Extensive Coverage Of Current Affairs 19/4/2016

NATIONAL:

PM Narendra Modi inaugurates superspeciality hospital in Jammu and Kashmir's Katra District:

·        PM Narendra Modi today inaugurated a superspeciality hospital in Jammu and Kashmir's Katra district.

·        Named Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, the medical centre has 230 beds and more than 20 different streams of medicine and surgery.

·        Set up with an investment of about 300 crore, it also has the provision for rain water harvesting and solar energy utilisation.

Maneka Gandhi inaugurates Regional Conference of North Eastern States on Child Adoption:

·        The Minister of Women & Child Development, Maneka Gandhi will inaugurate tomorrow a major One Day Regional Conference with North Eastern States in Shillong on the issues relating to Child Adoption.

·        The Ministers In-charge of Social Welfare and Women & Child Development in the North Eastern States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura will participate in the conference.

Railways to allow ticket cancellation over phone:

·        Railways will shortly be launching phone ticket cancellation service, wherein passengers will be able to cancel their reserved tickets booked through counters by dialing 139.

·        At the beginning, the service can only be availed by passengers whose train departs between 11 pm and 6 am.

·        Notably, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had announced the service in the Railway Budget.

Dr. Mahesh Sharma releases Commemorative Coin and Circulation Coin on Tatya Tope on his Martyr Day:

·        Culture and Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma released a Commemorative Coin of Rs. 200/– and a Circulation Coin of Rs. 10/- on Tatya Tope on the occasion of his Martyr Day.

·        Ministry of Culture has been celebrating the 200th Birth Anniversary of Tatya Tope during 2015-16 in association with State Government of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh respectively.

·        Maharashtra government has organized the Inaugural Function at Shaniwar Wada at Pune on February this year.  Before that, a three day Mahotsav named Shaurya Mahotsav was held from 26 February 2016.

Shri Piyush Goyal Releases Report of Technical Committee on Large Scale Integration of Renewable Energy:

·        Union Minister of Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy PiyushGoyal released Report of the Technical Committee on Large Scale Integration of Renewable Energy in India.

·        Ministry of Power constituted a high level Technical Committee was with members from, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), Central Electricity Authority (CEA), renewable rich states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Various Organisations.

·        The Committee has published a 15 point Action Plan for facilitating large scale integration of renewable in the country, in a secure and reliable manner.

New Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies launched in New Delhi:

·        Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (CGRBMS) formally launched in New Delhi .

·        It was launched by Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation with Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IITK).

·        The Ministry signed a 10 year Memorandum of Agreement with IITK for provision of continual scientific support in the implementation and dynamic evolution of the Ganga River Basin Management Plan.

·        The centre will work as a Think-tank to coordinate all activities within the Ganga river basin, including science, technology, research, innovation, social and investment related aspects.

Uttar Pradesh tops in Public Private Partnership project investments: Study

·        Uttar Pradesh has claimed the most favoured investment destination of PPP Projects, as it took top spot with the highest share of about 15 per cent in PPP projects across India, followed by Maharashtra and Gujarat, According to the Assocham-SREI.

·        The study named PPP Investment in Indian Infrastructure: Need for growth and development has suggested to the government the setting up of an independent Uttar Pradesh tops in PPP project investments institution for overall co-ordination and management of PPP projects in the country.

ADB clears $300-million loan for upgradation of Uttar Pradesh roads:

·        Phillipines based Multi Lateral Financing Agency and Uttar Pradesh Government shared their contributions to enhance the Road Connectivity of about 400 Kms in major district in Uttar Pradesh State.

·        Budget: $ 300 million by Asian Development Bank & $128 million by Uttar Pradesh State Government.

Maharashtra to ban new  Marathwada sugar mills for 5 yrs:

·        Maharashtra government has decided to ban setting up new sugar mills in all eight districts in the drought-hit Marathwada region for five years.

·        Maharashtra also plans to make drip-irrigation compulsory for sugarcane farms in the state.

Haryana launches online registration of firms:

·        The Haryana government on Monday launched five online services for registration of firms and 18 incentive schemes.

