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Current Affairs of 1-15 April 2015
1. Meenakshi Madan Rai was sworn in as the first lady judge of the Sikkim High Court.
2. Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) decided to rename Tourist Visa on ArrivalElectronic Travel Authorization (TVoA-ETA) scheme as e-Tourist Visa (eTV) scheme. The
renamed scheme will come into effect from 15 April 2105. MHA decided to change the name of
the scheme after it observed that the name of the scheme (TVoA-ETA) created confusion among
tourists and also it had received requests of name change from some Indian embassies.
3. Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley inaugurated the Vividh Bharati
Service of Delhi on FM Mode in a function held at premises of New Broadcasting House of All
India Radio (AIR). The service will be available on 100.1 Megahertz frequency.
4. The Chinese Government quashed the bid of Taiwan to become a full member of the Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for lack of appropriate [Link] Chinese Government
said that it would welcome Taiwan in the future but under a different name.
Taiwan made a last-minute application to join the AIIB as a founding member on the deadline
day of 31 March 2015 under the name of Chinese-Taipei.
5. Renowned film director and actor of Assam Bidyut Chakraborty died on 15 April 2015 in a
private nursing home in Guwahati after brief illness. He was 55.
6. Songkran Festival of Thailand was in news as over 120 people were killed and 1281 were
injured while celebrating the festival. Songkran festival is a traditional New Year Eve celebration
of Thailand. It is also known as Thailand Water [Link] is originally celebrated as a way for
the Thai people to sprinkle water on their family members and elders for good fortune and pay
their respects to images of the beloved Buddha.
7. State-owned power equipment-maker Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)
commissioned a 600 MW thermal unit at Dhabra in Janjgir Champa District of Chhattisgarh for
the Dainik Bhaskar Power Limited.
This is the second unit of 2 600 MW power project, commissioned by BHEL. The first 600
MW Unit was commissioned in 2014.
8. The Yoga guru Baba Ramdev was in news as State government of Haryana on 13 April 2015
decided to accord status equivalent to a Cabinet Minister on him.
9. Nobel laureate German novelist Gunter Grass died in Luebeck, Germany. He was 87. He
was a novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor and recipient of the 1999
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Nobel Prize in Literature.
10. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have been
voted among the 100 most influential people in the world in an online poll by readers of Time
magazine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin emerged the winner of this years Time 100 readers poll.
11. Ramesh Abhishek will continue to head the Forward Market Commission (FMC) till its
merger with SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India). FMC is the regulator of commodity
exchanges engaged in future trading.
12. The World Bank has said India continues to be the leading nation in remittances pulling in
USD 70 billion from its global migrant workforce in [Link] States, Saudi Arabia,
Germany, Russia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) remained the top five migrant destination
countries and apart from India, China, Philippines, Mexico and Nigeria are the top five
remittance recipient countries, in terms of value of remittances
13. Flipkart has decided to pull out of an ongoing discussion with Airtel to join the Airtel Zero
platform. The move follows criticism that the deal would violate the principles of net neutrality.
14. Mobile commerce platform Paytm inked memorandum of understanding MoU with
National Centre for Trade Information (NCTI) to promote Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises
(MSMEs). As per MoU, Paytm will offer a virtual marketplace platform for NCTI members and
will extend its services and enable them to sell online. In this regard, Paytm will set up payment
gateways platform for online ticketing and membership fees for NCTI.
15. Sania Mirza created history by becoming the first female tennis player from India to
achieve the world number one rank in doubles, following her stupendous title win at the WTA
Family Circle Cup with partner Martina Hingis, in Charleston.
16. In a first of its kind initiative in the country, Gujarat government is promoting a tour package
covering major industrial installations which have earned global acclaim for the state.
Some of the major attractions of this recently launched tour package include a visit to Tata Nano
plant in Sanand, Pipavav port .near Amreli, Alang ship breaking yard in Bhavnagar and Amul
Dairy in Anand.
17. New Zealand won the 2015 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup mens hockey tournament. In the final
clash played at the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh, Malaysia, New Zealand defeated World
Champions Australia 3-1.
