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KEY HIGHLIGHTS
PM Narendra Modi visits France
Aahar food scheme Launched in Odisha
MUDRA BANK YOJANA
Raja Rajeswari, first Indian-American woman judge of New York
Japan's Maglev train sets world record: 603 kph

India ranks 119 on 2015 FM Global Resilience Index
Sania Mirza : Indian female tennis player ranked World
No.1 in Womens Doubles
MATRIX ACADEMY FOR COMPETITIVE EXAMINATIONS
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Punjab Government launches Padho Punjab- Khedo Punjab Mission

Punjab Government has launched Padho Punjab- Khedo Punjab Mission i.e. Learn Punjab- Play Punjab
Mission. It is a special mission launched to provide school students a separate period in the curriculum for
playing along with studies.
The purpose of the mission is to encourage more youngsters towards sports to produce quality players for
the country. This will also inculcate the sportsmanship spirit and competitiveness amongst them.
Under this mission a 40 to 50 minute special period has been kept for sports. During this period, students
of middle schools will be taught various games including the games played locally.
Missions pilot project was launched by State Education Minister Dr. Daljeet Singh Cheema at a
government girls school in Rupnagar district of state. As part of it, five teachers have been trained for
purpose Padho Punjab-Khedo Punjab Mission. They will further give training to other teachers to
physically train students in sports.
Odisha Government launches Aahar scheme

Odisha Government on 1 April 2015 launched Aahar- cheap meal scheme for providing subsidised food to
urban poor. It was launched by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the Capital Hospital in
Bhubaneswar on the occasion the foundation day of the state i.e. Utkala Dibasa.
Facts about Aahar - cheap meal scheme:
It aims at providing meal at Rs. five to the urban poor.
In the first phase, scheme was launched simultaneously in five cities of state including Bhubaneswar,
Rourkela, Cuttack, Berhampur and Sambalpur.
The subsidised meals will be provided at four crowded places each in these five cities to people visiting
urban areas for various work .
Following companies have sponsored the scheme in particular city Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) in
Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.
Odisha Power Generation Corporation (OPGC) in Rourkela. Odisha Industrial Infrastructure
Development Corporation (IDCO) in Sambalpur. Tata Steel in Berhampur.
Andhra Pradesh government has approved

Amaravathi as name of the new capital city of the
state coming up in the Vijayawada-Guntur region
The name Amaravathi was chosen in view of the historical and spiritual
significance as it was ancient seat of Satavahana rulers kingdom. Decision in
this regard was taken by Andhra Pradesh Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief
Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. Apart from this, cabinet also approved the
first phase of the master plan prepared by Singapore government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Give it Up campaign

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Give it Up campaign. The campaign was launched at the annual
energy-focussed summit Urja Sangam 2015.
The campaign seeks to extort the better off sections of society to forego
their liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) subsidy, which would be utilised in
providing subsidised LPG connections to the poor.
The Prime Minister asked companies and banks to encourage their
employees to give up the subsidy on LPG. The Give it Up campaign
should be taken up on the lines of Swachh Bharat and Beti Bachao, Beti
Padhao initiatives.
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Union Government unveils new Foreign Trade Policy

Union Government has unveiled new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) to make India an exporting powerhouse
in the next five years. The new trade policy will incorporate government ambitious initiatives such as
Make in India, Digital India mission, Skill India programme, ease of business in order to boost jobs and
take Indias exports to 900 billion dollars by 2020. The goals of the new policy will be achieved by
simplifying complex procedures, addressing infrastructural bottlenecks and eliminating manufacturing
hurdles.
Focus areas of the new FTP are: Labour intensive sectors to generate more employment. Boosting to
environment-friendly products. High tech value addition. Involving skill India programme to promote
entrepreneurship.
Moving towards branding of products. Incentives for units located in SEZs. Making the life of traders
easier.
Key facts
FTP also takes into consideration e-commerce. Under the new policy, Indias nascent, e-commerce sector
would also be extended sops. The new trade policy will be based on two new schemes: Merchandise
Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) and Services Exports from India Scheme (SIES). Under these two
schemes, government has merged all earlier export promotion schemes. MEIS is for export of specified
goods in specified markets with the rate of rewards range from 2 to 5%. SIES is for increasing exports of
notified services and the selected services will be rewarded at the rates of 3 to 5%. The new also move towards paperless working. In this regard, a facility has been created to upload documents in exporter/ importer profile in order to avoid need of repeatedly submitting documents.
India ranks 119 on 2015 FM Global Resilience Index

The Index measures business resilience of 130 nations. It is based on economic, risk quality
and supply chain factors. The higher ranking of country in this index indicates that it is
best suited for companies seeking to avoid disruptions in their global supply chain operations.
In recently released 2015 FM Global Resilience Index, India has been ranked a low 119 out of 130 countries; India despite having scope and global potential was ranked 119 compared to 112th rank in 2014
Global Resilience Index; India is ranked 115 position on the economic parameter that takes into account
GDP, political risk and oil intensity. This rank is same as in year 2014; In the risk quality factor, India is
ranked 109 for its quality of natural hazard and fire risk management. In this parameter, India has shown
slight improvement from its 113th rank in 2014.
Norway topped the ranked first while Venezuela ranked last.
88th Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan begins in Ghumaan,

Punjab
It was inaugurated by Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari along with the Chief Minister
Parkash Singh Badal. The three-day long sammelan is dedicated to Marathi Saint Bhagat Namdev (Sant
Namdeo). In this conference large contingent of Marathi litterateurs is going to take part. The President of
88th Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan is Dr. Sadanand More. Apart from inaugurated the sammelan, foundation stone of Bhagat Namdev Degree College was also laid in the Ghumaan village. Village
Ghumaan is the place where Marathi Saint Bhagat Namdev had spent 18 years of his life and gave valuable
teachings to the society. It is believed that in Ghuman, Sant Namdeo had composed his shlokas in Awadhi,
Marathi and Punjabi. His 61 shabads were included in holy scripture of the Sikhs i.e. Guru Granth Sahib.
CENTRE EXTENDS NFSA DEADLINE BY 6 MONTHS

The Union Government has extended the time limit of completing identification of
beneficiaries and other preparatory measures to September 30, 2015 to implement
the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) in the State
Union Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Ram Vilas Paswan
in a letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, while intimating the extension of time
period has requested to review the progress in identification of beneficiaries for
coverage under NFSA.
The Union Minister has said the Act provided one year for identification of eligible
households for coverage. However, the Centre has extended the time limit four times and now the last extension is till 30 September, 2015, by which all these jobs are to be completed.
In order to ensure leakage free and effective delivery of benefits of the Act, necessary strengthening of
Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) has to go hand in hand, Paswan said.
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Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has won the prestigious

Golden Peacock National Quality Award for the year 2015.
DIAL was bestowed this award for their efforts in building a culture of Total Quality across Indira Gandhi
International (IGI) Airport. United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister for culture, youth and development
Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan will present this award to DIAL at a specially organized presentation ceremony to be held in Dubai on April 20, 2015. DIAL is a joint venture (JV) company comprising of
Airports Authority of India (AAI), GMR Group, Fraport and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad.
Golden Peacock National Quality Award GPNA have been instituted in 1991 by Institute of Directors (IOD) a registered non-profit apex association of company directors. Since its inception, it is globally
regarded as a benchmark of corporate excellence. The Award is bestowed annually to encourage total improvement in each sector of the business
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches National Air Quality Index to

give pollution information
In a concerted effort to deal with the menace of air air pollution, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched
Indias first Air Quality Index. The index shall be operational in ten Indian cities to begin with; The air
caliber index will inform the general public concerning the degree of air pollution within the air on a dayby-day foundation in actual-time ; AQI has been developed for six pollutants- nitrogen oxides, sulphur
dioxide, ozone, Particle Pollution (PM)2.5, PM10 and carbon monoxide.
Bangladesh Cabinet approves revised trade deal with

India
Bangladesh cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has approved the revised India-Bangladesh trade agreement. The revised agreement will
facilitate both countries to use each others land and water routes for trade with a
third country and remove long standing barrier in regional trade. With this Bangladesh will be able to use Indian railways, roads and waterways in transhipment of
goods to Bhutan and Nepal. While, India will be able to send goods to Myanmar
through Bangladesh.
April 7: World Health Day

World health Day was observed all over the world on April 7, 2015. Theme for year 2015 was food
safety with the slogan from farm to plate, make food safe.
The theme highlights Need to make food free from viruses, microbes and chemicals substances that
are responsible for more than 200 diseases. Indirectly unsafe food is linked to the annual deaths of
some 2 million people, mostly children. Need to create awareness about food safety as it possesses
challenges from the changes in food production, distribution and consumption. Changes in the
environment and new emerging pathogens and antimicrobial resistance are also challenge to food
safety. In this regard, WHO is also working with countries to strengthen efforts to detect, prevent and
respond to foodborne disease outbreaks in line with the Codex Alimentarius.
About World Health Day Every year on April 7, World Health Day is celebrated under the
sponsorship of the World Health Organization (WHO). Purpose: To focus on increasing the life
expectancy by adding good health to the lives of people and promoting healthier living habits. This day
marks the WHOs founding and is observed since 1950, Since then April 7 every year is seen as an
opportunity by the WHO to draw worldwide attention to a subject of major importance to global health
each year.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) announce that all diesel

vehicles heavy or light which are more than 10 years old will
not be permitted to ply in Delhi and NCR: The judgment was given
by bench headed by NGT Chairman Justice Swatanter Kumar on a petition

filed by Vardhaman Kaushik who had contended that the level of particulates in
Delhi is raising manifold.
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Seychelles becomes 161st member of World Trade Organisation

Seychelles became the 161st member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) which headquarters in Geneva. Seychelles archipelago of 90000 inhabitants became one of its smallest members. WTO (World
Trade Organization) was established on 1 January 1995.Besides, Seychelles is also the 33rd government to
accede to the rules-based multilateral trading system through Article XII negotiations. Pierre Laporte, former Minister of Trade, Finance and Investment of Seychelles and WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo
were signed the Protocol of Accession. On 31 May 1995, Seychelles had applied for WTO membership and
its accession was approved by the WTO members on 10 December 2014. This approval by WTO ended the
20-year long wait of the country for becoming a member of WTO, as the country was negotiating its accession terms since 31 May 1995. Earlier, WTO had 160 counties of member. In 2001, china had jointed as
the member of WTO in Doha summit and WTO allowed 28 Agreement which related to the trade.
Union Cabinet gives nod to amendments in the Prevention of

