Source: http://www.sbank.in/2016/05/daily-gk-april-2016-101-to-200-thanks.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-21 14:38:56+00:00

Document:
i. Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy Launches Transnational Skill Standards in India Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy launched Transnational Skill Standards benchmarked to the United Kingdom across 82 identified job roles, aiming to to support international mobility of Indian workforce.
ii. Besides, the launch also signing of Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) that will enable sharing of best practice, staff exchange, and development of new models to increase employer engagement and investment in skills.
iii. India and the UK have been collaborating on skill development since a long time now and this is yet another effort to bring more quality in vocational education which will open more avenues for employment across countries for the youth.
i. Debraj Pradhan appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Norway. Mr. Debraj Pradhan , Presently Ambassador of India to Chile, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Norway.
iii. From August 1995 to July 1998, he was posted as First Secretary and later Counsellor overseeing Commercial matters in Embassy of India, Buenos Aires.
iv. He became Deputy High Commissioner of India, Lagos from September 1998 to July 2001.
v. From August 2001 to December 2005 he was moved to Embassy of India, The Hague as Counselor and then as Minister.
i. Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) Academy has appointed D. Vasu as its new director for a period of two years.
ii. TNCA is the governing body of Cricket activities in the Tamil Nadu state of India and the Tamil Nadu cricket team.
iii. It is affiliated with the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
iv. The former Tamil Nadu and South Zone all-rounder Mr. Vasu will be in charge of coaching at the various age-group levels and in the districts.
v. Earlier, Mr. D.Vasu has been the chairman of the selection panel in the TNCA at the various age-group levels, from under-13, to under -19 and under -23.
i. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has launched the book "The Kiss of Life: How a superhero and my son defeated cancer" in New Delhi.
ii. The book is written by Bilal Siddiqi and co authored by Emraan Hashmi.
iii. The book has been published by Penguin Books India in three languages.
iv. The book narrates the story of Emraan’s life when his family dealt with the horrific struggle as his six-year-old son Ayaan battled his way through cancer.
v. The book is about hope to all cancer patients who loses hope, his or her body starts to give up.
i. Gojavas, the logistics and supply chain solutions company has announced the appointment of Mr. Amitabh Coomar as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
ii. The appointment of Coomar came after the departure of Vijay Ghadge, who was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the company.
iii. Ghadge left the company to start his own venture.
iv. Amitabh Coomar is an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad and having impressive track record of 19 years spread between the Indian Army and ITC Limited.
v. Besides, Coomar, Jai Vohra, an IIT-Kharagpur and ISB Hyderabad alumnus will now head the company's Strategy and Planning functions. Prior to this appointment Vohra was working with tha Jabong.com as a Head of marketplace.
i. The veteran journalist and author Yogendra Bali has passed away on Thursday due to a heart attack. He was 85 year old.
ii. Mr. Bali was a member of the general council of the Lalit Kala Akademi and a member of its committees on Art Education, Publications, the Triennele and International Exhibitions.
iii. In his long and success career, Mr. Bali has served The Times of India as its roving correspondent till retirement.
iv. He was also associated with a number of dailies and publications like The Tribune, Current Weekly, Probe, Sunday Mail, etc.
v. Mr. Bali has written many books which include The Communal Bogey' with foreword by late prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, 'Chandra Shekhar: A Political Biography,' 'Pawan Chamling: Daring To Be Different,' and 'Sri Satguru Ram Singh Ji and Freedom Movement of India'.
i. American country music legend Merle Haggard died of pneumonia at his home in Northern California, the day was his 79th birthday.
ii. Born on 6 April 1937 in California, Haggard along with Buck Owens and his band the Strangers is credited to define the Bakersfield sound, country music with a distinctive twang and lack of sophisticated production.
iii. Haggard wrote songs, sang and played fiddle and guitar, usually singing about American pride and outlaws.
iv. He recorded about three dozen number one country hits in a musical career that spanned six decades, from the 1960s into the 2010s.
v. His top hits include Mama Tried, The Fugitive, If We Make It Through December, Okie from Muskogee and Fightin' Side of Me. Legacy and honors. He received numerous awards from the Academy of Country Music, Country Music Association, and National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (Grammy Awards).
i. Indian consumers remain most optimistic, among nine nations surveyed by Credit Suisse, about their current and future finances and relatively lower inflation expectations.
ii. According to Credit Suisse Emerging Consumer Scorecard 2016, India topped the chart, while China and Saudi Arabia shared the second position.
iii. In 2015 scorecard also India was at the top position.
iv. The survey covered nine countries - Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey.
v. According to the survey average Indian respondent's income has increased compared with a decline for the emerging markets average, although income expectations going forward have moderated.
i. The Ministry of Rural Development has released a central share of Rs. 12,230 crore to the states for implementation of its flagship programmes under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
ii. Union Minister for Rural Development Birender Singh has said that is ministry has released a central share of Rs. 12,230 crore to the states for implementation of its flagship programmes under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
iii. The Minister also underlined that this fund release will take care of the pending wage liability of the States for the previous Financial Year (2015-16) and help the States to run the programme during the new Financial Year (2016-17).
iv. He reiterated that the Government is committed to ensuring flow of adequate resources for fulfilling the programme objectives.
v. Rebutting the reports that there are arrears of wages of over Rs 8000 crore under MGNREGA for the 2015-2016 financial year.
i. The Union Human Resource Development Minster Smriti Irani has launched a portal for registration and allotment of International Standard Book Number (ISBN) at a function held in New Delhi.
ii. The portal has been created to facilitate publishers as well as the authors to register for ISBN online.
iii. ISBN gives an identity to a book and will enhance information abot authors and publishers. This interactive automated system would provide fast and efficient services in a stipulated time frame to the Publishers and Authors as well.
iv. The ministry will also launched the mobile app regarding the same in the some regional languages to reach out to more publishers and authors across the country.
v. The ISBN portal is a part of central government's e-governance initiative for streamlining the process of registration for publishers and authors which will make the process user friendly. Its a 13 character identification allotted by International ISBN Agency based in UK through the National ISBN Agency. It provides access to bibliographic data bases used by the book industry and libraries to provide information.
i. The Union Textiles Minister Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar inaugurated the Apparel and Garment Making unit in Bodhjungnagar Industrial Growth Centre, in Agartala today.
ii. The Minister said that the Apparel Units in the North East are a significant step towards the Make in India Initiative of the Government.
iii. As per the Shri Gangwar when ‘Make in India’ was conceived to make the country a manufacturing destination, it was decided that the potential of the NER, which is a stronghold of handlooms and traditional textiles, may be tapped for ready-made garment industry.
iv. He said that the project for Apparel & Garment Making Units was conceived in this background.
v. In This inaugural progarmme was also attended by Chief Minister of Tripura Shri.Manik Sarkar; State Industries and Commerce Minister Shri Tapan Chakraborty; Union Textiles Secretary Smt. Rashmi Verma, and Chief Secretary of Tripura Shri Y P Singh.
i. The Union Minister for water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti has inaugurated the Water Film Festival as a part of the India Water Week celebrations in New Delhi.
ii. This is the the 4th edition of India Water week.
iii. The film festival is organized by the Water and Power Consultancy Services (WAPCOS).
iv. WAPCOS is a Public Sector Unit under Ministry of Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
v. The theme for this year’s India Water week is “Water for all: Striving together.
i. Rajasthan has become the first state to pass land title bill.
ii. State Assembly passed the Rajasthan Urban Land (Certification of Titles) Bills 2016.
iii. State government will set up an authority which will be headed by an Indian Administrative Service Officer. It will seek all the documents from the landowners, and will verify it against records held by the state.
iv. The authority will first issue a provisional certificate, for which the state will not stand guarantee. If there are no objections or dispute arises, the authority will issue a certificate and a map to the owner with state guarantee.
v. The Provisions in the bill fillip towards good governance and Ease of Doing Business also the bill will boost land acquisition in the state and also benefit authorities as no capital expenditure will be required from their end. The bill provides for land for infrastructural development and enables the government to consolidate small land holdings. The land holders, in return, will get an equivalent share of development land.
i. Bharti Airtel announced the acquisition of 20 MHz spectrum in eight circles from Aircel for Rs 3,500 crore.
ii. Bharti will acquire spectrum or radiowaves in 2,300 MHz band in Tamil Nadu, Bihar, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, North East, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
iii. Aircel had won the spectrum in a government auction and is entitled to hold it till September 20, 2030.
iv. After this acquisition, Bharti Airtel will become a pan-India 4G operator.
v. The transfer of right to use for the circles of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha is subject to the revision of spectrum caps with the upcoming auction to be conducted by Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
i. Shareholders of the Turkmenistan- Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) Pipeline Company Limited signed an agreement to invest $200 million in studies and engineering for the $10 billion project to transport natural gas to energy-hungry countries like India.
