, Qatar and Australia. The International

Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights

Institutions is a global network of NHRIs

administrative bodies set up to promote,

BOOKS AND AUTHORS

1. Incarnations: India in 50 lives – By Sunil

Khilnani, Penguin

2. Friends in Wild Places: Birds, Beasts and

Other Companions – By Ruskin Bond, Speaking

Tiger

3. India-Myanmar Relations: Changing

Contours – By Rajiv Bhatia, Routledge India

4. In Other Words – By Jhumpa Lahiri,

Bloombsbury

5. Fixed! Cash and Corruption in Cricekt – By

Shantanu Guha Ray, Harper Collins

6. The Great Animal Orchestra – By Bernie

Krause

7. The Magic of Indian Cricket – By Mihir Bose

8. Life Mantras – By Subrata Roy, Chairman of

the Sahara Group?

Defense

Indian Air Force successfully conducts Exercise

Iron Fist in Pokhran: The Indian Air Force (IAF)

on March 18, 2016 successfully conducted Exercise

Iron Fist 2016 in Pokhran, Rajasthan. The event was

attended by Hon‟ble President Mr. Pranab

Mukherjee, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi and

Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha. The day-night

exercise was aimed at demonstrating IAF‟s combat

and firepower and reassure the nation about its

commitment and capabilities in safeguarding the

national interests. The event comprised 6 packages

depicting 6 different themes in which more than 180

aircraft, including fighters, transport and helicopters

of IAF participated. The event mainly showcased more than 22 types of

platforms and Weapons Systems of IAF. Frontline

fighter aircraft, including Sukhoi-30, Mirage-2000,

Jaguar, MiG-29, Attack helicopters, Remotely

Piloted Aircraft (RPA) and high-tech AWACS were

displayed during the show. IAF‟s indigenous

project – Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) “Tejas” was

also a part. Transport aircraft like An-32, IL-76, IL-

78, Embraer and C-130J also participated.

India successfully test-fires Agni-I ballistic

missile: India on March 14, 2016 successfully test-

fired indigenously built nuclear-capable

intermediate range Agni-I ballistic missile. It was

launched from launch pad-4 of the Integrated Test

Range (ITR) at Abdul Kalam Island (Wheeler

Island) on the Odisha coast. The trial was as part of

training exercise by the Strategic Forces Command

(SFC) of Indian Army. The sophisticated missile

covered 700 km distance within 9 minutes and 36

seconds. The latest trial of Agni-I followed the first

successful test-fire that was conducted on

November 27, 2015 from the same base. Agni-I was developed by Advanced Systems

Laboratory, the premier missile development

laboratory of DRDO in collaboration with Defence

Research Development Laboratory and Research

Centre and integrated by Bharat Dynamics Limited,

Hyderabad. The missile is 15-metre-long and

weights 12 tonnes and equipped with sophisticated

navigation system which ensures it reaches the

target with a high degree of accuracy and precision.

It is designed to carry a payload of more than one

tone. Its strike range can be extended by reducing

the payload.

Indian Coast Guard vessel Arnvesh

commissioned: The Fast-Patrol Vessel (FPV),

ICGS Arnvesh, of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG)

was commissioned on March 21, 2016 in

Visakhapatnam. The vessel was commissioned by

the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the

Eastern Naval Command, Vice-Admiral HCS Bisht.



The ship is mainly intended to undertake

surveillance at sea, coastal patrol, anti-smuggling

and anti-piracy operations. Arnvesh is the 16th

vessel among the 20 vessels in this category being

constructed by Cochin Shipyard Limited. Arnvesh

is equipped with the most-advanced navigational

and communication sensors and equipment,

including night-vision capabilities. Indian Navy deploys P81 maritime surveillance

aircraft to Seychelles: The Indian Navy for the

first time, on March 21, 2016, deployed a P81

maritime reconnaissance aircraft to Seychelles for

surveillance in the Exclusive Economic Zone of

Seychelles. The deployment has been done in

accordance with the MoU signed between India and

Seychelles. The deployment will provide

professional assistance to the Seychelles People‟s

Defence Force (SPDF) in curbing illegal activities

and piracy as well as contribute towards security

and stability in the Indian Ocean Region. This is the

first time that Indian Navy has deployed its latest

and technologically most advanced maritime

reconnaissance aircraft in Seychelles.

Economic Scenario

Government announces to withdraw tax

proposal on EPF: Union Finance Minister Mr.

Arun Jaitley on March 8, 2016 announced to

withdraw proposal to tax Employees Provident

Fund (EPF) withdrawals. He announced to

withdraw the proposal while clarifying the NDA

Government‟s stand on the issue in the Lok Sabha.

He further stated that the government would also

like to comprehensively review EPF tax proposal.

However, the government retained the tax proposal

for National Pension Scheme (NPS) withdrawals.

The proposal was made by Union Finance Minister

Mr. Arun Jaitley while presenting the Union Budget

2016-17 in the Lok Sabha on February 29, 2016. As

per the proposal 60 percent of the amount deposited

in the EPF account of the employee would be

taxable at the time of withdrawal, and 40 percent

would be tax free. This proposal would have

become effective from April 1, 2016. It also said

that if the employee re-invested 60 percent of the

EPF in an annuity or pension fund then it will not

be taxed. At present, the entire amount is tax free at

the time of withdrawal if the employee has

completed five years of continuous service. Government eases taxation norms for bonds,

debentures held by companies: Seeking to

simplify the procedure and promote ease of doing

business, the Tax Department on March 22, 2016

said that capital gains tax would be computed from

the date of acquisition of financial instruments like

bonds and debentures and not from the date of their

conversion into shares. Central Board of Direct

Taxes (CBDT) in a notification said that in the case

of a capital asset, being a share or debenture of a

company, which becomes the property of the

assessee, there would be included the period for

which the bond, debenture, debenture-stock or

deposit certificate was held by the assessee prior to

the conversion. There have been disputes on this

front, with the revenue authority insisting that the

date of conversion of debentures into shares was a

relevant date while the assesses wanted that the

capital gains should be computed from the period of

acquisition of the financial asset. Odisha tops with 17% share in manufacturing

investments: Odisha has maximum share of over

17 percent in the total live investments worth about

Rs. 33 lakh crore attracted by manufacturing sector

across the country, according to a study. Gujarat

was ranked second (nearly 12 percent) followed by

Karnataka (11 percent), Jharkhand (nine percent)

and Chhattisgarh (seven percent), said the study

titled “Impact Analysis of Delay in Investment

Implementation in Manufacturing” by Assocham.

However, in Odisha about 39 percent

manufacturing projects remained under

implementation as of September 2015. Delayed

projects facing cost escalation had maximum share

of 31 percent in Odisha followed by Karnataka,

Rajasthan and Jharkhand (9 percent each), the study

said. Manufacturing sector in the country attracted

live investments worth about Rs. 33 lakh crore,

about one-fifth of total live investments worth over

Rs. 164 lakh crore drawn by various sectors across

India as of September 2015, it said.

Honours & Awards

NATIONAL

63rd

National Film Awards: In New Delhi, the 63rd

National Film Awards were announced on March

28, 2016. Ms. Kangana Ranaut bagged the Best

Actress Award for Tanu Weds Manu Returns while

the Best Actor Award went to Mr. Amitabh

Bachchand for Piku. S.S. Rajamouli‟s blockbuster

Baahubali was declared the Best Feature Film and

Salman Khan-starrer Bajrangi Bhaijaan won the

Best Popular Film award. The list of other

prominent awardees is as follows: Best Film: Baahubali

Best Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Bajirao

Mastani

Best Actor: Amitabh Bachchan, Piku

Best Actress: Kangana Ranaut, Tanu Weds Manu

Returns

Best Supporting Actress: Tanvi Azmi, Bajirao

Mastani

Best Hindi Film: Dum Laga Ke Haisha



Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome

Entertainment: Bajrangi Bhaijaan

Best Female Playback Singer: Monali Thakur, Moh

Moh Ke Dhage

Best Cinematography: Sudeep Chaterjee, Bajirao

Mastani

Best Screenplay Writer (Original): Juhi Chaturvedi

(Piku) and Himanshu Sharma (Tanu Weds Manu

Returns).

5th

National Photography Awards: Union

Minister for Finance, Corporate Affairs and

Information & Broadcasting Mr. Arun Jaitley on

March 21, 2016 presented 5th National Photography

Awards in New Delhi. A total of 12 awards were

presented to various amateur and professional

photographers. While awards in the amateur

category were given for works on the theme – „Save

Mother Earth‟, the theme for professional

photographers was „Festivals of India‟. Mr. Bhawan

Singh received the Life Time Achievement Award,

Mr. Javed Ahmed Dar received the Professional

Photographer Award, while Mr. Himanshu Thakur

received Amateur Photographer Award.

National Krishi Karman Awards 2014-15: Prime

Minister Mr. Narendra Modi on March 19, 2016

conferred National Krishi Karman Awards for the

year 2014-15 in New Delhi. The awards were

presented to 8 State Governments, which were

received by the Chief Ministers of respective States.

The objective of these awards is to encourage and

motivate the States to enhance production and

productivity of rice, wheat, pulses and coarse

cereals and oilseeds. Madhya Pradesh received the

award in Category I States for Total Foodgrain

Production.

2015 Nari Shakti Awards: Hon‟ble President Mr.

Pranab Mukherjee on March 8, 2016 presented Nari

Shakti Puraskar for the year 2015 to 15 women, 5

organizations, one State and panchayat. The awards

were conferred on the occasion of International

Women‟s Day at Rashtrapati Bhawan. Haryana was

awarded as a State for demonstrating improvement

with work in improving Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and

Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) during 2015.

C.V. Kunhiraman Literary Prize: Renowned

Malayalam writer Mr. M. Sukumaran on March 20,

2016 was chosen for the C.V. Kunhiraman Literary

Prize. The prize consists of Rs. 10,001 in cash, a

citation, and a statuette designed by artist B.D.

Dathan. Mr. M. Sukumaran is an author and short

story writer in Malayalam. The themes of all of his

writings deal with the plight of the dispossessed and

advocate an armed struggle for the liberation of the

oppressed.

Skoch Lifetime Achievement Award: Union

Urban Development Minister Mr. M. Venkaiah

Naidu on March 18, 2016 conferred the Skoch

Lifetime Achievement Award at the 43rd

SKOCH

summit held in New Delhi. He was selected for the

award for his contributions to inclusive growth and

towards poverty alleviation in India. Besides, IT

Minister of Telangana State Mr. K.T. Rama Rao

was honoured with the Skoch Award in the Start-up

India category for his initiative in establishing the

path-breaking tech incubator T-Hub.

IAA Editor of the Year Award: Mr. Sanjay

Gupta, the Jagran Group CEO and Dainik Jagran

editor was on March 12, 2016 presented with the

Editor of the Year Award at the 4th Indian

Advertising Association (IAA) Awards in Mumbai.

Mr. Sanjay Gupta received the award from Union

Minister of State for Home Affairs Mr. Kiren Rijiju.

Apart from this, Brand Endorser of the Year Award

was given to Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan; TV

Anchor of the Year Award was bagged by Rajat

Sharma of India TV; Media Person of the Year

Award was presented to Raj Nayak of Colors; was

CEO of the Year Award was given to Mr. Kumar

Mangalam Birla.

