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54. India has overtaken Thailand as the world’s largest rice exporter in the year 2015 by shipping (exporting) 10.23 million tonnes of rice. It was announced by the Bangkok based Thai Rice Exporters Association Chairman Charoen Laodhammatas. Key facts Thailand: The south-east Asian country ranked second on the list of the world’s largest rice exporting countries. It has exported 9.8 million tonnes of rice to the world market in year 2015 compared to 10.9 million tonnes in year 2014. Vietnam: It was ranked third largest rice exporter with 6.4 million tonnes. China: It has remained the number one importer country of rice in the year 2015.

55. 150th birth anniversary of great freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai, also known as Punjab Kesri is being celebrated 28th January 2016. To celebrate this occasion a state level function has been organised in Punjab and special event will be held at village Dhudi Ke, the birth place of Lala Lajpat Rai in Moga district. State government also has organised various seminars and symposia at many places in Punjab to remember Lala Lajpat Rai.

56. United States (US) based software services exporter Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS) has acquired cloud-based computing firm KBACE Technologies. This acquisition will help Cognizant to strength and expands its digital capabilities from its critical business applications to cloud-based IT infrastructures. The terms and amount of the acquisition deal were not disclosed by the company. This acquisition was part of Cognizant’s strategy to diversify businesses into newer geographies. As part of the acquisition, KBACE Technologies’ 400 consultants and implementation experts will become part of Cognizant. KBACE Technologies’ It is based in New Hampshire and is a leading Oracle Cloud partner that specializes in cloud strategy, implementation and integration. It enjoys a sizable customer base for its Oracle Cloud implementation services.

57. 31 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) members have signed corporate tax avoidance agreement in a bid to stem fiscal (tax) evasion by multinational companies (MNCs). The new agreement is about sharing information between members rather than a new tax law. Under it, signatory members have to share information on tax issues of MNCs. It will primarily focus on country-by-country tax reporting of MNCs between members. Comment The deal has new measures and rules in order to stop MNCs avoiding paying corporate tax using complicated loopholes in the existing complex tax arrangements. It will make it harder for MNCs to hide money in tax havens or play one country’s tax authority against another. It will enhance the transparency in operations of MNCs on tax issues and shall have an immediate impact in boosting international co-operation on tax issues. The exchange of information under this mutual deal will start in 2017 and henceforth, MNCs must have pay tax in the country where the profits are made. Background The deal has proposals which are part of a 15-point OECD package agreed by leaders at a 2015 G20 summit held in Antalya, Turkey. OECD has estimated that every year governments across the world lose around 100 to 240 billion dollars (or 4 to 10 per cent) of global tax revenues because of the tax-minimising schemes of multinationals. About Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) OCED is an international economic organisation of 34 countries to stimulate economic progress and world trade Founded: 1961. Headquarters: Paris, France. It defines itself as a forum of countries committed to democracy and the market economy. It provides common platform for members to compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practices etc. Most OECD members are regarded as developed countries i.e. high-income economies with very high Human Development Index (HDI).

58. Astronomers have discovered the largest known solar system in the form of gas giant located one trillion kilometres away. This solar system has large planet known as 2MASS J2126-8140 that takes nearly a million years to orbit its star. Key facts The newly discovered solar system is 140 times wider than Pluto’s path around our Sun. The planet 2MASS J2126-8140 has mass between 12 and 15 times of Jupiter and is located about 100 light-years away from Earth. Astronomers by using lithium signature have estimated the age of planet somewhere between 10 million and 45 million years old.


