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1. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has entered into collaboration with German Government for a special programme on ‘Soil Protection and Rehabilitation for Food Security‘. The programme is part of the German government’s recently introduced special initiative ‘One World, No Hunger’ initiative. As part of the collaboration NABARD is anchoring two programmes viz. Soil conservation and rehabilitation of degraded land programme in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Innovation of watershed development and climate change adaptation programmes in five states Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Germany’s ‘One World, No Hunger’ addresses areas such as food and nutrition security, protection and sustainable use of natural resources in rural areas, promotion of innovation and promotion of responsible land use and access to land. India is the only country in Asia chosen for this initiative.

2. Chinese researchers have developed world’s first graphene electronic paper that will catapult the material to a new level. It was developed by The Guangzhou OED Technologies in partnership with a company in Chongqing Province of China. Key facts Graphene e-paper is more pliable and has more intensity as compared to traditional e-papers. It has high-light transmittance means optical displays will be much brighter. Compared with liquid crystal displays (LCDs), e-papers are thinner, bendable and energy efficient. Mass production cost is much lower compared to traditional e-papers, which use the rare, expensive metal indium. About Graphene Graphene is the world’s strongest and lightest known material derived from carbon. It can conduct heat and electricity. Its single layer is of 0.335 nanometers thickness. It can be used to create hard or flexible Graphene displays and also can be used in electronic products such as e-readers and wearable smart devices.

3. Gujarat Government has decided to provide 10 percent reservation for economically backward classes (EBCs) in general category. In this regard, state government is going to promulgate ordinance and will be applicable in government jobs as well as admission to the educational institutions from next academic year. This 10 percent reservation for EBCs in general category will be available to all non-reserved class, whose total family income is less than 6 lakh annually. The new reservation will not affect the present reservation available to Scheduled Castes (SC)/ Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC). This decision will breaches Supreme Court’s reservation limit of 50 percent as the State Government is already providing 50 percent reservation to SC, ST and OBC.

4. Former bureaucrat and parliamentarian Nand Kishore Singh has been selected for prestigious ‘Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver’, Japan’s highest civilian award. He was chosen for this prestigious award for promoting economic, educational and cultural ties between India and Japan. He is among 91 foreign recipients to be honoured during the 2016 Spring Imperial Decoration of Japan by Emperor Akihito during the investiture ceremony in May 2016.

5. IT major Mindtree co-founder Subroto Bagchi has been appointed as head of the Odisha Skill Development Authority. He would report directly to the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and has been given the rank of cabinet minister with a token monthly salary of Re 1. Bagchi was born in Patnagarh block of backward Bolangir district of Odisha.

6. Reliance Infra-led Reliance Defence Ltd has signed a strategic partnership agreement with 3 Ukrainian state firms to collaborate on a range of military products. These three Ukrainian state-owned firms are Ukroboronprom, Spetstechno Exports and Antonov.

7. India and Papua New Guinea have signed four Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) in various sectors to boost bilateral cooperation. The MoUs were signed in the presence of the visiting President Pranab Mukherjee and the Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’ Neil in Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea. Signed MoUs are MoU regarding $100 Million Credit Line: India will provide a Line of Credit of 100 million dollars for specific projects in Transport and infrastructure sectors. MoU in the field of Health Care and Medical Science: It covers areas such as Public Health, Health Research, Human Resources and Training, Medical Services, Disease Control and Prevention, Drug and Health Care Technologies and Environmental Health. MoU in the field of Agriculture: It was singed between the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and PNG University of Technology, Lae, Papua New Guinea. It delineates all round cooperation in agricultural research and training. MoU in the field of IT: It envisages establishment of a Centre of Excellence in Information Technology in Papua New Guinea.

8. Pakistani women’s rights activist from Swat valley Tabassum Adnan has won prestigious 2016 Nelson Mandela Graça Machel Innovation Award. She won the award for the individual activist category on the concluding day of the International Civil Society Week (ICSW) held from April 25-28, 2016 in Bogota, Colombia. With this Tabassum Adnan becomes the second woman from Pakistan’s Swat valley to win this international recognition after Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai.