ii. The agreement signing ceremony was witnessed by TAPI and senior government officials of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Asian Development Bank officials in Ashgabat, capital of Turkmenistan, according to a statement by ADB.
iii. The agreement would pave the way for delivery of long-term natural gas supplies to Pakistan by addressing its energy shortages.
i. Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has announced an agreement with Egyptian President Abdul-Fattah al-Sisi to build a bridge over the Red Sea connecting the two countries.
ii. The announcement made on the second day of visit of Saudi Arabia's King to Cairo.
iii. The name given to this bridge after the Saudi king is King Salman bin Abdel Aziz Bridge.
iv. The planned bridge would help in boosting commerce and trade between the two allied countries. This historic step will also connect the two continents, Africa and Asia.
v. The estimated cost to this bridge is around $4 billion.
i. Federal Bank, the Indian Banking major in the private sector, entered into a strategic partnership with Phillip Capital (India) Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of the Singapore headquartered Phillip Capital group, for managing NRI Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS).
ii. Mr. Shyam Srinivasan, MD & CEO, Federal Bank and Mr. Lim Hua Min, Chairman of Phillip Capital Group, Singapore exchanged the MoU announcing the tie-up.
iii. PIS is a route designated by the Reserve Bank of India for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) to invest in Indian Equity Markets for purchase of shares and convertible debentures listed on registered stock exchanges in India.
iv. Phillip Capital is an integrated financial house with a global presence that offers a full range of quality and innovative services to retail, corporate and institutional customers.
v. The tie-up with its Indian subsidiary will thus be a significant value-add to the NRI clientele of Federal Bank, particularly those in the non-GCC countries, who can now avail PIS using the wide global network of Phillip Capital and their experience and expertise in providing consistent and world-class customer service.
i. The statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh will be installed in France's Saint-Tropez town. The town is the birth place of Army General Jean-Francois Allard.
ii. The installation will be held in September this year and for the installation ceremony Henri Prevosat-Allard, Deputy Mayor and in-charge of tourism of Saint-Tropez met Punjab Tourism Minister Sohan Singh Thandal and invited him to the installation ceremony of Singh’s statue in France.
iii. For the occasion, Henri has also invited Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal to Saint-Tropez on September 17 when the statues of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, General Allard and his wife Bannou Pan Dei will be installed.
iv. In September, the Indian embassy in France will hold also an exhibition on the life of the king.
v. Henri informed the Chief Minister that Gen. Allard (French) along with Gen. Ventura (Italian) served in the army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and both made an enormous contribution for the modernization of his military through their strategic experience and raised Fauj-i-khas, the “special” or “royal” brigade.
i. Lambda Therapeutic Research, a Global Clinical Research Organization has announced the appointment of Tausif Monif as its new President for Global Operations.
ii. Prior to this appointment Mr. Monif was working with Sun Pharmaceutical as Vice President in Gurgaon and having a rich experience of more than 24 years in the Clinical Research Industry.
iii. His joining Lambda will support the company's vision of expanding their Global footprints.
iv. The Lambda Therapeutic Research company headquartered in Ahmedabad - India has its presences in many countries like Poland (Europe), London (UK), USA and Canada.
v. Presently company is offering an end to end clinical research and total drug development solutions to the Pharmaceutical companies.
i. Lamborghini India Pvt. Ltd has appointed Sharad Agarwal as its country head with immediate effect.
ii. In Lamborghini he will be taking care of the entire activities of oversee sales, marketing, and network development of the company.
iii. Prior to this appointment Mr. Agarwal was working with Audi India as the head of corporate sales and financial services. Than later on in 2013 he worked as Head of Field Forces in 2013.
iv. Mr. Agarwal is carring of 15 years of experience in the automotive industry. He was also associated with Zuari Industries, TVS Motor Company and Mahindra First Choice.
v. Lamborghini India Pvt. Ltd is the arm of the Italian based car maker headquartered in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company mainly deal with the luxury cars, sports cars and SUVs.
i. The Nobel Peace Prize awardee Mother Teresa now has been conferred with the UK's prestigious Founders Award this year.
ii. The award is given to recognize and reward exemplary achievements of people within the global Asian community.
iii. The award was received by Agi Bojazhiu, who is the only living relative of Mother Teresa. Presently Agi is 72 year old and the niece of Mother Teresa.
iv. The Founders award is to recognize and reward exemplary achievement within the global Asian community across 14 categories that include business, philanthropy, entertainment, culture and sport.
v. It is the the part of Asian Award. The award was launched in 2010 by Paul Sagoo, entrepreneur and founder of the Lemon group. Teresa, who died in 1997 at Kolkata, have spent more than 45 year of her life as serving the poor, the sick and the orphaned. She will be made a saint on September 4, 2016.
i. Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd (KNPL) has signed up with the Gujarat Lions franchise as associate sponsor for the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League which will begin on April 9, 2016.
ii. Gujarat Lions, captained by Suresh Raina, is one of the two debutant teams this IPL season.
iii. He has a mix of experienced and fiery young players such as Brendon McCullum, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Dale Steyn, Aaron Finch and India U-19 captain Ishan Kishan to name a few.
iv. Gujarat Lions will battle it out against seven other teams for the title of ‘Indian Premier League Champions 2016.
v. The association between Kansai Nerolac and Gujarat Lions follows some aggressive advertising by the brand during the recently concluded ICC World 20-20. Kansai Nerolac has also been maintaining a good media presence through on-air ad slots during the IPL over the years.
i. The Centre has recommended 1,304 crore rupees for drought relief to Uttar Pradesh under National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF).
ii. The decision has been taken by a high-level committee headed by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi.
iii. The meeting was part of Prime Minister's directive to hold high level review of drought situation in Bundelkhand, Vidharbha and Marathwada. The first review meeting was about Bundelkhand.
iv. Centre approved a provision of extending man-days from 100 to 150 under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the Bundelkhand for financial year 2016-17.
v. It was decided that to provide alternate source of income, National Rural Livelihood Mission would be strengthened and intensified and coverage would be extended to all the blocks. The government decided that water tanks, building of dug wells, farm ponds would be taken up on priority under various projects and schemes for Bundelkhand.
i. Union government is set to issue universal identity cards to the physically challenged with the objective of providing them easy access to various benefits being extended by the government.
ii. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has decided to issue universal identification card for physically handicapped people.
iii. Some states do not accept cards of other states which leads to inconvenience. Thus, to shun this, the Centre has decided to issue universal cards,"
iv. Government was progressing towards distribution of modern motorized wheelchairs with British financial assistance and was also taking up the manufacturing of tricycles with German technological backup.
v. Besides, steps were taken to provide barrier–free access to all government buildings in 50 cities and towns in a phased manner.
i. As the government's rural broadband project is facing long delays, telecom PSU BSNL is testing an alternative WiFi-based network to connect about 1 lakh village panchayats in a year with high-speed Internet.
ii. The State Run Company in connection with Vihaan Networks has started testing the sustainability of WiFi network in three villages – Karenda, Phalsa and Bahadri – in Alwar district of Rajasthan.
iii. Under the project, a wireless network over 6 kilometres has been set up connecting WiFi towers in three villages -- Karenda, Phalsa and Bahadri with BSNL's exchange in Bhiwadi.
iv. About 500 test connections have been provided to various users, including schools.
v. The project was to be completed by 2013 but has missed several deadlines. The NDA government, which came in power in May 2014, had planned to connect 50,000 GPs by March 2015, another 1 lakh by March 2016 and rest of the one lakh by December 2016.
i. India has offered to invest upto $20 billion in Iran announced by Dharmendra Pradhan Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas during his two day visit to Iran.
ii. This was the first visit by an Indian minister since the US and other western powers lifted sanctions against Iran in January.
iii. India was also keen to set up a gas cracker unit and a liquefied petroleum gas extraction unit in Chabahar and ways of transporting gas to India from Iran including through a planned Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline were discussed.
iv. The two sides also discussed the award of rights to Indian firms to develop Farzad-B gas fields and the pending payments by Indian refiners towards Iran’s oil purchases.
i. The Uttar Pradesh government has directed all the district magistrates for plantation of 5 cr. trees at 6,500 sites in 24 hours on a date fixed in month of July under the ‘Green UP - Clean UP’ programme.
ii. State Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan notified to DMs that the coding of plantation sites should be done according to IGRS based coding of NIC.
iii. All online data of plantation sites should be prepared with the cooperation of National Informatics Centre (NIC) to ensure effective district-wise monitoring.
i. China launched a retrievable scientific research satellite in a bid to aid scientists to study micro-gravity and space life science.
ii. A Chinese satellite, launched on April 9 in the remote Gobi Desert it carries six titanium cylinders, each with a milliliter of crude oil compressed to more than 400 times.