INTERNATIONAL

2016 Abel Prize: British mathematician Sir

Andrew Wiles on March 15, 2016 was named as the

winner of the 2016 Abel Prize by the Norwegian

Academy of Sciences and Letters in Oslo. Sir Wiles

won the award for solving a centuries-old

hypothesis, Fermat‟s Last Theorem. Crown Prince

Haakon will present the award to Sir Wiles for an

achievement that the academy described as an

epochal moment for mathematics. Sir Wiles is a

Royal Society Research Professor at the University

of Oxford, specializing in number theory. 2016 Global Teacher Prize: A Palestinian primary

school teacher from a refugee camp, Ms. Hanan Al

Hroub, on March 13, 2016 won the Global Teacher

Prize. She was awarded for her outstanding

contribution to the profession. Ms. Hroub, who runs

the Samiha Khalil High School in Al-Bireh,

Palestine, defeated nine other finalists from around

the world, including India‟s Mr. Robin Chaurasiya

to win the award. The 2016 Winner of the Global

Teacher Prize was announced by Pope Francis in a

ceremony held at the Atlantis Palm Hotel in Dubai. 10

th Asian Film Awards: The 10

th Asian Film

Awards were presented in Macau, China on March

17, 2016. „The Assassin‟, a movie about a highly

trained female assassin, bagged prizes for best

actress and best director. The movie took home

more than half of the prizes, 8 out of 15 trophies, at

one of Asia‟s leading film awards. Lee Byung-hun

received Best Actor Award for „The Inside Men‟.

Hong Kong Action Choreographer-director Yuen

Wo-ping and Japanese Actress Kiki Kirin received

the Lifetime Achievement Award.



Places

Brussels, Belgium: Brussels was in news on March

22, 2016 as the city came under terrorist attack. A

series of explosions, claimed by the Islamic State,

took place at the Zaventem Airport and Maalbeek

metro station killing at least 34 people and injuring

more than 200. With this attack, Belgium became

the second European capital that came under

terrorist attack in a span of less than 5 months.

Earlier, on November 13, 2015, Terrorists attacked

six locations around Paris, killing around 130

civilians and injuring another 200 people and

security personnel. However, the attack on Belgium

is of more strategic concern as the headquarters of

both the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

(NATO) and the European Union (EU) are located

in this city. Kolkata: The place made the headlines when two

parts of an under-construction 2.2-km-long

Vivekanand Flyover collapsed in a congested

market area in Burra Bazaar, north Kolkata on

March 31, 2016. A 100-meter section of the flyover

came crashing down suddenly on a crowded street

in the afternoon, crusihing pedestrians, cars, and

other vehicles under huge concrete slabs and metal.

The National Disaster Response Force deployed

five of its teams. Specialist rescue teams armed with

concrete and metal cutters, drilling machines,

sensors and sniffer dogs arrived very soon. Though

the primary reports said that 21 people had died, the

actual number of victims could have been more.

Reports & Indexes

UNSDN releases 2016 World Happiness Report:

The United Nations Social Development Network

(UNSDN) on March 17, 2016 released World

Happiness Report (WHR) 2016 in Rome. The

fourth edition of WHR was released ahead of the

UN World Happiness Day observed on March 20,

2016. According to the report, Denmark topped the

list as the happiest place in the world, while

Burundi was ranked at the bottom as the least happy

nation. In the report, India was ranked 118th out of

156 countries compared to 117th out of 158

countries in the 2015 World Happiness Report.

Space

ISRO establishes GIRI Radar System at

Tirupati: The Indian Space Research Organisation

(ISRO) on March 21, 2016 established the Gadanki

Ionospheric Radar Interferometer (GIRI) near

Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. It was set up at the

National Atmospheric Research Laboratory

(NARL) which is an autonomous research institute

of the Department of Space. It is a 30-MHz radar

system that will be engaged in meteor and space

weather research in a comprehensive way. It

consists of a rectangular antenna array of 160 two-

element Yagi-antenna, arranged in a 20x8 matrix,

20 transmitter units, 6 digital receivers, including

data-processing systems, a radar controller, and a

host computer. Its primary objective is to carry out

unattended observations towards studying the

forcing from the Sun like variation in solar flux,

solar flare and magnetic storm on the ionospheric

irregularities. It also seeks to study unattended

observations from the underneath atmosphere (e.g.,

waves generated by weather phenomena) on the

ionospheric irregularities. It will provide important

information on the angular location of plasma

irregularities during the onset phase and its

relationship to background ionospheric state

parameters and sunset terminator. Investigations

made using this facility are expected to improve the

skill in Equatorial Plasma Bubble (EPB) forecasting

which is detrimental to satellite-based

navigation/communication applications. DRDO develops thermal imaging radar to look

through walls: In what can prove to be a great aid

for the Indian forces in dealing with hostage

situations, India‟s premier Government R&D body

DRDO has developed a radar that can look through

a wall. The Through Barrier Imaging Radar, named

„Divyachakshu‟ (divine eye), has been developed

by Defence Research and Development

Organisation‟s (DRDO) Electronics and Radar

Development Establishment (LRDE) based in

Bengaluru and is going through development trials

now. It can look though walls of 20-30-cm

thickness made of any material, by using thermal

imaging. The radar can produce images from the

other side of the barrier up to a distance of 20

metres.

Miscellaneous

PM Mr. Modi’s was replica to be a new addition

at Madame Tussauds: One of London‟s biggest

tourist attractions, Madame Tussauds is going to

have a wax replica of PM Mr. Modi very shortly.

Tussauds makes near-perfect replicas, right down to

the eyeball capillaries made of red silk thread, the

sheen of sweat, and the colour of flushed skin.

Some parts of the body had already been cast by the

middle of March 2016. At first, Mr. Modi was

reluctant to give measurements that are required for

the exercise and modestly said, “Madame Tussauds

has crafted figures of very distinguished dignitaries

from around the world – how could I regard myself

worthy of being alongside them?” But he agreed the

moment he was informed that the decision had

emanated from public opinion and public sentiment.



Madame Tussauds has public sentiment. Madame

Tussauds has said that very few persons have wax

appeal. They only choose figures who inspire strong

emotions.

Persons in News

Narendra Modi: Prime Minister Mr. Narendra

Modi was on March 16, 2016 named by Time

Magazine in the 2016 edition list of 30 most

influential people on the Internet. He was placed at

the 15th position. The list has been topped by the

American hip hop artist and entrepreneur Kanye

West. This was the second annual edition of the list

and was complied based on two primary criteria,

viz., global impact through social media and overall

ability to drive news.

Barack Obama: US President Mr. Barack Obama

hogged the limelight the world over when he made

a visit to Cuba on March 21, 2016. He met his

Cuban counterpart Mr. Raul Castro at the Havana‟s

Palace of Revolution. In this history-making

meeting, Mr. Castro praised Mr. Obama‟s recent

steps to relax controls on Cuba as “positive”. On

March 23, 2016, Mr. Obama travelled to Argentina.

He met his Argentinian counterpart Mr. Mauricio

Macri.

Ahmed Aboul Gheit: Egyptian diplomat and

former Foreign Minister Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit

was named as Secretary General of the Arab League

on March 10, 2016. The 22-member organization

voted unanimously in favour of Mr. Abdul Gheit.

He had served as Egypt‟s foreign minister during

the final seven years of Hosni Mubarak‟s rule,

leaving his post in 2011, following the mass

protests that toppled the Mubarak regime.

General Lori Robinson: US Air Force General

Lori Robinson was selected on March 18, 2016 as

the next head of the US military‟s Northern

Command. With this, she becomes the first woman

to head a US combatant command as the position is

one of the most senior in the US military. Currently,

she leads US air forces in the Pacific and Executive

Director of Pacific Air Combat Operations Staff,

Joint Base Pearl Harbour-Hickam, Hawaii.

Anand G. Mahindra: Chairman and Managing

Director of Mahindra & Mahindra Group Mr.

Anand G. Mahindra was on March 5, 2016

conferred the French Chevalier de la Legion

d‟Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour), in

recognition of his outstanding national and

international achievements and initiatives at the

helm of the Mahindra Group.

Arvind Kejriwal: Mr. Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi

Chief Minister, made the headlines on March 24,

2016 when he was ranked 42nd

on Fortune

magazine‟s third annual “World‟s 50 Greatest

Leaders‟ list. He is the only Indian to feature in it.

Mr. Kejriwal was selected for his efforts towards

curbing air pollution in Delhi. The list is topped by

Mr. Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO.

Hargurdeep Saini: Renowned Indian scholar and

plant physiologist Mr. Hargurdeep Saini was

appointed as the Vice Chancellor of University of

Canberra in Australia on March 9, 2016. He was

earlier the Vice-President of the University of

Toronto and Principal of the University of Toronto

Mississauga campus in Canada.

Gurmeet Singh: Athlete Gurmeet Singh became

the first Indian athlete to win a Gold medal in the

Asian 20 km Race Walk Championships on March

10, 2016. His feat was the first time in 34 years that

an Indian won a Gold in either an Asian

Championship or Asian Games in this event.

Earlier, Hakam Singh and Chand Ram had won a

Gold medal each in 20 km road walk in 1978 and

1982 Asian Games, respectively.

Napoleon Singh: The International Hockey

Federation (FIH) promoted Hockey India national-

level umpire Napoleon Singh as the International

Outdoor Umpire on March 3, 2016, after seeing his

performance in the recently-concluded 12th South

Asian Games 2016 cohosted by Guwahati (Assam)

and Shillong (Meghalaya). Including him, there are

total of 14 Indian umpires (10 men, 4 women) in the

category of International-level umpires.

Resul Pookutty: Famous sound designer Resul

Pookutty has become the first Asian to win the

award for Best Sound for documentary „India‟s

Daughter‟ at the Motion Picture Sound Editors‟

(MPSE) 63rd

Annual Golden Reel Awards. In 2009,

he, along with Richard Pryke and Ian Tapp, won the

Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing for

Slumdog Millionaire.

CURRENT TOPICS: INDIA

PM Modi Unveils Stand-up India Scheme To

Create Entrepreneurs With a view to giving impetus to entrepreneurship

among women, Scheduled Castes and Tribes, Prime

Minister Mr. Narendra Modi on April 5, 2016

unveiled the „Stand-up India‟ scheme. It will enable

them to secure easier loans. He expressed the hope

that this could be an engine of job creation for the

youth. “Dalits and poor people, if given an

opportunity, can bring in various reforms in the

country. That‟s my vision for Stand-up India. This

scheme is going to transform the lives of Dalit and

tribal communities,” Mr. Modi said while

introducing the scheme in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.



Under the scheme, SC/ST and women entrepreneurs

will be provided loans of between Rs. 10 lakh and

Rs. 1 crore for setting up new enterprises. Mr. Modi

said that this would help in creating 2.5 lakh

entrepreneurs throughout the country as every bank

branch would be required to provide two such loans

- to a Dalit or an SC/ST person and a woman. The

Prime Minister said that the scheme, which was

announced during his Independence Day speech in

2015, was being unveiled on April 5, 2016 to mark

the birth anniversary of the Congress Dalit leader

the late Babu Jagjivan Ram.

Mehbooba Mufti Takes Oath As First Woman

Chief Minister Of J & K

Ms. Mehbooba Mufti was on April 4, 2016 sworn in

as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir at Raj

Bhawan in Jammu. The swearing-in ceremony was

presided over by J&K Governor Mr. N.N. Vohra.