·        These aimed at bringing more transparency and further improve the efficiency in the process of registration of partnership firms and to facilitate the industrial units to avail the benefit of incentive schemes in a time-bound and transparent manner, Haryana commerce minister said.

Hologram, barcode must on liquor bottles in Maharashtra:

·        The Maharashtra government made it mandatory to have a barcode and hologram on liquor bottles to eliminate the problem of spurious liquor.

·        This 'track and trace' mechanism will reveal the authenticity of the liquor to the customer and officials.

·        The hologram cannot be replicated or reused and will also reveal if the liquor is duty-evaded or smuggled.

Beti Bachao Beti Padho Scheme extended to 61 more districts with low child sex ratio:

·        Government has extended the Beti Bachao Beti Padho Scheme in additional 61 districts across 11 States and Union Territories with low Child Sex Ratio.

·        Addressing the function in New Delhi today, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said, out of hundred, 49 districts are doing extremely well.

·        The Minister said, for the monitoring of pregnancy, Sarpanch of the village should be made Nodal person and district collector have been asked to show the data of number of boys and girls in every village through a board.

·        Mrs Gandhi said, superintendent of police in every district will nominate one woman Police Volunteer to monitor security situation of women.

Science Express -Climate Action Special Train to be in Gujarat for 18 days from April 20:

·        Science Express -Climate Action Special Train’ an exhibition on wheels will be in Gujarat for 18 days period from Wednesday, the 20th of this month.

·        The train will halt at Valsad, Anand, Patan, Hapa, Junagadh and Gandhinagar railway stations for 3 days each.

·        Activities such as quiz, painting, essay writing, demonstration model display etc will take place during halt of the train at various stations.

·        The Air Conditioned train has a unique exhibition in its 16 coaches. Operated by Government of India, the exhibition train was flagged off on 15 October last year. It will cover 19,800 km distance in 7 months covering halts at 64 railway stations before reaching its final destination.

INTERNATIONAL:

14th meeting of Foreign Ministers of Russia, India and China held in Moscow:

·        The 14th meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Russian Federation, the Republic of India and the People's Republic of China was held in Moscow, Russian Federation.

·        Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Union Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of India Sushma Swaraj, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China Wang Yi took part in the meeting.

·        The Ministers decided to hold the next trilateral meeting in India.

13th Islamic Summit Conference concluded in Istanbul:

·        The 13th session of the Islamic Summit Conference was concluded in Istanbul, Turkey.

·        The Islamic Summit, was held under the theme Unity and Solidarity for Justice and Peace. 

·        It also discussed the current situation in Syria, Yemen, Libya, Afghanistan, Somalia, Mali, Jammu and Kashmir, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Armenia’s aggressions on Azerbaijan, as well as other Member States afflicted by conflicts and unstable security situations.

First-ever Investment Framework for Nutrition and Call for Immediate Action launched by global leaders:

·        Leading researchers and economists in the fields of nutrition and development  unveiled a groundbreaking analysis outlining what donors, governments and businesses need to invest to accelerate progress for nutrition.

·        The Investing in Nutrition: The Foundation for Development event hosted by the World Bank, the Results for Development Institute, and 1000 Days is part of a global effort to increase investment in nutrition, particularly during the 1000 days between a woman’s pregnancy and her child’s second birthday.

World Bank, UNICEF established alliance to promote Early Childhood Development programme:

·        World Bank and UNICEF announced establishment of new alliance that aims to make Early Childhood Development (ECD) programme a global policy.

·        To give all young children access to quality services that improve their health, nutrition, learning ability and emotional well-being, the alliance calls for programming and public spending priority.

o   World Bank Group President --- Jim Yong Kim

o   UNICEF Executive Director----   Anthony Lake

EU approves anti-terror plan to collect air passenger information:

·        European Union lawmakers approved a scheme, to share airline passenger information.

·        The scheme is used  to track foreign fighters travelling to and from conflict areas like Syria.

·        Passenger Name Record law was approved at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, by 461 votes to 179, with nine abstentions.