iii. Space study is no longer limited to exploration of the galaxy and the rest of the universe. Over the past few years, it has become a massive interstellar ground for scientists who wish to learn more about the Earth, such as its weather patterns.
iv. China's SJ-10 satellite, piggybacking on the Long March 2-D rocket, is doing exactly the same thing, only that its task is more bizarre than most others.
v. By bringing crude oil into space, international researchers will be able to find more of it underneath the Earth's crust.
i. Pakistan Navy has successfully test-fired shore-based anti-ship missile 'Zarb', bolstering its defence mechanism.
ii. The missile was launched from a coastal site and successfully hit the surface target in the Arabian Sea.
iii. As per the Naval chief Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah the launch of new missile system was part of Pakistan Navy's continuous effort to enhance its capabilities.
iv. The missile was launched from coastal site and successfully hit the surface target in the Arabian Sea, the statement added.
v. Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Zakaullah praised professional expertise of Pakistan Navy and expressed satisfaction at combat readiness of the naval forces. He said that successful test firing of Zarb missile demonstrates the Navy’s combat capabilities.
i. An investigative journalist from Azerbaijan, Khadija Ismayilova has been chosen to receive the 2016 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.
ii. The Prize will be awarded during the celebration of World Press Freedom Day 3 May 2016 hosted by Finland.
iii. An independent international jury of media professionals recommended Ms Ismayilova in recognition of her outstanding contribution to press freedom in difficult circumstances.
iv. Ms Ismayilova, a freelance journalist and contributor to the Azerbaijani service of Radio Free Europe, was detained in December 2014.
v. Than in September 2015, she was sentenced to seven and a half years’ imprisonment on charges relating to abuse of power and tax evasion.
i. Priyadarshini Chatterjee, a Delhi girl was announced as the winner of FBB Femina Miss India World 2016 at the 53rd edition of the Femina Miss India beauty pageant held in Mumbai.
ii. She was crowned by Aditi Arya, who was the Femina Miss India for the year 2015.
iii. Now Ms. Chatterjee will represent India at the Miss World 2016 pageant.
iv. Apart from Ms. Chatterjee, a Bangalore girl Sushruthi Krishna emerged as the Femina Miss India Supranational 2016 and a Lucknow girl Pankhuri Gidwani was crowned as the Femina Miss India Grand International 2016.
v. Ms. Krishna will participate at Miss International 2016 and Gidwani will take part at the Miss Grand International beauty pageants.
i. The ministry for skill development and entrepreneurship (MSDE) has named Cricket Icon Sachin Tendulkar as brand ambassador of the 'Skill India' campaign.
ii. The master blaster said that the campaign was meant for the talents of young generation and it is an opportunity for the nation to make full use of its young population.
iii. ‘Skill India’ campaign was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help train over 40 crore people in India in different skills. World Youth Skills Day and the launch of SKILL INDIA were celebrated nation-wide.
iv. State Governments organized events to emphasize the importance of skill development for the youth in their states, mobilizing candidates, launching fresh training programs and felicitating successful trainees.
v. ITIs across the country also participated in the event through a live feed of the event.
i. Information and Broadcasting Ministry has constituted a three-member panel, headed by former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) BB Tandon, to see that guidelines set for government advertisements by the Supreme Court are followed.
ii. Senior TV journalist Rajat Sharma and ad-man Piyush Pandey will be the other members of the committee.
iii. Supreme Court in its order had issued Guidelines on Regulating Government Advertisements based on recommendations of Prof NR Madhava Menon Committee.
iv. In its order, SC had barred publication of photos of leaders in government advertisements except those of the President, Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of India.
v. The Supreme Court had reserved its verdict on the review pleas in which it was submitted that besides Prime Minister, pictures of central ministers, chief ministers and others state ministers be allowed to be carried in public advertisements.
i. Dadasaheb Phalke Film Foundation has announced that Priyanka Chopra to be conferred with Dadasaheb Phalke Film Foundation Award 2016 in best actress of the year category.
ii. This would be Priyanka's second award from the Foundation after she received her first award for 'Most Memorable Performance' for 2011 film Saath Khoon Maaf.
iii. The Dadasaheb Film Foundation will honour the actress with the Best Actress of the Year award on the occasion of 147th Dadasaheb Phalke Jayanti in Mumbai on April 24 2016.
iv. The 33 year old actress bagged the award for her performance in the bollywood movie Bajirao Mastani.
v. Apart from this award, the actress has also been awarded with Padma Shri in 2016. She also became the first South Asian actor to win People's Choice Awards (Favourite actress) for her role as FBI agent in American TV show Quantico. She also went on to present the Oscars in 2016. The actress also made to Hollywood film project Baywatch recently.
i. Danny Willett has won the US Masters Golf Championship for the year 2016 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
ii. With this he has became the first Briton to win the US Masters since Nick Faldo in 1996.
iii. He grabbed the title after defeating defending champion Jordan Spieth.
iv. This was the 80th edition of the Masters Tournament.
v. The Masters Tournament, also known as The Masters or The US Masters, is one of the four major championships in professional golf.
i. Anthony Joshua has won the International Boxing Federation heavyweight title for the year 2016.
ii. He knocked out Charles Martin in the second round at the O2 Arena in London.
iii. With this won he become the Britain’s second reigning world heavyweight champion.
iv. Anthony is the 2012 Olympic gold medalist and captured his first world title in only his 16th professional fight by flattening American Martin to lift the International Boxing Federation (IBF) belt.
v. He is the fifth quickest heavyweight to win a version of the world title.
i. Malaysia's badminton maestro Lee Chong Wei has defeated China's Chen Long to win Malaysian Open 2016 in men's singles title at at the Malawati Stadium in Shah Alam, Malaysia.
ii. He has beaten China’s world No. 1 Chen Long a 21-13, 21-8 in just 42 minutes. The title is his 11th Malaysia Open Crown.
iii. Lee Chong, one of most popular sports stars from Malaysia has repeatedly fallen short in his pursuit of the sport’s top prizes, despite reaching three world championship finals and two Olympic deciders. But he has set his sights firmly on crowning his career by winning his first Olympic title in Rio de Janeiro.
iv. Lee as a singles player ranked first worldwide for 199 consecutive weeks from 21 August 2008 to 14 June 2012.
v. He is the third Malaysian player after Rashid Sidek and Roslin Hashim to achieve such a ranking and is the only Malaysian shuttler to hold the number one ranking for more than a year.
i. Today, President Pranab Mukherjee has presented the Padma awards to the remaining 56 eminent personalities from various fields in a civil investiture ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi.
ii. The name of the recipients, who were honored with Padma Vibhushan- Superstar Rajnikant, classical singer Dr Girija Devi, journalist Ramoji Rao. Singer Udit Narayan, and tennis player Sania Mirza have been honoured with the Padma Bhushan. Actor Priyanka Chopra, writer Dhirendra Nath Bezbaruah, among others have been honoured with the Padmashree.
iii. Earlier in March, 56 eminent personalities were honoured with the Padma awards at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
iv. The government had announced Padma awards, one of the highest civilian awards in the country, for 112 eminent persons on the eve of Republic Day.
i. The three day 3rd Asia Ministerial Conference on the Tiger Conservation is going to inaugurate by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on 12th April, 2016 which will continue till 14th of April, 2016.
ii. In this conference, more than 700 tiger experts, scientists, managers, donors and other stakeholders are gathering to discuss issues related to tiger conservation.
iii. Apart from this, Ministers and government officials from all Tiger Range Countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, India, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russian Federation, Thailand, Vietnam, besides Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan, having ranges of Snow Leopard are participating in the conference.
iv. Tiger population has decimated to non-viable level in some range countries, which is a cause for concern. While several Tiger Range Countries like India, Nepal, Russia and Bhutan have registered an increase in tiger population, the status of Tiger remains “endangered”.
v. Currently, more than 70 per cent of the global wild tiger population is in India because of concerted efforts of the government and other stakeholders. Recently GOI has also allotted 380 crore rupees to the Project Tiger in the current fiscal year, which is the all time highest investment in this type of project. This conference is being co-organized by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, National Tiger Conservation Authority, Global Tiger Forum, Global Tiger Initiative Council, Wildlife Institute of India, WWF and Wildlife Conservation Trust.
i. India will take part in a special meeting of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris tomorrow to firm up cooperation between countries in the wake of the 'Panama Papers' leak. The GOI has decided to participate after it has received the invite last week from the Paris-based body.
ii. To know about the leak report which has mentioned that 500 Indians are holding offshore assets in the tax haven, GOI has been decided that a Director- rank officer of Central Board Of Direct Taxes (CBDT) will represent the country at the day- long special session.