With this, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

president Ms. Mehbooba Mufti became the first

woman Chief Minister of J&K. Bharatiya Janata

Party legislator Mr. Nirmal Singh took oath as

Deputy Chief Minister. Twenty-two ministers also

took oath along with Ms. Mufti and Mr. Nirmal

Singh. The PDP dropped four former ministers

while inducting two new faces. The BJP also

inducted two new persons in the Council of

Ministers. Among those dropped by Ms. Mufti is

senior PDP leader Mr. Altaf Bukhari. Party MP Mr.

Tariq Hameed Karra boycotted the swearing-in

ceremony. Mr. Karra was opposed to the PDP-BJP

alliance but threw his weight behind the coalition

government recently after “assurances” of a top

party post. National Conference leaders Mr. Farooq

Abdullah and Mr. Omar Abdullah also attended the

swearing-in ceremony, but the Congress boycotted

the function. Most independent legislators were also

missing.

India, Soudi Arabia Sign Five Agreements To

Boost Bilateral Co-operation

Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi left Saudi

Arabia for New Delhi on April 3, 2016 after

concluding his two-day bilateral visit to that

country. India and Saudi Arabia vowed to

substantially boost investments and their trade ties

as PM Mr. Modi invited cash-rich Saudi firms to

invest in infrastructure and form joint ventures for

oil exploration. A joint statement issued after the

talks between Mr. Modi and Saudi King Salman bin

Abdulaziz Al Saud stated that both countries agreed

to forge a deeper partnership in energy sector,

focusing on investment and joint venture in

petrochemical complex. The two leaders

emphasized the importance of expanding trade and

investment ties to drive the strategic engagement

forward. They directed their Finance and Trade

Ministers to work together to find ways and means

to substantially increase the flow of bilateral

investments and growth of trade ties, the statement

said. During the Prime Minister‟s two-day visit,

India showcased its initiatives at improving the ease

of doing business and efforts to simplify and

rationalize existing rules and relax the foreign direct

investment norms in key areas, including railways,

defence and insurance. The two countries also

expressed satisfaction at the growing bilateral trade

in the energy sector.

India, US Ink MoU For Setting Up LIGO

Observatory In India

India and the US on March 31, 2016 signed a

memorandum of understanding (MoU) for setting

up a new Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave

Observatory (LIGO) in India that will play

significant role in carrying forward frontline

research on various aspects of gravitational wave

astronomy. The MoU comes about a month after the

Union Cabinet approved the construction of the

long-awaited third LIGO interferometer.

Department of Atomic Energy Secretary Mr. Sekhar

Basu and the USA‟s National Science Foundation

(NSF) Mr. France Cordova signed the MoU in this

regard in the presence of Prime Minister Mr.

Narendra Modi. Mr. Modi, who was in the US to

attend the two-day Nuclear Security Summit (NSS),

met scientists of LIGO who recently proved

gravitational waves theory. He also interacted with

the Indian scientists who are part of the LIGO

project. The Prime Minister described the LIGO

project as a great example of India-US scientific

collaboration and said that the success of this

project could inspire an entire young generation of

Indian scientists. He urged the Indian scientists who

are part of the LIGO project to interact with Indian

students and visit Indian universities, as much as

possible. The Cabinet, he said, had already

approved $1,200 crore for the project.

PM Modi Visits Brussels, Attends India-EU

Summit

A week after the terrorist attacks in Brussels, Prime

Minister Mr. Narendra Modi visited Belgium on

March 30, 2016 to attend 13th India-EU Summit in

Brussels. During Mr. Modi‟s visit to the nation,

India and Begium agreed to restart and expedite

talks on a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty and an

Extradition Treaty, among other steps, to fight

terrorism. Ahead of his talks with Belgium PM Mr.

Charles Michel, Mr. Modi laid a wreath at the

Maalbeek Metro station in the Belgian capital,

where a suicide bomber blew himself up killing



scores of passengers, including Raghavendran

Ganeshan, an Indian. The delegation proceeded to

Egmont Palace for a ceremonial welcome and a

private dialogue between Mr. Modi and Belgian

Prime Minister Mr. Michel. Their interaction

included a discussion on the need for a

comprehensive convention on terrorism, visa issues,

as well as areas of possible cooperation such as

ports and infrastructure. Also discussed were

agreements on mutual legal assistance and an

extradition treaty. Mr. Vikas Swarup, spokesperson

for the MEA, said that these issues have been

pending with Belgium for some time, and both sides

have agreed to initiate discussions on these and on a

treaty for the transfer of sentenced persons. There

was a meeting with CEOs and business leaders that

was followed by the remote activation of the India-

Belgium AIRES (Aryabhatta Research Institute for

Observational Sciences) telescope, the largest fully

steerable optical telescope in Asia. PM Mr. Modi

also addressed a large audience of Indian diaspora

at Brussels. Addressing the gathering, he cautioned

that the United Nations might become irrelevant if it

continued to drag its feet on India‟s demand to pass

a resolution defining terrorism, its supporters and

the criteria for declaring a country a supporter of

terrorism.

SC Approves Guidelines Of Union Government

To Protect Good Samaritans

The Supreme Court on March 30, 2016 approved

the guidelines of Union Government to protect

Good Samaritans, who help road accident victims,

from being unnecessarily harassed by police or any

other authority. A Bench comprising Justices Mr. V.

Gopala Gowda and Mr. Arun Mishra asked the

Union Government to give wide publicity to these

guidelines so that people who help others in the

time of distress are not victimized by any authority.

Earlier in March 2016, the Apex Court had said it

would pass an order on the recommendations of a

committee headed by its former judge on road

safety which advocated that people saving lives of

road accident victims need not fear harassment by

police or other authorities. The Bench also took on

record the guidelines placed by the Ministry of

Road Transport and Highways which were based on

the recommendations of the three-member

committee chaired by former judge Mr. K.S.

Radhakrishnan. The committee, also comprising

former Secretary of Road Transport Ministry Mr. S

Sundar and Ms. Nishi Mittal, ex-chief scientist, had

given 12 major recommendations, including setting

up of State Road Safety Councils, evolving a

protocol for identification of black spots, their

removal and monitoring to see the effectiveness of

the action taken. The apex court-appointed

committee had also suggested strengthening of

enforcement relating to drunken driving, over-

speeding, red-light jumping and helmet or seat belt

laws.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar Flags Off

India’s First Indigenous Sonar Dome

India reached another milestone when the first

indigenous composites bow mounted sonar dome

was dedicated to the nation by Defence Minister

Mr. Manohar Parrikar during DefExpo 2016 on

March 29, 2016 in Quepem, Goa. The sonar dome

will be delivered to Mazgaon Docks, Mumbai for

use in the warships of Indian Navy. Sonar, an

acronym for Sound Navigation And Ranging, is a

very critical component in a navy warship as it acts

as the underwater eyes and ears. It is a technique

that uses sound propagation (usually underwater) to

navigate, communicate with or detect objects on or

under the surface of the water, such as other vessels.

All anti-submarine warfare (ASW) ships have a

sonar array below the waterline to track movement

of hostile objects. Sonar domes cover the Sonar

arrays and protect the electronics and sensors. The

Sonar Dome has to be structurally sound as well as

acoustically transparent. The Sonar Dome has been

designed by Research & Development

Establishment (Engineers), a Defence Research and

Development Organisation (DRDO) laboratory

based in Pune and manufactured by composites

manufacturing company Kineco Ltd., Pilerne, Goa.

This was possible due to the Vacuum-Assisted

Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM) process

technology with built-in process monitoring

capability, to ensure manufacture of a quality

product, developed at R&DE (E), DRDO, Pune.

Jats, Five Other Castes Granted Reservation In

Haryana

Haryana Assembly on March 29, 2016 unanimously

passed a Bill to provide reservation to Jats and five

other communities in government jobs and

educational institutions, ahead of the April 3

deadline set by the community which had launched

a violent agitation in February 2016. Congress

members did not attend the session as they were

demanding revoking the suspension of their three

MLAs. Haryana Chief Minister Mr. Manohar Lal

Khattar introduced two Bills – Haryana Backward

Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in

Educational Institutions) Bill, 2016 and Haryana

Backward Classes Commission Bill, 2016 – in the

Budget Session which were passed unanimously by

the House. Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation

in Services and Admission in Educational

Institutions) Bill, 2016, proposed to give statutory



status to Backward Classes Block „A‟, Backward

Classes Block „B‟ and Backward Classes Block „C‟

by enacting the Haryana Backward Classes

(Reservation in Services and Admission in

Educational Institutions) Act, 2016. Haryana

government will request the Central Government to

include this Act in 9th Schedule read with Article

31B of the Constitution.

USAID And ADB Sign MoU To Develop Solar

Parks In India The US Agency for International Development

(USAID) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB)

on March 28, 2016 signed a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) to facilitate $848 million in

funding to develop solar parks across India. The

agreement was signed by Mr. Jonathan Addleton,

Mission Director, USAID/India and Ms. M. Teresa

Kho, Country Director, India Resident Mission,

Asian Development Bank. This agreement between

USAID and ADB will help finance the development

of solar parks in support of the Government of

India‟s renewable energy targets.

Through the agreement, USAID will align the

technical resources of two of its programmes to

support ADB‟s investments in the development of

solar parks and renewable energy transmission

infrastructure in States at the forefront of India‟s

efforts to promote clean energy. The collaboration

will initially focus on the State of Rajasthan. The

cooperation will design and develop public-private

partnership models as well as study options for

managing grid reliability. In particular, USAID

technical will help place investments of $348

million by ADB for transmission infrastructure for

renewable energy deployment in western Rajasthan.

USAID will also work with ADB across India with

an additional $500 million of investment in the

design and development of solar parks.

Finance Minister Launches Pradhan Mantri

Fasal Bima Yojana

The Union Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitley on

March 22, 2016 launched the crop insurance

scheme, Pradhan Mantri fasal Bima Yojana, in

Mumbai. The revamped scheme is aimed at

reducing distress in the farm sector and to boost the

agricultural sector in the country. On this occasion,

the Minister also launched the NABARD Agri-

Credit Monitoring portal to help financial

institutions to monitor the status of agricultural

loans given to farmers and unveiled the Road map

of E-Shakti Expansion Programme of digitization of

Self-Help Groups (SHGs). To avail themselves of

the scheme, farmers will pay a uniform premium of

only 2 percent for all Kharif crops and 1.5 percent

for all Rabi crops. In case of annual commercial and

horticultural crops, farmers will pay a premium of

only 5 percent. The balance premium, after farmers

paying the premium at very low rate, will be paid

by the Government to provide full insured amount

to the farmers against crop loss on account of

natural calamities. There will not be any upper limit

on Government subsidy. Even if balance premium

is 90 percent, it will be borne by the Government.