·        Under the scheme, law enforcement agencies in all 28 nations would have access to traveller details gathered by airlines, including names, travel dates, itineraries, and credit card details.

India, Afghanistan and Iran finalize draft of Chabahar Trilateral Agreement:

·        The second technical meeting on Chabahar Transit and Transport Agreement was held in India and provided the draft for the tripartite agreement among Iran, India and Afghanistan.

·        Aiming to form international transport and transit corridors among the Republic of India, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran, the second technical meeting on Chabahar Transit and Transport Agreement dealt with incomplete issues of the first meeting held in Tehran in September 2015.

India, China Move Closer On Military Hotline Proposal:

·        India and China have moved a step closer in setting up a hotline between the two military headquarters as part of their efforts to improve border security.

Ecuador quake toll climbs over 400, damage put at billions of dollars:

·        Two days after the magnitude 7.8 quake, traumatized survivors begged Correa for water in the city of Portoviejo, while a soccer stadium in the beach town of Pedernales served as a makeshift relief centre and morgue.

o   Ecuador capital : Quito

o   Ecuador currency : US Dollar

o   Ecuador President: Rafael Correa

APPOINTMENTS:

Inzamam-ul-Haq appointed Pakistan chief selector

·        Former Pakistan cricket team captain, Inzamam-ul-Haq has been appointed as the chairman of the senior selection committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board.

·        Inzamam earlier resigned from his post as coach of the Afghanistan cricket team eight months before his contract expired. This will be Inzamam's first time as a selector.

Indian Railways Finance Corporation (IRFC) appoints lead managers for offshore Masala Bonds issue:

·        Indian Railways Finance Corporation (IRFC), the public sector enterprise that raises funds for the Indian Railways, has appointed lead managers to issue offshore bonds or rupee-denominated bonds(Masala bonds).

·        The lead managers are JP Morgan, Deutsche, BNP Paribas, HSBC, Standard chart and SBI Caps.

BANKING :

Morgan Stanley downgrades Bank of Baroda and ICICI Bank:

·        The US investment bank downgraded private sector ICICI Bank and public sector Bank of Baroda (BoB) to so-called equal weight because of expectations that these banks will have to provide more money to cover for non-performing assets (NPAs) in the current and next fiscal year.

o   Bank of Baroda CEO -- PS Jayakumar

o   ICICI Bank CEO  --       Chanda Kochhar

RBI tweaks norms on Bank fraud provision:

·        The RBI has tweaked its norms allowing banks to provision fraud cases within four quarters from the quarter in which it was detected.

·        Currently, banks should immediately provision for the entire amount due to it or for which it is liable after fraud identification.

·        Further, 861 bank fraud cases involving  4,920 crore were reported in the first half of 2015-16.

AWARDS AND HONOURS:

President Pranab Mukherjee presents Hindi Sevi Samman for 2012-14:

·        President Pranab Mukherjee today presented the Hindi Sevi Samman for the year 2012, 2013 and 2014.

·        Eleven persons were honoured with Gangasharan Singh award for their contribution towards promotion and training in Hindi and Six persons were given Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi award for their contribution to Hindi journalism and creative writing.

·        Similarly six persons were given Atmaram award for their work towards scientific and technological literature. Five persons were awarded Subramania Bharti award for their work for promotion of Hindi through creativity and criticism and six persons were given Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan Award for their work in the field research in Hindi.

·        Three persons were given Dr. George Grierson Award which is awarded to people of foreign origin for promotion and training of Hindi outside India.

·        Two persons were given Padmabhushan Dr. Moturi Satyanarayan Award which is awarded to people of Indian origin for promotion and training of Hindi outside India.

Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams bag top honours at Laureus World Sports awards:

·        Tennis stars, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams have bagged the sportsman and sportswoman of the year Laureus World Sports Awards.

·        Laureus World Sports Awards, known as the Oscars of Sports, honour the notable sporting personalities and their achievements of the previous year.

·        Paralympic swimmer Daniel Dias of Brazil was given disabled sportsperson of the year award. He won the award for the third time.