59. India has been ranked 76th out of 168 countries in the recently released 2015 Corruption Perception Index (CPI). The 2015 CPI was the 21st edition of the annual index and was published by the Berlin-based corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI). Key facts In this edition, India has scored 38 on a scale from 0 (most corrupt) to 100 (least corrupt). This score is same as 2014 edition indicating that country is showing lack of improvement. India has improved in its ranking compared to earlier position of 85 and 94 in 2014 and 2013, respectively. Top 5 Countries: Denmark (score 91), Finland (score 90), Sweden (89 score), New Zealand, Netherlands (87 score) and Norway (87 score). Bottom 5 Countries: Angola (rank 163), South Sudan (rank 163), Sudan (rank 165), Afghanistan (rank 166), North Korea (rank 167) and Somalia (rank 167). BRICS Countries: South Africa (rank 61), India (76), Brazil (rank 76), China (rank 83) and Russia (rank 119). SAARC Countries: Bhutan (rank 27), India (rank 76), Sri Lanka (rank 83), Pakistan (rank 117), Nepal (rank 130) and Bangladesh (rank 139) and Afghanistan (rank 166). Since 2012, the CPI methodology has been updated to provide for year-over-year precise comparisons. The watchdog uses data to compile the perceptions of the scale of public sector corruption from international institutions like World Bank, the African Development Bank and business school IMD etc.

60. Marvin Minsky, the pioneer of artificial intelligence passed away on 24 January 2016 in Boston, United States due to cerebral hemorrhage. He was 88. He was an American scientist in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) who had created robotic hands that can manipulate objects. He also had developed new programming frameworks in this field and wrote several texts on AI and philosophy.

61. Veteran Bollywood actress and Rajya Sabha MP Rekha has been conferred with the third edition of Yash Chopra Memorial Award. The award was bestowed upon her by Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao in recognition of her talent and contribution to the film industry. About Rekha Born as Bhanu Rekha Ganesan on 10 October 1954 in Chennai in then Madras State (now Tamil Nadu). She is known for her versatility and is acknowledged as one of the finest actresses in Hindi cinema. She had started her film career in 1966 as a child actress in the Telugu film Rangula Ratnam. Her film debut as a lead was in Sawan Bhadon (1970). Since then she has acted in more than 180 films in a career spanning over 40 years. She has won 3 Filmfare Awards, 2 for Best Actress and 1 for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in Khubsoorat (1980), Khoon Bhari Maang (1988) and Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996), respectively. She has won National Film Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of a classical courtesan in the film Umrao Jaan (1981). Government of India has honoured her with the Padma Shri in 2010. About Yash Chopra Memorial Award It is an annual award bestowed upon distinguished senior film personality for outstanding contribution to film industry The award has been instituted by the TSR Foundation of T Subbarami Reddy in the memory of the producer-director Yash Chopra who died in 2012. It carries Gold Medal and a cash prize of 10 lakh rupees. Melody queen Lata Mangeshkar (2013) and megastar Amitabh Bachchan (2014) have been also conferred with this award.

62. India celebrated 67th Republic day 26th January 2016 by displaying its cultural diversity, economic progress and military might were on display at Rajpath, New Delhi. In the national Capital, President Pranab Mukherjee unfurled the national flag and took salute of the parade at Rajpath. French President Francois Hollande was chief guest of Republic Day function. With this he beamce 5th highest dignitary from France to be Chief Guest of Indian Republic Day parade. Key Highlights The Parade was led by Lieutenant General Rajan Ravindran. In the parade, women empowerment was seen as women contingent of CRPF participated in the parade. Apart from this, women officer’s contingents of Indian Nay, Air Force and Coast Guard also participated as 2nd in command. For the first time in the history of Republic Day parade foreign contingent participated. It was 76-member contingent 35th Infantry Regiment of the French Army led by Lt Col Paul Bury. During the parade, country’s diverse cultural and social traditions, military prowess and achievements in different fields were showcased. Indian Army’s missile firing capability, Mobile Autonomous Launcher of the BrahMos Missile System, Infantry Combat Vehicle BMP II Sarath, T-90 Bhishma tank were also displayed. Indian airforce also showed its might with C-17 Globemaster, 5 Jaguar Deep penetration strike aircraft, 3 Sukhoi Su-30, 5 MiG 29 and other fighter choppers during fly. Army’s dog squad from the Remount Veterinary Corps also took part in the parade after a gap of 26 years. For the first time in the history of parade, the tableau of ex-servicemen of Army veterans was displayed in the parade. The tableaux from 6 Central Ministries and 17 states and departments also displayed the varied historical, cultural and architectural heritage of the country.