No Bar On Women’s Entry To Any Place Of

Worship: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court on April 1, 2016 directed

Maharashtra government to take pro-active steps for

ensuring compliance of law to prevent

discrimination against women on entry to places of

worship, saying “it is the fundamental right of a

woman” and the government should protect it. The

court heard a public interest litigation filed in

February 2016 by Pune- based activists Ms. Vidya

Bal and advocate Ms. Neelima Vartak, highlighting

the “discriminatory treatment” against women in

various temples of Maharashtra. Their petition cited

the example of Shani Shingnapur Temple in

Ahmednagar. In court, their advocate Ms. Kalyani

Tulankar also referred to the Kartikeya Temple in

Parvati, Pune where women are allowed to see the

idol once a year on an auspicious day. On March

30, the court had rapped the State government for

not implementing its own law – the Maharashtra

Hindu Places of Public Worship (Entry

Authorization) Act 1956 – to protect women

wherever they are trying to enter a temple. The

court then said that the State would have to file

cases for contravention of section 3 of the Act

which says that no Hindu of whatsoever section or

class shall in any manner be prevented from

entering such place of public worship or from

worshipping or offering prayers as any other Hindu.

Under the Act, if any temple or person prohibits any

person from entering a temple, then he or she faces

a six-month imprisonment. Notably, the High Court

had observed that if men are allowed in a place of

worship, then women should also be permitted as

no law prevents them from doing so. The court had

also said that the government should give wide

publicity to the Act and issue circulars, informing

the general public at large about the Act and its

provisions.



CURRENT TOPICS: WORLD

Nuclear Security Summit 2016

The two-day 2016 Nuclear Security Summit was

held on March 31 and April 1, 2016 at the Walter E.

Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C.,

United States. The fourth edition of the conference

succeeded the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit. The

summit, organized by the Nuclear Energy Institute

(NEI), was attended by over 50 World leaders,

including Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi. At

the summit, the world leaders pledged to reduce

nuclear stocks and protect the active inventories

from falling into the hands of terrorists, which could

prove to be catastrophic. However, leaders or

representatives of Russia, North Korea, Iran and

Belarus remained absent from the summit. At the

NSS 2016, many countries, including Kazakhstan

and Poland, agreed to reduce their highly-enriched

uranium stockpiles. Japan undertook to ship

additional separated plutonium to the US. Canada

pledged $42 million to bolster nuclear security. The

US disclosed that its own inventory of highly

enriched uranium has dropped from 741 metric tons

in the 1990s to 586 metric tons as of 2013.

According to the US, since the last summit in 2014,

10 nations have removed or disposed of about 450

kilograms of highly enriched uranium. Argentina,

Switzerland and Uzbekistan are now free of highly

enriched uranium, as all of Latin America and the

Caribbean.

Myanmar Swears In Htin Kyaw As First

Civilian President In Decades

Myanmar, on March 30, 2016, swore in Mr. Htin

Kyaw as the country‟s first civilian president in half

a century. Mr. Htin Kyaw is expected to act as a

proxy for Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi in her fight to end

the army‟s grip on power. The 69-year-old took an

oath during a short ceremony and suggested that the

junta-drafted constitution that barred Ms. Aung San

Suu Kyi, the leader of National League for

Democracy (NLD) party, from the presidency

would be changed. He told members of the

parliament that the new government would

implement national reconciliation, peace in the

country, emergence of a constitution that would

pave the way for a democratic union, and enhance

the living standard of the people. He said that the

government had the duty to work for the emergence

of a constitution that was appropriate for the

country and also in accordance with democratic

standards.

Pakistan, Iran Sign MoUs To Strengthen

Bilateral Relations Iran‟s President Mr. Hassan Rouhani on March 25,

2016, visited Pakistan on a landmark visit, his first

since becoming president, at a time when Saudi

Arabia is courting Islamabad to increase

participation in a new Saudi-led military alliance of

mostly Sunni nations, a coalition perceived by

Tehran as an anti-Shiite block. This was the first

visit by an Iranian head of state in 14 years to

Pakistan and also the first visit after lifting of

international sanctions on Iran. The two leaders said

that they wanted to forge a relationship built on

economic development and shared interests. Inside

the Prime Minister‟s residence in the Pakistani

capital, Islamabad, the two leaders announced the

signing of six Memoranda of Understanding

(MoUs) in fields such as health, diplomatic training,

trade and commerce.

The two countries signed MoUs for cooperation

between Pakistan‟s Foreign Service Academy and

Iran‟s School of International Relations. Adviser to

PM on Foreign Affairs Mr. Sartaj Aziz and Iranian

Foreign Minister Mr. Javad Zarif represented their

countries. Pakistan and Iran inked MoUs for

cooperation and information exchange between the

Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan

and the Central Insurance of Iran. The two countries

signed an MoU on Five-Year Strategic Trade

Cooperation Plan. This is the key agreement among

the 6 MoUs signed. It sets an ambitious target of $5

billion per annum bilateral trade in 5 years from the

current $250 million. The two neighbours inked

another MoU for cooperation on health research,

training, medicine and medical technology. An

MoU was signed in order to extend cooperation

between the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of

Commerce and Industry and the Chamber of

Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture of

Iran. Pakistan and Iran also signed an MoU on

cooperation between the Institute for Political and

International Studies of Iran and Karachi Council

on Foreign Relations (KCFR) of Pakistan.

Nepal, China Sign 10 Agreements

Nepal signed 10 agreements with China in Beijing

on March 21, 2016. These include a landmark

transit treaty to end its total dependence on India

and extension of the strategic Tibet rail link to

Nepal. The agreements were signed during the

Nepalese Prime Minister Mr. K.P. Sharma Oli‟s

maiden visit to China. Mr. Oli held wide-ranging

talks with Chinese Premier Mr. Li Keqiang and

called on President Mr. Xi Jinping. China extended

a ceremonial welcome to Mr. Oli who held official



talks with the Chinese leadership. Nepalese PM Mr.

K.P. Sharma Oli raised the possibility of two rail

lines during his meeting with Premier Mr. Li

Keqiang. One will connect three of Nepal‟s most

important cities and the others will cross the border

from China into Nepal. The Nepalese government

will encourage Chinese firms to look at the internal

rail plan. China is already planning to extend the

railway line from the Tibetan city of Shigatse to

Gyirong on the border with Nepal. However, both

sides failed to ink a much-anticipated agreement on

China supplying one-third of Nepal‟s requirement

of petroleum products. The other agreements in

clued a feasibility study for a bilateral free-trade

agreement, a concessional loan for a new

international airport in the resort town of Pokhara,

installation of solar grids in 32,000 houses,

exploration of gas and petroleum in Nepal and

construction of a bridge on the river Hilsa.

China To Set Up International Maritime

‘Judicial Centre’

Supreme Court of China on March 13, 2016

announced to create its own international maritime

judicial centre. The centre will be established to

handle territorial disputes and protect China‟s

sovereignty, maritime rights and other core interests

at sea. The move comes as tensions rise in the South

China Sea, where China is locked in long-standing

maritime disputes with several countries. China‟s

Chief Justice Mr. Zhou Qiang said in a report

during an annual meeting of the nation‟s legislature

that courts across the country would work to make

China into a “maritime power”. In his report, Chief

Justice Mr. Zhou also said China‟s growing global

role in maritime law, claiming that some 16,000

maritime cases were concluded in Chinese courts

last year – the most in the world, he said – while

adding that China also hosts the majority of the

globe‟s maritime courts.

Putin Orders Russian Forces To Withdraw

From Syria

Russian President Mr. Vladimir Putin, on March 14,

2016, abruptly declared that he was withdrawing the

majority of Russian troops from Syria, saying the

six-month military intervention had largely

achieved its objective. The news relayed personally

to the Syrian President, Mr. Bashar al-Assad, in a

telephone call from Mr. Putin, followed a meeting

in the Kremlin with the Russian defence and foreign

ministers. His move was clearly designed to

coincide with the start of Syrian peace talks in

Geneva and will be seen as a sign that Russia

believes it has done enough to protect Assad‟s

regime from collapse.

Mr. Putin said that he had ordered his diplomatic

staff to step up their efforts to achieve a settlement

to end the civil war which has cost at least 2,50,000

lives and has entered its sixth year. Mr. Putin did

not specify how many planes and troops would be

withdrawn. The number of Russian soldiers in Syria

has not been revealed. However, estimates of the

number of Russian military personnel in Syria vary

from 3,000 to 6,000. Russia has deployed more than

50 jets and helicopters to its Hemeimeem air base,

in Syria‟s coastal province of Latakia.

EU-Turkey Agreement To Tackle Migrant Crisis

Comes Into Effect

An EU-Turkey deal to tackle the migrant crisis

formally came into effect on March 20, 2016. The

accord, which aimed to break the business model of

human smugglers, was hailed by Mr. Donald Tusk,

the European Commission‟s lead negotiator, as a

“breakthrough” in Europe‟s efforts to stop illegal

migration. Turkish Prime Minister Mr. Ahmet

Davutoglu called it a “success story”, although the

country did not get several concessions it had

sought in exchange for its help. Under the deal,

migrants arriving in Greece are now expected to be

sent back to Turkey if they do not apply for asylum

or their claim is rejected. With the deal, it is hoped

that people will be discouraged from making the

dangerous journey by sea from Turkey to Greece. In

return, Turkey will receive aid and political

concessions. Since January 2015, one million

migrants and refugees have entered the EU by boat

from Turkey to Greece. More than 1,43,000 have

arrived in 2016 alone, and about 460 have died,

according to the International Organisation for

Migration.

US President Obama’s Historic Visit To Cuba US president Mr. Barack Obama was in Cuba from

March 21 to 23, 2016 on a historic visit. The three-

day trip, the first by a US president to Cuba in 88

years, was the culmination of a diplomatic opening

announced by Mr. Obama and Cuban President Mr.

Raul Castro in December 2014, ending an

estrangement that began when the Cuban revolution

ousted a pro-American government in 1959. Mr.

Obama arrived at Havana‟s Jose Marti International

Airport in Air Force One, the presidential jet, with

first lady Ms. Michelle Obama, her mother and their

daughters, Sasha and Malia. He was met by Cuban

Foreign Minister Mr. Bruno Rodriguez, the top

Cuban official present. During his visit to the island,

the US President, together with his accompanying

delegation, toured sites in Old Havana, including

the Plaza de Armas, the Capital General‟s Palace



and the Cathedral of Havana, accompanied by City

Historian Eusebio Leal Spengler.

World Bank Approves $100 Million Loan To

Jordan For Creating Jobs For Refugees

The World Bank on March 27, 2016 agreed to

provide concessional $100-million loan to Jordan

for creating one lakh jobs for Jordanians and Syrian

refugees. The loan will be provided at rates usually

reserved for the poorest countries. The

announcement was made by World Bank President

Mr. Jim Yong Kim during a joint visit of Mr. Kim

and United Nations Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-

moon to Jordan. The long-term loan is part of an

attempt by the international community to improve

conditions for refugees in overburdened host

countries Jordan and Lebanon. More than 4.8

million Syrians have fled their country since the

start of the Syria conflict in 2011. Jordan hosts

about 6,40,000 registered Syrian refugees and

Lebanon more than one million.

SAARC Disaster Management Centre To Be

Established In India

The 37th Session of the South Asian Association for

Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Council of

Ministers concluded in Pokhara of Nepal on March

17, 2016. Nepalese Prime Minister Mr. K.P. Sharma

Oli inaugurated the meeting. Foreign/External

Affairs Ministers and representatives from all eight

countries of the SAARC region attended the

meeting at the Grand Hotel in Pokhara. Nepal‟s

Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. Kamal Thapa

chaired the meeting.