·        New Zealand's Rugby World Cup-winning team, All Blacks was adjudged team of the year, with their captain Dan Carter bagging the comeback of the year award.

·        22-year old American golfer Jordan Spieth clinched the breakthrough of the year award.

·        Barcelona forward Lionel Messi was the team athlete of the year.

·        A special spirit of sport award was given posthumously to Johan Cruyff. He was given the award for helping to deliver sport-related projects for underprivileged children around the world. The Netherlands football legend died of cancer last month aged 68.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY:

Panasonic, US-based AES to install India’s first energy storage project in Haryana:

·        Panasonic along with US-based sustainable energy provider, AES would install a joint project of 10 MW energy storage array at Jhajjar, Haryana.

·        This is the first large-scale battery-based energy storage project of India.

·        Both the firms have entered into an agreement to set up a battery-based energy storage project at Panasonic’s Techno park manufacturing facility at Jhajjar.

Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC )To Form JV With Neyveli Lignite For Raghunathpur Plant:

·        Public Sector Player Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) and Public company Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) are planning a joint venture to bring 2×600 MW Raghunathpur thermal power project.

·        DVC losses put up at Rs. 1,334 crores in 2014-15 was to divide off the plant due to its huge debt servicing obligation of about Rs.50 crores monthly

·        The Joint venture of two units of 1200 MW Raghunathpur project have already on track commercial operation on March 31 this year but the DVC has power purchase agreements of only 550 MW.

Flipkart ties up with Godrej Interio for Furniture Vertical:

·        Flipkart partnership with Godrej to offer complete collection of furniture to its customers.

·        It will enable customers to access an exclusive and unique range of furniture which includes designs for living room, dining room and bedroom.

·        The online furniture market is valued at USD 130 million and is expected to grow at a compounded annual rate of 75 per cent and reach over USD 700 million by 2020, according to industry experts.

JK Tyres acquires Cavendish Industries for Rs 2200 crore:

·        New Delhi based JK Asia Pacific group has acquired of Cavendish Industries Ltd. The acquisition has been backed by a combination of internal accruals and debt.

·        The acquisition is at an Enterprise Value of Rs 2200 crore. CIL will be a subsidiary of JK Tyre with majority shareholdings through direct holdings, and the balance through its subsidiaries and JK Group companies.

Indian Oil Corporation, Bangladesh Petro ink LPG terminal, pipeline deal:

·        Flagship refiner-marketer Indian Oil Corporation has inked an MoU with Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation to examine the possibility of jointly working on setting up a LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) import terminal at Chittagong port and other downstream infrastructure in that country.

·        According to an oil ministry statement, the MoU was signed in the presence of oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan who is on a three-day visit to Bangladesh with a view to lending an impetus to bilateral energy ties initiated during PM Narendra Modi’s June 2015 visit.

Tribunal sets aside Rs258 crore airline fine:

·        In a major relief to Jet Airways, SpiceJet and IndiGo, the Competition Appellate Tribunal set aside a fine of Rs 258 crore imposed on them last December on charges of cartelization and “overcharging cargo freight in the garb of fuel surcharge”.

Government relaxes norms for partial PF withdrawal: 

·        Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) members have three more months to withdraw the entire balance in their EPF accounts, if they wish to, as the government has decided to defer new rules restricting PF withdrawals till retirement.

·        Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya responded to the representations of the aggrieved trade unions and soon a fresh notification will be issued to amend the previous one notified in February.

·        The restrictions will now apply from August 1 instead of May 1.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) sticks to auctioning all spectrums in 700MHz band:

·        The TRAI stuck to its stance that the entire spectrum available in 700 MHz band should be auctioned in the upcoming sale as non-utilisation would cause irreversible loss to the government.

·        The regulator also stood firm on its recommended reserve price of about Rs 11,500 crore per MHz. for the spectrum in this band.

·        The Department of Telecom had asked TRAI whether all available spectrums in the 700 MHz band should be put up for auction or split in two phases Network.

o   TRAI Headquarters               :   New Delhi

o   TRAI Chairman                     :   R. S. Sharma

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:

RJio brings high-speed subsea cable network to India:

·        Reliance Jio announced that the Bay of Bengal Gateway’s subsea cable network spread over 8,100 km was operational.