iii. The government had also set up a Multi-Agency Group to investigate the Indian names and entities holding offshore assets in the tax haven as reported in the leaks . The officials said that a preliminary report has been sought by this week from the Finance Ministry, which is expected to be forwarded to the Prime Minister's Office.
iv. Yesterday Finance Ministry officials stated that they are looking forward to the meet as the country adheres to a number of OECD mandated norms aimed at strengthening overseas tax cooperation and exchange of information.
v. They also said that India also follows fiscal guidelines endorsed by the OECD.
i. India and Maldives have signed six agreements in different sectors to boost bilateral relations between both maritime neighbouring countries.
ii. The agreements were signed after comprehensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Maldives President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom at the Hyderabad House.
iii. In the talks it was agreed that India will set up a police academy, build the Defence Ministry building of Maldives besides speeding up infrastructure projects relating to security. India will also extend all possible assistance to the island nation, including in maritime sphere and capacity building of armed forces.
iv. Here the list of signed Agreements: 1. Double Taxation, 2. Exchange of Information, 3. Defence Cooperation, 4. Space Research, 5. Tourism Cooperation, 6. Conservation and Restoration.
v. The two nations signed an action plan for defence cooperation. Action plan is in the context of defence cooperation being an important component of the India-Maldives bilateral relationship and the shared strategic and security interests of the two countries in the Indian Ocean region.
i. The G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting is one of the ministerial meetings that held in advance of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima on 10th & 11th April, 2016.
ii. It is the first of ten related ministerial meetings held leading up to the Ise-Shima Summit.
iii. The Ise-Shima Summit will be held on May 26 and 27, 2016 in Ise City, Mie Prefecture. Outcome of this G7 FM's meeting will be the base for the discussion for G7 summit.
iv. The G7 Fm's meet is a meeting attended by the leaders of the seven countries of Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Canada, along with the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission.
v. At the Summit, leaders discuss issues of a global magnitude that face international society and with a call to end nuclear weapons. Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, who has attended the two day annual meeting said that ministers has discussed anti-terrorism steps, maritime security and issues related to North Korea, Ukraine and the Middle East.
i. Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu inaugurated the fitment of CCTV in Train Shan-e-Punjab Express through video-conferencing from Rail Bhawan premises, New Delhi.
ii. CCTV surveillance cameras in the Shaan-e-Punjab Express is one more step towards improving security in Indian trains.
iii. The CCTV system on the Shaan-e-Punjab Express includes 4 to 6 cameras per coach strategically located so that the entire area can be covered.
iv. The system will facilitate facial recognition of the target person by giving high resolution images.
v. It would enable facial recognition even in low light conditions especially in the aisles at night. The storage capacity is for one month. The recorder has safety storage/emergency recording function. In case of HDD failure, the data will store on additional storage device with in-built diagnostics to log internal function or hardware failure.
i. Tata Steel, the country’s largest steel producer, has signed an agreement to sell the loss-making 4.5-million tonne (mt) long-product Scunthorpe steel plant in Britain to UK-based investment firm Greybull Capital for a nominal consideration, with the latter taking assets and relevant liabilities.
ii. The crenelated steelmaker appointed KPMG LLC as process advisor for the “thorough, but expedited sale” of its entire shareholding in its subsidiary Tata Steel UK, which includes Britain’s largest steel plant at Port Talbot.
iii. The agreement with Greybull, an investor in distressed companies, will save thousands of jobs.
iv. The Long Products Europe business employs 4,800 people, 4,400 in the U.K. and 400 in France.
v. The steel industry in the U.K. and Europe has been on a downturn owing to the global oversupply of steel, high production costs and cheap imports. The sale includes the Scunthorpe works, two mills in Teesside, an engineering workshop in Workington, a design consultancy in York, a mill in Hayange, France, and sales and distribution facilities.
i. Sanmar Chemicals, India's private sector petrochemical firm, will receive Rs.1,996 crore equity investment from Fairfax India Holdings, reported Reuters.
ii. A 30 percent minority stake in the company will be offered through a combination of equity and fixed income instruments to Fairfax.
iii. Fairfax India Holdings said on Friday it has agreed to acquire a minority stake in privately held Indian petrochemical company Sanmar Chemicals via a roughly $300 million investment.
iv. The Sanmar investment is the latest in a string of bets Fairfax India and its sister concern Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd have made in the country within the last year. The two entities are chaired by Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa.
v. Headquartered in Chennai, Sanmar Group is a family-owned enterprise headed by N.Sundar. The $1 billion conglomerate has business concerns in engineering technologies and shipping, apart from chemicals.
i. India leading telecom company Bharti Airtel received its payment bank license that is had applied for in partnership with Kotak Mahindra Bank, a move that will help the companies take Indian government's financial inclusion plans to the next level.
ii. Bharti Airtel and Kotak Mahindra had applied for the payment bank licence through AMSL, which launched Airtel Money in 2011.
iii. Airtel Money was the first mobile based pre-paid payment instrument service in the country and it empowers millions across India to leverage their mobile phones as a secure way for making payments and transferring money.
iv. The payment banks will cater to the needs of small savings accounts, remittance services, low income households, small businesses and other unorganised sector entities.
i. A Noida based handset manufacturer Lava International has announced the Indian's limited over captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as it's new brand ambassador. This step has been taken to strengthen its brand in India.
ii. The contract value was not disclosed by company. The company has set up its first manufacturing plant in Noida (UP) and plans to invest Rs.2,615 crore to raise its annual production capacity to 216 million phone sets.
iii. The present plant of the company in Noida is aligning itself with the Government of India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.
iv. According to VP of the Lava International Mr. Solomon Wheeler, to bringing him on board strengthens our resolve to offer trusted and reliable products and services to all our consumers at all times.
v. Lava International was established in the year 2003 as Pacetelation Communications. In 2009, the company was renamed Lava International. The company had launched the world's first Intel chip-based smartphone and achieved the revenues of $1.2 billion in fiscal 2014-15.
i. The Ukrainian Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced his resignation two months after he survived a no-confidence vote in parliament. Arseniy Yatsenyuk, 15th Prime Minister of Ukraine is a lawyer and economist.
ii. Yatsenyuk's government has been besieged by war, corruption and economic struggles. His cabinet survived a no-confidence vote in February, but two parties left the governing coalition in protest that the prime minister wasn't ousted, a move that deprived the coalition of a majority in parliament.
iii. Yatsenyuk was an opposition leader in 2014 when massive protests helped drive pro-Russia President Viktor Yanukovych from power.
iv. Yanukovych had been viewed as slowing Ukraine's economic march toward the West.
v. But his resignation sparked an outcry from Moscow, and within weeks Russia annexed Crimea.
i. A Kathak dancer from Varanasi has broken the world record of longest dance performance by continuously dancing for 123 hours and 30 minutes. It was previously held by Kerala’s Hemlatha.
ii. Soni Chaurasiya, 31, daughter of a pan vendor, broke the record on Saturday at 9.21 pm at Mount Litera Zee School, Varanasi.
iii. With her performance, she broke the previous record of Hemlata Kundalu of Trichur, Kerala, who performed Mohiniattam (a classical dance) continuously for 123 hours and 20 mins.
iv. Soni began her performance on April 4 at 6 pm on a school campus in Varanasi. While no official from the Guinness World Records attended the performance, two cameras had been installed to record Soni’s each move.
v. Her trainer Rajesh Dogra allowed Soni to take hourly breaks lasting five minutes. The dancer, however, decided to take a 20-minute break every four hours.
i. Premier Futsal is the newer and shorter five-a-side variant of soccer ( football) named the Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador.
ii. This is the world's first multinational Futsal league which is all set to take place across eight Indian cities from July 15 to 24, 2016.
iii. His announcement as brand ambassador follows the unveiling of soccer legend Luis Figo as Premier Futsal's president last week which marked another major coup for the league as it heads into its inaugural season.
iv. The league is governed by the Futsal Association of India (FAI) with accreditation from the international governing body, Asociacion Mundial de Futsal (AMF).
v. Around 50 international futsalers, from 4 continents and 21 countries are expected to participate in the game.
i. India's men's and women's teams have won both the category’s championship titles at the third Asian Kho-Kho championship organised in Indore.
ii. In both the finals, the hosts scored victory against Bangladesh teams. The women’s side won 26-16 while the men won 26-17.
iii. The Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar along with Asian Kho Kho Association secretary Qazi Rau-uddin Ahmed Choupal, Indian Olympic Association secretary Rajiv Mehta have felicitated winners at the event.
iv. Sarika Kale won the women’s match-winner title, while counterpart Aniket Pote won the men’s prize.
v. Each player was awarded with Rs. 51,000. The three-day championship was organised at a newly-constructed state-of-the-art indoor kho-kho stadium in Indore.
i. American tennis star Serena Williams kept her lead in the women's rankings, while Polish Agnieszka Radwanska returned to the second place.
ii. The Polish player is ahead of German Angelique Kerber, who dropped to the third place with 5.740 points.
iii. In the women's doubles, India's Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis retained their top status in the rankings with 11,825 points.