The Council of SAARC Ministers decided to

establish the SAARC Disaster Management Centre

in New Delhi. A component of the centre

overseeing environmental issues, however, will be

merged into the SAARC Energy Centre, which is in

Pakistan. The existing SAARC Energy Centre in

Pakistan will additionally look after environment

issues in future. Pakistan and India were vying to

host the SAARC Environment and Disaster

Management Centre, a new body to look into the

environment and disaster-related issues in the

region.

IAEA To Transfer Sterile Insect Technique To

Combat Zika

The Board of Governors of International Atomic

Energy Agency (IAEA) on March 8, 2016 approved

a 2.3-million-euro initiative to help Latin American

and the Caribbean countries fight against Zika virus.

The spread of the virus will be tackled with a

nuclear technique that has been used to suppress

various insect pests. Under this project, IAEA will

transfer the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), a form

of pest control that uses ionizing radiation to

sterilize male insects mass-produced in special

rearing facilities.

According to the project, the IAEA will donate

special equipment and train local staff on the use of

the technique against the Aedes mosquito that

carries Zika virus. The project will strengthen

national and regional mechanisms for control of the

Aedes mosquito population. Sterilised male

mosquitoes will be released over affected areas,

where they will mate with wild females, which will

not produce any offspring. This will significantly

reduce mosquito populations and disease

transmission. The project was drawn on the lines of

recommendations of an international experts‟

meeting that took place in February 2016 in Brazil

to discuss the use of the technique as part of a

comprehensive approach to controlling mosquito

populations. So far, Zika has spread to 31 countries

and territories in the Americas. The World Health

Organization (WHO) has declared it a public health

emergency of international concern, predicting that

Zika could infect three to four million people in the

Americas in 2016. The virus may be associated to

neurological disorders and it has no immediate cure.

UNFPA, UNICEF Launch Global Programme

To Accelerate Action To End Child Marriage The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and

the United Nations Children‟s Emergency Fund

(UNICEF) on March 8, 2016 jointly launched the

Global Programme to Accelerate Action to End

Child Marriage. It is a multi-country initiative and

is part of a global effort to prevent girls from

marrying too young. Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin,

Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations

Population Fund said that as part of this global

programme, UNFPA and UNICEF would work

with governments of countries with a high

prevalence of child marriage to uphold the rights of

adolescent girls, so that girls can reach their

potential and countries can attain their social and

economic development goals.

The programme will help protect the rights of

millions of the world‟s most vulnerable girls by

involving families, communities, governments and

young people. It will support those already married

as girls in 12 countries across Africa, Asia and the

Middle East where child marriage rates are high. As

part of this global programme, both the agencies

will work with governments of countries with a

high prevalence of child marriage. It seeks to

uphold the rights of adolescent girls, so that they

can reach their potential and countries can reach

their potential and countries can attain their social



and economic development goals. The programme

will focus on proven strategies, including increasing

girls‟ access to education and health-care services,

educating parents and communities on the dangers

of child marriage. It will strive towards increasing

economic support to families and strengthening and

enforcing laws that establish 18 as the minimum age

of marriage.

Latest in Sports

ATHLETICS

Asian Race Walk Championships: Gurmeet Singh

on March 20, 2016 became the first Indian athlete to

win a Gold medal in the Asian 20 Kilometre Race

Walk Championships in Nomi, Japan. He clocked 1

hour 20 minutes and 29 seconds to complete the

race.

World Indoor Athletics Championships: The

United States won five Gold medals as the host

nation dominated the final day of the World Indoor

Athletics Championships on March 21, 2016 to

complete their best-ever showing in the event.

American athletes won Gold in the men‟s and

women‟s 4×400m relays, the men‟s 1,500m, the

men‟s long jump and women‟s high jump as the

first major championships since Russia was banned

from track and field. The host nation finished on top

of the medals table with 13 Gold, 6 Silver and 4

Bronze. Ethiopia finished second after winning 2

Gold, 2 Silver and 1 Bronze. Ethiopian star

Genzebe Dibaba successfully defended her 3,000m

crown, a third consecutive Gold medal at the World

Indoor Championships. France came third with 1

Gold, 1 Silver and 2 Bronze medals.

BADMINTON

India Open: World No. 4 Ratchanok Intanon of

Thailand regained her title after a gap of two years

as she overpowered Olympic champion Li Xuerui

of China in straight games 21-17, 21-18 to lift India

Open Super Series women‟s singles title at the Siri

Fort Sports Complex on April 3, 2016. Ratchanok

Intanon‟s had won the title in 2013 defeating PV

Sindhu of India in the final.

In the men‟s section, Japan‟s Kento Momota

emerged a new winner as he outplayed Denmark‟s

Viktor Axelsen 21-15, 21-18 to extend his superior

head to head record to 6-2. This was Momota‟s

fourth Super Series title, having won BWF Super

Series Masters Finals, Indonesia Open and

Singapore Open in 2015.

Swiss Open: India‟s fourth highest ranked men‟s

badminton player H.S. Prannoy on March 20, 2016

won the men‟s singles title at the 2016 Swiss Open

in Basel, Switzerland. He clinched the title by

defeating Marc Zwiebler of Germany 21-18, 21-15

in the final. Women’s Singles: He Bingjiao from China won the

title by defeating his compatriot Wang Yihan by 21-

16, 21-10.

All England Badminton Open: China‟s Lin Dan

on March 13, 2016 earned his sixth All England

Badminton Open title. In the summit clash in

Birmingham, Dam defeated compatriot Tian

Houwei 21-9, 21-10. Earlier, he had won it in 2004,

2006, 2007, 2009, 2012.

Women’s Singles: Nozomi Okuhara (Japan) won the

title by defeating Wang Shixian (China) by 21-11,

16-21, 21-19.

Men’s Doubles: Russian pair Vladimir Ivanov and

Ivan Sozonov won the title by defeating Japanese

pair Hiroyuki Endo and Kenichi Hayakawa by 21-

23, 21-18, 21-16.

Women’s Doubles: Japanese pair Misaki

Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi bagged the title

by defeating Chinese pair Tang Yuanting and Yu

Yang by 21-10, 21-12.

Mixed Doubles: Indonesian pair Praveen Jordan and

Debby Susanto won the title by defeating Denmark

pair Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna

Pedersen by 21-12, 21-17.

BASKETBALL

Federation Cup: Kerala women clinched Gold on

March 14, 2016 in Federation Cup 2016 in

Bambolim, Goa, defeating Chhattisgarh in a tight

game, while defending champions ONGC,

Dehradun defeated Indian Overseas Bank, Chennai

in the Men‟s final. Poonam Chaturvedi was

awarded the Most Valuable Player (MVP) honour

in the women‟s category and India captain Vishesh

Bhrighuvanshi won MVP honour in the men‟s

section.

CHESS

Reykjavik Open: Grandmaster and former world

junior champion Abhijeet Gupta of India ended his

European stint with a brilliant victory at the

Reykjavik International Open chess tournament on

March 17, 2016. Leading the strong Open by a full

point in the final round, Abhijeet just needed a draw

that he achieved with ease against talented Italian

Grandmaster Francesco Rambaldi in the tenth and

final round game. He ended on 8.5 points out of a

possible 10, winning seven and drawing three

games.



CRICKET

ICC T20 World Cup: In a pulsating final, West

Indies defeated England by four wickets and won

the ICC World T20 title at Eden Gardens on April

3, 2016. Requiring 19 runs from the last over to

win, Carlos Brathwaite (34 not out) stunned not

only England, but also spectators, smashing

consecutive four sixes from first four balls of Ben

Stoke‟s over. It was West Indies‟ second T20 World

title, earlier winning it in 2012, and became the first

team in the world to win the title twice. Besides, the

Caribbeans had also won the Under-19 title in

February 2016. Marlon Samuels of West Indies was

declared the Man of the Match. India‟s Virat Kohli who scored maximum runs in

the tournament (273) was adjudged the Player of the

Tournament.

Windies Women Too Win Title: West Indies

women‟s team won their maiden ICC World T20 in

the same ground and on the same day. In the final,

West Indies convincingly outsmarted the invincible

Australians by eight wickets. Thus, the Caribbean

eves deprived the previous three-time champions of

their fourth ICC Women‟s World T20 title. Opting to bat first, Australia scored 148 runs for

five propelled by Elyse Villani (52), Meg Lanning

(52) and Elyse Perry (28). In reply, West Indies

achieved the victory target losing just two wickets.

Australian All-rounder Shane Watson Retires

From International Cricket: Australian all-

rounder Shane Watson declared his retirement from

all forms of International Cricket after the end of his

team‟s campaign in the ICC World Twenty20. He

made this announcement at I S Bindra Stadium in

Mohali, Punjab on March 24, 2016. Earlier in 2015,

he had announced his retirement from Test cricket

at the end of 2015 Ashes tour of England.

FOOTBALL

Santosh Trophy: Services on March 13, 2016 won

the Santosh Trophy National Football

Championships title. In the summit clash at SEC

Railway Stadium in Nagpur, Services defeated host

Maharashtra 2-1. Arjun Tudu, a national camper for

the SAFF Cup in 2015, scored twice in the space of

11 minutes (26th and 37

th) to help Services clinch

their fifth title overall.

GOLF

Indian Open: Shiv Shankar Prasad Chawrasia on

March 20, 2016 won the Hero Indian Open title of

golf played at the Golf Course in New Delhi. He

won the title with 71 points in the final round to

defeat his compatriot, defending champion Anirban

Lahiri with 69 points who stood second. Jeunghun

Wang of Korea stood third with a score of 68

totalling 15-under 273. In the past, Chawrasia had

ended runners-up four times in the Hero Indian

Open.

KABADDI

Pro Kabaddi League: The Patna Pirates on March

5, 2016 defeated U Mumba 31-28 to lift their

maiden Pro Kabaddi League trophy in the final

played in New Delhi. Rohit Kumar of Patna Pirates

was declared the Best Raider and Mohit Chillar of

U Mumba was announced the Best Defender of the

Match. U Mumba‟s Rishank Devadiga finished the

season as the Most Successful Raider with 106

points.

MOTOR RACING

Bahrain Grand Prix: Nico Rosberg of Germany

consolidated his lead in this year‟s world

championship, seizing a well-judged victory for

Mercedes in the Bahrain Grand Prix on April 3,

2016. It was Rosberg‟s second win this season after

Melbourne, his fifth in succession and the 16th of his

carrier. Ferrari‟s Kimi Raikkonen of Finland

finished second while Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes

was at the third place.

F1 Australian Grand Prix: Mercedes driver Nico

Rosberg of Germany on March 20, 2016 won the

2016 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix at

Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit at Albert Park,

Melbourne, Australia. Nico Rosberg‟s 15th Formula

One victory was also his fourth in succession after

he won the final three races of the last season.

Britain‟s Lewis Hamilton, winner of 2015

Australian Grand Prix, secured the second place,

while four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel of

Germany came third for Ferrari.

SHOOTING

ISSF World Cup: Indian shooter Jitu Rai on March

4, 2016 clinched the 50m pistol Gold at the ISSF

World Cup in Bangkok. The Gold medal winner

scored 191.3 points in the final round. Former

World and Olympic champion Pang Wei of China

took second place with 186.5, while Olympic

medallist Wang Zhiwei finished third at 165.8

points. Jitu Rai beat China‟s former World and

Olympic Champion Wei to second place, shooting

191.3 to Pang‟s 186.5.