63. The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015 came into force from 26th January 2016. Earlier President Pranab Mukherjee had given his assent to the bill after it was passed by the Parliament in the winter session in December 2015. Key facts The amended Act has more stringent provisions for prevention of atrocities against Scheduled Castes (SCs) and the Scheduled Tribes (STs). The amended law include new offences like tonsuring of head or similar acts which are derogatory to the dignity of SCs and STs. It also includes garlanding with chappals, abusing in caste name, using or permitting manual scavenging, imposing social or economic boycott. It also has provisions for establishment of Exclusive Special Courts for the expeditious disposal of cases. The new law also defines wilful negligence and dereliction of duty of public servants at all levels provision and specify duties of public servants.

64. India and France have singed 14 pacts for enhancing the bilateral cooperation various fields including defence, space, railways, education etc. These agreements were signed between the two countries after extensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Francois Hollande. Signed Agreements are Defence: MoU on purchase of 36 Rafale Aircrafts. Space: Implementation Arrangement between ISRO and CNES on hosting Argos-4 Payload onboard Oceansat-3 satellite of India. Implementation Arrangement between ISRO and CNES on a future joint Thermal Infrared earth observation mission. Letter of Intent (LoI) on France’s (CNES) participation in India’s (ISRO’s) next Mars Mission. Railways: Joint Venture Shareholding Agreement between Indian Railways and Alstom for production of 800 electric locomotives in Madhepura plant in Bihar. Agreement between Indian Railways and French Railways (SNCF) for joint feasibility study for the renovation of Ambala (Punjab) and Ludhiana (Punjab) railway stations. Food safety: MOU between Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and ANSES in food safety. Public Administration: Partnership Agreement on Cooperation in Public Administration between Union Ministry of Personnel & Public Grievances and France. Cultural exchange: Declaration of Intent (DoI) for conducting Bonjour India (French festival) in 2017 and Namaste France (Indian festival) in 2016, Cultural Exchange Programme between both countries for the period 2016-2018 Science & Technology: Arrangement for establishment of an Indo- French Ministerial level Joint Committee on Science & Technology. Education: MoU between IIT Mumbai and Thales Systemes Aeroportes for Industry Sponsored Ph.D (Doctorate) Fellowship. Cooperation Agreement for joint research, teaching, exchange of personnel etc between IISER, Pune and ENS de Lyon (France). Agreement of Cooperation in the field of Higher Education & Research between IIT Mumbai and CNRS, TB, UBO, UBS,ENSTA Bretagne,ENIB (French Universities). Apart from signing these agreements, both countries also discussed on ways to enhance cooperation in counter-terrorism, security and civil nuclear energy.

65. Union Government has launched Sahaj Scheme for online booking of LPG cylinders. It was launched by Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas (Independent Charge) Dharmendra Pradhan as part of Government’s 2016-Year of the Consumers initiative. Features of Scheme Consumers can book LPG cylinders online through the unified web portal www.mylpg.in which is available in 13 languages. People can apply online for new LPG connection and they need not visit to the LPG distributors for it. This facility is available around the clock and with online or offline payment options. LPG cylinders will be delivered at home even in their absence. Union government has decided to target of adding 10 crore new LPG connections by December 2018 to present 16.5 crore connections. For this government has planned to ease the process of LPG refills and new connections