Corruption Act, 1988
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its nod to amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA), 1988 by pursuing the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013.
The proposed amendments in the bill to amend parent Act mainly aim at laying down more stringent
measures to tackle corruption.
It also seeks to fill in the perceived gaps in the domestic anti-corruption law as per the United Nations
Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).
Key Amendments
Proposes more stringent punishment for the offences of bribery, both for the bribe giver and the bribe
taker.
Enhances punishment from the minimum 6 months to 3 years and from the maximum five years to
seven years.
Extends the protection of prior sanction for prosecution to public servants who cease to hold office due
to retirement and resignation.
Non-monetary gratification is also be covered within the definition of the word gratification in the PCA
1988.
Background
The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in August 2013.
But the Bill was not passed in Rajya Sabha.
The amendment Bill incorporates the recommendations given by the 20th Law Commission headed by
Justice (retd) AP Shah in its 254th Report in order to bring anti-corruption law in line with the UNCAC.
India ranks 13th in generating electricity from nuclear source

India ranks at 13th position among the thirty one countries in the world which are
generating electricity from nuclear source. Indias current installed nuclear power
capacity is 5780 MW. It is expected to increase to 10080 MW by 2019 on progressive
completion of projects. This information was given by Minister of State (MoS) Dr
Jitendra Singh in written reply in the Rajya Sabha to an unstarred question. According to the report, the ranking was based upon the data published by Power Reactor
Information System (PRIS) of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2014.
Union Government also has accorded sanction for two more projects with a total capacity of 3400 MW.
The total requirement of nuclear fuel i.e. natural uranium is over 5 five years is estimated to be around
5,940 tons. In future, India more nuclear power projects based both on indigenous technologies and with
international
cooperation is planned.
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India, Japan ink action agenda to boost trade, investment

India and Japan have signed a Five-point action agenda to increase bilateral trade
and investment
between the two nations. It was signed between Japans
Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry Yoichi Miyazawa and Minister of State
(independent charge) for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman. The
five-point agenda between India and Japan. These includes areDevelopment of selected townships in India as Japanese industrial townships.
Promotion of investment and infrastructure development. Further development
and cooperation in IT sector. Enhancing cooperation in strategic sectors. AsiaPacific economic integration.
In 2014, Indian PM Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Japan and this five-point action agenda is a
follow-up of in 2014 and will play important role in improving the trade relationship between India and
Japan. Japan is the fourth largest foreign direct investment (FDI) contributor to India. Its major FDI interests is in automobiles, pharmaceuticals and services sectors which accounts for 7.46 per cent of total
FDI equity inflows into India.
Union Government extends e-Tourist Visa scheme to 31 more countries

Union Government has extended e-Tourist Visa scheme to 31 more countries with an effect from 31 May
2015.
In this regard, Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued a notification. With this the total
number of countries under the scheme has gone up to 76.
The 31 countries are: Antigua & Barbuda, Anguilla, Bahamas, Bolivia, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Costa
Rica, Chile, Cayman Island, Dominic an Republic, Dominica, Estonia, El Salvador, Ecuador, France,
Grenada, Georgia, Haiti, Honduras,Vatican, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Latvia, Montenegro, Macedonia,
Nicaragua, Montserrat, St.Kitts & Nevis Paraguay, and Seychelles
3 Super-Earths Orbiting Nearby Star Discovered

Three planets, each with a mass 7 to 8 times that of Earth, have been discovered orbiting a nearby star
that is only 54 light-years away, scientists say.
All three planets orbit their star at a distance closer than Mercury orbits the Sun,
completing their orbits in just five, 15, and 24 days, researchers said.
The team discovered the new planets by detecting the wobble of the star HD
7924 as the planets orbited and pulled on the star gravitationally.
The Automated Planet Finder (APF) Telescope at Lick Observatory in California
and WM Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaii traced out the planets' orbits
over many years using the Doppler technique that has successfully found
hundreds of mostly larger planets orbiting nearby stars.
The Automatic Photometric Telescope (APT) at Fairborn Observatory in Arizona
made crucial measurements of the brightness of HD 7924 to assure the validity
of the planet discoveries.
International Day of Yoga logo launched in New Delhi

The logo for International Day of Yoga was launched in New Delhi on 29 April 2015.
It was launched by Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Union
Minister of State (MoS) for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik.
The logo was selected by the Committee of Yoga experts, which was constituted by
Union Ministry of AYUSH and has been approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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Sri Lankan Parliament amends constitution to reduce

Presidents power
Sri Lankan Parliament has amended the constitution to reduce the power of Executive President and to
put into place a Constitutional Council for making key government appoints.
In this regard, the Parliament has adopted 19th (19A) Amendment of the Constitution. The reform amendment bill overwhelmingly received 215 votes in favour and just one vote against it in the 225-member
assembly.
The bill brings reforms to
Ensure an independent judiciary and police.
Curbs and checks Presidents power to dissolve the parliament.
Two-term limit of Presidents is restored.
The term of the President is reduced from 6 to 5 years.
This amendment will also now put into place several independent commissions
that will handle key areas of governance such as elections, public service, police and the judiciary and will
function outside the influence of the Executive.
ISRO successfully tested indigenous cryogenic engine CE-20 with four-ton capacity
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
successfully tested an indigenous cryogenic engine
CE-20 at Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu.
Cryogenic engine CE-20 will carry up to the capacity
of four tonnes in geostationary orbit. The engine will
also give boost to Indias interplanetary probes and
manned space missions. This development marks a
milestone in the countrys effort to develop a big
cryogenic engine to fly satellites of up to five tonnes.
Earlier, Russia given cryogenic engines which Indias
GSLV powered the engine.
A cryogenic engine uses Hydrogen as fuel which
stored at minus 253 degrees Celsius and liquid oxygen as oxidizer at minus 183 degrees Celsius. Engine
CE-20 is essential to master this technology for any
space power as launching heavier satellites requires

cryogenic engines even in the lower stages of the
rocket.
Engine CE-20 can develop the thrust needed in the
final state of the rocket to put satellites, weighing two
tonnes or more, into a geosynchronous orbit. But at
present,
India can only launch satellites of up to two tonnes.
The first success came in January 2014 when India
successfully launched GSLV-D5. India has been on a
long arduous journey to develop an operational
indigenous cryogenic engine which began around 30
years ago.
Parliament passes Regional Rural Banks (Amendment) Bill, 2014

Parliament has passed RRBs (Amendment) Bill, 2014 was first passed in Lok Sabha on 22 December 2014
and later in Rajya Sabha on 28 April 2015. This bill amends RRbs Act, 1976 and aims to strengthen the
Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and deepen their financial inclusion.
According to the Act, It should be noted that the parent Act of 1976 mainly has provisions for the incorporation, regulation and winding up of RRBs.
This amendment bill increases the authorised capital of each RRBs from Rs 5 crore to Rs 2000 crore
divided into Rs 200 crore of fully paid share of Rs 10 each and as per the parent Act the Rs 5 crore share
capital of RRBs is split into 5 lakh shares of Rs 100 each.
The Bill allows RRBs shareholding to raise capital from sources other than the central and state
governments, and sponsor banks.
Board of director also mentions that directors will be elected by shareholders based on the total amount of
equity share capital issued to such shareholders.
The bill raises the tenure of directors to 3 years from existing 2 years. The Bill also states that no director
can hold office for a total period exceeding six years.
The parent Act had provision which mentioned that the balance books of RRBs should be closed and
balanced by 31st December every year.
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Rajya Sabha passed Payments and Settlement Systems

(Amendment) Bill, 2014
Main Aim:
Addressing the problem of insolvency in the payment and settlement system by increasing transparency and stability in it.
Bringing Indias banking payment system in sync with international practices.
Key facts of Bill
Seeks to improve the payment and settlement systems by increasing transparency and stability of
Indian financial market.
Has provision to protect funds collected from the customers by the payment system providers and to
extend the Act to cover trade repository and legal entity identifier issuer. A Legal Entity Identifier will
be a unique ID associated with a single corporate entity.
Mentions that the decision of the court, tribunal or any authority will not impact the settlement which
had become final prior to the issuance of the order.
Ensure that if a system participant becomes insolvent, the dues of people whose money is with it
would be cleared first.
Norms of banking as well as companies laws would not be applicable till such dues are cleared.
The Union government has cancelled licences of nearly 9,000 Non-Governmental

Organisations for violation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA):
The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010 (FCRA 2010) is an enactment that is relatively
unknown even to practising Chartered Accountants. Besides it is a law where compliance is difficult
to monitor and implementation presents practical difficulties. The result is that the law is often
practised in breach.
Bharatiya Mahila Bank wins Asian Banker Achievement Award 2015

The Asian Banker Achievement Award 2015 is won by Bharatiya Mahila Bank. At a function held
in HongKongon 23rd April 2015, as a part of Asian Banker Summit 2015, the Chairman and
Managing director of Bharatiya Mahila Bank, Mrs Usha Ananthasubramanian received that award.
BMB was given the award in the technology implementation category of Best Outsourcing
Project [New Bank].
The main aim of this BMB is to focus on banking needs of women and to promote economic
empowerment.
Gender related issues are also in the agenda and will be helpful in financial inclusion.
1000crore seed-capital for the bank had been approved by the Union Government for the year
2013/14.
Seed capital is the funding needed to get new business started.
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Rajya Sabha passes The Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2014

For the first time in 45 years, a private members bill protecting and providing rights for the
transgenders, was passed by Rajya Sabha. The bill guarantees
reservations in education and jobs, financial help and social inclusion. The
Rights of Transgender Persons Bills 2014 makes it easier for a law on the
matter in the future.The government gave assurance that it would bring
updated Bill in the Lok Sabha.While government accepts the spirit and
sentiment of the Bill, the weakness present in it had to be removed.
The passing of bill was an unanimous decision and very rare thing.
The bill forecasts creation of national commission for transgender
communities.
The Rights Of Transgender Persons Bill 2014 moved by
Trichy Siva [DMK] was passed after leader of the house Mr Arun
Jaitley also supported.
The bill was passed by voice vote in presence of 19 Union ministers and former Prime Minister
Mr Manmohan Singh was also present. Mr Siva said 29 nations and leading democracies in the world
like Australia, US, UK, Canada, Singapore, France etc has laws protecting the rights of the transgender
community .There are 58 clauses and 10 chapters in the Bill illustrating various feature of transgenders
from their childhood to their oldage. The last time private member bill passed was way back in 1970.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates

Indias Healthcare Tourism Portal
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 24 April 2015 inaugurated Indias Healthcare Tourism Portal
www.indiahealthcaretourism.com at the SAAARC Trade Mart in the Global Exhibition on Services
(GES).
It was inaugurated on the occasion of three-day Global Exhibition on Services (GES) that commenced on
23 April, 2015 in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
Key facts about Healthcare Tourism Portal
The portal is developed by the Union Governments Department of Commerce and the Services Export
Promotion Council (SEPC).
It is a comprehensive one-point information site that covers hospital and travel-related information in
India.
Presently, it covers 124 accredited medical facilities. It includes 93 medical centers, 30 Ayurveda and
Wellness centers and 1 special category center.
Among these medical facilities 74 facilities are located in Tier I cites and the rest are in Tier II cities.
These covered accredited medical facilities on portal are easily locatable. It is also easy to find by
search options by location, medical specialty, key procedures, language options etc.
Details such as costs related to treatment in hospitals, visa and travel formalities, tariff options on stay etc
are also mentioned on the portal.
Assam awarded as Best e-Panchayat state on National Panchayati Raj Diwas