SNOOKER & BILLIARDS



Asian Billiards Championship: Reigning Asian

Billiards champion Dhruv Sitwala of India

successfully defended his title at the Asian Billiards

Championship beating compatriot Bhaskar

Balachandra 6-2 in the final in Colombo on March

8, 2016. Three world champions participated in the

star-studded field and they were Pankaj Advani,

Peter Gilchrist and C. Praprut. Bhaskar had stunned

Advani in the quarter-finals and Gilchrist in the

semi-finals. Praprut, on the other hand, lost to

Gilchrist in the quarter-finals. In the final, Sitwala

was leading 3-2 at interval before he won three

frames in a row.

TABLE TENNIS

World Team Table Tennis Championship: Indian

men‟s and women‟s team on March 5, 2016 bagged

the Gold medals at the Second Division of the

World Team Table Tennis Championship held in

Kuala Lumpur. Indian women‟s team defeated

Luxemburg 3-1 in the event final of the Second

Division, while Indian men‟s team emerged

victorious over Brazil with a score of 3-2.

TENNIS

Miami Open: World No. 1 Novak Djokovic of

Serbia won his third consecutive ATP Masters

Miami Open title in Miami on April 3, 2016,

beating Japanese sixth seed Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-3,

for a record-matching sixth crown overall. The 28-year-old Serbian captured his fifth trophy in

six seasons on the Florida hard-courts to equal

American Andre Agassi‟s Miami record total and

took a record 28th career ATP Masters title, one

better than the old mark he shared with Spain‟s

Rafael Nadal.

In the women‟s section, Victoria Azarenka of

Belarus beat Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia 6-3, 6-

2 to win the title. Azarenka punished her Russian

opponent‟s weak serve to wrap up the final in 80

minutes on the Key Biscayne hardcourt.

The 13th seed finished off Kuznetsova with a

powerful backhand ground stroke for the 20th title of

her career, and her third of the year, after winning

previously in Indian Wells and Brisbane. It is the

third Miami title for the 26-year-old from Belarus

and the first time she has won the same tournament

more than twice. She is also the first woman to win

the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments back-to-

back since Kim Clijsters‟ feat in 2005.

BNP Paribas Open: World No. 1 Novak Djokovic

of Serbia and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus on

March 20, 2016 won men‟s and women‟s singles

titles of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells

Tennis Garden in Southern California. Novak

Djokovic defeated Milos Raonic of Canada 6-2, 6-0

in the men‟s final while Victoria Azarenka defeated

top seed Serena Williams of USA 6-4, 6-4.

Djokovic won his fifth Indian Wells title and third

in a row. He equaled Rafael Nadal‟s 27 ATP

Masters titles. On the other hand, Victoria Azarenka

lifted her second BNP Paribas Open crown and her

19th singles title.

Men’s Doubles: In men‟s Doubles, the pair of P.

Herbert and N. Mahut defeated V. Pospisil and J.

Sock by 6-3, 7-6 in the finals.

Women’s Doubles: In Women‟s Doubles, the pair

of B. Mattek-Sands and C. Vandeweghe defeated J.

Goerges/ K. Pliskova.

Static GK Capsules

Indian History

Mention the ruling period of Jahangir in India.

From 1605 to 1627 AD

Sangeetraj, which was composed by Maharana

Kumbha, is divided into how many parts? Five

Who is called as the Gandhi of Chirawa? Master

Pyarelala Gupta

Which inscription mentions that the Chauhan were

„Vatsya-gotra‟ Brahmins? Bijoliya Inscription

Which rebel army commander of Allauddin Khilji

was given shelter in Ranathambhor Fort by

Hammir? Meer Muhammad Shah

The first metal used by man is Iron

In which satyagraha of Mahatma Gandhi, women

participate the most? Quit India Movement

The Ajanta caves are situated in which State?

Maharashtra

The Khajuraho Temple is situated in which State?

Madhya Pradesh

Which Gupta ruler is crowned with the title of

Vikramaditya? Samudragupta

In which century was the Bahamani Kingdom

founded? 14th

Century

When was the battle of Buxar fought? 1764

Megasthenes was which Indian king‟s ambassador?

Chandragupta Maurya

What was the evident effect of Vedic culture on

Indian History? Development of Sanskrit

Chola period is mostly known for which social

meeting? Gram Sabha

French revolution ended in 1970s with the ascent of

which king? Napoleon Bonaparte

Which monument is of pink colour? Hawa Mahal

Which sultan declared himself as Sikandar-i-Saini,

the second Alexander? Kaiqubad

Between whom the battle of Khanwa fought Babur

and Rana Sanga



Other than Anie Besant who also launched a Home

Rule Movement in India? Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Geography (India & world)

Name the southernmost point of India. Indira Point

What is the source of an energy of an ecosystem?

Sunlight

When hydrogen starts burning in air, it produces

what? Water

Which State in India has maximum length of

borderadjacent to that of other States? Uttar

Pradesh

The fertile land between two rivers is called Doab

Yellow revolution in India refers to growth of

Oilseed Production

Which State of India has the largest area?

Rajasthan

The town, which is situated at the confluence of

Bhagirathi and Alakananda, is Dev Prayag

Name the oldest mountain range in India The

Aravali range

Which Indian rivers flows from East to West? Tapti

and Narmada

As per Census 2011, which is the most populated

metro city in India? Mumbai

As per the Census 2011 data, which State has higher

sex ratio than the national average? Tripura

Coal and basalt are which king of rocks?

Sedimentary and Igneous

Which soil is more suitable for cotton cultivation?

Black Soil

Which pressure belt has horse latitudes? Sub-

tropical high Pressure Belt

Indian Standard Time (IST) refers to the local time

of which area? Allahabad

El Nino current appears along which country‟s

coast? Peru

Indian Polity

Who was the first Indian and last Governor-General

of Independent India? Chakravati

Rajagopalachari

Who was sworn-in as 43rd

Chief Justice of India?

TS Thakur

In India to whom the President needs to address

his/her resignation before completing the full term?

Vice-President

Who was the first Vidhan Sabha Speaker for Uttar

Pradesh in Independent India? Purushottam Das

Tondon

As per the Constitution of India, what are the

minimum and maximum number of members of

legislative assembly? 50 and 600

What are the minimum numbers of votes from the

Panchayat members required to remove up Pradhan

from any Gram Panchayat? Two-Third

Panchayati Raj system is a system of which kind of

government? Local Self Government

Who is the highest law officer in India? Attorney

General

In which part of the Constitution, the separation of

Executive and Judiciary has been described?

Seventh Schedule

Who administers the Union Territories? The

President

The Radcliffe line is named after its architect, Sir

Cyril Radcliffe. It is a boundary demarcation line

between which countries? India and Pakistan

Minimum age of the candidate for contesting Lok

Sabha election 25 Years

The education belongs to which list of the

Constitution of India? Residuary Subjects

Which Article of the Indian Constitution mentions

about financial emergency? Article- 360

Which right does not comes under political right?

Right to Life

What is not a part of tax revenue of State

governments in India? Custom Duty

Who presided over the first meeting of the Indian

Constituent Assembly? Sachidananda Sinha

Who was the advisor to the Drafting Committee of

Constituent Assembly? BN Rao

The Constituent Assembly of India started

functioning form which date? December 9, 1946

Right to property was removed from the list of

Fundamental rights during the rule of which

government? Morarji Desai

Indian Economy

When was the Reserve Bank of India established?

1935

Who became the first State government that has

launched a scheme for farmers on certified seeds to

Direct Benefit transfer? Uttar Pradesh

The headquarters of Asian Development Bank

(ADB) is at which place? Manila

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana under Beti Bachao Beti

Padhao campaign began in which district of Uttar

Pradesh? Jaunpur

In India, agricultural income is calculated by which

method? Expenditure Method

General Science & Computer

Which part of the body is affected by pneumonia

disease? Lungs

How much quantity plasma is present in human

blood? 55% to 60 %



When a small ball of iron get submerged in water

whereas the ship can easily float on water. The

principle lying behind this upon which scientists

theory? Archimedes

The Ti plasmid used in genetic engineering is

obtained from which thing? Agrobacterium

rhizogenes

Hormone production is a function related to what

thing? Hypothalamus

Which types of RNA participates in RNA

processing? m-RNA

What is the chief constituent of natural gas?

Methane

Name the largest blood vessel in the human body?

Aorta

PCR is used to detect which disease? HIV

What is the life span of the RBC? 120 Days

Which virus causes common cold in human being?

Rhino Virus

From which plant, the insecticide pyrethrum is

prepared? Chrysanthemum

What does CD-ROM refers to in Computer System?

Optical Disk

Name the extension of Microsoft Excel file .xls

URL stands for what? Uniform Resource Locator

Which technology is used in compact disc? Laser

If a computer provides database service to other,

then it will be known as Database Server

Which application is used to prepare a

presentation/slide show? PowerPoint

How many bits are equal to 1 byte? Eight

What is the name of the smallest resolvable part of

picture? Pixel

Scanned signature on computer is known as what?

Digital Signature

Bluetooth is an example of what king of network?

Personal Area Network

When the connection between two nodes terminates

then what will occur? Network Congestion

What is the other name of the secret key

encryption? Private Encryption

Tools that is used to transfer data/files among

computers on the internet Archie

When was the Information Technology Act

Amended in India? 2000

Ctrl+R can be used for reopen which document?

Last Closed

Vaccum tubes used by which generation computer

systems? First

Name the short cut key that inserts a new slide in

current presentation? Ctrl+M

In DC generator, when the electricity produced in

armature, resulted in AC

Newton‟s first law is also called as Law of Inertia

When a ship enters the sea from a river what will be

the effect? It Rises a Little

The measurement of hotness or coldness of body is

called Temperature

Which kind of mirror is used to make periscopes?

Plane Mirror

Electric current in a metal wire is due to the flow of

what? Electrons

The acid is gastric juice is which kind of acid?

Sulphuric Acid

Name two water soluble vitamins? Vitamin-B and

C

Miscellaneous

When is World Population Day celebrated? July 11

Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma is associated with which

musical instrument? Santoor

Who is well known as the father of the Hindi

literature? Bharatendu Harischandra

Name the highest civilian award in India Bharat

Ratna

How many square yards are there in 1 Acre? 4840

Sq Yards

18 carat gold contains how many percentage of

gold? 75%

„Losar‟ is a Tibetan word for which occasion? New

Year

The first black Nobel Prize winner of literature in

the world is Tom Morrison

National Defence Academy (NDA) is situated in

which place? Kharagwasla (Pune, Maharashtra)

Dhanpat Rai is popularly known as Prem Chand

Who was the father of Rabindranath Tagore?

Dwarakanath

The famous „Gateway of India‟ is situated at which

place? Mumbai (Maharashtra)

Which film star was lovingly called as Dadamuni?

Ashok Kumar

Which award Satyajit Ray received posthumously?

Honorary Oscar

Arundhati Roy, an Indian author and political

activist was born in which place? Shillong

The State of Telengana was formed on June 2,

2014

First general elections held in which year? 1952



Current Affairs MCQs

National

1. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS),

chaired by Prime Minister, has recently cleared the

purchase of additional surveillance aircraft from

Israel. It is a tripartite agreement. Who is the third

country?