66. President Pranab Mukherjee has announced the names of recipients of year 2016 Padma awards. He approved conferment of 112 Padma Awards. Padma Awards, the country’s highest civilian awards, are conferred in three Categories viz. Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. This year’s list comprises 10 Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan and 83 Padma Shri Awardees. Among these awardees 9 are women and 10 persons from the category of foreigners, NRIs, PIOs (include one posthumous) and 4 Posthumous awardees. The Awards are given in various disciplines- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. 2016 Padma Vibhushan Awards It is the second highest civilian award. It is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service. Sr. No Name Field State 1 Yamini Krishnamurthi Art-Classical Dance Delhi 2 Rajinikanth Art-Cinema Tamil Nadu 3 Girija Devi Art-Classical Vocal West Bengal 4 Ramoji Rao Literature & Education Andhra Pradesh 5 Dr. Viswanathan Shanta Medicine- Oncology Tamil Nadu 6 Shri Shri Ravi Shankar Spiritualism Karnataka 7 Jagmohan Public Affairs Delhi 8 Dr.Vasudev Kalkunte Aatre Science & Engineering Karnataka 9 Avinash Dixit (Foreigner) Literature & Education United States 10 Dhiru Bhai Ambani (Posthumous) Trade & Industry Maharashtra 2016 Padma Bhushan Awards It is the third highest civilian award. It is awarded for distinguished service of high order. Sr. No Name Field State 1 Anupam Kher Art-Cinema Maharashtra 2 Udit Narayan Jha Art-Playback Singing Maharashtra 3 Ram V. Sutar Art-Sculpture Uttar Pradesh 4 Heisnam Kanhailal Art-Theatre Manipur 5 Vinod Rai Civil Service Kerala 6 Dr. Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad Literature & Education Andhra Pradesh 7 Prof. N. S. Ramanuja Tatacharya Literature & Education Maharashtra 8 Dr. Barjinder Singh Hamdard Literature & Education Punjab 9 Prof. D. Nageshwar Reddy Medicine-Gastroenterology Andhra Pradesh 10 Swami Tejomayananda Spiritualism Maharashtra 11 Hafeez Contractor Architecture Maharashtra 12 Ravindra Chandra Bhargava Public Affairs Uttar Pradesh 13 Dr.Venkata Rama Rao Alla Science & Engineering Andhra Pradesh 14 Saina Nehwal Sports-Badminton Telangana 15 Sania Mirza Sports-Tennis Telangana 16 Indu Jain Trade & Industry Delhi 17 Swami Dayanand Sarawasati (Posthumous) Spiritualism Utttarakhand 18 Robert Blackwill (Foreigner) Public Affairs United States 19 Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry (NRI/PIO) Trade & Industry Ireland 2016 Padma Shri Awards It is the fourth highest civilian award. It is awarded for distinguished service in any field. Sr. No Name Field State 1 Prathibha Prahlad Art- Classical Dance Delhi 2 Bhikhudan Gadhvi Art- Folk Music Gujarat 3 Sribhas Chandra Supakar Art- Textile Designing Uttar Pradesh 4 Ajay Devgn Art-Cinema Maharashtra 5 Priyanka Chopra Art-Cinema Maharashtra 6 Pt. Tulsidas Borkar Art-Classical Music Goa 7 Dr. Soma Ghosh Art-Classical Vocal Uttar Pradesh 8 Nila Madhab Panda Art-Film Direction and Production Delhi 9 S.S. Rajamouli Art-Film Direction and Production Karnataka 10 Madhur Bhandarkar Art-Film Direction and Production Maharashtra 11 Prof. M. Venkatesh Kumar Art-Folk Artist Karnataka 12 Gulabi Sapera Art-Folk Dance Rajasthan 13 Mamta Chandrakar Art-Folk Music Chhattisgarh 14 Malini Awasthi Art-Folk Music Uttar Pradesh 15 Jai Prakash Lekhiwal Art-Miniature Painting Delhi 16 K. Laxma Goud Art-Painting Telangana 17 Bhalchandra Dattatray Mondhe Art-Photography Madhya