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18. Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB), a regional rural bank headquartered in Dharwad,
has signed a memorandum of understanding with Life Insurance Corporation of India under the
Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana. It aims at providing insurance cover to all the
Aadhar-linked savings account holders of the bank in the age group of 18 to 50 years.
19. Indian tennis player Yuki Bhambri won the Uzbekistan F1 Futures Mens singles title by
defeating Dzmitry Zyrmont of [Link] defeated his rival in two straight sets 6-2 6-4 in the
final match held in Karshi, Uzbekistan.
20. Indian shooter Jitu Rai won Bronze medal at the 10-meter Air Pistol Men final in the
International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Rifle/Pistol World Cup held in Changwon, South
Korea.
21. A painting titled Tree of Life was gifted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to French
President Francois Hollande during his visit to France from 9 April to 12 April 2015.
The painting reflects traditional societal respect for nature in India and tree as a divine gift
central to human life is a recurring element in Indian artistic practiceThe Tree of Life, with
multiple roots and branches like a banyan tree, is a motif for a trees benevolence, fruit, seeds,
shelter, healing, procreation and regeneration faculties that sustain life and clean the
environment.
The painting is the work of Bhaskar Mahapatra, an Odisha artist and the art form is pigments on
silk which he has been practicing for last thirty years along with rest of his family.
22. Lt General (retd) Hanut Singh, the recipient of the Mahavir Chakra and hero of 1971 IndoPak war, died in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. He was 82.
23. In a new twist to the high profile SEBI-Sahara case, the Indian capital markets regulator has
approached a US court with a USD 12-million claim on proceeds from sale of a corporate jet
owned by a Sahara Group firm.
The court has rejected the demand for now, saying that SEBI could not properly file a claim
prior to the Bar Date and in accordance with the terms of the Courts order.
24. Mercedes Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton from Britain on 12 April 2015 won Chinese
Grand Prix of Formula One on the Shanghai International Circuit in China.
25. Air Pegasus, promoted by Decor Aviation Private Limited, on Sunday commenced its
commercial operation with a daily to-and-fro flight to Hubballi and Thiruvananthapuram
26. The NITI Aayog has initiated the mid-term appraisal process of the 12th Five Year Plan, an
exercise which has long been followed prior to establishment of the new body that replaced the
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Planning Commission.
27. The youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner and girls education campaigner Malala Yousafzai
now has an asteroid named after her. Amy Mainzer, astronomer at NASAs Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in California, named Asteroid 316201 after Malala
28. With overseas investors pumping in over Rs. 2,000 crore in the Indian capital markets so far
this month, total foreign fund inflows have crossed the Rs. 81,000 crore mark since the
beginning of the year.
29. India was elected to four important United Nations (UN) agencies . These agencies are
United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), World Food Program (WFP), Commission on Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) and the Governing Council of UN-Habitat.
30. Social Progress Index (SPI) 2015 was released by the US-based non-profit organisation
Social Progress Imperative . On population-weighted basis, the SPI score for the whole world
stands at 61 and at 64.39 when SPI scores are based on simple average of countries. India with a
score of 53.06 is ranked 101st and is placed in the Low Social Progress Group. In 2014, India
with a score of 50.24 was ranked 102 out of 132 countries.
31. Seoul city, the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea, was awarded the title of Global
Earth hour Capital 2015 after it won the Earth Hour City Challenge (EHCC) of World Wildlife
Fund (WWF). The city of Balikpapan, Indonesia was recognized as the Most Loveable City for
2015 and Thane city was named as the National Earth Hour Capital 2015 of India.
32. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat announced fresh measures to provide relief to rainhit farmers in the state including free distribution of seeds among them and an increased subsidy
on ginger and turmeric seeds.
33. Coca-Cola India has roped in Bollywood actors Varun Dhawan and Gulshan Grover for its
latest ad campaign for Maaza, its mango drink. Also, the company has decided to revamp
Maazas packaging and labelling.
34. Syndicate Bank and Life Insurance Corporation have signed a memorandum of
understanding to implement the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana. LIC will provide a
life cover of 2 lakh in case of death of the insured person at a nominal premium of 330 per
annum. Savings bank account holders of the bank, in the age group of 18 to 50 years, can avail
themselves of the product. The scheme will come into effect from June 1.
35. Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela qualified for next year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro
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after clinching a 10m air rifle bronze in the ISSF World Cup (Rifle/Pistol) in Changwon, Korea
36. Indias first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) became operational at Gujarat
International Finance Tec (GIFT) City in Gandhinagar district of Gujarat
37. President Pranab Mukherjee appointed the senior most Election Commissioner (EC), Dr.
Nasim Zaidi as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). He will succeed incumbent CEC HS
Brahma
38. Richie Benaud, the former Australian cricket captain and legendary commentator died in
Sydney on 10 April 2015
39. Arun Kumar Jha was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Khadi and Village Industries
Commission (KVIC), Mumbai.
40. India successfully test fired nuclear weapons-capable Dhanush missile from a ship, off the
Odisha coast.
41. Rajasthan Legislative Assembly has passed a Bill to hike allowances for all sitting MLAs and
those who have been members of the House since April 1, 2012.
42. India has been designated to chair the ninth meeting of the International Renewable Energy
Agency (IRENA) Council. The meeting is scheduled to be held in June in Abu Dhabi.
43. Flipkart, Indias leading e-commerce marketplace, has tied up with the Dabbawalas of
Mumbai for last-mile delivery to customers.
44. Professional social network operator LinkedIn Corp buy privately held online education
company [Link] in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $1.5 billion.
45. Private sector lender IndusInd Bank has bought RBS's diamond and jewellery financing
business and related deposit portfolio
46. Peruvian President Ollanta Humala swore in Pedro Alvaro Cateriano Bellido as the nations
new Prime Minister in a ceremony held on Thursday evening at the Government Palace in Lima,
Peru.
47. West Bengal and Bihar Governor K.N. Tripathi, who has been given additional charge of
Mizoram, was sworn in as the 16th governor of the northeastern state
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48. Delhi International Airport Limited has won Golden Peacock National Quality Award
for 2015 for their concerted efforts in building a culture of Total Quality across Indira Gandhi
International Airport.
49. Central Bank of India has topped the list of public sector banks with maximum bad loans
including restructured assets as a percentage of total advances.
50. Diageo, the worlds largest spirits maker, on Thursday, took full control of South African
beer maker United National Breweries by acquiring the additional 50 per cent stake in the
company from Vijay Mallya-controlled Pestello Investments for an initial payment of $22
million.
51. A total of about Rs 900 crore has been sanctioned by the Union Ministry of Urban
Development and an amount of about Rs 700 crore has been released to States/UTs based on
proposals received under Swachh Bharat Mission during 2014-15.
52. India has welcomed the understanding announced in Lausanne between Iran and the E3+3 on
the nuclear issue. A significant step seems to have been taken with the agreement on the
parameters of a comprehensive settlement to be negotiated by June 30, the Ministry of External
Affairs said on Friday morning.
China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States form the
E3+3.
53. India has been ranked a low 119 out of 130 countries on an index that measures business
resilience of nations based on economic, risk quality and supply chain factors, dropping seven
notches from last year.
The 2015 FM Global Resilience Index has been topped by Norway for being the country best
suited for companies seeking to avoid disruptions in their global supply chain operations.
54. New Zealand cricket team captain Brendon McCullum was conferred with the Sir Richard
Hadlee Medal for 2014-15. McCullum won the award for his remarkable performance both as a
player and the captain during the 2014-15 season.
55. Chinas former Olympic champion hurdler Liu Xiang plans to announcement his retirement
next week following years of nagging injuries.
56. Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal will lose her world no. 1 ranking after her gallant fight
against Olympic champion Li Xuerui in the semifinals ended in heartbreak at the $500,000
Malaysia Open Super Series Premier badminton tournament.
57. The Union Government extended the deadline for implementation of the National Food
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Security Act (NFSA) deadline by six months in the states.
The deadline has already been extended twice for implementing the food law, was ending on
April 4
58. Indias largest online marketplace Snapdeal announced to acquire RupeePower, a leading
digital financial products distribution platform. The acquisition aimed to launch financial
service.
59. Bharti AXA General Insurance Company Limited launched Smart Traveller that offers
global coverage for students, individuals, families and frequent travellers.