(a) France (b) Belgium

(c) Russia (d) China

2. First „Raisina Dialogue‟, a flagship conference on

Geopolitics, held at which place of India?

(a) Bengaluru (b) New Delhi

(c) Mumbai (d) Hyderabad

3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched „Setu

Bharatam‟ project recently that aims to make, which

roads free from railway level crossing by 2019 to

ensure road safety?

(a) All National Highways (b) Rural Roads

(c) Inter-State Roads (d) North-Eastern Roads

4. Chapchar Kut, the most important traditional

festival of the Mizos, was observed across

Mizoram. The grand celebration held in the Assam

Rifles ground at which place?

(a) Dispur (b) Aizawl

(c) Guwahati (d) None of these

5. Uttar Pradesh Assembly passed a Bill replacing

an ordinance that will allow Dalits to sell their land

to non-Dalits in the State if they are left with less

than how much acre of land?

(a) 2.5 acre (b) 3.5 acre

(c) 4.5 acre (d) 5.5 acre

6. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has adopted a

village dominated by backward castes, in his Lok

Sabha constituency of Varanasi under the second

phase of Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana. What was

that?

(a) Nagepur (b) Jayapur

(c) Sevapuri (d) None of these

7. Union Minister of Women and Child

Development, Maneka Gandhi launched an online

marketing platform for women at Delhi. What was

that?

(a) Mahila e-Haat (b) Mahila i-haat

(c) Mahila ki-haat (d) None of these

8. The convention on „Women Legislators :

Building Resurgent India‟ held recently, was

attended by whom?

(a) Women MPs

(b) Women State legislators

(c) Women Legislative Council Members

(d) All of the above

9. An MoU signed between which States to work

out mutually-agreeable specifications on the

construction of Medigadda barrage?

(a) Telengana and Maharashtra

(b) Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh

(c) Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka

(d) Karnataka and Telangana

10. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah

launched Mukhyamantri Santwana Harish Yojana

for the benefit of road accident victims in the State.

This scheme has the facility of helpline numbers.

What are they?

(a) 108 (b) 104

(c) Both of these (d) None of these

11. Haryana government signed 11 MoUs involving

a total investment of Rs. 18159 crore with different

companies in “Happening Haryana Global

Investors‟ Summit-2016” at which place?

(a) Hissar (b) Chandigarh

(c) Badarpur (d) Gurgaon

12. Minister of Home Affairs, Rajnath Singh

introduced the Enemy Property (Amendment and

Validation) Bill 2016 in Lok Sabha recently. The

Bill seeks to amend which act?

(a) Enemy Property Act 1968

(b) Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized

Occupants) Act 1971

(c) Both of these

(d) None of these

13. The Rajya Sabha passed the National

Waterways Bill 2015. With this bill decks for the

conversion of how many rivers and creeks across

India into transport waterways cleared?

(a) 104 (b) 106 (c) 108 (d) 110

14. Which project aims to explore the multi-faceted

Indian Ocean „world‟-collating archaeological and

historical research in order to document the

diversity of cultural, commercial and religious

interactions in the Indian Ocean?

(a) Monsoon (b) Mausam

(c) Noor (d) Hawaein

15. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs,

chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has

approved Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana in March,



2016 which is a Scheme for Providing Free LPG

connections to whom?

(a) All women

(b) Women from BPL households

(c) Women from tribal communities


16. South Asia Regional Training and Technical

Assistance Center (SARTTAC) will establish at

which place of India?

(a) Gurgaon (b) Greater Noida

(c) Delhi (d) Haryana

17. Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of State

(Independent Charge) for Power, Coal and New &

Renewable Energy announced, which name for the

LED based Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme

(DELP)?

(a) Roshni (b) Ujala

(c) Noor (d) None of these

International

18. India has filed a complaint in the World Trade

Organisation (WTO) against which country‟s

decision to impose high fees on certain applicants

for L-1 and H-1B categories of non-immigrant

temporary working visas?

(a) The UK (b) The USA

(c) Australia (d) Russia

19. BRICS Friendship Cities Conclave was

organized jointly by the Maharashtra government

and the External Affairs Ministry. Who inaugurated

that?

(a) Narendra Modi (b) Pranab Mukherjee


20. Germany will partner in turning which cities of

India into smart cities?

(a) Bhubaneswar (b) Coimbatore

(c) Kochi (d) All of these

21. On International Women‟s Day, a new ILO

report, Women at Work : Trends 2016, finds

millions of women worldwide are not getting the

same kind of quality, well-paying jobs as men. It is

stagnant for how many years?

(a) 20 yr (b) 10 yr (c) 5 yr (d) 3 yr

22. As per the official website of the Islamic

Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which

country test-fired several ballistic missiles from

silos across the country because of defying recent

the USA sanctions on its missile programme?

(a) Iraq (b) Iran

(c) Israel (d) None of these

23. India has signed an agreement extending $2

billion in development financing to Bangladesh on

March 9, 2016 in Dhaka. This credit line will be

provided through which bank?

(a) SBI (b) RBI

(c) NABARD (d) EXIM

24. Who declared Lebanon‟s Shia movement

Hezbollah as a „terrorist‟ group?

(a) Arab League (b) The UN

(c) The USA (d) None of these

25. In a new initiative to advance bilateral

cooperation on climate change, India and which

country have launched the Fulbright-Kalam Climate

Fellowship?

(a) France (b) Belgium

(c) The USA (d) Russia

26. Which country will set-up an international

maritime judicial centre in its latest bid to protect

national sovereignty and maritime rights?

(a) China (b) Japan

(c) The USA (d) Brazil

27. Under the aegis of the UN, top 50 domestic

corporate leaders assembled in Mumbai on March

12, 2016 to formally adopt the Sustainable

Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN and

discussed the way forward for implementation.

How many times this kind of meeting held

globally?

(a) Once (b) Twice

(c) Thrice (d) Never

28. According to the World Happiness Report 2016,

published by the Sustainable Development

Solutions Network (SDSN) what is the rank of India

out of 156 countries in a global list of the happiest

nations?

(a) 101 (b) 118

(c) 126 (d) 128

29. India signed a loan agreement of $35 million

with whom recently for Madhya Pradesh citizen

access to responsive services project?

(a) World Bank (b) IMF

(c) RBI (d) ADB

30. Who has been named among Time magazine‟s

30 Most Influential People on the Internet for the

second year in a row and had now been labelled as

the „Internet Start‟ by the TIME magazine?

(a) Arvind Kejariwal (b) Barack Obama

(c) Narendra Modi (d) Kofi Annan

31. The agreement between the European Union

and Turkey to tackle the migrant crisis has formally



come into effect recently under, which migrants will

be sent back to Turkey from which place if their

asylum claim is rejected?

(a) Greece (b) Italy

(c) France (d) Germany

32. The Indian Navy has deployed a P 81 maritime

reconnaissance aircraft to which country since

March 20, 2016, for surveillance in the Exclusive

Economic Zone?

(a) Maldives (b) Madagascar

(c) Seychelles (d) None of these

33. Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj

formally unveiled the BRICS Logo for the duration

of India‟s BRICS Chairmanship and also launched

website and reported that the 8th BRICS Summit

would be organized in which place of India?

(a) New Delhi (b) Goa

(c) Jaipur (d) Gurgaon

34. A Congressional-resolution aiming to bring

which country on a par with America‟s North

Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) allies in

terms of trade and technology transfer, besides

elevating its status in export of defence articles from

the USA, has been introduced in March, 2016?

(a) Sri Lanka (b) India

(c) China (d) Pakistan

Economy & Banking

35. Capital Local Area Bank (CLAB) is the first

among the 10 applicants to get final licence from

the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). It based at

(a) Chandigarh (b) Jalandhar

(c) Ludhiana (d) None of these

36. Foreign Bank Licensing Committee, Myanmar

has granted operating licences to four Asian banks.

Find out from the listed options?

(a) State Bank of India

(b) Taiwan‟s Sun Commercial Bank

(c) South Korea‟s Shinhan Bank


37. Indian railways have formed a new Special

Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to implement the Mumbai-

Ahmedabad High Speed Bullet Train project in the

name of National High Speed Rail Corporation

Limited. What will be the distance the bullet train

will cover?

(a) 508 km (b) 350 km

(c) 700 km (d) 805 km

38. Which airways declared that in March, 2016 it

flew the „world‟s longest‟ all-women-operated

flight from Delhi to San Francisco, which travelled

a distance of around 14500 km in close to 17 hours?

(a) Air India (b) Goibibo

(c) American airlines (d) None of these

39. The Reserve Bank of India signed a

Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) on

„Supervisory Cooperation and Exchange of

Supervisory Information‟ with which Bank?

(a) Bank of Israel (b) Bank of America

(c) Bank of Sri Lanka (d) Bank of India

40. Which Bank has announced some initiatives in

March, 2016 to aid women managers for example

women managers with children up to 3 years where

the bank will foot the travel and stay cost of their

children and the caregivers?

(a) HDFC Bank (b) AXIS Bank

(c) ICICI Bank (d) None of these

41. Which bank has announced the „iWork@home‟

initiative on the eve of International Women‟s Day,

where women employees will now be allowed to

work from home for a year, which can be extended?

(a) HDFC Bank (b) Axis Bank

(c) ICICI Bank (d) None of these

42. NITI Aayog, government of India‟s premier

think-tank has launched the „Women Transforming

India‟ initiative on International Women‟s Day, in

partnership with whom?

(a) UN in India (b) MyGov


43. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu launched an

online „Clean My Coach‟ service that allows

travellers to get their compartments cleaned by

sending an SMS or by using an app or a designated

website. Passengers have to send an SMS on which

mobile number?

(a) 58888 (b) 85555

(c) 59999 (d) 95555

44. Which Bank unveiled contactless mobile

payment solution to enable its credit and debit

customers make in store contactless payments by

just waving their smartphones near an NFC-enabled

merchant terminal?

(a) UBI (b) SBI

(c) ICICI Bank (d) Axis Bank

45. The Union government imposed anti-dumping

duty of up to how many percent on import of

plastic-processing machines from Chinese Taipei,

Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam for five

years?

(a) 44.7% (b) 54.7%

(c) 34.7% (d) 24.7%



46. Bharti Airtel‟s planned to acquire 1800 MHz

spectrum in six Indian service areas from a smaller

telco. What is that?

(a) BPL (b) Videocon

(c) iBall (d) Penta

47. A new scheme „Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima

Yojana‟ has been approved for implementation

across the country. For the first time, which

technology will be used for correct estimation and

quick payment of claims to farmers?

(a) Mobile (b) Satellite


48. Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh

launched „Pusa Krishi‟ at the valedictory session of

the three-day „Krishi Unnati Mela‟ for farmers in

order to take the technology to farm fields. What is

that?

(a) New mobile app (b) Website

(c) Satellite (d) None of these

49. Kisan Suvidha mobile app was launched by

Prime Minister Narendra Modi that aims at

providing information to farmers. What are the

areas?

(a) Weather (b) Market prices

(c) Farm machinery (d) All of these

50. The Commerce and Industry Ministry notified

in March, 2016 that how many percent Foreign

Direct Investment (FDI) under automatic approval

route in insurance and pension sector?

(a) 49% (b) 59%

(c) 69% (d) 79%

51. Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister

Narendra Modi has given its approval for the

implementation of the rural housing scheme of

Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Gramin). The

expenditure involved in implementing the project in

a span of how many years?