9. Senior IPS officer Surender Kumar Bhagat was appointed as the Director General (DG) of Railways Protection Force (RPF). His appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In his new role, he will be responsible for protecting railway property and passengers.

10. The Parliament has passed the Industries (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015. The Bill amends the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951. It was first was passed in Lok Sabha in December 2015 and later in Rajya Sabha in April 2016. Now it will go for Presidential assent as per Article 111 of the Indian Constitution. Key facts The bill seeks to bring industries engaged in the manufacture of potable alcohol under the exclusive control of States in all respects. It amends 1st schedule of the parent Act to bring required changes for regulating industries manufacturing potable alcohol. However, Union Government will continue to be responsible for formulating policy and regulating foreign collaboration for all products of fermentation industries, including industrial and potable alcohol. Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951: It provides for development and regulation of certain industries including telecommunications, transportation, metallurgical, fermentation (which includes production of alcohol) among others. The 1st schedule of the Act includes all industries that are regulated under the Act Background In the Bihar Distillery versus Union of India case (1997), Supreme Court had demarcated the regulation of production of alcohol between centre and states. The apex court had ruled that Union Government should regulate the production of alcohol for industrial use and states should regulate the production of alcohol for potable purpose (domestic consumption). It also had held that where the removal or clearance is for industrial purposes, the levy of excise duty and all other control should be with the Union Government. The Bill conforms to the Supreme Court’s decision.

11. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has launched an innovative mobile application titled e-voter with comprehensive details about the forthcoming 2016 Assembly polls in Kerala. The app is envisaged for voters’ facilitation for search in electoral roll, information regarding candidates, location of polling station, affidavit filed by them, filing of complaint and so on. Key facts The e-voter app was developed by the state IT Mission. It aims at ensuring great transparency and conduct of free and fair elections. The app has ‘know your candidate’ option that would provide constituency wise details of candidates. It has ‘constituency list’ option that would give segment wise details of voters (total number of voters, number of male voters and female voters) and total polling stations. The app will also provide information about previous elections results and names of Chief Ministers. The e-voter app can be downloaded from the Google Play store and can be installed on any android phone

12. Indian Naval Ships (INS) Veer and Nipat were decommissioned at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The decommissioning ceremony of these ships was held in the presence of Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command.

13. Russia has successfully launched the first rocket from its newly built Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur Oblast, in Russian Far East region bordering China. The unmanned Soyuz-2.1a rocket is carrying three satellites as payloads namely Mikhailo Lomonosov (scientific satellite), SamSat-218 (an experimental nanosatellite) and Aist-2D (a civilian distance viewing satellite). Vostochny Cosmodrome is a Russian spaceport for civilian launches under construction after it was launched in 2012. On completion in 2018, it will reduce Russia’s dependency on the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Presently, Russia has the large military launch facilities but it relies primarily on the Baikonur Cosmodrome for the civilian launches.

14. Indian academician Radha Kumar was appointed as United Nation’s University Council along with other 11 people by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. They will serve for terms of either three or six years and shall formulate its principles and policies, consider and approve biennial budget and work programme.

15. Parliament passed Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2016 to include certain communities in the list of Scheduled Castes (SC) from 4 states. The bill seeks to amend Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 to include certain communities from Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Kerala and West Bengal in the list. It also has provisions for exclusion of certain communities from Odisha and removal of area restriction in respect of certain communities. Key facts The bill was introduced in the Parliament by Union Social Justice Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot as per the provisions of Article 341 of the Constitution. Chhattisgarh: Inclusion of Sais, Sahis, Sarathi, Soot-Sarathi, Thanwar communities in the list. Haryana: Inclusion of (i) Aheria, Aheri, Hari, Heri, Thori, Turi and (ii) Rai Sikh communities in the list. Kerala: Inclusion of Peruvannan community in the list and Modification in the area of specification of Malayan community. West Bengal: Removal of area restriction of Chain community. Odisha: Exclusion of Bariki and Kummari communities in the list. Article 341: It empowers Parliament to include or exclude castes from the list of Scheduled Castes in the notification. It also empowers the President to specify castes which will be deemed as Scheduled Castes through a notification.

16. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has successfully launched India’s 7th navigation satellite IRNSS 1G of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). The satellite was launched into a Sub-Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (Sub-GTO) on-board of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C-33 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. IRNSS 1G satellite is last space segment satellites of the IRNSS system. With this India joins elite group of selected nations that have their own GPS (Global Positioning System) or navigation system. Note: IRNSS system is similar to other satellite navigation systems like US’s GPS , Russia’s Glonass, Japan’s Quasi Zenith, Europe’s Galileo and China’s Beidou. About IRNSS 1G IRNSS 1G satellite has a lift-off mass of 1425 kg. Its configuration is the same as IRNSS-1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E and 1F. Payloads: It equipped with two types of payloads viz. navigation payload and ranging devices. The navigation payload will be mainly used to transmit navigation service signals to the users. The ranging payload consists of a C-band transponder that will facilitate accurate determination of the range of the satellite. About IRNSS System IRNSS System consists of constellation of seven satellites of which three are geostationary and four are non-geostationary. Four Geosynchronous satellites: They will be orbiting in pairs in two inclined geosynchronous orbits. When observed from the ground, these 2 pairs of satellites will appear to travel in figures of ‘8’. Three Geostationary satellites: They will be placed in the geostationary orbit over the equator. They match the Earth’s rotation and shall remain at a fixed position in the sky. Services: This satellite system aims to provide real-time accurate position information of objects to users across the country and the region, extending up to an area of 1,500 km. It would provide two types of 24/7 standard services (i) Restricted Service (RS): an encrypted service provided to authorised users. It will be used for military and missile-related applications. (ii) Standard Positioning Service (SPS): to all users. Applications: (i) Terrestrial, Aerial and Marine Navigation (ii) Disaster Management (iii) Vehicle tracking and fleet management (iv) Integration with mobile phones (v) Precise Timing (vi) Mapping and Geodetic data capture (vii) Terrestrial navigation aid for hikers and travellers (viii) Visual and voice navigation for drivers. Earlier the six satellites of the series namely IRNSS-1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E and 1F were launched in July 2013, April 2014, October 2014, March 2015, January 2016 and March 2016 respectively. It will become operational after checking the systems-space (satellites), ground (ground stations) and the user end signal receivers.

17. Renowned Kerala cartoonist V T Thomas passed away following a brief illness at in Kottayam, Kerala. He was 86. He was popularly known as Toms and had created the legendary cartoon characters Boban and Molly (Bobanum Moliyum).

18. India’s Deepika Kumari has equalled the world record in Women’s Recurve event at the qualifying stage of Archery World Cup held in Shanghai, China. Deepika recorded a score of 686 out of 720 to finish 1st in qualifiers and equal the world. With this she equalled the record set by South Korea’s Ki Boe Bae at the World University Games in Gwangju in 2015. Deepika has already qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics scheduled to be held in August 2016 with her performance at the Copenhagen World Championships in 2015. In the previous editions of the World Cup, Deepika had won silver medals consecutively in 2011, 2012 and 2013 in the women’s individual events.

19. The Union Cabinet has given its approval to enhance investment by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) in Bharat Oman Refineries Limited (BORL). With this, the investment amount of BPCL could be enhanced upto a maximum of 3000 crore rupees by way of subscription of convertible warrants or other instruments. The infusion of funds by the BPCLs will Enable expansion of Bina Refinery in Madhya Pradesh and overcome the implications on account of the erosion of the net worth. Enhance the availability of petroleum products in the Northern and Central parts of the country. It will also enhance industrial development of Madhya Pradesh and substantial increase in employment and tax earnings in the State. Background BPCL is India’s second-biggest state refiner that functions under the aegis of Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. It has promoted a joint venture company with Oman Oil Company Limited (OOCL) named BORL. OCC holds 26% stake and BPCL holds 49% stake.