The SmartTraveller Insurance policy offers a choice of two major plans catering to Individuals
and Families and frequent travelers through a variant known as Annual Multi Trip International
travel insurance plan.
60. Michael Rudenko, a committee member of the Minor Planet Center5 officially named a
minor planet as 4538 Vishyanand, to honour Indias first chess grandmaster, Vishwanathan
Anand.
61. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Give it Up campaign. The campaign was launched
at the annual energy-focussed summit Urja Sangam 2015.
The campaign seeks to extort the better off sections of society to forego their liquefied petroleum
gas (LPG) subsidy, which would be utilised in providing subsidised LPG connections to the
poor.
62. Operation Raahat was in news as India launched a massive air and sea operation to
evacuate over 4000 Indian nationals from Yemen. The operation will involve total of five ships
and four aircraft.
The operation started after India got permission to dock its offshore patrol vessel INS Sumitra at
the Aden harbor of Yemen
63. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) sanctioned the scheme of amalgamation of ING Vysya
Bank Ltd. with Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. The Scheme will come into force with effect from 1
April 2015.
64. Mustafa Kamal stepped down as the President of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
He sent out the resignation letter to the ICC.
The Bangladeshi cricket administrator had succeeded Alan Isaac as the 11th President of the ICC
in June 2014 for a period of two years.
65. Prime Minister of Peru Ana Jara was sacked after she lost the vote of confidence in
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Congress. Congress voted 72 to 42 to censure Jara, with two abstentions.
66. Punjab has launched a special mission to provide school students a separate period for
playing along with studies. Named as Padho Punjab-Khedo Punjab Mission, (Learn PunjabPlay Punjab Mission) a 40 to 50 minute special period has been kept for sports during which
students of middle schools will be taught various games including the one being played locally.
Launching it as a pilot project at a government girls school in Roopnaga
67. Misao Okawa, a Japanese woman recognised as the world's oldest person who credited her
longevity to "eating delicious things" and getting plenty of rest
68. The much-hyped Aahar cheap meal scheme was today launched by Odisha government for
providing subsidised food to urban poor.
69. Andhra Pradesh State Cooperative Bank Ltd (APCOB) has been reconstituted into two banks
following the bifurcation of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh.
70. New Zealand pace bowler Kyle Mills announced his retirement from all cricket today,
following Daniel Vettori in calling it quits after the World Cup final.
71. The RBI (Reserve Bank of India) notified hike in FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) limit in
Insurance Sector to 49 percent from the present 26 [Link] per the notification, FDI up to 26
percent will be under automatic route and beyond 26 percent and up to 49 percent will be
allowed with the approval of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).
72. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) raised the transaction limit in exchange
traded currency derivatives to 15 million US dollars for both foreign and domestic investors
without having any underlying exposure. Earlier, the limit was 10 million dollars.
73. Uttar Pradesh Government conferred Sahitya Shiromani Samman on noted Hindi poet
Gopaldas Neeraj and veteran Hindi litterateur Uday Pratap Singh.
74. Tamil novelist, short story writer and literary critic Jayakanthan died in Chennai . He was 81.
75. Union Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge) Dr. Mahesh Sharma launched
Visit Kerala 2015 campaign to promote Kerala [Link] campaign is an initiative of Kerala
Government to promote state-specific tourism products including Ayurveda, Responsible
Tourism and Spice route. Under the campaign various innovative programmes and schemes will
be launched in India and abroad to attract domestic and foreign tourists.
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76. Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan and Prince Karim Aga Khan were among the
eminent personalities awarded the Padma Vibhushan, countrys second highest civilian honour,
by President Pranab Mukherjee
77. Mayilsamy Annadurai was appointed as Director of ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC),
Bengaluru.
78. Gujarat cricket team on 7 April 2015 won the 2014-15 Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy played
at the KIIT Cricket Stadium, Bhubaneshwar. In the final clash, Gujarat defeated Punjab by two
wickets
79. The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry on 8 April 2015 formed an expert committee
under the chairmanship of Ajay Shankar to suggest simplified compliance for establishing new
industries. He is a former Secretary to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion
(DIPP).