State of Assam has been awarded as the Best e-Panchayat state on 25 April 2015 on the occasion of
National Panchayati Raj Diwas.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented the award to state Rural Development minister Rakibul Hussain
in New Delhi.
Apart from this award, 8 Panchayat Raj Institutes of state also received Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat
Shasaktikaran award.
These panchayat raj institutes are Agomoni Anchalik Parishad, Morigaon Zila Parishad, Ketri Gaon
Panchayat, Mayong Gaon Panchayat, Boitamari Anchalik Parishad, Halakula Gaon Panchayat,
Chandrapur Gaon Panchayat and Baghara Gaon Panchayat.
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10
WORLD MALERIA DAY

OBSERVED ON EVERY
25 APRIL
Indias Ranking in global happiness index

is 117 out of 158
report was published by Sustainable Developments Solutions
Network or SDSN which is a global initiative for United Nations.
The report takes GDP per capita, life expectancy, social support,
freedom to make life choices,trust,generosity etc.
In 2013,India was in 111th position but it has gone down in 2015.
Pakistan ranks 81 and Bangladesh 109 in the list.
Switzerland, is ranked 1 in the list followed by Iceland ,
Denmark, Norway and Canada .
Happiness is regarded as the measure of social progress and goal
of public policy.
USA is ranked 15th followed by UK at 21, Singapore ranks
24th with Saudi Arabia, Japan and China at 35,46 and 84
respectively
Every year World Malaria Day

(WMD) is observed on 25 April.
The day is observed to recognise the
global efforts to control preventable
disease malaria.
The theme of this year WMD-2015
is Invest in the Future and Defeat
Malaria.
India fourth largest supplier of generic medicines to US

India has emerged as the fourth largest supplier of generic medicines to the United
States.
It was announced by Minister of State (MoS) for Chemicals and Fertilizers Hansraj
Ahir gave this information in the Rajya Sabha in reply to a question.
Indias generic medicines exports have touched over US 4 billion dollars in
2013-14 in spite of stringent regulatory measures imposed by US.
Union Government also announced that Indian pharmaceutical companies are
already exporting generic medicines to Africa, West Asia and European countries.
National Panchayati Raj Diwas (24 APRIL)

Every year April 24 is being observed as National Panchayati Raj (PR) Diwas across India.
This day marks the passing of the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 that came into force with
effect from 24 April 1993.
This amendment 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 lead to institutionalization of Panchayati Raj (PR)
through the village, Intermediate and District level Panchayats.
On this day Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj organises National Conference every year 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 on this day
Indo-France naval exercise Varuna 14th begins

India and France began their 14th edition of 10 day naval exercise
Varuna where 12 Rafale fighter jets seen in full force off Goa
coast with host of naval assets of both their countries. India has decided
to purchase 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in fly-away condition for Indian Air
Force . Indian Navy and French Navy have been conducting Naval
exercises since 1983 itself. After strategic partnership in 1998 the
exercises are named as VARUNA in 2001. Upto now 13 such exercises
have been conducted and the last was conducted in Mediterranean sea in
France in July 2012.
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11
Union Cabinet approves agreement between

India and Jordan on maritime transport
Union Cabinet meeting chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its approval for signing of a
shipping agreement between India and Jordan.
The agreement aims at strengthening cooperation between both nations in the area of shipping and to
provide sustained mutual assistance and advice on merchant shipping and other related maritime
matters.
LTC Exemption: Rules Relaxed for Unmarried Government Employees

Unmarried central government employees can now avail benefits of Leave Travel Concession (LTC) for
visiting any part of the country, as per a relaxation in the rule, which earlier restricted them to use the
facility for going to their hometown only.
"It has been decided that the facility of conversion of home town LTC to allow travel to different parts of
the country, under the special dispensation scheme, will also apply to an unmarried central government
servant, who is eligible to avail the benefit of LTC to visit hometown every year," a fresh order issued by
the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT)
Govt to launch toll free helpline for TB patients

The health ministry is set to launch a toll free helpline to reach out to tuberculosis patients across the
country. Any suspected patient can call or even give a missed call on the
helpline number and government health workers will contact the person to
check the status of TB as well as provide medical intervention.
India accounts for almost 25% of the 8.6 million TB cases reported worldwide. The number of drug resistant tuberculosis cases estimated in India is
also significantly high at 110,000.
Under the programme, the government aims to diagnose all TB cases within
two weeks of symptoms and refer them to the nearest public health centre. The ministry is also evaluating
schemes to incentivize patients for completing treatment. This will help the government keep a check on
drug resistant TB, which generally occurs due to incomplete treatment.
Besides, the health ministry will also work in coordination with other ministries to ensure linking of TB
patients and their families to various welfare schemes of the government so that the earning of these
families increases and they have nutritional support which will enhance the immunity status of each
member of the family
Zomato acquires NexTable
Online restaurant guide Zomato has acquired United States (US) based online table reservation platform
NexTable for undisclosed amount. It is Zomatos ninth acquisitions since past nine months. This
acquisition also comes shortly after Zomato had acquired MaplePOS, a cloud-based POS product for
restaurants.
NexTable services help its users make restaurant reservations in real time and it also includes table
management and marketing tools for restaurants. With this acquisition, NexTable will be renamed as
Zomato Book and it will help Zomato to move beyond restaurant search and discovery into table
reservations, online ordering services.
World Bank established Pollution Management and

Environmental Health program
World Bank established Pollution Management and Environmental Health (PHEM) program. The
program was officially launched on Global Citizen 2015 Earth Day in Washington, D.C.
The 45 million US Dollar PMEH program will initially run from 2015 to 2020 and focus primarily on air
quality management in countries facing rapid urbanization and strong needs for pollution abatement
measures, but also tackle water and land pollution.
In particular, the program will focus on air quality management in five major urban areas in India, China,
Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa.
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Railway launches mobile app for paperless unreserved tickets

Moving ahead in line with digital India, railways today launched mobile
application for paperless unreserved tickets.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu introduced from here the mobile app for
paperless unreserved ticketing for commuters in Egmore and Tambram
suburban sections in Chennai under Southern Railway zone.
Developed by Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) "utsonmobile"
- the paperless unreserved ticketing feature in mobile application aims to
eliminate the need for printing of unreserved tickets.
Union Cabinet approves lowering of age of Juveniles from 18 to 16 years

for heinous crimes
Union Cabinet has approved lowering of age of juveniles from eighteen to sixteen years for heinous
crimes. Decision in this regard was taken by Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi.
The cabinet also approved to introduce Amendment to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of
Children) Bill, 2014. This amendment will propose and add special provisions to tackle heinous offences
like murder and rape committed by juveniles in the age group of 16-18 years.
The proposed bill will amend the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000. The parent Act clearly defines and classifies
offences as serious, petty and heinous and defines differentiated processes for each classified category .
While the amendments in the bill adds provisions that in case a heinous crime committed by a person
between 16 and 18 years, will be examined by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) to assess if the crime was
committed as a child or as an adult.
Information and Broadcasting Ministry receives ISO 9001:2008

certification
Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) received an ISO 9001:2008 certification from the
British Standards Institute (BSI). The ISO certification was granted to Ministry in respect of various
permissions and licences issued by it for the broadcasting and print media and films.
These licences or permissions include for satellite Television channels, multi-system operators, teleports,
community radio stations and DTH services.
It also includes publication of Indian editions of technical and scientific and foreign magazines of news
and current affairs, facsimile editions of foreign newspapers and permission for foreign film producers.
The Ministry has undertaken this initiative in order to bring in more transparency and efficiency in the
processes related in granting of various permissions and licenses to the eligible applicants.
In this regard, the Ministry has put in place a well-defined procedure and measures in order to ensure
quality of services offered to the customers on the basis of ISO 9001:2008. It will also ensure delivery of
World Book and Copyright Day (also known as International Day of

the Book or World Book Day) is observed on April 23, 2015.
The annually celebrated day is organized by UNESCO to promote reading,
publishing and copyright. It was first celebrated in 1995.
The connection between 23 April and books was first made in 1923 by booksellers
in Spain as a way to honor the author Miguel de Cervantes who died on that day.
Nowadays the World Book and Copyright Day is observed in over 100 countries,
where schools, private businesses, voluntary organizations and lots of more people and groups come together to pay a tribute to authors and books.
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NASA develops first 3-D printed copper rocket engine part

The engineers at NASA have developed 3-D printed copper rocket engine part that can function at
high temperatures and pressures.The part they had produced was combustion chamber liner using
additive manufacturing technique, which is capable of performing at high temperatures and pressures.
Mr Steve Jurczyk, who is associate administrator for Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA,
spoke in length about the milestone achieved by building the first full scale copper rocket part with
additive manufacturing technology for the ultimate mission of reaching Mars. Additive manufacturing
technology helps in reducing time and cost of making.A selective laser melting machine fused 8255 layers
of copper powder inorder to produce the combustion chamber in 10 days and 18hours.
A copper alloy GRCo-84, the raw material used, was produced by the scientists at NASAs Glenn
Research Centre ,Ohio where lots of characterisation was carried out. Mr Zach Jones,a material engineer,
said since copper is very good conductor of heat so its very good material to be used as liner in combustion
chamber.
Only handful of copper based rocket parts have been manufactured with additive technique, so this is
something amasing. Usually many types of complex parts made of various materials are assembled to
form an engine which gives thrust that powers rockets. The main aim was to build rocket engine parts
upto 10 times faster and reducing the cost by more than 50% and for this the additive manufacturing technique would play very important role.
China and Pakistan launch economic corridor plan worth $46 billion
Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to unveil a $46 billion infrastructure spending plan in Pakistan that is
a centerpiece of Beijings ambitions to open new trade and transport routes across Asia and challenge the
U.S. as the dominant regional power.
The plan will be known as the China Pakistan Economic Corridor.
China sees a historic opportunity to redraw the geopolitical map by succeeding where the U.S. has largely
failed.
A cornerstone of the project will be to develop the Pakistani port of Gwadar, a warm-water port run by the
Chinese on the doorstep of the Middle East.
New species of Gecko found