20. The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post facto approval for the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and the Insurance Authority of United Arab Emirates. Decision in this regard was taken by the Union Cabinet meeting chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. The MoU was signed in February, 2016. The MoU provides for Enhanced cooperation between the two authorities in the field of insurance supervision. It will provide a framework for co-operation such as channels of communication. Increase mutual understanding through the exchange of regulatory and relevant supervisory information. It will also include confidential information to enforce or ensure compliance with their respective laws and regulations.

21. The Union Government has decided to allow States to impose and enforce stock limits on sugar in order to check the the price rise of sweetener in the market. The decision to bring sugar under the purview of stock holding limits on dealers of sugar was taken in Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. It will empower State and Central Government agencies to impose stock limits and regulate supply, storage, distribution and trade of sugar in order to bring down sugar prices at reasonable level by curbing unscrupulous trading. Government has brought sugar within the purview of stock limits in order to check the inflationary tendencies in sugar and to reduce hoarding by wholesalers and retailers. In recent times, Union Government had noticed that the wholesale and retail prices of sugar have shown a spurt in spite of sufficient availability of sugar stocks with the Sugar Mills.

22. China has successfully launched the Kunpeng-1B sounding rocket equipped with a new altitude control system. It was launched from a launch pad in Danzhou City in the southern Chinese Hainan Province. About Kunpeng-1B sounding rocket Kunpeng-1B sounding rocket is research rocket for carrying measurements in the upper atmosphere and to help in high-speed flight and space tourism research. The rocket was made of new materials of flexible carbon fibre to enable easier flight. The head of the rocket was equipped with a new altitude control system. Its falling ball experiment detection has important scientific significance as it will further help to study of low latitudes in the ionosphere and in the upper atmosphere. Earlier China had launched its first Kunpeng-1 Sounding Rocket in April 2013. About Sounding rockets: They are low-cost launch vehicles designed to carry scientific instruments that take measurements during the rocket’s sub-orbital flight. They are sometimes called a research rocket.

23. The Tibetan government-in-exile has re-elected Lobsang Sangey (48) as the Prime Minister for a second consecutive term. The election result was announced by the Tibetan election officials in the northern Indian town of Dharmsala which is the headquarters of the government-in-exile. Sangey secured about 58 percent of the 58,740 votes cast. He defeated his only rival Penpa Tsering, Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament by 9,012 votes. The 2016 general election was the second election since the Dalai Lama had stepped down as head of the government-in-exile in 2011 to focus on his role as the Tibetans’ spiritual leader. Tibetans living in exile in 40 countries had casted their votes for this election. Sangey was born in Darjeeling, West Bengal. He had completed his studies in Delhi, before going for higher education in the US. He was a senior Fellow at the Harvard Law School.

Tibet Issue China says Tibet has historically been part of its territory since the mid-13th century and was governed the Communist Party since 1951. Tibetans say that they were effectively independent for most of their history, and the Chinese government wants to exploit their resource-rich region and crush their cultural identity. China had taken whole control of Tibet in 1959 and after a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule Dalai Lama and his followers have been living in exile in Dharmsala. Currently China doesn’t recognize the Tibetan government-in-exile.

24. The Union Government has made mandatory for mobile manufacturers to add in-built panic button and global positioning system (GPS) in all phones from January 1, 2017 and 2018 respectively. In this regard, Department of Telecommunications has notified the Panic Button and Global Positioning System in Mobile Phone Handsets Rules, 2016 under section 10 of the Indian Wireless Telegraph Act, 1933. Under these rules Initially from January 1, 2017 all phones will have the facility of panic button that lets users instantly alert the emergency services. Smart phones will this feature configured to three times short pressing of the on-off button. In case of a feature phone, a long press on either the 5 or 9 button will make panic call. Later from 1 January 2018 all mobile phones must have the facility of identifying the location through satellite based GPS. To ensure that the power button dials the emergency helpline in smartphones, manufacturers will need incorporate this feature at the software end. In this regard, manufactures must make software patches available for direct download in the smart phones for installation.