Pradesh 18 Naresh Chander Lal Art-Theatre & Cinema Andaman & Nicobar 19 Dhirendra Nath Bezbaruah Literature & Education Assam 20 Prahlad Chandra Tasa Literature & Education Assam 21 Dr.Ravindra Nagar Literature & Education Delhi 22 Dahyabhai Shastri Literature & Education Gujarat 23 Dr.Santeshivara Bhyrappa Literature & Education Karnatka 24 Haldar Nag Literature & Education Odisha 25 Kameshwaram Brahma Literature & Education Assam 26 Prof. Pushpesh Pant Literature & Education Delhi 27 Jawaharlal Kaul Literature & Education- Journalism Jammu & Kashmir 28 Ashok Malik Literature & Education Delhi 29 Dr.Mannam Gopi Chand Medicine-Cardio Thoracic Surgery Telangana 30 Ravi Kant Medicine-Surgery Uttar Pradesh 31 Prof. Ram Harsh Singh Medicine- Ayurveda Uttar Pradesh 32 Prof. Shiv Narain Kureel Medicine- Paediatric Surgery Uttar Pradesh 33 Dr.Sabya Sachi Sarkar Medicine -Radiology Uttar Pradesh 34 Dr. Alla Gopala Krishna Gokhale Medicine-Cardiac Surgery Andhra Pradesh 35 Prof. T.K. Lahiri Medicine-Cardio Thoracic Surgery Uttar Pradesh 36 Dr. Praveen Chandra Medicine-Cardiology Delhi 37 Dr Daljeet Singh Gambhir Medicine-Cardiology Uttar Pradesh 38 Dr.Chandrasekar Shesadri Thoguluva Medicine-Gastroenterology Tamil Nadu 39 Dr. (Mrs.) Anil Kumari Malhotra Medicine-Homeopathy Delhi 40 Prof. M.V. Padma Srivastava Medicine-Neurology Delhi 41 Dr. Sudhir V. Shah Medicine-Neurology Gujarat 42 Dr. M. M. Joshi Medicine-Ophthalmology Karnataka 43 Dr John Ebnezar Medicine-Orthopaedic Surgery Karnataka 44 Dr. Nayudamma Yarlagadda Medicine-Paediatric Surgery Andhra Pradesh 45 Simon Oraon Other -Environment Conservation Jharkhand 46 Imitiaz Qureshi Other-Culinary Delhi 47 Piyush Pandey Others-Advertising & Communication Maharashtra 48 Subhash Palekar Others-Farming Maharashtra 49 Ravinder Kumar Sinha Others-Wildlife Conservation Bihar 50 Dr. H.R. Nagendra Others-Yoga Karnataka 51 M. C. Mehta Public Affairs Delhi 52 M. N. Krishna Mani Public Affairs Delhi 53 Ujjwal Nikam Public Affairs Maharashtra 54 Tokheho Sema Public Affairs Nagaland 55 Dr. Satish Kumar Science & Engineering Delhi 56 Dr.Mylswamy Annadurai Science & Engineering Karnataka 57 Prof. Dipankar Chatterji Science & Engineering Karnataka 58 Dr Ganapati Dadasaheb Yadav Science & Engineering Maharashtra 59 Prof. Veena Tandon Science & Engineering Meghalaya 60 Onkar Nath Srivastava Science & Engineering Uttar Pradesh 61 Sunita Krishnan Social Work Andhra Pradesh 62 Ajoy Kumar Dutta Social Work Assam 63 M. Pandit Dasa Social Work Karnataka 64 P. P. Gopinathan Nair Social Work Kerala 65 Madeleine Herman de Blic Social Work Puducherry 66 Srinivasan Damal Kandalai Social work Tamil Nadu 67 Sudhakar Olwe Social Work Maharashtra 68 Dr. T.V. Narayana Social Work Telangana 69 Arunachalam Murugantham Social Work Tamil Nadu 70 Deepika Kumari Sports-Archery Jharkhand 71 Sushil Doshi Sports-commentary Madhya Pradesh 72 Mahesh Sharma Trade & Industry Delhi 73 Saurabh Srivastava Trade & Industry Delhi 74 Dilip Sanghvi Trade & Industry Maharashtra 75 Dr. Keki Hormusji Gharda Trade & Industry Maharashtra 76 Prakash Chand Surana (Posthumous) Art -Classical Music Rajasthan 77 Saeed Jaffrey (NRI/PIO/Posthumous) Art-Cinema UK 78 Michael Postel (Foreigner) Art-Archaeology France 79 Salman Amin Sal Khan (NRI/PIO) Literature & Education US 80 Hui Lan Zhang (Foreigner) Others-Yoga China 81 Predrag K. Nikic (Foreigner) Others-Yoga Serbia 82 Dr.Sundar Aditya Menon (NRI/PIO) Social Work UAE 83 Ajaypal Singh Banga (NRI/PIO) Trade & Industry US

67. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has celebrated the 6th National Voters’ Day across the country. Theme for year 2016 is Inclusive and Qualitative Participation. Observances To mark this day, ECI has organised National level function in New Delhi in which President Pranab Mukherjee was the Chief Guest. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Nasim Zaidi also released the book titled Belief in the Ballot and presented the first copy to the President. President also gave away Awards for Best Electoral Practices to Chief Electoral Officers, District Electoral Officers and other Officers involved in election management. Civil society organisations and Media houses were also given awards for best campaign in Voters’ Education and Awareness. Background National Voters’ Day was initiated in 2011 to commemorate the foundation day of the Election Commission of India (ECI). Significance of Day: This day marks the foundation day of ECI which came into existence on 25th January 1950. This day is also utilized to spread awareness among voters regarding effective participation in the electoral process.

68. The first Ministerial Meeting of Arab-India Cooperation Forum was held Manama, capital city of Bahrain. The meeting was inaugurated by Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa and was attended by representatives of 22 Arab League nations. Indian side was represented by Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and also Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar. Key Highlights The forum seeks to provide platform for India’s bid to reach out to West Asian nations (22 Arab League nations) to further strengthen the economic, trade and financial cooperation. Manama Declaration: Both sides also issued a joint statement called the Manama Declaration. Terrorism: The two sides condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and rejected associating it with any religion. They vowed to combat terrorism and called for developing a collective strategy to eliminate its sources and its funding. Islamic State: Strongly condemned crimes committed by all terror organisations, especially those committed by the IS. Both sides affirmed their respect to the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Iraq and non-interference in its internal affairs in tackling with IS. The two sides discussed regional and global issues of mutual concern, including developments in the Arab region and in South Asia, counter-terrorism, United Nations Security Council (UNSC) reforms, Palestinian issue and nuclear disarmament.

69. State owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) has received environmental clearance for a project in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin in Andhra Pradesh. Under this clearance, ONGC project has been allowed to drill 45 development wells and other related infrastructure will cost over 53,000 crore rupees at offshore KG-DWN-98/2 block. Other clearances ONGC also has been asked to obtain Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance, approval from Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) for commencement of drilling. It also has been asked to comply with all recommendations and conditions specified by Andhra Pradesh Coastal Zone Management Authority. Key facts KG-DWN-98/2 block is located within 25-80 km from nearest coast and covers an area of 7,294.6 sq km. Drilling in this block is expected to produce 51.33 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas over a period of 16 years and 26.71 million cubic meters (mcm) of oil in 12 years. ONGC’s is going to drill 45 development wells in this block and also set up a FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Offloading) facility. It will also set up subsea production systems, offshore fixed platform and subsea pipelines connecting landfall point to existing onshore terminal of GAIL India Ltd.

70. Eminent tabla player Pandit Shankar Ghosh passed away in Kolkata, West Bengal following a prolonged illness. He was 80. He was amongst the most well-known tabla players in the country and followed the Farukhabad gharana of Hindustani classical music. About Pandit Shankar Ghosh He had started learning training taleem in 1953 under the guidance of legendary Pandit Gyan Prakash Ghosh. Ustad Feroz Khan, Pandit Sudarshan Adhikari and Pandit Anath Nath Bose were his other teachers. He had taught tabla to a large number of students not only in India but also in Europe. He was the mentor of Bickram Ghosh. He had performed with vocalists such as Pandit Omkarnath Thakur, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Girija Devi, Pandit Vinayakrao Patwardhan and Akhtari Bai. He had earned rave reviews for his ‘jugalbandi’ performances with celebrated classical musicians like Ustad Vilayat Khan, sitarists Pandit Ravi Shankar and violinist Pandit VG Jog. At international level, he had collaborated with artists like Pete Lockett, Greg Ellis and John Bergamo. Awards: He was awarded the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2000. He also has received ITC Sangeet Research Academy award and Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan award.

71. The Union cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recommended imposition of President’s Rule in Arunachal Pradesh under Article 356 (1) of the Constitution. Proposal in this regard has been forwarded to President Pranab Mukherjee after Union Government felt that Congress ruled state is heading for a constitutional breakdown. Key facts Union Government took this decision after state assembly failed to comply with the provisions of Article 174 (sessions of the state legislature, prorogation and dissolution) of the Constitution. As per the provisions of Article 174, the session of state assembly was to be held in 21st January 2016, six months after the last sitting. But the state assembly failed to comply with this provision which may led to constitutional breakdown Background The political crisis in the north eastern hill state began in December 2015 after 21 out of 47 ruling Congress legislators in the 60-member house rebelled along with 11 BJP and 2 independent legislators and extended support to Kalikho Pul to form new government. Arunachal Pradesh Governor Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa also had advanced the date of the convening of the assembly session in order check the majority of ruling government in the assembly.