A new species of a gecko was spotted at the ruins of the World Heritage Site of Hampi in Karnataka. It was
named as Cnemaspis adii after a young herpetology researcher Aditya Srinivasulu
from Hyderabad, Telangana.
It was spotted by the researchers from the Osmania University in Hyderabad.
Cnemaspis adii gecko is similar to a type of lizard usually found in warm climates.
It belongs to the family of day geckos which are characterized by round pupils unlike
regular geckos which have vertical pupils.
This discovery of the gecko in Hampi is significant because for the first time species
of day gecko was found in the central regions of the peninsular India.
The other species of day geckos are commonly found in Western Ghats and southern Eastern Ghats of
peninsular India.
India 5th biggest generator of e-waste in 2014: UN report
India is the fifth biggest producer of e-waste in the world, discarding 1.7 million tonnes (Mt) of
electronic and electrical equipment in 2014, a UN report has said warning that the volume of global
e-waste is likely to rise sharply by 21 per cent in next three years.
The 'Global E-Waste Monitor 2014', compiled by UN's think tank United Nations University (UNU),
said at 32 per cent, the US and China produced the most e-waste overall in 2014.
India came in fifth, behind the US, China,Japan and Germany, the report said.
Most e-waste in the world in 2014 was generated in Asia at 16 Mt or 3.7 kg per inhabitant. The top
three Asian nations with the highest e-waste generation in absolute quantities are China (6.0 Mt),
Japan (2.2 Mt) and India (1.7 Mt)
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JAPAN'S MAGLEV TRAIN SETS WORLD RECORD: 603 KPH

A Japanese magnetic levitation train has broken its own world speed record, hitting
603km/h (374mph) in a test run near Mount Fuji.
The train beat the 590km/h speed it had set last week in another test.
Japan is known for its shinkansen that run on steel rails, but has been investing in
maglev technology which it is hoping to sell overseas.
Central Japan Railway (JR Central), which owns the trains, wants to introduce the
service between Tokyo and the central city of Nagoya by 027.
{Maglev (derived from magnetic levitation) is a transport method that uses magnetic levitation to move
vehicles without touching the ground. With maglev, a vehicle travels along a guideway using magnets to create
both lift and propulsion, thereby reducing friction and allowing higher speeds}
ESAMIKSHA LAUNCHED TO MONITOR RAIL PROJECTS ONLINE
With an aim of monitoring implementation of various ongoing projects including Rail Budget
proposals, railways launched E-Samiksha, an online monitoring mechanism.
It is a very good beginning and now each and every project implementation can be monitored on
real-time basis, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said here after launching the system.
Designed by NIC, the software is currently being used by Cabinet Secretariat, PMO and other
Ministries for monitoring progress implementation of various programmes and follow-up of meetings.
Apart from budget-related projects, the E-Samiksha can also be used for monitoring the infrastructure
target and board meeting follow-up.
CIVIL SERVICE DAY 21 APRIL
Ninth Civil Services Day was observed across India on 21 April 2015. The day is observed by all Civil
Services to re-dedicate and re-commit themselves to the cause of the people.
To mark the Day, a two-day programme was organised by the Department of Administrative Reforms
and Public Grievances began from 20 April 2015.
A series of Panel Discussions was organised at the Vigyan Bhawan. The Ninth Civil Services Day
focuses on Minimum Government, Maximum Governance with specific sectoral emphasis on Social
Sector, Housing, Employment & Skill Development and Agriculture.
On this occasion, all officers of Central and State Governments are honoured for excellence in public
administration. The Prime Minister will confer the Awards to winners of outstanding initiatives in
Public Administration for the years 201213 and 2013-14.
The award will be present in three categories. Under this scheme of awards instituted in 2006, all the
officers individually or as group or as organization are eligible.
During the event, a book on Best Practices Tomorrow is Here was also released by the Prime
Minister Narendra Modi.
FOR STUDY MATERIAL ON SSCGENERALSTUDIES, CONTACT US
9911636116
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INS Vishakhapatnam
Indian Navy's new stealth destroyer ship launched
In yet another boost to India's defence preparedness, the Indian Navy launched thestealth destroyer INS
Vishakhapatnam at Mumbai's Mazagon dock.
INS Vishakhapatnam is the first of P15-B stealth
destroyers. The 163 m long ship, which will be
propelled by four gas turbines, is designed to achieve
a speed of over 30 knots at a displacement of approx
7300 tons.
This indigenously designed stealth destroyer will
have state-of-the-art weapons, sensors, an advance
Action Information System, in Integrated Platform
Management system, sophisticated Power Distribution System and a host of other advanced features,
according to the Defence Ministry release.
It will be fitted with supersonic surface-to-surface
missile system. The system enables the ship to
engage shore-based and naval surface targets at long
range making it a lethal platform for strike against enemy targets. The ship's air defence capability, designed to counter the threat of enemy aircraft and anti-ship cruise missiles, will revolve around the vertical launch and long range surface to air missile system.
Four 30 mm rapid-fire guns will provide the ship with close-in-defence capability while an MR gun will
enable her to provide effective naval gunfire support. Indigenously developed twin tube torpedo launchers
and rocket launchers will add punch to the ship's anti-submarine capability. The vessel is follow-on of
P15A-Kolkota class destroyers with enhanced features
"The indigenization content in P15-B class destroyers is a notch above her illustrious predecessors in line
with the Make in India policy of the Government of India. The vessel is expected to be commissioned in
the Navy in 2018," says the Ministry's release.
Kerala government launches campaign Subodham

The Kerala Government on Sunday launched a major campaign, Subodham a campaign to help people overcome alcohol, drugs
and other substance abuse in Kerala. This project was launch by the Chief
Minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy and the founder of the Art of Living
Foundation, Sri Sri Ravishankar. This project launch happened in the
presence of various religious leaders, student representatives from student
organizations and also NGOs working against drug abuse.
The state government aims to wipe out the menace of substance addiction
from our society through Subodham. If total alcohol prohibition could save
the society, the state government is ready to forego the revenue from the sale
of liquor that is around Rs 7,000 crore per annum, said the Chief
Minister of Kerala, during his speech.
Subodham has been envisaged to the excise department and it will be
worked on and implemented by a high level committee comprising of experts from various different
fields. Excise Minister of Kerala, K. Babu, ,is the chairman of Subodham. The state Education
department has also agreed and are taking steps to include anti- drug and alcohol awareness content in
the state curriculum.
The project is supported by the United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund
(UNICEF).Several non-governmental organisations (NGOs), religious leaders and other stake holders are
also participating in the project.
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ANDHRA PRADESH inks MoU with IISL Company

Andhra Pradesh Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the IISL Company
to replace the existing streetlights in 13 municipalities with LED lights in the state for 7 years. By installing
LED streetlights, state government aims to reduce the power consumption by 50 per cent
Oil India commissions 54 MW capacity

wind energy projects in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh
Indias second largest state-owned oil explorer company, Oil India Limited (OIL) has commissioned 54
MW wind energy projects saddled between Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. The spilt capacity of project
between both states is 38 MW plant located at Chandgarh in Madhya Pradesh and 16 MW plant located at
Patan in Gujarat. The Project is fully funded by OIL and its total cost is Rs 439 crore that includes Rs 126.5
crore for the Gujarat plant and Rs 312.45 crore for the Madhya Pradesh plant. The Project is being run by
Chennai based Gamesa Wind Turbines who are the project developers. Delhi based Power and Energy
Consultants are the project Management consultants. With commissioning of these plants, OILs installed
renewable energy capacity i.e. commercial wind energy and solar energy projects capacity has rose to
126.60 MW.
Dighi Port & RVNL sign MoU to connect the port by rail
The Prime Ministers vision of port-led growth is taking shape in Maharashtra with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) and Dighi Port Ltd (DPL) for
developing rail connectivity from Dighi Port to Roha, and integrating the region with the Delhi Mumbai
Industrial Corridor (DMIC), highlighted a release. The MoU was inked on April 18, in the presence of Mr
Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Mr Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Railways, Mr Anant
Geete, Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Mr Manoj Sinha, Union Minister of State for Railways,
among others.
Punjab to release Gharials in rivers to promote eco-tourism

Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal , approved the release of
gharials in Sutlej and Beas rivers in the state to promote
eco-tourism.
"To promote eco-tourism in Punjab, government has chalked out a
programme for release of gharials - the last surviving species of the
family Gavialidae - in the river Sutlej-Beas with Harike Wildlife
Sanctuary as the starting point .
Pak, Russia to hold first-ever joint military exercises

Pakistan and Russia have agreed to hold first-ever joint military exercises as part of their enhanced
defence cooperation, in a sign of increasing bonhomie between the Cold War-era adversaries.
The agreement was reached during a meeting in Moscow between Pakistan Defence Minister
Khawaja Asif and his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu
India-Canada Uranium Deal

Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Ministers visit to Canada yielded the
energy starving Indian nation to secure the Uranium supplied for its
nuclear plants. Narendra Modi signed the deal with Canadas Prime
Minister Stephan Harper at Ottawa.
Canada is to supply the Uranium to India for a time span of 5 years with
it worth $280 million. According to the deal 3,220 metric tonnes of
uranium concentrate will be supplied for the Indian nuclear power reactors
which are starving for fuels.
The uranium, source of nuclear fuel is to be procured from the northern Saskatchewan mines of
Cameco, the worlds third-largest uranium producer. According to reports the company
sources 16% of the worlds Uranium supplies.
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India successfully test-fires nuclear-capable Agni-III ballistic missile

India successfully test-fired nuclear weapons-capable Agni-III ballistic missile from the Wheeler Island off
Odisha coast. Although the missile has a strike range of more than 3,000 k.m., it was tested for a lesser
range.
The suface to surface missile was launched by the personnel of
Strategic Forces Command (SFC) from a mobile launcher as part
of regular training exercise for the user.
It was picked up randomly from the production lot and test fired.
The SFC is tasked with handling strategic weaons systems. After
the command for auto-lanuch was given, the two-stage solidpropelled missile took off on a flight of 1,200 seconds and homed
onto the pre-designated target area in the bay of bengal with
accuracy. .
Various parameters and trajectory of the 17-meter tall missile
were tracked and monitored in real time by radars along the east
coast, as also by the telemetry and electro-optical systems. Two
down-range ships near the impact point recorded the terminal
event.
Agni-III is one of the sophisticated and accurate missiles of its class and has already been inducted into
armed forces. It is capable of carrying a payload weighing 1.5 tonnes to a distance of more than 3,000 k.m.
Nuclear-Capable Dhanush Missile Successfully test-fired from Ship