25. The Southern Command of the Indian Navy has inaugurated a naval detachment at Androth Island of the Lakshadweep archipelago. The naval detachment seeks to strengthen maritime security in and around Arabian Sea and enhance surveillance of crucial shipping lanes. Key facts The facility will function as an observance and reporting organisation. It will provide connectivity with mainland. Enable sea lanes of communication (SLOC) monitoring. It will also facilitate radar surveillance. Enhance the Navy’s reach and contribute significantly to strengthen maritime security. Lakshadweep archipelago comprising of Kavaratti, Minicoy, Agatti and Androth islands occupy a strategic location in the Arabian Sea. A number of shipping lanes pass close to these islands as they provide the sea link between Asia and Europe.

26. The Shyam Benegal headed committee constituted by the Union Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry has submitted its report to Union I&B minister Arun Jaitley. The committee was tasked to look holistically into the functioning of the censor board and revamp the film certification nuances by Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Key Recommendations CBFC should only be a film certification body and its scope should be restricted to categorizing the suitability of the film to audience groups on the basis of age and maturity. The board can refuse certification when a film contains contravenes the provisions of Cinematograph Act. It can also refuse certification when content in a film crosses the ceiling laid down in the highest category of certification. The applicant for certificate must specify the category of certification being sought and the target audience. Background The Committee was constituted in January 2016 to take a relook at the functioning of the board. It was asked to take note of the best practices in other parts of the world, especially where the film industry is given sufficient and adequate space for creative and aesthetic expression. The panel also includes filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, actor-filmmaker Kamal Hassan, adman Piyush Pandey and film journalist Bhawana Somayaa among others.

27. The Union Railway Ministry has decided to create a 1 lakh crore rupees safety fund named Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh to strengthen safety measures on the rail network to prevent accidents. It was announced by Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in the Lok Sabha while replying to a debate on Demands for Grants for Railways for 2016-17. In this regard Union Railway Ministry has forwarded a proposal to the Union Finance Ministry for approval. Key facts The Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh will be a non-lapsable fund which will be utilised for safety measures. The fund will help Indian Railways to accomplish its zero-accident mission by strengthening the safety measures on the rail network in a comprehensive way. Under this fund, envisaged works like track renewal and upgradation, bridge rehabilitation, elimination of level-crossings, construction of road over bridges/road under bridges will be under taken. It will be also used for replacement and improvement of signalling system, improvement and upgradation of rolling stock, replacement of electrical assets and human resource development.

28. The Heart of Asia (HoA) conference began in New Delhi with the objective of bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan. The conference was attended by officials of a number of countries and is likely to deliberate on a host of issues like combating challenge of extremism and terrorism. Key facts The key elements of HoA process have been to devise a sustained, incremental approach to implementation of the confidence building measures (CBM) in Afghanistan/ It will also seek to speed up reconstruction in Afghanistan with a focus on enhancing investment and connectivity to the country. Energy, infrastructure and investment deals to shore up economic growth of Afghanistan may figure in the talks. About Heart of Asia Conference HoA conference is a part of the Istanbul Process established 2011 which provides a platform to discuss an agenda of regional cooperation with Afghanistan at its centre. The 14 member countries of HoA engage in result-oriented cooperation for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan and, by extension, a secure and prosperous region as a whole. 14 participating countries: Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Azerbaijan and Turkey. Supporting countries: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Iraq, Japan, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, UK and US. Supporting Organisations: UN, NATO, SAARC, SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) and OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation).

29. K Ashok Kumar, a research food engineer scholar from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur has won the prestigious 2016 International Plant Nutrition Scholar Award (IPNSA). He was bestowed with this award for his research on nutrition management of rice-chickpea production system in laterite soil. He belongs to the food engineering department of the IIT Kharagpur and currently is pursuing his PhD on nutrition management of rice-chickpea production system in laterite His research will help the application of organic fertiliser in right amount and timing to the rice crop which will in turn help to increase the yield by 10 per cent as compared to use of conventional synthetic fertilisers. His research also highlights the organic fertilser application to improve the nutritional and cooking quality of rice grain and chemical and biological properties of the acid lateritic soil. About International Plant Nutrition Scholar Award The award is given by the US-based International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI). The award carries a cash prize of US 2,000 dollars and a recognition certificate.