152. Piyush Goyal Launches "Deep" E-Bidding & E-Reverse Auction Portal"
i. The government has replaced the conventional tendering process for power purchase by state power distributors with an e-bidding platform in an attempt to make the bidding more efficient and transparent by bringing power procurement contract details to the public domain.
ii. Three states, Kerala, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, have already sought 1,000 megawatt (MW) of short-term power through the power trading portal, which was opened by power minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday in the presence of state power secretaries in the national capital.
iii. The Discovery of Efficient Electricity Price (DEEP) e-bidding reverse auction portal for now will cover short-term power purchase of less than a year and in the next few months, start offering the option for longer-term power purchase too.
iv. The idea is to use the portal for all forms of power purchase and trading, including for 15 years and more, reducing the role of humans in transactions and eliminating corruption.
v. Each and every stakeholder in the Power Sector can access the portal “DEEP” through the following three Official Websites: www.mstcecommerce.com,From the Official Website of Ministry of Power www.powermin.nic.in and PFC Consulting website www.pfcclindia.com.
vi. It will be a very strong weapon to bring the illegal transactions into the light, and confine all these illegal transactions. Deep will also help in price reduction through competition. Those first 5 states which put their data within 1 week will be rewarded so that the other states can get inspired and do the work fast and proper manner.
i. Days before the second phase of the odd-even anti-traffic scheme which begins from April 15, the government today launched ‘PoochhO Carpool app’ to help people explore carpooling options during the 15-day car-rationing exercise. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is being heard in audio and video advertisement asking people to ensure that they follow the odd-even rules.
ii. Ahead of the second phase of odd-even car-rationing scheme set to begin from April 15, Delhi government launched PoochhO Carpool' app to help people explore carpooling options during the 15-day exercise. After download, users will have to register themselves to find carpooling options within a radius of 1-5 km.
iii. After the spread awareness about the app, the government will ask the Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) to approach representatives of the Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) and orangisations to download the app. For instance, someone who has an even-numbered car and wants to carpool on an odd date can look for odd-numbered cars on the app. The person will immediately get a list of odd-numbered cars in the vicinity.
i. Tiny South Pacific island nation Nauru has become the 189th member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank i.e. Bretton-Woods institutions.
ii. Nauru applied for membership in the Washington-based IMF and World Bank in April 2014, after joining the United Nations in 1996 as the world’s smallest independent republic.
iii. The World Bank, which helps developing countries to spur growth and fight poverty, welcomed Nauru as its smallest member by land mass, at 21 square kilometers.
iv. By joining the World Bank, Nauru gains access to financial support, technical support and special expertise in dealing with Pacific area issues, such as water and sanitation and disaster risk management amid the threat of climate change and rising sea levels.
i. Cabinet has given its approval for India adopting the Statute of the South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN) and becoming its formal member in order to strengthen ties with the member countries in controlling the trans-boundary wildlife crime through communication, coordination, collaboration, capacity building and cooperation in the region.
To take initiatives for bringing harmonization and standardization in laws and policies of member countries concerning conservation of fauna and flora and document the trend of poaching and illegal trade, and related threats to the natural biodiversity within and across countries in the region.
To strengthen institutional responses to combat wildlife crime by promoting research and information sharing, training and capacity building, technical support, sharing experiences and outreach and To encourage member countries to prepare and implement their National Action Plans in curbing wildlife crime and to collaborate towards effective implementation.
i. An implementation agreement for Ganga Rejuvenation under the Namami Gange Programme was signed between India and Germany. The objective of the agreement is to enable responsible stakeholders at National and State level to apply integrated river basin management approach for the rejuvenation of the river Ganga.
ii. This will be based on Indo-German Knowledge exchange and practical experience on strategic river basin management issues, effective data management system and public engagement.
iii. The project will closely cooperate with other National and international initiatives including Indo-German bilateral projects like Support to National Urban Sanitation Policy (SNUSP) and 'Sustainable Environment-friendly Industrial Production' (SEIP).
iv. Initial actions will focus on the State of Uttarakhand, with a scope of expansion to other upstream Ganga States. The ultimate goal is to adopt the successful river basin management strategies used for Rhine and Danube and replicate the same, wherever possible for attaining the pristine status of river Ganga.
i. Indigenously developed surface-to-air supersonic Akash missile System was successfully test fired from complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipuri in Odisha.
ii. Akash is a mid-range surface-to-air missile (SAM). It is medium range nuclear capable supersonic missile. Indigenously developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under the Integrated Guided-Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).
iii. The missile has supersonic speeds ranging from Mach 2.8 to 3.5. It is multi target, multi directional, all weather air-defence system consisting of surveillance and tracking radars. It has capability to carry warhead of 60 kg.
iv. It can engage aerial targets up to a range of approximately 25 kms. It can reach a high altitude of 18 kms and as low as 30 meters. It is powered by Ramjet-rocket propulsion system (RRPS) which renders thrust for the missile to intercept the target at supersonic speed without any retardation.
i. The Constitutional Council of Nepal has selected Justice Sushila Karki (63) for the post of Chief Justice (CJ) of the Supreme Court of the country. With this selection she will become 26th chief justice of the apex court and the first female CJ in Nepal’s history.
ii. However, her nomination is expected to be confirmed by a Parliamentary Hearings Committee which endorses the recommendation. She will succeed Kalyan Shrestha who retired from the top post. She shall have tenure of 1 year and retire in June 2017 upon reaching the age limit.
iii. Currently she is seniormost judge in the Supreme Court of Nepal. Since 2010, she is member of the International Association of Women Judges. She was appointed ad-hoc justice (judge) at the Supreme Court in January 2009 and as permanent justice on November 18, 2010.
iv. Prior to her appointment as judge of Supreme Court in 2009, she had served as a senior advocate. She was accorded the title of senior advocate in 2004. She also had served as President of the Appelate Court Bar Association Biratnagar for a term until 2004.
i. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on 13 April 2016 launched ‘Mission Drinking Water. The mission was launched in the backdrop of recurring droughts and severe water crisis in Marathwada and Vidarbha region of the state.
ii. The government has adopted a two-pronged strategy to scale up drought mitigation through Mission Drinking Water. The mission ensures changes in crop pattern to sustain wholistic development, which includes greater investments in agriculture and industries.
iii. Every remote village in drought districts had been provided a roadmap and adequate budget.
iv. Besides, the government also constituted the Maharashtra Drought Relief Committee headed by Agriculture Minister Eknath Khadse and Opposition leader Radhakrishna Patil.
i. Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on 13 April 2016 unanimously approved the Prohibition of Social Boycott Bill, 2016. The bill seeks to crack down on extra-judicial bodies like caste and community panchayats.
ii. The bill will be sent for Governor's assent to enact the Law.Maharashtra will be the first state in the country to enact a law against social boycott.
iii. The bill provides for prohibition of social boycott of a person or group of persons, including their family members as an individual or as a group like caste panchayat. The bill states that social boycott is prohibited and its commission shall be an offence.
iv. The maximum punishment for the offence will be seven years in prison or fine up to 5 lakh rupees or both. It also states that maximum punishment for extending aid in relation to the commission of offence will be three years or 3 lakh rupees or both.
v. As per the bill, the victim or any member of the victim's family may file a complaint either through the police or directly to the magistrate. To ensure speedy justice, the trial shall be completed within a period of six months from the date of filing of the charge sheet.
i. The second phase of the odd even vehicle rationing scheme came in force here on Friday morning with appeals to follow its provisions from the government matched by visible compliance from Delhi's citizens.
ii. That Friday happened to be a public holiday on the occasion of Ram Navami was also understood to be a significant reason behind the reduced volume of vehicular traffic in addition to odd even restrictions.Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Transport Minister Gopal Rai took to Twitter to make public appeals asking citizens to support the initiative.
iii."Odd even starts today. Lets all join hands and resolve to make it a success." tweeted Mr. Kejriwal.Mr. Rai requested citizens to follow the provisions of the scheme which aims to make Delhi "pollution and congestion free".
i.On the first anniversary of its formation after breaking away from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan–led Swaraj Abhiyan decided to ‘experiment’ in electoral politics, beginning with a ‘pilot project’ in one ward during the upcoming by-elections to the Delhi Municipal Corporation.
ii.“Swaraj Abhiyan is not a political party but the upcoming by-election in MCD is an occasion to create a model of how it may intervene in electoral politics in the future,” the party said , as it took its first step to being a full-fledged political party.