India on Thursday successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable Dhanush ballistic missile with a
strike range of 350 km from a naval ship off the Odisha coast.
Dhanush, a manoeuvring missile is a naval variant of Indias indigenously-developed Prithvi missile and can carry a nuclear payload of
500 kg., was test fired from a ship in the Bay of Bengal off Odisha coast
by the Strategic Force Command (SFC) of the defence force. It can target
both land-based and sea-based targets. The missile has already been
inducted into the armed services.
Facts about Dhanush Missile
Dhanush missile is capable of carrying conventional as well as
nuclear payload of 500 to 1000 kilogramand can hit both land
and sea-based targets within 350 km range.
Indigenously developed by Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO).
Its a variant of the surface-to-surface/ship-to-ship Prithvi III
missile.
The missile gives the Indian Navy the capability to strike enemy targets with great precision.
IMPORTANT DAYS IN APRIL

April 1
April 5
Orissa Day
National Maritime Day
April 7
April 13
April 14
World Health Day

Jallianwallah Bagh Massacre Day (1919)
B.R. Ambedkar Remembrance Day
April 18
April 22
April 23
World Heritage Day

World Earth Day
World Books Day
APRIL EDITION
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India registers record production of nuclear fuel

In a major milestone for the nuclear industry, India has registered a record production of over 1,252 MT of
uranium bundles, manufacturing close to double the annual fuel requirement of atomic reactors in the
country.
The production has also exceeded countrys annual fuel requirement of 650 MT for the Pressurised Heavy
Water Reactors (PHWRs), which means the country has surplus nuclear fuel, for at least a few months.
The Hyderabad-based Nuclear Fuel Complex, which produces fuel for nuclear reactors in the country, has
produced over 30 per cent more fuel compared to its 961.023 MT production in 2013-14.
India and US sign MoC on Transportation

India and United States (US) have signed Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC)
transportation between both countries. It was signed by Union Minister of Road
Transport & Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari and Anthony Foxx, US Secretary of Transportation in New Delhi.
The MoC aims at fostering cooperative work between both nations on key issues of
mutual interest for all modes of transportation, coordinating public and private
sector resources and expertise to advance safe, secure, efficient and integrated
transportation systems. It seeks to cover areas like urban transportation, highway
transportation, safety and environmental protections. It will also cover rail transportation, fuel efficiency,
vehicle and behavioral safety, intermodal transportation and maritime shipping.
The MoC will enable India to make use of worlds latest technology which is available with the US for
developments of waterways and multi-modal hub projects.
BHEL, Russian firm INTMA ink MoU to set up power plant in

Kazakhstan
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a
Russian company INTMA to set up a gas-based power project in Kazakhstan
Interlinking of rivers: Centre forms Task Force to bring States on board

Seeking to overcome the hurdles in interlinking of rivers, the Centre constituted a Task Force to work on
forging consensus among different States for speedy implementation of the NDA governments ambitious
project.
The Union Water Resources Ministrys decision came in the backdrop of opposition from a couple of
States over interlinking of rivers.
A statement here said that the Task Force would be chaired by B N Navalawala and take up all issues for
expediting the work on interlinking of rivers in the country.
Apart from examining the existing links that are laid out as per the National Perspective Plan under both
Himalayan and Peninsular components, the Task Force would also consider alternative plans in place of
infeasible links in the present plan, the release added.
The panel would facilitate interlinking of intra-state and intra-basin rivers also along with that of interstate and inter-basin links.
It would recommend time schedules for completion of feasibility studies and DPRs of all the links,
implementation schedule of all the links and also suggest on various means of funding mechanisms for the
interlinking of rivers project, the statement added.
The Task Force would also provide guidance on norms of appraisal of individual projects in respect of
economic viability, socio-economic, environmental impacts and preparation of resettlement plans. It
would also device suitable mechanisms for bringing about speedy consensus among the States and also
propose suitable organisational structure for implementing the interlinking of rivers, the release said.
The Task Force would also try to forge a consensus among the States in order to take forward the speedy
implementation of the project.
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BSF launches nationwide tele-medicine programme for

troops
The programme will address medical and health-related problems of its troops
deployed in far-flung frontier areas and difficult regions in the hinterland in case of an
emergency or illness.
Turkey begins construction of first nuclear power plant

Turkey began the construction of its first nuclear power plant located at Akkuyu in Mersin province on the
shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It will be built by Akkuyu Project Company, a subsidiary of Russias nuclear
agency Rosatom. Key Facts In 2010, Turkey and Russia had signed an agreement to set up $20 billion
Akkuyu nuclear project. Akkuyu Project Company will own, build and operate the plant that comprises four
1,200 MW VVER units. The site was chosen at Akkuyu by Turkish government because it has low population
density and low risk of earthquakes
Akkuyu nuclear plant is the first of three nuclear power plants planned by Turkey. Second plant is due to be
built in the Black Sea city of Sinop by a French-Japanese consortium and third plants location is not finalised yet
FM transmission of Vividh Bharati Service was launched by Union Information and

Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley
It was launched at function held at New Broadcasting House of All India Radio (AIR) in Delhi. Key facts
Vividh Bharti service will be available on 100.1 Megahertz (MHz) frequency. It will be also available on
mobile phone. It will be available to listeners in and around Delhi within a range of 60-65 km. Listeners
will now enjoy the programmes with much clarity at all times in all weather conditions without any hitch.
Ministry of Home Affairs renames Visa on Arrival

scheme to e-Tourist visa
The Union home ministry has decided to rename the tourist visa-on-arrival
scheme as 'e-tourist visa' scheme . The step is aimed at avoiding inconvenience
to foreign tourists who, misled by scheme's nomenclature, would fly into India
presuming that they would be granted visa on arrival upon landing.
e-Tourist Visa Scheme is a pre-authorization of Visa to foreigners that being
given prior to travel. Under the scheme, a foreign tourist is required to apply for
a visa online by uploading his photograph and passport and also paying his visa
fee online. Then visa authorities will process his application and send him an
electronic travel authorization, or simply e-visa, via e-mail within 72 hours.
BHEL commissions 600-MW thermal unit in Chhattisgarh

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) on 13 April 2015 commissioned 600 MW unit of a thermal power
project for the Dainik Bhaskar Power Limited (DBPL) at Dhabra in Janjgir Champa district of Chhattisgarh. The commissioned unit is the second unit of DBPLs 2 600 MW power project. The first 600 MW
Unit was commissioned in 2014. BHEL is partner in the power development programme of the state of
Chhattisgarh. With this commissioning of second unit, BHELs cumulative installed capacity has
increased at 11,400MW in Chhattisgarh and accounts for 68 per cent share of the total installed capacity
in the state.
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Gujarat government launches industrial tourism

to showcase development
Gujarat government has launched industrial tourism package to promote its
development by showcasing its major industrial installations which have earned
global acclaim for state. It is a first of its kind initiative India, offered by Tourism
Corporation of Gujarat Ltd (TCGL) in collaboration with Ahmedabad based Akshar
Travels Pvt Ltd. The tour package is called as Industrial Tour of Gujarat and will
cover some of the major industrial attractions of the state. It includes Tata Nano
plant in Sanand, Amul Dairy in Anand, Alang ship breaking yard in Bhavnagar and
Pipavav port near Amreli. It will also include Mrbi-based ceramic industry, Tata Chemicals factory in
Mithapur, Asias biggest Ajanta clock factory, Reliance Refinery in Jamnagar. The package will also take
tourists to salt pans near Okha and Kadi in Mehsana, which has the highest number of cotton gins in Asia.
India and France signed 17 agreements in various fields during Prime

Minister (PM) Narendra Modis visit to France
They were signed in presence of Indian PM and his counterpart French President Francois Hollande after they had held
wide-ranging talks in Paris.
Some of key agreements signed are :
MoU between Larsen and Tubro and AREVA- It aims
at improve the financial viability of the Jaitapur Nuclear plant
project by reducing cost by increasing localization. It will also
enable France to transfer of technology to India for development of indigenous nuclear energy industry in India.
Pre-engineering agreements (PEA) between NPCIL
and Areva- It intends to bring clarity on all technical aspects
of the plant. It will help all parties including AREVA, Alstom
and NPCIL to fix their price and optimise all provisions for risks (still included at this stage) in the costs
of the project.
MoU between CNES and ISRO on Megha Tropiques satellite- It extends MoU for two more
years of joint project for sharing and use of data from the satellite. The satellite was launched in October
2011 on board of Indian launch vehicle PSLV.
MOU between ISRO, CNES and ONERA- It proposes cooperation in the areas of satellite remote
sensing, satellite communications and satellite meteorology and others field.
MoU between Union Sports Ministry and French Ministry of Sports- It envisages cooperation
and exchange of experiences in the fields of sports medicine and institutional cooperation.
Railway protocol between Union Railways Ministry and French National Railways (SNCF)
- It seeks to establish cooperation between Indian and French Railways for semi-high speed rail and station renovation.
Union Government suspends Greenpeace

Indias registration for 6 months
Union government has suspended the registration of Greenpeace India, a non-profit environmental
organization for six months with immediate effect. Decision in this regard was taken by Union Ministry of
Home Affairs (MHA) after Greenpeace India had prejudicially acted against the public interests and
economic interests of the country. As per MHA, Greenpeace India has used its funds received from foreign
sources for unauthorised purposes and has violated the rules mentioned Foreign Contribution
(Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010. If Greenpeace India fails to make a satisfactory presentation to the Union
government in this regard, its licence may be cancelled permanently
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India elected to four key bodies of UN ECOSOC

India was elected to four key bodies of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC).
Four key subsidiary bodies are
Executive Board of United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) --- India is elected for a 3 year
term beginning January 2016. It was elected, along with 13 other nations.
Executive Board of World Food Programme (WFP) India is re-elected to the for a 2 year period
starting from January 2016, along with 5 other nations.
Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) India is elected for a 3 year
period starting from January 2016. India was elected along with 19 other nations. Some of them are Iran,
Pakistan, Austria, France, Saudi Arabia, Sweden and US.
Governing Council of United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) India
is elected for a 3 year period starting from January 2016 along with 13 other nations.
Newly discovered Spider named after Telangana state

Newly discovered spiders of Thomisidae family have been named as Telangana crab spider (Thomisus
telanganensis) i.e. after Indian state of Telangana. These spiders were discovered by G.B. Pravalikha and
Chelmala Srinivasulu, wildlife and taxonomy researchers from the Zoology Department of Osmania
University at an expedition at Nagnur in Karimnagar district of Telangana.
Indias first IFSC becomes operational at GIFT City in Gujarat

Indias first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) became operational at Gujarat International
Finance Tec (GIFT) City in Gandhinagar district of Gujarat. It became operational after Union Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley unveiled the rules and regulations for this global financial hub.
Key facts of IFSC rules and regulations
Aim at creating a vibrant IFSC on the lines of those in Dubai and Singapore.
They also seek to check the flight of trading in rupee and Indian securities to such offshore financial
hubs.
These rules will allow companies incorporate outside India to raise money in foreign currencies by
issuance and listing of their equity shares on stock exchanges within the IFSC.
They will also allow individual and institutional investors from India and abroad, including NRIs to
trade.
Allows foreign and Indian stock exchanges to set up separate bourses within IFSC as subsidiaries.
Relaxes capital and other requirements for some time in order to facilitate exchanges, clearing corporations and depositories to set shop in the IFSC.
Allows alternative investment funds and mutual funds that have set up in the IFSC to invest in the
securities listed there.
IMPORTANT BOOKS RELEASED IN APRIL