72.India’s largest tricolour was hoisted atop the tallest pole at Pahari Mandir in Ranchi, by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. This flag will remain hoisted for 24 hours and shall be illuminated with the help of twenty sodium vapour lights at night. It is world’s largest and the highest hoisted Indian flag. Dimensions of flag: It measures 66 feet in height and 99 feet in width in the proper ratio 2:3. It was hoisted on pole with height of 293 feet. It weighs 80 kg. Earlier Record Until now, Faridabad (Haryana) had raised the world’s tallest national flag raised at a height of 246 feet in March 2015. It was unfurled by Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) President Amit Shah. The unfurling event was organised by Nav Chetna Trust which is formed to work on social issues like beti bachao and swachh bharat.

73. India’s digital payment startup company TranServ has launched country’s first Social Mobile Wallet named Udio. The digital wallet seeks to address the gap between real and virtual modes of payment as it has more social experience. Key features of Udio Wallet It integrates a social, community-driven aspect with anytime, anywhere accessibility to digital P2P (peer-to-peer) transactions. These transactions take place via seamless and secure payment structure that creates a ubiquitous ecosystem for both consumers and brands. It is relatively easy to use and is a more casual approach for making cashless payments similar to mobile banking. It enables users to do squaring of dues, sharing dinner bills or a cab ride and also to pay electricity and gas bills and make DTH & mobile recharges. What is peer-to-peer payment solution? Digital P2P payment allows users to send payments to anyone with a click of their mobile phone. It is an accessible, practical and convenient cashless digital means of paying bills, in-store purchases and more. It replaces physical cash notes with digital currency in order to reduce and offset the costs associated with cash.

74. India has submitted its first Biennial Update Report (BUR) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) towards fulfillment of the reporting obligation. The BUR has been submitted as per the provisions of the UNFCCC Convention which is obligatory on countries to periodically provide national information. Key highlights of BUR BUR has been prepared by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (UNFCC) under its NATCOM project funded by Global Environment Facility (GEF). Contains national inventory of Green House Gases (GHG) for 2010 and has been prepared in accordance with the guidelines of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 6 GHGs in Inventory: Carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), Perfluorocarbons (PFCs), Nitrous Oxide (N2O), Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) and Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Five categories: It covers agriculture, waste and Land-use, Land-use, Change and Forestry (LULUCF), energy, industrial processes and product use (IPPU),. India’s emissions: India has emitted around 2,137 million tonnes (mt) of CO2 equivalent GHGs in 2010. About 12% of emissions were offset by carbon sink action of croplands and forests. Thus, total of 1,884.31 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent GHGs were emitted. In 2010, India’s per capita GHG emission was less than one- third of the world’s per capita emissions. It is far below many developed and developing countries. Category wise Emissions: Energy sector was the prime contributor to emissions with 71%. While, agriculture contributed 18 % and IPPU 8% to the national GHG inventory. Background In the conference of Parties (COP)-16 of UNFCCC held in Cancun (Mexico) in 2010 it was decided that the developing countries will submit updates in the form of BUR. The scope of a BUR is to provide an update to the latest National Communication submitted by the country to the UNFCCC. Accordingly, India’s first BUR is an update to the Second National Communication which was submitted in 2012. India had submitted its first national communication in 2004.

75. As per recently released United Nations (UN) World Economic Situation and Prospects 2016 Report, India will be the fastest growing big economy in the world in 2016. The report has projected India’s growth rate by 7.3 % in the year 2016 and 7.5 % in 2017 slightly up from an earlier estimated 7.2 % rate in 2015. Report Highlights The highest growth rate in India has been attributed to improvement in the macroeconomic environment with the help of sharp decline in the prices of oil, food and metals. Even the investor and consumer confidence has risen even after Indian government facing difficulties in implementing its wide-ranging economic reform agenda. However, some of the economic indicators such as industrial production will remain volatile. In 2016 and 2017, South Asia region is expected to be the world’s fastest-growing region despite challenging global conditions. In the South Asia region, India’s economy will account for over 70 % of regions GDP.