(a) 3 years (b) 5 years

(c) 7 years (d) 9 years

52. As per the report of Global Energy Architecture

Performance Index Report, World Economic Forum

(WEF), what is the place of India in a list of 126

countries?

(a) 70th (b) 80

th

(c) 90th (d) 100

th

Science & Technology

53. The ASEAN 18 military exercise named as

Force 18 conducted by Indian Army, held in which

place of Maharashtra?

(a) Mumbai (b) Thane

(c) Nasik (d) Pune

54. Recently, a burrowing snake of the

Melanophidium genus and belongs to the

Uropeltidae family of snakes have been discovered

in the Western Ghats in which districts of

Maharashtra?

(a) Kolhapur (b) Sindhudurg


55. Indian scientists have developed a herbal

medicine against dengue. It was developed by using

alcoholic extract of which things?

(a) Cissampelos pariera Linn

(b) Cipa extract

(c) Velvet leaf


56. Who has become the 56th country to sign a pact

on conservation of birds of prey in Africa and

Eurasia?

(a) India (b) The UK

(c) Chad (d) Libya

57. ISRO successfully put into orbit India‟s sixth

dedicated navigation satellite, the IRNSS-1F, from

which area?

(a) SHAR (b) Sriharikota

(c) Andhra Pradesh (d) All of these

58. A bacterium species capable of breaking down

plastic i.e., poly (ethylene terephthalate), or PET.

The bacterium uses two enzymes in sequence to

break down the highly biodegradable-resistant

polymer PET. It has been identified by a team of

researchers of which country?

(a) Chineese (b) Japanese

(c) Korean (d) Malayasian

59. Which spacecraft successfully launched from

the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan atop a

Proton-M rocket with the goal of searching for signs

of life on the Red Planet?

(a) Exomars (b) Intromars

(c) Inomars (d) Nomars

60. India successfully test-fired its indigenously

built, nuclear-capable Agni-I ballistic missile from a

mobile launcher at launch pad-4 of the Integrated

Test Range at which place of Odisha coast?

(a) Abdul Kalam Island (b) 3Wheeler Island


61. Which State successfully installed the first ever

Early Earthquake Warning and Security System

(onsite) in the country as a pilot project at New

Secretariat in Chandigarh?



(a) Punjab (b) Haryana

(c) New Delhi (d) None of these

62. Which instrument indigenously developed by

the surface instruments division of India

Meteorology Department Pune, that has enabled in

transferring the crucial visibility updates to the

pilots, who can now use this real time information

that will be updated every minute?

(a) Drishti (b) Vision

(c) Drishya (d) Sight

63. The astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble

Space Telescope have identified nine monster stars

as R136 in the star cluster located about 170000

light years away. What is the masses of those stars?

(a) 10 times of our Sun (b) 50 times of our Sun

(c) 100 times of our Sun (d) 200 times of our Sun

64. One of the defence wings of India conducted its

biggest day & night war exercise „Iron Fist‟ at the

Pokharan Field Firing Ranges in Rajasthan in

March, 2016. Which defence wing conducted that?

(a) Air Force (b) Army

(c) Navy (d) Paramilitary Force

65. In an effort to curb excessive plastic wastes and

ensure proper management of the same, the Union

government has notified the Plastic Waste

Management Rules 2016. As per the new rule the

production of non-recyclable, multilayered plastic

will be phased out in what time?

(a) One year (b) Two years

(c) Three years (d) Five years

66. On the eve of „World TB Day‟, Union Minister

of Health and Family Welfare, launched

Bedaquiline; a new anti-TB drug for Drug Resistant

TB as part of the RNTCP. Bedaquiline is being

introduced at how many identified tertiary care

centres across India?

(a) Five (b) Six

(c) Seven (d) Eight

67. The Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) of the Indian

Coast Guard ICGS Arnvesh was commissioned at

which place by Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief

Eastern Naval Command Vice-Admiral HCS Bisht?

(a) Egmore (b) Paradwip

(c) Visakhapatnam (d) Gopalpur

68. The scientists at CSIR-Central Institute of

Medicinal and Aromatic plants (CIMAP) have

identified a compound derived from Mentha plant,

popularly known as mint, can also be used in anti-

cancer drugs. What was that?

(a) E-Menthol (b) L-Menthol

(c) G-Menthol (d) None of these

Sports

69. Napoleon Singh has been promoted to the

International Outdoor Umpire by the International

Hockey Federation (FIH) recently after seeing his

performance in which game?

(a) 12th South Asian Games

(b) Junior Women National Championship 2013

(c) 8th Junior Men Asia Cup

(d) None of the above

70. India won in the final of the Asia Cup at the

Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on March

6, 2016 by defeating which team?

(a) Myanmar (b) Bangladesh

(c) Sri Lanka (d) Pakistan

71. Who won in the final of Pro Kabaddi League

(PKL) played at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium,

at New Delhi in March, 2016?

(a) U Mumba (b) Patna Pirates

(c) Puneri Paltan (d) Bengal Warriors

72. Which team have continued their dominance in

the Irani Trophy and they won 2015-16 title?

(a) Karnataka (b) Odisha

(c) Rest of India (d) None of these

73. Who has won the 70th edition of Santosh Trophy

Football Championships title 2016?

(a) Services (b) Maharashtra

(c) Bangladesh (d) None of these

74. Who earned his sixth All England badminton

title in men‟s singles category?

(a) Lin Dan (b) Tian Houwei

(c) Vladimir Ivanov (d) Ivan Sozonov

75. Who won the All England badminton title in the

women‟s singles category?

(a) Wang Shixian (b) Nozomi Okuhara

(c) Misaki Matsutomo (d) Ayaka Takahashi

76. Who has suspended Maria Sharapova recently

as a goodwill ambassador after she failed a drug test

at the Australian Open?

(a) The UN (b) The USA

(c) Russia (d) None of these

77. Who was/were suspended for bowling with an

illegal action by the International Cricket Council?

(a) Taskin Ahmed (b) Arafat Sunny


78. Who clinched his 2nd

Grand Prix Gold

badminton tournament title in the men‟s singles



category in the final of Swiss Open at Basel,

Switzerland?

(a) Marc Zwiebler (b) S. Prannoy

(c) Lee Sheng-mu (d) Tsai Chia-hsin

79. Who won the Grand Prix Gold Badminton

tournament title in the women‟s single category by

defeating Wang Yihanin the final of Swiss Open at

Basel, Switzerland?

(a) He Bingjiao (b) Wang Yihan

(c) Naoko Fukuman (d) Kurumi Yonao

80. Who secured an Olympic quota place for India

with a gold-medal finish in the men‟s 65 kg

freestyle category?

(a) Yogeshwar Dutt (b) Katai Yeerlanbieke

(c) Narsingh Yadav (d) None of these

81. Who won the Hero Indian Open with a two-

stroke victory at the prestigious tournament at the

Delhi Golf Course?

(a) SSP Chowrasia (b) Anirban Lahir

(c) Jeunghun Wang (d) None of these

82. Who announced his retirement from

international cricket on March 24, 2016 at the end

of the ongoing World T20?

(a) Shane Watson (b) Michael Clarke

(c) Steve Smith (d) David Warner

83. Which legendary Dutch soccer striker and

coach, has died in April, 2016 at the age of 68 in

Barcelona?

(a) Danny Blind (b) Danny Cruyff

(c) Johan Cruyff (d) Johan Blind

Miscellaneous

84. Who is appointed as the new MD & CEO of

MCX, the country‟s largest commodity exchange?

(a) Mrugank Paranjape (b) Parveen Kumar Singhal

(c) Manoj Vaish (d) None of the above

85. Which cricketer of New Zealand team has died

on March 4, 2016?

(a) Martin Crowe (b) Dave Crowe

(c) Jeff Crowe (d) None of these

86. Which veteran film actor and director chosen

for the 47th Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year

2015?

(a) Dev Anand (b) Shah rukh Khan

(c) Manoj Kumar (d) None of these

87. Ray Tomlinson, a true technology pioneer died

in March, 2016. What he invented?

(a) Office (b) e-Mail

(c) Key Board (d) Network System

88. Which Renowned Dogri poetess and writer has

been awarded Krutitava Smagra Samman for 2015

by the Kolkata‟s Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad?

(a) Padma Sachdev (b) Keshari Nath Tripathi

(c) Padma Tripathy (d) Keshari Sachdeva

89. When is International Women‟s Day observed?

(a) March 8 (b) April 8

(c) May 8 (d) June 8

90. Acclaimed Brazilian percussionist and the eight-

time Grammy Award-winner Nana Vasconcelos has

died recently. He was a master of which

instrument?

(a) Santoor (b) Violin

(c) Piano (d) Berimbao

91. Who was appointed as Chairman of the 21st Law

Commission of India?

(a) Balbir Singh Chauhan

(b) Justice Ravi R. Tripathi

(c) Balbir Tripathi

(d) Ravi Chauhan

92. Which veteran Egyptian diplomat was named as

the Arab League‟s new Secretary General?

(a) Nabil El-Araby (b) Hosni Mubarak

(c) Ahmed Abul Gheit (d) None of these

93. Who has been appointed Deputy Chief of the

Indian Army?

(a) Lt. Gen NPS Hira

(b) Major Hirachand Lalwani

(c) General Harshdeep Singh

(d) None of the above

94. Kerala Tourism‟s new campaign on responsible

tourism has bagged the prestigious „Golden City

Gate Award‟ at the worlds leading travel trade show

ITB in which country?

(a) Berlin (b) England

(c) Germany (d) France

95. Myanmar‟s Parliament the Hluttaw, has chosen

whom as the country‟s new President?

(a) Khin Aung Myint (b) Henry Van Thio

(c) Htin Kyaw (d) None of these

96. Pope Francis announced that who will be made

a saint on September 4, 2016, 19 years after her

death?

(a) Sister Prema (b) Archbishop D‟Souza

(c) Mother Teresa (d) None of these

97. When World Consumer Rights Day is

observed?

(a) March 5 (b) March 15

(c) March 25 (d) April 5



98. The Public Administration Ministry,

government of Bangladesh has appointed whom as

Governor of its Central Bank for four years?

(a) Fazle Kabir (b) Atiur Rahman

(c) Fazle Rahman (d) Atiur Kabir

99. The USA President Barack Obama nominated

whom to be the USA‟s 113th Supreme Court justice

as a centrist appellate Judge who could reshape the

Court for a generation and become the face of a

bitter election-year confirmation struggle?

(a) Merrick B. Garland (b) Antonin Scalia

(c) Srikanth Srinivasan (d) None of these

100. President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the

5th edition of the India Aviation 2016 at which

place?

(a) Pune (b) Hyderabad

(c) Bengaluru (d) New Delhi



Answer Key CLATFOCUS April - 2016

Q. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Ans. C B A B B A A D A C

Q. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

Ans. D C B B B C B B A D

Q. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30.

Ans. A B D A C A A B A D

Q. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40.

Ans. A C B B B D A A A C

Q. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50.

Ans. C C A C A B C A D A

Q. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60.

Ans. A C D C D A D B A C

Q. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70.

Ans. B A C A B B C B A B

Q. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80.

Ans. B C A A B A C B A A

Q. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90.

Ans. A A C A A C B A A D

Q. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. 100.

Ans. A C A A C C B A A B

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