Book titled Suleiman Charitra written by Kalyana Malla translated from Sanskrit to English.
Pre-Modern Kutchi Navigation Techniques and Voyages.
Aatank Ke Saaye Men written by Garima Sanjay.
Gods Bankers authored by Gerald Posner released.
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BUSINESS NEWS
RBI penalises 16 Central Co-operative Banks (CCBs)
The Reserve Bank of India penalised 16 central cooperative banks with a fine of Rs 5 lakh each for nonadherence of the Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering guidelines.
The lenders were issued show-cause notices and the action was taken after going through the responses.
The penalties were imposed on these co-operative banks in exercise of powers vested in RBI under the
provisions of Section 47(A) read with Section 46 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949
Kotak Mahindra-ING Vysya merger gets RBI approval

The merger deal between Kotak Mahindra Bank and ING Vysya Bank has received the Reserve Bank's approval, which would create the country's fourth largest private sector lender.
"The scheme of amalgamation (of Kotak Mahindra Bank and ING Vysya Bank) shall come into effect from
April 1, 2015," Kotak Mahindra Bank said in a statement quoting RBI approval.
Following the merger, all the tangible and intangible assets have been transferred to Kotak Mahindra
Bank. The merged entity has now 1,214 branches, with a wide-spread pan-India network. ING Vysya had
around 10,000 employees, while Kotak Bank has around 29,000.
Snapdeal acquires majority stake in RupeePower

E-commerce marketplace Snapdeal has acquired a majority stake in digital financial distribution platform
RupeePower for an undisclosed amount.
Snapdeals entry into online financial services is a first for an e-commerce company in India. Following
the deal, the SoftBank-backed Snapdeal will offer consumer loans through the RupeePower network. The
online financial services market in India is estimated at Rs 4,500 crore.
The latest development is part of Snapdeals $1-billion acquisition spree. Founded in 2011, RupeePower
has partnered 12 banks, including the State Bank of India, and non-banking financial companies.
Indirect tax collection exceeds target by Rs 4,000 crore in FY15

The collection of indirect taxes has surpassed the revised estimates by Rs 4,000 crore to reach Rs 5.46
lakh crore for the fiscal ended March 2015.
The total collection as on March 31 is Rs 5,46,479 crore, based on the provisional report as against revised
estimates of Rs 5,42,325 crore for 2014-15The total collection as on March 31 is Rs 5,46,479 crore, based
on the provisional report as against revised estimates of Rs 5,42,325 crore for 2014-15.
Bharti AXA General Insurance launched Smart Traveller

Bharti AXA General Insurance (GI) Company Ltd. has launched 'Smart Traveller'
that offers global coverage for students, individuals, families and frequent
travellers.
The SmartTraveller Insurance policy offers a choice of two major plans catering to
Individuals and Families and frequent travelers through a variant - known as
Annual Multi Trip International travel insurance plan
Myntra to close internet site from 1 May; to be accessible as a cellular

app solely
After closing its cellular internet site final month, on-line style retailer Myntra is now relocating to an
app-solely technique by shutting down its desktop internet site.
Myntra is on the right track to comprehensive Rs 2,000 crore in gross sales or gross merchandise worth
(GMV) for the existing economic yr.
*GMV refers back to the entire income generated by on-line retailers via sale of items on
the on-line platforms.
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Dena Bank inks MoU with Life Insurance Corporation to

provide insurance cover
State owned Dena Bank has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India to provide insurance cover to its all Aadhaar-linked savings account holders in the age
group of 18 to 50 years. LIC will provide insurance cover under the Union Governments flagship Pradhan
Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJBY) scheme.
Under the MoU: LIC will give a life cover of Rs 2 lakh in case of death of the insured person. In this regard, a nominal premium of 330 rupees per annum will be charged from account holder. Those who join
the scheme before completing 50 years can continue to have the risk of life cover up to the age of 55 years.
Highlights of RBI financial coverage evaluate

Following are the highlights of RBIs first bi-month-to-month financial coverage assertion, 2015-16:
Short-time period lending price (repo) unchanged at 7.5%
Cash Reserve Ratio unchanged at 4%
Retains Statutory Liquidity Ratio at 21.5%
Estimates GDP progress at 7.8% in FY16, up from 7.5% in FY15
Forecasts CPI inflation at 5.8% by March 2016
CPI inflation to dip to 4% in August 2015.
Hailstorms in March affected 17% of the rabi crop sown environment
Future fee cuts will depend upon rate of interest discount by banks
India greater organized to focus on volatility publish US Federal Reserve price motion
State cooperative banks to be allowed to arrange offsite/ cellular ATMs with out prior approval from
RBI.
RBI to formulate scheme for market making by main sellers in semiliquid and illiquid DSecs.
Second bi-month-to-month coverage assertion on June 2
Flipkart acquires mobile marketing firm Appiterate

Online marketplace Flipkart has announced the acquisition of
Appiterate, a mobile engagement and marketing automation company
based out of Delhi. Appiterate helps ecommerce companies target consumers better and increase sales by using push notifications and in app
messages.
PropTiger acquires Makaan.com

Real estate portal PropTiger.com has acquired its rival Makaan.com to ramp up
its presence in Indias secondary property market. After tvhe acquisition both
portals will run separately.
Capgemini acquires IGATE for $4 bn in all-cash deal

French IT services firm Capgemini has announced its plan to acquire US based information technology
(IT) outsourcer IGATE for US 4 billion dollars. This acquisition will help Capgemini to strengthen its
foothold in the North American market.
Bank of Baroda ties up with UAE Exchange for instant money transfer
Leading Indian public sector bank Bank of Baroda (BoB) has partnered with UAE Exchange to offer Nonresident Indian (NRI) customers an instant cash transfer facility.
In this regard agreement was signed between both parties. This agreement will facilitate customers can
send money within minutes to their desired bank accounts in BoB in India.
This facility is also supported by SMS alert, which will notify the moment the amount is credited in the
bank account of desired customer.
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ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra launch tap and pay service

ICICI Bank, Indias largest private sector bank, has partnered with Tech Mahindra to
launch contactless payment service to 'tap and pay'.
Based on the Near Field Communications (NFC) technology, this payment service
enables anyone (account holder of ICICI Bank or not) to make over-the-counter payments without using cash. It allows users to just tap the NFC enabled tag or mobile
phone at the merchants point-of-sale device to make payments, ICICI Bank said in a
statement.
Tap n Pay is a prepaid account, which can be availed by customers of any bank by registering for it and
transferring money online from any bank account.
ICICI Bank customers can also transfer money to the Tap-n-Pay account through an SMS.
Sulekha.com raises Rs. 175 crore from GIC, Norwest Venture Partners
Sulekha.com, a digital platform for local services, has raised Rs. 175 crore from Singapores sovereign
wealth fund GIC and global investment firm Norwest Venture Partners.
The Chennai-based company will use the proceeds for expanding its platform that connects users and
local service providers, apart from investing in technology and branding, the company said in a statement.
Bhartiya Mahila Bank inks MOUs with LIC , New India Insurance
Bharatiya Mahila Bank Ltd has entered into MoUs with New India Assurance Company Ltd and Life
Insurance Corporation of India to provide insurance cover to its account holders.
The insurance covers are being provided under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Suraksha Bima Yojana and the
Pradhan Mantri Jeevan jyoti Bima Yojana schemes respectively.
The insurance option is voluntary and comes at a premium of Rs. 12 for the PM Jan Suraksha Bima
Yojana and Rs. 330 for the PM Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana.
The age eligibility under the former is 18-70 years and under the latter 18-50 years.
The enrolment period under the schemes will be from June 1, 2015, to August 31, 2015.
MakeMyTrip acquires travel guide startup Mygola

Online travel services provider MakeMyTrip.com has acquired Mygola, a startup travel guide firm. The
acquisition was done through MakeMyTrips Innovation Fund, which invests in early-stage or start-up
companies in the travel technology space. With this acquisition, MakeMyTrip will get a greater foothold in
the mobile space as Mygolas entire team has joined them.
Nokia announces to buy Alcatel- Lucent

Finnish telecom network equipment maker Nokia on 16 April 2015 announced acquisition
of French telecom network firm Alcatel- Lucent. This merger will create the worlds largest
supplier of telecom equipments that powers mobilephone networks by surpassing Ericsson
and Huawei. As part of the deal, The merged entity will be called Nokia and current Nokia
Chairman Risto Siilasmaa will chair it. Nokia will buy Alcatel- Lucent in an all-stock deal
valued at 15.6 billion euros ($16.6 billion). Nokia is going to give Alcatel-Lucent shareholders 0.55 shares in the merged company for each of their old shares. In the combined entity
Nokia shareholders will own 66.5 per cent shares of the company and Alcatel- Lucent
shareholders will own 33.5 per cent shares. The deal is likely to be completed in the first half
of 2016
Zomato acquires Delhi based data firm MaplePOS

Online restaurant guide Zomato on 14 April 2015 acquired MaplePOS, a cloud-based point of sale product
for restaurants developed by Delhi based MapleGraph. After the acquisition, Zomato has renamed MaplePOS product to Zomato Base which will help the company and its restaurant partners to manage business into online orders and payments.
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Mobile commerce platform Paytm inked memorandum of understanding MoU with National Centre for Trade Information (NCTI) to promote Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
Paytm will set up payment gateways platform for online ticketing and membership
fees for NCTI. This tie-up will play a pivotal role in the growth of MSMEs by providing
them with value-added trade information generally for the trading community. It will
also provide platform to NCTI members that will serve as an opportunity to trade
online and scale faster.
MUDRA bank launched