·        The network has been built by six telcos to handle high bandwidth demands of emerging technologies and applications.

·        The system is a direct trunk connection between Barka in Oman and Penang in Malaysia.

Three new primate species found in Madagascar:

·        Scientists have identified three new species of mouse lemurs in Madagascar, taking the total number of known mouse lemur species to 24.

·        As little as 20 years ago, only two species of these small, nocturnal primates were known.

IIT Delhi researcher developed Novel device for sepsis diagnosis:

·        A novel, simple, low-cost device that quickly diagnoses septicaemia at bedside has been developed by an IIT Delhi researcher working along with a Consultant from Global Medical Education and Research Foundation, Hyderabad.

·        Septicemia (or, sepsis), it is the leading cause for deaths in hospitals worldwide.

·        According to a paper published in October 2015 in the journal Analytical Chemistry, there are about 200,000 cases of sepsis deaths each year in the U.S. alone.

·        Sepsis is caused by the overwhelming response of the immune system to an infection. The main causative agents of sepsis are Gram-negative bacteria due to their predominance in the normal intestinal flora and the environment.

·        Specifically, it is the endotoxin, a major constituent of the Gram-negative bacteria cell wall that causes sepsis.

Uber temporarily suspends surge pricing in New Delhi:

·        Taxi aggregator Uber has temporarily suspended surge pricing in Delhi-NCR region, following wide criticism for the manifold increase in fares.

·        On the fourth day of odd-even scheme run by Delhi government, passengers faced difficulties in booking cabs as the platform showed fares to be as high more 5 times than the normal fare.

SPORTS:

Former England opener Robert Key retires from professional cricket

·        Former England Test opener Robert Key, who played 15 Tests for his country, announced his retirement from professional cricket.

·        Key also featured in five ODIs for England cricket between 2002 and 2005, but was mostly known as a Test cricketer.

International Hockey Federation (FIH) announces new structure of int'l hockey events from 2019:

·        The International Hockey Federation (FIH) today announced a new annual global home and away league, involving world's leading hockey nations, to be launched in 2019.

·        It will replace Hockey World League Semi-Finals and Finals and the Champions Trophy.

·        FIH said in a statement that the new league was designed to provide a regular calendar of must-see events played in packed stadia across the world throughout the year. FIH also decided that Champions Trophy -- held once in two years since 1978 -- will be scrapped and the 2018 edition in Amsterdam will be the last tournament.

§  FIH President: Leandro Negre

§  FIH CEO Kelly:         Fairweather

After historic Olympics qualification, Dipa wins gold in vaults:

·        Dipa Karmakar, after creating history by becoming the first Indian gymnast to qualify for the Olympics, clinched the gold in vaults finals at the test event of the Rio Games in Brazil.

·        First time an Indian gymnast clinched a gold in a global competition.

·        Earlier , Dipa created history by becoming the first Indian woman gymnast to qualify for Olympics, after a strong performance at the final qualifying and test event . The Tripura girl book a berth for artistic gymnastics in Rio Games to be held here in August. Apart from being the first Indian woman, she will also be an Indian gymnast qualifying for the Olympics after 52 long years.

OBITUARY:

Salsa great Ismael Quintana dies at 78:

·        A pioneer of salsa music Ismael Quintana passed away in US. He was 78.

·        He was born in Ponce, Quintana played in quartets and sextets in his early career.

·        In 1960 he joined forces with the beloved Eddie Palmieri, also from Puerto Rico, in the “Orquesta La Perfecta.“

·        He known for hits such as “Puerto Rico,” “Adoracion,” “No se compara” and “Maestro rumbero”

‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ star Doris Roberts dies at 90:

·        Tributes poured for Emmy-winning actress Doris Roberts, the star of US sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond,” who has died aged 90.