i.Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated opening of 100 more Aahar centres across the State as part of Government’s cheap meal programme for the poor.
ii.Patnaik dedicated the 100 Aahar centres to the public at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Cittack city. “Now the Aahar programme is extended to all the districts of the State.
iii.Above 60,000 people visiting urban pockets of the State will get cheap meals,” Patnaik said The CM asked the officials to ensure hygienic food and sanitation at the centres.
i. After Nehru Memorial Society, the Modi government reconstituted the management of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) bringing in veteran Hindi journalist Ram Bahadur Rai as its head in place of Chinmaya Gharekhan, a former diplomat.
ii. Appointment of Rai, a former news editor of Hindi daily Jansatta, as the President of the 20-member Board of Trustees of IGNCA, was announced by the Culture Ministry.
iii. IGNCA, considered a Congress legacy, was established in 1987 when Rajiv Gandhi was the prime minister as a centre for research, academic pursuit and dissemination in the field of the arts. Gharekhan was appointed during the UPA-I rule.
iii.The reconstituted trust of IGNCA, an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Culture, will be functional with immediate effect. Besides Rai, the Board comprises 19 other members including classical dancers Sonal Mansingh and Padma Subrahmaniam, lyricist Prasoon Joshi and artist Vasudeo Kamath.
i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Gramodaya se Bharatodaya Abhiyan (village self-governance) campaign on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar. The main aim of the Campaigned is to spread awareness about the various schemes that the Centre has launched keeping rural India in mind.
ii. The campaign include a 'social harmony programme' from 14 to 16 April under which villagers would pay tribute to Ambedkar and resolve to strengthen social harmony. Besides, 'Village Farmer Assemblies' would also be organised from 17-20 April to promote agriculture by providing information to farmers about various schemes of the government such as Fasal Bima Yojana and Soil Health Card scheme.
iii. On 19 April, a national meeting focusing on Panchayat and tribal development will be held at Vijaywada, while gram sabha meetings will be held from 21-24 April across the country. PM modi said While addressing a gathering at Ambedkar's birthplace Mhow in Madhya Pradesh.
iv.Prime minister also announced that 18,000 villages that do not have access to power will be electrified in 1,000 days, or even earlier. He also noted that optical fibre lines were being put in place in 2.5 lakh villages to ensure digital connectivity, and that the government has resolved to double farmers’ income by 2022.
i. India remained the world’s largest recipient of remittances from abroad in 2015, despite a $1 billion drop from the previous year, the first such decline since 2009.
ii. According to world bank report India retained its top spot in 2015, attracting about $69 billion in remittances, down from $70 billion in 2014, the World Bank said in its annual report ‘Migration and Development Brief’. Other large remittance recipients in 2015 were China ($64 billion), the Philippines ($28 billion), Mexico ($25 billion) and Nigeria ($21 billion).
iii. According to the report, the growth of remittances in 2015 slowed from eight per cent in 2014 to 2.5 per cent for Bangladesh, from 16.7 per cent to 12.8 per cent for Pakistan, and from 9.6 per cent to 0.5 per cent for Sri Lanka.
i. World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank President Jin Liqun signed the first co-financing framework agreement between the two institutions.
ii. Some 1.2 billion people in the world lack access to electricity and 2.4 billion people don't have access to basic sanitation services. The World Bank Group invested $18.8 billion in infrastructure in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015. The institution will leverage even more private finance through new partnerships, such as the Global, Infrastructure Facility, and the growing portfolios of the International Finance Corporation and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency.
iii. The agreement outlines the co-financing parameters of World Bank-AIIB investment projects, and paves the way for the two institutions to jointly develop projects this year. In 2016, the AIIB expects to approve about $1.2 billion in financing, with World Bank joint projects anticipated to account for a sizeable share. Under the agreement, the World Bank will prepare and supervise the co-financed projects in accordance with its policies and procedures in areas like procurement, environment and social safeguards.
i. The White House released a list of names President Barack Obama will appoint to his new Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. The panel, established this year as part of Obama's $19 billion proposal to tighten defenses against hacking threats, seeks to tap industry experts outside the government for cybersecurity recommendations for both the public and private sectors.
ii. Among the names included are: General Keith Alexander, the director of the National Security Agency from 2005 to 2014; Uber chief security officer Joe Sullivan; MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga; and Peter Lee, corporate vice president for Microsoft Research. "I have charged the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity with the critically-important task of identifying the steps that our nation must take to ensure our cybersecurity in an increasingly digital world.
i. Punit Soni, the chief product officer of Flipkart has quit his post at the startup a year after joining the company, according to three sources familiar with the development.
ii. Soni, a former Google executive with expertise in mobile technology, was the most high-profile recruitment made by the Bengaluru-based company. He helped build products such as Ping, a chat application on the mobile app, and relaunch its mobile website, Flipkart Lite. Along with Soni, his chief of staff Niket Des.Soni's recruitment in early 2015 was followed by other top hires, including chief technology officer Peeyush Ranjan and consumer experience head Surojit Chatterjee, both former Google executives from Silicon Valley.
iii. Last year Flipkart and its fashion unit Myntra also launched a mobile application, only strategy based, on the need to cater to a fast-growing customer segment that was transacting on their phones.
i. Indian woman boxer M C Mary Kom added another honour to her list of accolades as she was named one of the eight ambassadors for the upcoming World Championships by the International Boxing Association (AIBA). An elated Mary Kom (51kg), who has five World Championship gold medals to her credit.
ii. The Manipuri is a tournament legend and AIBA had dubbed her ‘Magnificent Mary’ for her unprecedented gold medal count in it. The 33-year-old, who missed out on an Olympic berth in last month’s Asian Qualifiers, is currently training for the world event trials slated here on April 18 and 19.
iii. The AIBA-appointed ambassadors for the World Championship also include Nicola Adams of Great Britain, Team USA’s light flyweight Marlen Esparza, Adriana Arauja from the host country of this year’s Olympic Games Brazil, Bulgaria’s Stanimira Petrova and Morocco’s Khadija Mardi. The female officials chosen to be ambassadors are Algerian Kheira Siki Yakoub and Canada’s Jennifer Huggins.
i. Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma will chair the newly formed Payments Banks Group at industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India​ (IAMAI).
ii. Vodafone India business head (M-Pesa) Suresh Sethi will be the Vice-Chairman of the Group, At present, six out of 10 payments banks' primary licenses are IAMAI members. IAMAI has more than 50 companies representing PPIs, wallets, aggregators, business correspondents, PoS Operators, among others as members.
iii. The Reserve Bank of India had granted payment licences in August last year, to companies including Paytm, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone. The business potential from serving millions of unbanked Indians to further the financial inclusion initiative of the government and the Reserve Bank had attracted most of the top business houses.
i. Union Government appointed Susmita Pande as the new chairperson of the National Monument Authority (NMA). She is professor a professor at Ujjain's Vikram University.
ii. She would succeed Himanshu Prabha Ray, the professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University whose term ended in September 2015. The position was lying vacant for five months after his demission from office.
iii. At the time of appointment, she was the head of the School of Studies in Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology in Vikram University of Madhya Pradesh.
i.Delhi bans chewable tobacco for a yeari. The Delhi government has banned for one year the sale, purchase and storage of all forms of chewable tobacco, including "guthka, pan masala, khaini and zarda", in the Capital.
i.Water levels in major reservoirs of the country are alarmingly low, weekly data released by Central Water Commission (CWC) shows.CWC, a technical organisation under the aegis of Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, monitors live storage status of 91 major reservoirs in the country.
ii.Live storage capacity of these reservoirs is 157.799 BCM (Billion Cubic Meters), which is 62 per cent of the live storage capacity that is estimated to have been created in India.
i. Online trading platform for farm goods launchedi. Prime Minister Narendra sowed the seeds for a farming revolution, with the launch of e-NAM, an online portal for trading in agriculture produce, which promises to liberate farmers from the clutches of middle-men and realise fair market value for their yields.
ii. “Farmers in India will now call the shots,” Modi said as he launched the National Agriculture Market portal (e-NAM). Terming it a ‘turning point’ for the country’s agriculture, Modi called upon all the States to come on board to help farmers reap the benefits of the trading platform.
iii. The e-NAM marketplace will initially enable farmers in eight States — Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana, Rajasthan and Haryana — to sell 25 commodities in 21 wholesale mandis.
i. Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi has inaugurated the two days Maritime India Summit 2016 (MIS 2016).
ii. This is India’s first ever Maritime Summit and the flagship event organised by Union Ministry of Shipping held at the Bombay Convention and Exhibition Centre in Goregaon, Mumbai from 14th April to 16 April, 2016.
iii. More than 50 other maritime nations have been invited in the summit.