PM Modi, launched the MUDRA bank with a corpus of Rs. 20,000 crore and credit guarantee of Rs. 3,000
crore.
The bank will be responsible for refinancing micro-finance institutions in the business of lending to small
entities.
While big industrial houses provide jobs to only 1.25 crore people, small entrepreneurs have given employment
to nearly 12 crore people, Mr. Modi said. The postal network would be used for increasing access to the formal
financial system.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the MUDRA Bank was a step in the right direction for funding the
unfunded. He had proposed the MUDRA Bank in his budget speech in February.
MUDRA will be set up through a statutory enactment. It will be responsible for developing and refinancing all
micro-finance institutions (MFIs) which are in the business of lending to micro and small business entities
engaged in manufacturing, trading and service activities.
Banks role
It will also partner with State and regional-level coordinators to provide finance to last-mile financiers of small
and micro business enterprises. Its proposed role includes laying down policy guidelines for micro enterprise
financing business, registration, accreditation and rating of MFI entities.
The agency will also lay down responsible financing practices to ward off over-indebtedness and ensure proper
client protection principles and methods of recovery, according to an official release.
These measures are targeted towards mainstreaming young, educated or skilled workers and entrepreneurs,
including women entrepreneurs, the release said.
A vast part of the non-corporate sector operates as unregistered enterprises and formal or institutional
architecture has not been able to reach out to meet its financial requirements. Providing access to institutional
finance to such micro, small business units, enterprises will not only help in improving the quality of life of
these entrepreneurs, but also turn them into strong instruments of GDP growth and employment generation,
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APPOINTMENTS
Loretta Lynch sworn-in as first black
female Attorney General of US
Sudans President Omar al-Bashir has

won Presidential re-election
Raja Rajeswari, first Indian-American woman judge

of New York
Ms. Raja Rajeswari became the
first Indian-born woman to be
appointed a judge in New York
City. She was sworn-in as a
criminal court judge in New York
by Mayor Bill de Blasio along
with 27 other judges.
Chief Election Commissioner

Dr Nasim Zaidi : 20th Chief
Election Commissioner,
Succeeded Hari Shankar Brahma
Former Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar was appointed as chief adviser
of the Board of Control for Cricket in Indias (BCCI) Anti-Corruption & Security Unit (ACSU). He will succeed Ravi Sawant as his term ended and will have term of one year.
Mohan Kumar appointed as new Indian Ambassador to France
Dr. Mohan Kumar, (IFS:1981), presently Ambassador ofIndia to Bahrain, has

been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to France.He is expected to take
up his assignment shortly.
The official announcement for Mohan Kumars appointment comes six days after
Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to France.
Pankaj More
appointed as Technology
Head of Walmart India
Justice Meenakshi Madan Rai sworn in

as first lady judge of Sikkim High Court
Mrs. Meenakshi Madan Rai was sworn in as the first
lady judge of the Sikkim High Court. Governor of
Sikkim Srinivas Patil administered the oath of office to
her at Raj Bhavan in Gangtok.
It should be noted that Mrs. Rai is also the third High
Court judge who hails from Sikkim.
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Mohammed bin Nayef appointed as Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia

Mohammed bin Nayef was appointed as Crown Prince and as Deputy Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia by
King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud.
Earlier to this appointment, Mohammed bin Nayef was Interior Minister of the
kingdom. While Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Sauds Prince Mohammed bins was
appointed Deputy Crown Prince.
78 years old King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud had acceded to the throne in January 2015 after the death of his half-brother Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, who was Saudi
Arabias de facto leader had been appointed for 10 years. Saudi Arabias ambassador
to United States Adel al-Jubeir was appointed as the Foreign Minister. Adel
al-Jubeir replaced Prince Saud al-Faisal. This appointment relieved Crown Prince
Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz from his duties and comes during a major Cabinet reshuffle
While, Khalid al-Falih was appointed as the Health Minister and chairman of Saudi
Aramco.
Yashwant Sinha gets highest French honour of

Officier de la Lgion dHonneur
French Government has honoured former Union
Finance Minister and veteran BJP leader Yashwant
Sinha with Officier de la Lgion dHonneur (Officer
of the Legion of Honour).
Commonwealth 2015
Short Story Prize
Novelist Siddhartha Gigoo has won
2500 pounds 2015 Commonwealth
Short Story Prize in Asia region for
his novel Umbrella Man.
It is the highest French civilian distinction bestowed upon him in

recognition of his international action taken during his stint as Union
Minister of Finance, Minister External Foreign Affairs and for his
invaluable contribution to international issues.
Heinz Award 2015

Sangeeta Bhatia, an Indian-Origin scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) has won prestigious Heinz award for year 2015.
She had won this award for her work in tissue engineering and disease detection in the
Technology, the Economy, and Employment category of the award.
Ms Bhatias team has developed artificial human microlivers for drug testing. These artificial
microlivers are being used to test the toxicity of drug candidates by many biopharmaceutical
companies.
Gopinath Pillai, The Indian-Origin Diplomat

Awarded in Singapore
The Indian-origin diplomat, Mr Gopinath Pillai,was honoured
with Outstanding Service Award by National University Of Singapore[NUS] .
The 78-year-old Gopinath Pillai,who is currently Ambassador-at-large of
Singapore and special envoy to Andhra Pradesh got the award for his contributions
to the Singapore city-state in an event organised by NUS. Mr Pillai, during the
function, recollected his past when he faced great challenge in shaping Singapore,
when the island was in its last stages of colonial rule.
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Muhammadu Buhari elected as President of Nigeria

Former military ruler General Muhammadu Buhari won the Presidential election in Nigeria. He defeated
incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan by more than two million votes. With this historic win, Buhari
became the first opposition candidate in history of Nigeria to win a presidential election.
Gulshan Rai becomes first chief of cyber security; post

created to tackle growing e-threats
The Narendra Modi government has created a cyber-security chief's position under
the Prime Minister's Office and has appointed Gulshan Rai.
Rai, who has been heading the computer emergency response team at the department of electronics and information technology (DeitY), will now take charge as special secretary for cyber security
Anoop Kumar Sharma takes over as CEO of Essar Shipping : Capt Anoop
Kumar Sharma has taken over as Whole Time director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Essar
Shipping Ltd (ESL). He replaces Ramakrishnan A R who retired from service on March 31, the company
said in a statement.
Pedro Cateriano Bellido was appointed as Prime

Minister of Peru: by the President Ollanta Humala. He will replace Ana
Jara, who had lost a confidence vote and was sacked by Peruvian Congress amid
allegations of corruption.
West Bengal and Bihar Governor

Keshari Nath Tripathi 16th Governor of Mizoram.
Dr. Mayilsamy Annadura took charge as Director of

ISRO satellite centre
Shamina Singh
Indian-American businesswoman
Shamina Singh has been nominated
as the member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National
and Community Service (CNCS). She
was nominated to top most post by
United States President Barack
Arun Kumar Jha appointed CEO of Khadi

and Village Industries Commission
Arun Kumar Jha was appointed as Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) of Khadi and Village
Industries Commission (KVIC), Mumbai.
Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT)
has appointed him to the post of CEO (Joint
Secretary level post) in order to balance period of
his overall 5 year tenure up to September 2016.
Jha is a 1985-batch officer of Indian Economics
Service (IES). Presently, he is working as Director
General of National Institute of Entrepreneurship
and Small Business Development (NIESBUD).
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SPORTS
New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Mills has announced his retirement from
all forms of cricket, ending a 14-year international career.
The 36-year-old right armer was a member of New Zealand's 15-man World Cup squad but didn't play in
any of its nine matches.
Mills made his one-day international debut against Pakistan in 2001 and his test debut in 2004.
He played 19 tests, taking 44 wickets at an average of 33, but became a specialist in the shorter forms of
the game, taking 240 wickets in 170 one-day internationals at an average of 27.02 with an economy rate of
4.72. Mills also took 43 wickets in 42 Twenty20 internationals.
He retires with New Zealand's second-highest tally of wickets in one-day internationals after Daniel
Vettori's 305.
Mustafa Kamal resigned from the post of President

of International Cricket Council
Mustafa Kamal of Bangladesh resigned from the post of ICC president over
Cricket World Cup trophy presentation snub. Kamal announced his resignation in a brief talk with the media in Dhaka. He also questioned India's victory
against Bangladesh in the quarterfinal.
Brendon McCullum conferred with Sir Richard

Hadlee Medal for 2014-15, highest cricketing honour in New Zealand for his exemplary leadership during the World Cup.
Vishy Anand is now a planet 4538 Vishyanand

Minor planet was named after Indias chess legend and first grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand by the
Minor Planet Center. His name was given to the minor planet which was previously identified as planet
4538. Now the planet will be called as 4538 Vishyanand and is located somewhere
between the Mars and Jupiter. Minor planet 4538 Vishyanand was discovered on 10
October 1988 by Japanese astronormer Kenzo Suzuki. Initially, the planet was
unnamed for almost 10 years. With this, Vishwanathan Anand has joined the league
of former world chess champions Alexander Alekhine and Anatoly Karpov who also
have minor planets named after them.
What is Minor planet? A minor planet is a term used to describe an astronomical
object that is neither a dominant planet nor a comet and thus includes the dwarf
planets that orbit around the Sun. The orbital categories of these planets are the
asteroids, Kuiper belt objects, trojans, centaurs and other trans-Neptunian objects.
The first minor planet discovered was Ceres in 1801.
Saina Nehwal ends runner-up at Malaysia Open

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal bowed out of the Malaysia Open badminton championship following a
semifinal defeat in a thrilling three-set game against tournament top seed Li Xuerui of China in Kuala
Lumpur.
Dronavalli Harika wins bronze in World Womens

Chess championship
Mariya Muzychuk (Ukraine) - Won Gold medal
Natalija Pogonina (Russia) Won Silver medal
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Miami Open 2015 Winners

Mens Singles Title
World No. 1 and Serbian ace tennis participant Novak Djokovic has won the 2015 Miami Open Mens
Singles Title. In the last match he defeated Britains Andy Murray.
Womens singles Title
World No. 1 and American ace tennis participant Serena Williams has won the 2015 Miami Open
Womens singles Title. In the last match she defeated Spains Carla Surez Navarro.
Mens doubles Title
American Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan pair has won the 2015 Miami Open
Mens doubles Title. In the last match they defeated Vasek Pospisil (Canada)
and Jack Sock (US) pair.
Womens doubles Title
Indias Sania Mirza and Switzerlands Martina Hingis pair has won 2015
Miami Open Womens doubles Title. In the last match they defeated Russian
pair of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.
Rajeev Shukla appointed as Chairman of IPL Governing Council

Rajeev Shukla on 6 April 2015 was re-appointed because the chairman of the Indian Premier Leagues
(IPL) Governing Council by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
His appointment got here only a day earlier than the opening ceremony of the IPL-8 inKolkata. Former Union Minister
and Congress chief Shukla was the IPL chairman until 2013 when he
resigned from the submit within the aftermath of the IPL spot-fixing
scandal
Sourav Ganguly was a brand new entrant to the IPL Governing Council whereas the senior countrywide choice committee led by Sandeep
Patil was retained for a different season. Team India Director Ravi
Shastri additionally remained within the IPL Governing Council.
Railways win 5th Senior Mens

National Hockey championship
Winner : Railway Sports Promotion Board
Runner up : Uttar Pradesh Hockey
Best Goal KeeperArpit Chaudhari of Jharkhand.
Best DefenderAmit Rohidas of Railway Sports Promotion Board.
Best mid Fielder- Jasjeet Singh of Railway Sports