30. Riyad Mahrez (Algerian origin) became the first African footballer to win the Professional Footballers Association’s (PFA) Player of the Year award. He was presented the award for the 2015–16 season at the Professional Footballers’ Association awards ceremony organised in London. With this, Mahrez also became the second non-European, after Luis Suarez (Uruguayan striker) to win this prestigious award in the sport of Football. Besides Dele Alli FC midfielder Tottenham Hotspur was named as the Young Player of the Year for the 2015–16 season.

31. Union Tourism Ministry has launched National Monuments Authority Web Portal called NOC Online Application and Processing System (NOAPS). The web portal will provide single window clearance for applicants to get no-objection certificates (NoC) within six working days for construction-related works near the 3,686 protected monuments in the country. Under the present rules, hundred meters area around the monument is a prohibited zone. While the area between 100 to 300 metres is regulated zone for which no-objection certificate is needed for construction-related works. The time limit for availing NoC was 90 days.

32. Every year World Intellectual Property Day (WIPD) is being observed on 26 April to highlight importance of intellectual property rights (patents, trademarks, industrial designs, copyright) in encouraging innovation and creativity. 2016 Theme: “Digital Creativity: Culture Reimagined“. The theme seeks to explore the future of culture in the digital age in order to answer questions how we create it, how we access it, how we finance it related to it. It also highlights the importance of a balanced and flexible intellectual property system in order to ensure that those working in the creative sector and artists are properly paid for their work, so that they can keep creating. To mark this day, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) organises different events and activities together with various government agencies, non-government organizations (NGOs), community groups and individuals. Background The idea of declaring a particular day as a World Intellectual Property Day was mooted in October 1999 at the General Assembly of the WIPO. In 2000, WIPO officially designated 26 April as an annual World Intellectual Property Day. It was specifically chosen as the Convention Establishing WIPO first entered into force in 1970 on this date. Since then, World Intellectual Property aims to address the perceived gap between Intellectual Property as a business/legal concept and its relevance to people’s lives.

33. The Union Government has recently constituted 8-member inter-ministerial committee to prepare a blueprint for doubling farmers’ income by 2022. The committee will be headed by Ashok Dalwai, Additional secretary at the Union Agriculture Ministry and is expected to submit the report in two months. Its members will include officials from Agriculture and Food Ministries, experts from the Delhi-based National Council of Applied Economic Research and National Institute of Agricultural Economics and Policy Research. Terms of reference of the Committee Prepare plan to shift farm policies to income based from current production-oriented. Identify potential areas of agriculture where more investment should happen. Suggest ways to reduce the risk of farming by diversifying to horticulture and allied activities like livestock and fisheries to boost income. Suggest measures for reducing the cost of cultivation and addressing unpredictability of weather and price fluctuations in farm sector. Background In the Union Budget 2016-17, Government had announced to double farm incomes by 2022. To follow up its budget announcement, Government decided to set up the committee. Union Government is focusing on increasing crop yields and reducing the cost of cultivation in order to increase the net income of farmers. For this purpose, Government had launched various schemes related to agriculture sector to bring down the cost of cultivation.

34. Indian automobile giant Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. has become the first Indian company to sign up for “EP100”, a global energy productivity campaign. By joining this campaign, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd has committed to double their energy productivity by 2030, which is a core requirement for any business signing on to the campaign. With this Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd will work with the world’s most influential businesses in setting commitments to double their energy productivity and maximize the economic output from each unit of energy used. EP100 energy productivity campaign The campaign is a brainchild of the “Climate Group”, an international non-profit organization. It helps businesses, state, regional, finance and civil society leaders from all over the world to increase their energy productivity and thereby lessen their carbon footprints.

35. Indian rower Dattu Baban Bhokanal qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics scheduled to be held in August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He qualified Rio Olympics after winning a silver medal in the men’s single sculls event at the FISA Asian and Oceania Olympic Qualification Regatta held at Chung-ju in South Korea. He clocked 7 minutes, 7.63 seconds in the 2 km course to finish second. South Korea’s Dongyong Kim won the gold medal after finishing the race in 07 minutes, 5.13 seconds. Currently, Dattu Bhokanal trains at the Army Rowing Node (ARN) in Pune, Maharashtra. He will be the lone Indian rower taking part in Rio Games.