·        Roberts picked up best supporting actress four times in the early 2000s for her portrayal of Marie Barone, the mother of Ray Romano’s sportswriter character in the show, which ran for nine seasons

1. Maharashtra government banned digging of bore wells beyond 200 ft
1. Maharashtra government on 18 April 2016 decided to restrict digging of borewells beyond 200 feet. The action was taken to check the steep decline in ground water level in the state, which at present is facing recurring droughts and severe water crisis in Marathwada and Vidarbha region.
2. The violators of the rule would face fine or/and imprisonment, as the action will be considered as a punishable offence.
3. Besides, the state government also conducted special workshops of concerned officials’ to discuss the ways for implementation of Maharashtra Groundwater Development and Management Act to control the excess water pumping through borewell.

2. World Bank Group to Invest 2.5 Billion US Dollars in Education Projects benefiting Adolescent Girls
1. World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim announced that the World Bank Group will invest 2.5 billion US dollars over 5 years in education projects that directly benefit adolescent girls.
2. The announcement was followed by a call to action from the First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama, urging key policymakers and influencers from around the world to commit to urgent action in support of adolescent girls.

3. Union Government released Commemorative Coin and Circulation Coin on Tatya Tope
1. Union Minister for Culture and Tourism and Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma released a Commemorative Coin of 200 rupees and a Circulation Coin of 10 rupees to mark the Martyrdom Day of Tatya Tope.
2. The Union Ministry of Culture has been celebrating the 200th Birth Anniversary of Tatya Tope during 2015-16 in association with State Government of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh respectively.

4. Deepak Mishra appointed as ADG of CRPF
1. Senior IPS officer Deepak Mishra has been appointed as Additional Director General in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). His appointment was cleared by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
2. He will have tenure till November 2018 with effect from the date of assumption of charge of the post. Deepak Mishra is IPS officer of the 1984 batch of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre.

5. Rafael Nadal wins 2016 Monte Carlo Masters title of Tennis
1. Ace tennis player Rafael Nadal (World No 5) from Spain has won the 2016 Monte Carlo Rolex Masters title of Tennis. In the final match he defeated Gael Monfils of France by 7-5, 5-7, 6-0 score. It was his overall 9th Monte Carlo Masters title and his 68th win from 100 finals on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour.
2. It was also Nadal’s 100th ATP Tour final appearance and this win also helped Nadal to equal Noval Djokovic’s (World No 1) record of 28th Masters Titles. So far, Rafael Nadal has won 14 Grand Slam singles titles, 28 titles in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events and 16 ATP World Tour 500 tournaments.

International Affairs

• Panama's President Juan Carlos Varela has announced that the country will adopt international tax reporting standards by 2018.
• • He also said an expert committee will be set up in six months to improve transparency.
• During the 2016 Rio Olympics, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to promote the ‘Make in India initiative’. 
• • The Indian Embassy in Rio will host several cultural exhibitions to highlight the country’s progress in self-sustenance. 
  • A kabaddi match, involving India’s best players, will also be showcased, in an attempt to push the sport towards Olympic legitimacy.
• The 14th meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Russian Federation, the Republic of India and the People's Republic of China was held in Moscow, Russian Federation.
• • Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Union Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of India Sushma Swaraj, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China Wang Yi took part in the meeting.
  • Note : The Ministers decided to hold the next trilateral meeting in India.

National Affairs

• Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai has said that the odd-even vehicle rationing scheme may soon become a permanent feature in the national capital. 
• • Note : The government is also considering covering two-wheelers under the rule, he added.
• Maharashtra government has decided to ban setting up new sugar mills in all eight districts in the drought-hit Marathwada region for five years.
• • Maharashtra also plans to make drip-irrigation compulsory for sugarcane farms in the state.
• PM Narendra Modi has inaugurated a superspeciality hospital in Jammu and Kashmir's Katra district. 
• • Named Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, the medical centre has 230 beds and over 20 different streams of medicine and surgery. 
  • Set up with an investment of about ₹300 crore, it also has the provision for rain water harvesting and solar energy utilisation.
    