iv. While inaugurating the summit, The Prime Minister has invited investors to come to India to explore potential business opportunities in Indian Maritime Sector. It has also organized some special sessions on setting up of new ports and capacity augmentation of existing ports, development of inland waterways for cargo and passenger transportation, coastal shipping and other services related to Indian Maritime Sector.
v. The summit will project vast investment opportunities in each of the Indian Maritime States and Union Territories, including an exclusive partner country session by Republic of Korea. South Korea is the partner country for the summit and will be represented by a high level ministerial and business delegation.
i. India and the US have agreed to enhance collaboration on tackling offshore tax evasion and increase cooperation in sharing of cross-border tax information.
ii. Mr Jaitley and Mr Lew were joined by other senior officials from both sides including Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan.
iii. During the meeting, Mr Lew is believed to have appreciated Mr Jaitley’s effort to successfully resolve more than half of the concerns related to tax disputes.
iv. Noting the progress in sharing of financial information between the two countries under the Inter-Governmental Agreement pursuant to Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), the statement said India and the US will continue to engage in discussions on full reciprocal arrangement on FATCA.
v. The US-India Financial Regulatory Dialogue has brought together the financial regulators on both sides to discuss a range of issues pertinent to their financial sectors and to financial stability.
i. The New Development Bank (NDB), commonly known as BRICS bank, has sanctioned its first batch of loans, including $250 million to India’s renewable energy projects.
ii. The NDB approved four green renewable energy projects from India, China, Brazil and South Africa entailing financing of $811 million.
iii. The project from India entails provisioning of multi-tranche loan of $250 million to Canara Bank for onlending to renewable energy projects.
iv. The project would result in generation of 500 MW of renewal energy and savings of about 800,000 tonne of carbon emissions.
v. Meanwhile, on the sidelines of IMF-World Bank spring meeting in Washington, finance minister Arun Jaitley chaired the BRICS FMs and central bank governors. The BRICS countries deliberated on efficacy of establishment of New Development Bank Institute and BRICS rating agency. It was decided that a technical working group would examine the issues in detail and present their findings to the BRICS finance ministers and central bank governors in their next meeting.
i. Canada's poorest children are falling further behind, according to a UNICEF report card that ranks the country in the bottom third among OECD and EU nations when it comes to inequality in the well-being of its youngest citizens.
ii. Report released in Paris presents an overview of inequalities in child well-being in 41 countries of the European Union (EU) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
iii. It focuses on ‘bottom-end inequality’ – the gap between children at the bottom and those in the middle – and addresses the question ‘how far behind are children being allowed to fall?’ in income, education, health and life satisfaction.
iv. UNICEF's Fairness for Children report card, released ranks Canada 26 out of 35 affluent nations.
v. The report also notes that gaps in children’s health and education have widened since 2013, when Canada ranked 17 among 29 rich countries.
i. Raghubar Das, the Chief Minister of Jharkhand has launched the "Bhimrao Ambedkar Awas Yojana" for widows on the 125th birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar.
ii. The objective of the scheme is to create equality and harmony in society, ensuring all round development.
iii. The scheme has a target to build 11,000 houses for the current financial year with a budget allocation of Rs. 80 Crore.
iv. On the occasion of the launch Mr. Das said that Rs 75,000 would be granted to build a house in districts in hilly terrains and Rs 70,000 in plains and the amount would be distributed among the beneficiaries in three installments in their bank accounts.
v. Apart from these houses the widows will also get pension and a commission for Schedule Caste would be set up soon.
i. Delhi government has banned for one year the sale, purchase and storage of all forms of chewable tobacco, including "guktha, pan masala, khaini and zarda", in the national capital.
ii. The Department of Food Safety department issued a notification in this regard. According to the notification, unpackaged products of chewable tobacco, too, are covered under the ambit of the ban.
iii. Health department officials said a notification was issued by Delhi government in September, 2012, in pursuance of a series of directions from Supreme Court for a ban on ‘gutkha’ in the city.
iv. But since the term ‘gutkha’ was used in that notification, tobacco retailers started selling the components of ‘gutkha’ (betel nut and raw tobacco) in separate pouches, thus defeating the purpose behind the ban on gutkha.
i. Himachal Pradesh has celebrated its 69th Himachal Day on 15th April. On the occasion, a state­level function has been held at Ghumarvin town in Bilaspur district where Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has unfurled the national flag.
ii. Similarly, the ministers of state council has presided over functions in all the district headquarters.
iii. After independence, the Chief Commissioner's Province of Himachal Pradesh came into existence on 15 April 1948, with the merger of 28 petty princely states.
v. Himachal became a part C state on 26 January 1950 with the implementation of the Constitution of India and the Lt. Governor was appointed.
i. The National Institute of Technology (NIT) Sikkim has unveiled the Supercomputer Param Kanchenjunga.
ii. NIT Sikkim is said to be the most powerful and fastest among all the 31 National Institute of Technology's.
iii. The supercomputer, named 'Param Kanchenjunga', was formally unveiled by Sikkim Governor Shrinvas Patil at the NIT Sikkim campus at Ravangla in South Sikkim District.
iv. It has been named after Kangchenjunga mountain, the third highest mountain in the world which lies partly in Nepal and partly in Sikkim.
v. It is jointly developed by Pune based Centre for Development of Advanced Computing 'C-DAC' and the NIT Sikkim. The total cost of the Supercomputer is around three crore rupees.
i. Ukraine's parliament approved presidential ally Volodymyr Groysman as prime minister on Thursday in the biggest political shakeup since a 2014 uprising brought in a pro-Western leadership.
ii. President Petro Poroshenko hopes the appointment of the former parliamentary speaker will end months of political deadlock that has delayed billions of dollars in foreign loans needed to shore up Ukraine's war-battered economy.
iii. But the departure from the cabinet of experienced technocrats, including U.S.-born Finance Minister Natalia Yaresko, who led strategic talks with Western lenders and investors has rattled pro-European reformists.
iv. Some deputies said the new government would struggle to get laws approved.
v. Speaking ahead of the vote, Groysman, 38, said his government was committed to tackling Ukraine's endemic corruption and strengthening ties with the European Union.
i. The Union Government has renamed Panagarh Air Force Base of West Bengal as Air Force Station Arjan Singh, to honour the Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh. It was renamed on the occasion of his birthday.
ii. This can be termed as a rare honour to the nation’s oldest soldier Marshal of Air Force Arjan Singh.
iii. Air Officer Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Air Command, Air Marshal C. Harikumar unveiled the rechristening plaque.
iv. This is first time in India’s defence history, a military installations has been named after individuals, especially when they are alive.
v. The decision of rechristening the Air Force Station was announced by the Chief of Air Staff Arup Raha on 15 April 2016 at a function in New Delhi.
i. PP Pandey, a senior IPS officer has been appointed as the in-charge director general of police (DGP) of Gujarat.
ii. He has succeed Mr. P C Thakur, who was transferred to New Delhi.
iii. Pandey is a DGP rank IPS officer and currently posted as the Director of state Anti Corruption Bureau.
iv. The announcement of the appointment of Mr. Thakur as the Director General of Civil Defence and Home Guards in Delhi made by a circular from the Ministry of Home Affairs. He was serving as the Gujarat DGP from 2013.
v. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
i. The award winning Malian photographer, Malick Sidibe has passed away recently. He was 80 year old.
ii. Sidbe was known for his black and white studio portraits that captured the lives of young Malians in the 1960s and 1970s.
iii. Sidibe work has been the subject of publications and been exhibited throughout Europe and in the United States. Critics also said that photos of Mali's post-colonial period helped people see the West African nation in a new light.
iv. His works captures the lives of young men and women, often showing off a prized possession like a watch or a motorbike.
v. Mr. Sidibe has become the first African winner of the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the Venice Biennale in 2007 and also won a Hasselblad Award for photography. Apart from these awards Mr. Sidibe has also won an International Center of Photography Infinity Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2008.
i. National Capital of India, Delhi has been ranked 44th among the world’s 50 ‘future-ready economies cities’ that are embracing technology for growth.
ii. It was revealed by the recently released report ‘Future-Ready Economies Model’ by the Information Technology major Dell.
i. The Indian Army conducted major battle exercise named as ‘Shatrujeet’ in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan near to the border with Pakistan.
ii. The sole purpose of the exercise was to evaluate the capability of the Indian Army and fine tune its proactive war strategy to respond swiftly to any threat to nation’s security.
The 2016 Shatrujeet battle exercise was steered by the Mathura based 1 Corps, one of the three principle strike corps of the Indian Army.
It aimed to evaluate the capability of the Indian Army to strike deep into enemy territory in an integrated air-land battle environment.
It was an operation-oriented exercise that focused on validating integrated battle theatre fighting concept. It also incorporated the new-age technologies, weapon platforms and systems as well as long range precision targeting vectors.