36. India is going to host the 2018 Commonwealth Judo Championships in Jaipur, Rajasthan. It was announced by the Judo Federation of India (JFI). The announcement came after the Commonwealth Judo Congress allotted the Championships to India at its meeting held at Port Elizabeth in South Africa. This will be the first time that Commonwealth Judo Championships will be held in India. However the Championsips dates are yet to be finalised. Besides, India will also host the 10th Asian Cadet Judo Championships and the 17th Asian Junior Judo Championships from September 6th to 12th, 2016 at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Kadvanthaa in Kerala. Judo It is generally categorized as a modern martial art. It was created in 1882as a physical, mental and moral pedagogy in Japan by Kanō Jigorō. Later it evolved into a combat and Olympic sport. A judo practitioner is called a judoka. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the objectives is to either takedown or throw an opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue an opponent with a force with a joint lock or a choke.

37. The Parliament has passed the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2016 to remove given to Sahjdhari Sikhs to vote in the elections to members of the Board and the Committees. The amendment bill first was passed in the Rajya Sabha in March 2016 and later in the Lok Sabha in April 2016.

38. The eleventh edition of India-Mongolia joint military training Exercise ‘Nomadic Elephant – 2016’ has commenced at Mongolia. It seeks to promote military associations between India and Mongolia. The first joint exercise was held in 2004 and since then it is annually held. Key facts Aim of exercise is to develop synergy and interoperability between the two armies to fight in Counter Insurgency and Counter Terrorism (CICT) environment under the United Nation mandate. In this edition, a platoon of the Kumaon Regiment of the Indian Army along with a team of two observers is taking part in the event. The Indian contingent will share its practical experiences of CICT operations through a series of classroom lectures and outdoor demonstrations.

39. The Lok Sabha passed the Regional Centre for Biotechnology Bill, 2016 to provide statutory status to the existing Regional Centre for Biotechnology in Faridabad, Haryana. The Bill seeks to provide legislative backing to the Regional Centre and also confers upon it the status of an institution of national importance.

40. India’s Mairaj Ahmed Khan has won the silver medal in the men’s skeet event at ISSF World Cup held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In the final, Mairaj lost gold medal to Sweden’s Marcus Svensson and the bronze medal was won by Tamarro Casandro of Italy. With this victory, he becomes first Indian shooter to win skeet medal for India at a World Cup. Earlier in September 2016 he had qualified for his maiden Olympics after finishing in sixth place at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup. He is the first Indian to qualify in the skeet event at the Olympics. In the 2010, Commonwealth Shooting Championship he had won a team gold medal which was his best international performance earlier.

41. World Malaria Day (WMD) is being observed annually on 25 April across the world to recognise the global efforts to control preventable vector borne disease malaria. It also seeks to highlight the need for continued investment and sustained political commitment for elimination and control of malaria. 2016 Theme: “End Malaria For Good”. It reflects the vision of a malaria-free world set out in the Global technical strategy for malaria 2016-2030. The strategy was adopted by the World Health Assembly in May 2015. It aims to dramatically lower the global malaria burden over the next 15 years and is aligned with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Goals of the strategy are: (i) Reduce rate of new malaria cases by at least 90% (ii) Reduce malaria death rates by at least 90% (iii) Eliminate malaria in at least 35 countries (iv) Prevent a resurgence of malaria in all countries that are malaria-free. Background The World Malaria Day was established by the 60th session of the World Health Assembly, a decision-making body of World Health Organization (WHO) in May 2007. It was established to provide understanding and education of malaria and also spread information on year-long intensified implementation of national malaria-control strategies. It is one of eight official global public health campaigns currently marked by the WHO. Note: Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease most commonly transmitted by an infected female Anopheles mosquito. It caused by parasitic protozoans (a group of single-celled microorganisms) belonging to the Plasmodium type.