80. The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change proposed a colour-coded
system to re-classify industries based on pollution potential. As per the proposal, the industries
will be re-classified under three-coloured scheme, viz., Red, Orange and Green.
81. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Micro Units Development and Refinance
Agency Ltd. (MUDRA) Bank to fund the small entrepreneurs.
The Bank was launched under the ambitious Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). The
bank will provide credit of up to 10 lakh rupees to small entrepreneurs and act as a regulator for
Micro-Finance Institutions (MFIs).
82. Snapdeal, one of Indias largest online marketplacesannounced that it has acquired
FreeCharge, a mobile transactions platform.
With this acquisition, Snapdeal can offer a wide range of products and services, including
financial services, mobile recharge and utility payments with a growing user base of over 40
million.
83. Sumit Mazumder, Chairman and Managing Director, TIL Limited, has been elected as the
President of CII for the year 2015-16. He succeeds Mr Ajay Shriram as the new President.
84. Highlights of RBIs first bi-monthly monetary policy statement, 2015-16:
* Short-term lending rate (repo) unchanged at 7.5%
* Cash Reserve Ratio unchanged at 4%
* Retains Statutory Liquidity Ratio at 21.5%
* Estimates GDP growth at 7.8% in FY16, up from 7.5% in FY15
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* Forecasts CPI inflation at 5.8% by March 2016
* CPI inflation to dip to 4% in August 2015
* Hailstorms in March affected 17% of the rabi crop sown area
* Future rate cuts will depend on interest rate reduction by banks
* India better prepared to deal with volatility post US Federal Reserve rate action
* State cooperative banks to be allowed to set up offsite/ mobile ATMs without prior approval
from RBI
* RBI to formulate scheme for market making by primary dealers in semiliquid and illiquid
GSecs
85. World Health Day (WHD) 2015 was observed globally on 7 April 2015. The theme for the
year is From farm to plate, make food [Link] theme was selected by the World Health
Organisation (WHO) to bring focus on growing global burden of food borne diseases and
underscore the need for coordinated cross-border action across the entire food supply chain i.e.
from farm to plate.
86. Sochi: Indian Grandmaster Dronavalli Harika won the bronze medal along with Swedish
Grandmaster Pia Cramling by virtue of making it to the semi-finals of World Women's chess
championship
87. Defence Minister Manohar Parikkar launched the first indigenously-built Scorpene
submarine at the Mazagaon Dockyard Ltd .
88. Paris- based Syrian-Lebanese Arab poet Adonis has been chosen for this years Kumaran
Asan World Prize for poetry, instituted by the Kumaran Asan Memorial Association to honour
poets of international stature and introduce them to Indian readers.
89. Rajeev Shukla was re-appointed as the chairman of the Indian Premier League's (IPL)
Governing Council by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
90. Pratap Singh, a 15-year-old Indian-origin schoolboy in the United Kingdom, was awarded
with the 500 pounds Institute of Physics (IOP) Prize. The prize also includes a trip to a national
physics-related activity.
91. Piplantri Village of southern Rajasthan's Rajsamand district was in news in second week of
March 2015. This village not only embraces daughters but also created a tradition of planting
111 trees every time on the birth of a girl child. The plants are planted in her honour.
92. Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis, the Indo-Swiss women pair of Tennis, won the Miami
Open Tennis women's doubles title
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93. Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams won the 2015 Miami Open Mens and womens
singles titles of the respectively at Crandon Park Tennis Center in Miami, Florida.
94. India host the 5th meeting of the SAARC Health Ministers to discuss and work out a
roadmap for strengthening collaboration among SAARC countries on health challenges faced by
them.
95. Public sector lender Dena Bank has partnered with government-owned LIC (Life Insurance
Corporation) of India to provide insurance cover to all Aadhaar-linked savings account holders.
96. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 6 April 2015 launched a National Air Quality Index
(NAQI) to tackle the menace of air pollution. This National Air Quality Index will provide
information on the quality of air in 10 major cities in the country on a real-time [Link] ten
cities where the quality of air can be monitored are Delhi, Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, Varanasi,
Faridabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Bangalore and Ahmedabad.
97. Malli Mastan Babu, one of the top mountaineers of India, died . His dead body was
recovered from Andes Mountains in South America, between Argentina and Chile
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