• The Centre has decided to release 55% of its annual MGNREGA allocation of ₹38,500 crore for 2016-17 by June. 
• • This decision was taken as severe drought conditions in many parts of the country are expected to increase demand for work. 
  • Further, of the ₹21,000 crore released, ₹12,000 crore will reportedly be used by states to pay off arrears.
• The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has urged all its doctors not to put advertisements guaranteeing treatment to patients. 
• • The circular was issued by the IMA after the Maharashtra Medical Council suspended a doctor couple for three months for promising "guaranteed pregnancy" on their website. 
  • Important Note : According to Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, advertisements by doctors are prohibited in any media.
• Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi has inaugurated aconference on child adoption in Shillong which was aimed at familiarising the stakeholders with the adoption programme in north-east states.
• • The one-day conference was attended by the Social Welfare and Women and Child Development Ministers from the North Eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
• Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (CGRBMS) formally launched in New Delhi .
• • It was launched by Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation with Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IITK).
  • It will work as a Think-tank to coordinate all activities within the Ganga river basin, including science, technology, research, innovation, social and investment related aspects.

Science & Technology

• India's first satellite, Aryabhata, built by the Indian Space Research Organisation, was launched on this day (April 19, 1975), by the Soviet Union. 
• • Weighing 360 kg and built to conduct experiments in X-ray astronomy, aeronomics, and solar physics, Aryabhata re-entered the Earth's atmosphere in 1992. 
  • Note : The satellite was named after an Indian mathematician-astronomer who is believed to have discovered 'zero'.
• US-based Binghamton University scientists have developed a new system that can identify people by their brain waves with 100% accuracy. 
• • The team recorded several volunteers' brain activity while they saw images designed to evoke unique responses, and found that their brains reacted differently to each image. 
  • The system might help in security systems for authentication purposes, researchers said.
• YouTube has rolled out support for live streaming of 360° videos on its platform. 
• • Through this, users can experience concerts, faraway locations and sports events in real-time. 
  • The company has also launched support for spatial audio for on-demand videos that allows users to listen along as they do in real life.

Business & Economy

• The Tirupati Balaji temple management has deposited 1,311 kg of gold with thePunjab National Bank under the three-year short term Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS). 
• The US investment bank downgraded private sector ICICI Bank and public sectorBank of Baroda (BoB) to so-called equal weight because of expectations that these banks will have to provide more money to cover for non-performing assets (NPAs) in the current and next fiscal year.
• The RBI has tweaked its norms allowing banks to provision fraud cases within four quarters from the quarter in which it was detected. 
• • Currently, banks should immediately provision for the entire amount due to it or for which it is liable after fraud identification. 
  • Further, 861 bank fraud cases involving ₹4,920 crore were reported in the first half of 2015-16.
• Indian Railways Finance Corporation (IRFC), the public sector enterprise that raises funds for the Indian Railways, has appointed lead managers to issue offshore bonds or rupee-denominated bonds(Masala bonds).
• • The lead managers are JP Morgan, Deutsche, BNP Paribas, HSBC, Standard chart and SBI Caps.

Deaths

• Five-time Emmy award winning TV actress Doris Roberts (90) passed away.
• • She was famous for her role "Marie Barone" in American television sitcom,Everybody Loves Raymond.
• A pioneer of salsa music Ismael Quintana (78) passed away.
• • He known for hits such as “Puerto Rico,” “Adoracion,” “No se compara” and“Maestro rumbero”

Sports

• Laureus World Sports Awards 2016
• • Sportsman of the year - Novak Djokovic 
  • Sportswoman of the year - Serena Williams  
  • • Important Point to Note : 
    • • Both of them have won three grand slams in the 2015 season, with Djokovic winning 82 out of 88 matches, and Serena claiming 53 wins against four losses. 
      • This was the third Laureus trophy for both players.
• Hawk-Eye technology will be used to decide whether the ball has crossed the goal-line at this year's European Championship. 
• • The British company's camera-based system, used in tennis and cricket and at the 2014 World Cup final, will be installed in all 10 stadiums hosting the tournament in France.

#SSC #IBPS #SBI #RBI #NABARD #NICL #NIACL #CAT #NMAT #everydayquiz

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