76. Sri Lanka has maintained its high ranking in 2015 human development index (HDI) in the South Asia Region. In the 2015 Global Human Development Report (HDR) released by UN Development Programme (UNDP) Sri Lanka was ranked 73rd with an HDI value of 0.757. Key facts Rankings of other seven South Asian Countries are Maldives (104), India (130), Bhutan (132), Bangladesh (142), Nepal (145), Pakistan (147) and Afghanistan (171). India and Bhutan fall under the medium human development countries category. While Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan fall under low human development countries category. In the 2014 report, Sri Lanka had occupied the 74th place. Since the end of the civil war in 2009, the island nation’s rank went up by five positions. 2015 HDR has determined the HDI values by assessing long-term progress of 188 countries and territories in three basic dimensions of human development viz. (i) Long and healthy life. (ii) Access to knowledge. (iii) Decent standard of living.

77. Legendary classical danseuse Mrinalini Sarabhai passed away in Ahmedabad, Gujarat due to age related health complications. She was 97. She was trained in Bharatnatyam, Kathakali and Mohiniyattom and was educated at Shantiniketan under the guidance of Rabindranath Tagore. About Mrinalini Sarabhai Mrinalini Sarabhai was born on 11 May 1918 in Kerala. She was daughter of former MP Ammu Swaminathan and founder of the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts in Ahmedabad. She was trained in the south Indian classical dance Bharatanatyam under Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai. She was also trained in classical dance-drama of Kathakali under the legendary Guru Thakazhi Kunchu Kurup. She was one of the first classical dancer to turn to choreography. She has trained over 18,000 students in Bharatnatyam and Kathakali. Besides being a classical dancer, she was a writer, poet and environmentalist and had played a leading role in the social and art scene in Ahmedabad. Family: She was widow of noted space scientist Dr. Vikram Sarabhai who is considered as the Father of the Indian Space Program. Leading danseuse, actor and activist Mallika Sarabhai is her daughter. Awards and Honours: Padma Bhushan Award (1992), Padma Shri (1965) and Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship (1994).

78. Senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) Officer Atulesh Jindal has been appointed chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). His appointment was cleared by Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Atulesh Jindal will succeed Arun Kumar Jain who has completed his term. He will have tenure of six-months till he retires in July 2016. He is a 1978 batch IRS officer and currently working as member (revenue) in the CBDT. About Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) CBDT is apex policy making body of Income Tax department in India and is the supreme body for framing policies related to direct taxes. It is a statutory authority established under The Central Board of Revenue Act, 1963. The composition of CBDT includes Chairman and six members.

79. The fourth edition of India Africa Hydrocarbons Conference (IAHC) has begun on January 21, 2016 in New Delhi. The two day conference aims at enhancing greater cooperation between India and African continent in the field of Hydrocarbons. It also seeks to explore opportunities, bridge boundaries and boost bilateral trade between India and Africa. 4th India Africa Hydrocarbons Conference (IAHC) 22 African nations have participated of which 9 are represented by their Ministers. These 9 countries are Morocco, Algeria, Liberia, Mauritius, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea and Senegal. Provide a global forum and common platform to African Countries to share their vision and chart out the road map for extended energy cooperation. Bring together African leaders in and also CEOs from India and abroad to exchange expert insights and develop strategies for enhancing energy cooperation. India-Africa Relations for Energy Security India and African nations have common colonial past and enjoyed political and cultural ties. However, energy security stands as one of the major focus area of the bilateral ties. Presently, India is importing close to 75 per cent of its crude oil and is seeking to diversifying import basket to meet its energy requirements. Oil imports from Africa play a significant role in meeting the demands of India. In June 2015, Nigeria had stood as the second largest supplier of oil to India. Though Africa has huge hydrocarbon resources, it lacks capital, technology and ability, experience and manpower to exploit these resources for future growth. This can serve as the catalyst to encourage proper cooperation in the hydrocarbon energy sector as India can provide investment capital for development needs of African countries.

80. The nineteenth edition of National Conference on e-Governance has begun on 21 January 2016 in Nagpur, Maharashtra. It was inaugurated by the Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari and the Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions Dr. Jitendra Singh. This edition of conference has been organised by Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) in in association with the Government of Maharashtra.

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