42. Every year April 24 is being observed as National Panchayati Raj (PR) Diwas across India. Significance of the day: It marks the passing of the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 that came into force with effect from 24 April 1993. Significance of Amendment Act: It had led a defining moment in the history of India which helped in decentralization of political power to the grassroots level. In turn it had led to institutionalization of Panchayati Raj (PR) through the village, Intermediate and District level Panchayats. Every year on this day Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj organises National Conference to commemorate the National Panchayati Raj Diwas. Best performing Gram Panchayats are conferred with Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Purskar by the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

43. Japan successfully tested the maiden flight of its first domestically developed single-pilot stealth fighter jet X-2. With this Japan becomes fourth country in the world to have indigenous full-size stealth combat aircraft. Other three countries viz. United States, Russia and China have successfully developed and flown manned stealth jets. Test: The prototype X-2 jet took off from Nagoya airport in central Japan. It safely landed at Gifu air base, north of Nagoya airport with no particular problems after a 25-minute flight.

44. Congo’s President Denis Sassou Nguesso has appointed Mouamba Clement as the new Prime Minister of the central African country. With this appointment, Clement will be responsible for forming a new government in accordance with the 2015 constitution in consultation with the President. His appointment comes a month after Sassou Nguesso was elected as President for a 5 year term. Earlier Sassou Nguesso had led Congo between 1979 and 1992 and again had returned to power after a civil war in 1997.

45. India and France have launched a programme with $1 trillion Potential Solar Programme under the International Solar Alliance (ISA). It is a solar finance programme that aims at helping developing countries to fully harness their solar resources for a clean energy future. It was announced by Minister of State for Power Piyush Goyal and French Environment Minister Segolene Royal at the ministerial side event on ISA at the United Nations. The solar finance programme aims at lowering the cost of finance and facilitates the flow of more than 1 trillion dollars investment to members of the ISA. Both countries also launched a second programme at the ISA meeting which aims to make available solar technology for farmers. The meeting was attended by representatives of over 25 countries including the US, Bangladesh, Brazil and Nigeria. About International Solar Alliance (ISA) The ISA was launched at the 2015 Paris Climate Change Summit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Francois Hollande. It seeks to empower solar-rich countries located between the tropic of Cancer and the tropic of Capricorn to make collaborative efforts to harness solar energy to generate the electricity. Under this alliance, 121 countries that fall within the tropics have been invited. Most of these countries fall within Asia, Africa and South America. Three Objectives: (i) To force down prices by driving demand, (ii) To bring standardization in solar technologies and thirdly and (iii) To foster research and development.

46. The Union Government has launched India’s first online interactive heritage portal named Sahapedia was in New Delhi. The web portal is a collaborative knowledge resource on the arts, culture and heritage of India. About Sahapedia Sahapedia is a not-for-profit society headed by former TCS chairman S. Ramadorai, who currently helms the National Skill Development Agency. The purpose of this portal is to inform, educate and act on subjects such as knowledge traditions, visual and material arts, performing arts, literature and languages. It also seeks to educated and spread knowledge about practices and rituals, histories, institutions, people, built spaces and natural environment. It will be accessible across user groups such as scholars, practitioners, students, teachers, travellers and enthusiasts. It will also play important role in integrating activities and services including research, documentation, digitization and conservation.

47. The Union Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry has notified new rules to give effect amended Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The new rules seek to tighten provisions to ensure speedy justice to members of the SC/ST community.
Key facts The new rules aims at speeding up the process of dispensation of justice, liberalise and expedite access to relief for victims of atrocities, ensuring special sensitivity in cases of offences against women. It has been made mandatory for cops to file chargesheet within 60 days after a complaint is lodged. For the first time, there is provision of relief for offences of rape and gang rape. Requirement of medical examination for getting relief amount for non-invasive kind of offences against women has been delinked. Relief in cash or in kind or both must be provided within seven days to the victims of atrocity, their family members and dependents. The new rules also call for regular reviews of the scheme for the rights and entitlements of victims and witnesses in accessing justice.