It was post preparatory training exercise manoeuvres at subordinate units and formation levels by conducting integrated operational manoeuvres.
Indian Army at regular intervals undertakes such battle exercises at different levels to ensure forces are provided war-like situations and kept in high-state of battle readiness as part of so called Cold Start Doctrine.
The doctrine involves the various branches of India’s military conducting offensive operations against enemy (mainly Pakistan) as part of unified battle groups.
It would involve limited, rapid armoured thrusts, with infantry and necessary air support.
Under it, the offensive operations must begin within 48 hours after orders have been issued. Such a limited response time would enable Indian forces to surprise their enemy.
It is intended to allow India’s conventional forces to perform holding attacks in order to prevent a nuclear retaliation from the enemy.
i. Delhi Government has launched the second phase of odd-even car rationing scheme to check pollution in the national capital.
ii. The second phase will be from 15 April 2016 till 30 April 2016. The scheme aims at curbing vehicular pollution and reducing traffic congestion on the roads of NCR Delhi.
i. The G20 countries including India have sought a crackdown on tax heavens, shell companies and terror financing in the wake of the ‘Panama Papers’ scandal.
ii. In this regard a communiqué was issued by G20 countries after meeting of its Finance Ministers and Governors of Central Banks on the sidelines of the annual Spring Meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank at Washington.
iii. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan attended the meeting on behalf of India.
Focused on fully implementation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards on transparency as an essential part for countries and their jurisdictions.
Called on all countries to join its efforts including through swift and effective implementation of FATF standards.
It also focused on the new Consolidated Strategy on Combating Terrorist Financing and provisions of the UN Security Council Resolution 2253.
Called on countries which have not yet committed to implement the standard on automatic exchange of information by 2017 or 2018 to do so without delay. It also asked them to sign the Multilateral Convention.
i. The search engine giant Google has extended free internet service through WiFi to 10 railway stations across the country to provide internet to over 1.5 million people.
ii. The free internet service was extended as part of Google’s tie up with Railtel, the internet provider arm of Indian Railways.
iii. These 10 Railway Stations are: Pune, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Raipur, Ranchi, Vijayawada, Kacheguda (Hyderabad), Ernakulum Jn (Kochi) and Vishakhapatnam.
iv. The free internet service is built over the fiber network of Raitel which is designed to offer high speed broadband experience to users. The first such kind of service was launched at Mumbai Central in 2015.
v. This service will provide travellers passing through these stations to easily stream a high definition video, research their destination, download a book or a new game for their journey.
i. The co-founder of Hero Cycles group Satyanand Munjal passed away in Ludhiana, Punjab. He was 99.
ii. He was popularly known as ‘mahatma’ Satyanand Munjal for being devoted to several social causes related to the Arya Samaj.
He had co-founded hero group with his three brothers including On Prakash. He had played important role in success of Hero Cycles group staring from bicycle spare parts business with his three brothers.
He had served as a Co-Chairman and Managing Director (MD) of Hero Cycles Ltd. Apart from building a business empire, Munjal also propagated teachings of the arya samaj extensively.
He was known for his philanthropic acts such as Bahadur Chand Munjal (BCM) Arya schools, Hero DMC Heart Institute, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH).
He had undertaken several new initiatives by keeping a regular track of the functioning of these institutions.
i. Iconic Indian woman boxer Mary Kom has been named as the International Boxing Association (AIBA) ambassador for Women’s World Championship.
ii. She is one of the eight ambassadors for the upcoming World Championship of AIBA scheduled from May 19 to 27, 2016 in Astana, Kazakhstan.
iii. The AIBA-appointed ambassadors for the World Championship also include Nicola Adams (Great Britain), Marlen Esparza (US), Adriana Arauja (Kazakhstan), Stanimira Petrova (Bulgaria) and Khadija Mardi (Morocco). The female officials chosen as ambassadors are Kheira Siki Yakoub (Algerian) and Jennifer Huggins (Canada).
Her full name is Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom and belongs to Kom tribal community of the north-eastern state of Manipur.
She is nicknamed Magnificent Mary. She is Five-time World Boxing champion, and the only woman boxer to have won gold medal in each one of the six world championships.
She had won a bronze medal in 2012 London Olympics in the flyweight (51 kg) category and was only Indian woman boxer to qualify for this category.
She is also first Indian woman boxer to get a Gold Medal in the 2014 Asian Games held at Incheon, South Korea.
Awards and Honours: For her precious contribution to the sport of boxing (sports), she has been conferred with Padma Bhushan (2013), Padma Shree (2010) and Arjuna Award for Boxing (2003).
i. World Heritage Day was observed all over the world on 18 April.
ii. The day is observed with an aim to create awareness among the people towords conserve and protect the valuable assets and cultural heritage across the world.
iii. World Heritage is the shared wealth of humankind. Protecting and preserving this valuable asset demands the collective efforts of the international community.
iv. This special day offers an opportunity to raise the public's awareness about the diversity of cultural heritage and the efforts that are required to protect and conserve it, as well as draw attention to its vulnerability.
v. The 2016 theme for the ICOMOS International Day on Monuments and Sites celebrated on 18 April is: The Heritage of Sport.
i. The World's largest wooden Charkha (spinning wheel) is planned to be installed at Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.
ii. This Charkha is ready for dispatch from a unit of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) in Ahmedabad.
iii. Mr. V K Saxena, the chairman of KVIC has decided to install the world’s largest charkha at the international airport in Delhi with the aim to showcase India’s symbol of non-violence to the world. The IGI airport is visited by around 2, 50,000 people/tourists every day.
iv. The Charkha is made from high-quality teak wood, which is estimated to last for over 50 years, was built by around 26 workers and carpenters who completed it in 40 days.
v. The total weight of the Charkha is four tonne.
i. National Mission for Clean Ganga under the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation in collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IITK) announced the formal launch of Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (CGRBMS) in New Delhi.
ii. 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.
iii. Delivering the key note address on the occasion, Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation explained in detail why the Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies is needed for the mission and how important is this collaboration.
iv. Ministry was focused on cleaning the Ganga by setting up Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) and Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs).
v. According to Dr. Vinod Tare, Professor IITK the Ganga River Basin Management Plan 2015 by IIT Consortiums has provided strategic action plans, some policy interventions and management action along with financial implications. These plans shall be further detailed by the centre with financial, social, economical and environment implications, he added.
i. A US grand jury has slapped two companies of India's Tata group -Tata Consultancy Services(TCS) and Tata America International Corp. with a USD 940 million fine in a trade secret lawsuit filed against them.
ii. After days of hearing, the federal grand jury in the US State of Wisconsin ruled that Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. and Tata America International Corp. must pay USD 240 million to Epic Systems for allegedly ripping off its software.
iii. Tata have also been asked to pay another USD 700 million in punitive damages.
iv. TCS, which is India's largest software services firm, stated there was no IP infringement in the Epic Systems case and said it plans to "defend its position vigorously in appeals to higher courts".
v. The Mumbai-based firm said it remains committed to protecting IP as well as its reputation and financial interests fully. Epic Systems had accused TCS and Tata America International Corp, in a lawsuit filed in October, 2014 in US .
i. From now onward all the Banks have to share the transaction details in a standard format. Because the revenue intelligence and central security agencies are looking seriously into money laundering and financial fraud cases.
ii. The banks were providing data in various file formats making it difficult for the agencies to process and analyse the information.
iii. The processing of multi-format data also results in wastage of manpower and time.
iv. To recover with this issue a meeting was called by the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau and a commonly acceptable format was designed. During a recent meeting of the "working group on intelligence apparatus" headed by Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia and attended by officials of intelligence and investigating agencies, a representative of RBI informed that Indian Banks Association (IBA) has indicated that banks will furnish information in respect of transactions like National Electronic Fund Transfer, Internet banking and intra bank transfer in the new format, the sources said.
v. It makes a task easier for forensic analysis and will be both time and cost effective. Enforcement Directorate (ED) also emphasised that the details of cheque transaction should also be provided by the banks in the prescribed format, the sources said. A number of cases relating to bank frauds worth crore of rupees which are being probed by the central and state law enforcement agencies. Banks have reported 11,997 fraud cases during April and December last year.
i. Financial Software & Systems Pvt. Ltd. (FSS), a Chennai-based payments technology and transaction processing company, has inked agreements with six banks to provide UPI (Unified Payment Interface) solution across the country on a hosted platform.
ii. UPI facilitates easy and seamless person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions for end-customers.
iii. Suresh Rajagopalan, President (Software Products), FSS, said UPI supported all transactions.
iv. Typically, it will see FSS develop custom-built UPI app for each bank.
v. A bank customer can download this app in his/her mobile devise, register the account number and take a virtual address.

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