Promotion Board.
Best ForwardLalit Upadhyay of Utter Pradesh.
Promising player of the championshipVikramjeet Singh of Punjab.
Promising player from MaharashtraAkash Chikate.
Presidents Cup Open International Boxing

Tournament India Crowned Champions
Indias boxers Pinki Jangra and Shamjetsabam
Sarjubala Devi got gold medals at the 22nd
President Cup Open Boxing Tournament held
in Indonesia. Pinki Jangra won the gold medal by
beating Nandintsetseg of Mongolia in the 51kg
category.
In this competition, more than 130 boxers from
over 30 countries participated.
India finished at the top having 33points that
included 4Gold and 1 Bronze medals.
Mongolia came second in the tournament.
The tournament was held on 27th April 2015
at Palambang, South Sumatra, Indonesia.
This was the first time India was crowned
champions.
Three Indian race walkers qualify for 2016 Rio Olympics

Three Indian race walkers Khushbir Kaur, Manish Rawat and
Sandeep Kumar have qualified for 2016 Rio Olympics.
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Norways Magnus Carlsen wins Shamkir chess tournament in Azerbaijan

World champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway on 26 April 2015 won the Shamkir Chess
tournament held in Azerbaijan.
Former world champion Viswanathan Anand finished second in this tournament after
he drew against Fabiano Caruana of Italy.
Indias Y Pranjala wins

Asian Junior Tennis title
Lewis Hamilton wins Bahrain Grand Prix of Formula One

Mercedes Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton Winner
Ferrari F1 driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany to the second position.
Mercedes F1 driver Nico Rosberg (Germany) and Valtteri Bottas (Finland)
of Williams took third and fourth places respectively.
CBI SP Vivek Priyadarshi

as head of team probing IPL scandal
Supreme Court has appointed Vivek Priyadarshi to head an
investigating team to further probe the Indian Premier League
(IPL) season 6 spot-fixing and betting scandals.
International Paralympic Committee derecognises Paralympic Committee of India

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has suspended the Paralympic
Committee of India (PCI) for indefinite period.
About Paralympic Committee of India (PCI)
PCI was founded in 1992 as the Physically Handicapped Sports Federation of India.
It was recognized in November 2011, as National Sports Federation (NSF) for
promotion of sports amongst the physically challenged sportspersons in the
country. It is also responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at
the Paralympic Games and other international athletic meets
Ashish Jakhar from Haryana sets

National Youth record in hammer
throw : Ashish Jakhar from Haryana on 17 April
2015 set a national youth record in boys hammer
throw event and won gold medal in the 12th National
Youth Athletics Championships held in Bambolim,
Goa.
In this event, Ashish had hurled 5kg ball-and-chain
at record distance of 72.04 metres in a second throw
which made a national youth record. In his opening
throw he had hurdled at a distance of 71.92 metres.
Sachin Tendulkar inducted into

Laureus Sports Academy
Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar on 15 April
2015 was inducted into the prestigious Laureus
Sports Academy. Along with him four other
sportspersons were inducted as new members in
the Academy.
Yao Ming- Retired Chinese professional basketball player.
Tegla Loroupe- Kenyan long-distance runner.
Li Xiaopeng- Chinese gymnast.
Yang Yang- Former Chinese short track speed
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Sania Mirza becomes first Indian female tennis player ranked World
No.1 in Womens Doubles
Sania Mirza on 12 April 2015 created history by becoming the first Indian
female tennis player to achieve the world number one rank in doubles category.
She achieved this feat after winning WTA Family Circle Cup along with her
Swiss partner Martina Hingis. With this win Sania scored 470 points, making
her tally to 7965 and surpassing Italys Sara Errani (7640) and Roberta Vinci
(7640) to the number one rank in the ranking table.
Mercedes Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton from Britain , won

Chinese Grand Prix of Formula One on the Shanghai
International Circuit in China.
New Zealand wins Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament 2015

New Zealand has won the 24th edition of Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament 2015 for second time. In
the final match, New Zealand defeated World Champions Australia by 3-1 goals in the penalty shoot-out.
In regulation 60 minutes time, both teams had tied at 2-2 goals. Earlier, New Zealand had won the Sultan
Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament in 2012. It is third time Australia came as runner-ups position in
tournament (1999, 2006 and 2015). India won the bronze i.e. finished third by defeating South Korea
by 4-1 goals in the penalty shoot-out after both the teams were tied at 2-2 at regulation time.
Shooter Jitu Rai wins bronze at ISSF World Cup

Ace shooter of Indian Army Sub Jitu Rai has won a bronze medal in the 10
meter Air Pistol (Men) event in the ongoing ISSF World Cup Rifle/ Pistol
Shooting competition being held at Changwon in South Korea
Yuki Bhambri wins $15,000

ITF Futures tournament title
Yuki Bhambri on has won the 15,000 US Dollar ITF Futures
tournament title. In the final he recorded a straight-set win over
Dzmitry Zhyrmont of Belarus played at Karshi, Uzbekistan.
Apurvi Chandela wins Bronze in ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup
Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela on 11 April 2015 won Bronze medal in the 10metre air rifle event at the (International Shooting Sport Federation) ISSF Rifle
and Pistol World Cup in Changwon, South Korea.
t should be noted that Apurvi Chandela is the second Indian marksman after
pistol shooter Jitu Rai to qualify for the Rio Olympics.
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PEOPLE IN NEWS
Maryam Siddiqui, wins Bhagavad Gita contest
A 12-year old Muslim girl has recently won the Gita Champions League contest for
explaining the teachings of the scripture in the best possible manner. Maryam
Siddiqui, the class VI Student secured first position from among over 3000 students
who participated in this event which was organised by International Society for
Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) in January. The test which evaluates the participants knowledge about Gita is a multiple choice question test of 100 marks.
101 Birth Anniversary of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw

(3rd April)
Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw was India's first filed
marshal. Born on April 3, 1914, Manekshaw was the 8th chief of the Army staff.
Amitabh Bachchan honoured by Egypts Academy of Arts

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan feels humbled and honoured to have received a
honorary doctorate from the Egyptian Academy of Arts for his contribution to
cinema.
Arab poet Adonis wins Asan award

Paris-based Syrian-Lebanese Arab poet Adonis has been chosen for this years
Kumaran Asan World Prize for Poetry, instituted by the Kumaran Asan Memorial
Association to honour poets of international stature and introduce them to Indian
readers.
Pratap Singh, an Indian-origin schoolboy, gained Institute of Physics Prize for his Cosmic-ray challenge
Pratap Singh, a 15-yr-previous Indian-origin schoolboy within the United Kingdom,
was awarded with the 500 pounds cash Prize. The prize additionally consists of a
visit to a countrywide physics-associated exercise.
He was awarded for conducting an experiment that verified an impact of Albert
Einsteins principle of particular relativity.He acquired the award on the Bing Bang
Fair held on the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) Birmingham. The Big Bang Fair, which was held from
11 to 14 March 2015, noticed competitors between greater than 200 college students aged 11 to 18 years.
The members demonstrated their tasks to hundreds of tourists.
Ananda Kumar, Pramod Patil won Whitley Awards for wildlife

conservation
Dr. Ananda Kumar and Dr. Pramod Patil of India won the prestigious Whitley Awards (also known as
Green Oscar) for their contribution to wildlife conservation in Royal Geographical Society, London and it
award given by the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN).
Dr. Ananda Kumar was honoured for his contribution of work using innovative communication
systems to enable human-elephant co-existence in Southern India and he received a Whitley prize worth
35000 pound.
Dr. Pramod Patil was honoured for his work to protect the iconic great Indian bustard in the Thar
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Dinanath Mangeshkar Award 2015 for

Actor Anil kapoor and Dilip Prabhavalkar
Anil Kapoor, the famous bollywood hero received the
prestigious Dinanath Mangeshkar award 2015 in a award function event
held in mumbai on April 25th 2015.It was priceless award given to Anil Kapoor for his amasing acting skills though he himself considers that he is still
a newcomer to the hindi film world. Apart from Anil Kapoor , actor Dilip
Prabhavalkar was also honoured with this prestigious award. The award
is given mainly to those who had made great contributions in music and
movies.
Marathi writer Bhalchandra Nemade chosen for Jnanpith Award

Famous Marathi Novelist Bhalchandra Nemade has been selected for 2014 Jnanpith
Award, the highest literary honour in India. Nemade is the fourth Marathi writer to win the
literary honour.
The Jnanpith Award, one of the two most prestigious literary honours in India, was instituted in 1961.
The award carries a cheque for Rs. 11 lakh, a citation plaque and a bronze replica of Goddess Saraswati.
The first recipient of Jnanpith Award was Sankara Kurup for his work Odakkuzhal (Malayalam).
Jnanpith Award is only for Indian citizens who write in any of the official languages of India.
Indian-American Dr. Vivek Murthy takes oath as US Surgeon General

Indian-American Dr. Vivek Murthy was sworn-in as the US Surgeon General on 23 April 2015.
He was administered oath by US Vice President Joe Biden at a ceremony held at Fort Myer in Virginia.
Vivek Murthy is 19th US Surgeon General and youngest-ever (37-year-old) to become in- charge of the
countrys public health. With this appointment he is also the highest ranking Indian-American in the
Obama Administration.
Sitaram Yechury was unanimously elected as the General Secretary

Communist Party of India (Marxist)
He is the fifth general secretary of the 50 year old party which was formed in 1964.
He was unanimously elected by 91-member new Central Committee (CC) of Party after
Ramachandran Pillai had withdrawn from the race.
Yechury succeeded Prakash Karat, who was the General Secretary of the party for one
decade i.e. from 2005 to April 2015. Presently he is member of Rajya Sabha and was
elected from West Bengal in July 2005.
An Egyptian criminal court sentenced ousted President Mohammed Morsy

to 20 years in prison over the killing of protesters in 2012.
Xi Jinping conferred with Nishan-e-Pakistan award

For his outstanding contribution in promotion of relationship between the two countries
Nishan-e-Pakistan (Order of Pakistan) is the highest of civilian award and decoration given by
the Pakistan Government. The award is awarded to a person for his highest degree of service
to the country and nation of Pakistan. Former Prime Minister of India Morarji Desai is only Indian to receive this award.
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35
US President Barack Obama to honour Satya Nadella

with Champion of Change award
United States (US) President Barack Obama is going to honour Microsofts Indian-origin CEO
Satya Nadella with the Champions of Change award. He will be honoured with this award for
bringing change within his company to support working families.
Under Nadellas leadership, Microsoft recently had announced that all the suppliers doing
business with Microsoft in the US will have to provide at least 15 days of paid leave to their
employees who handle Microsoft work each year starting from 2016 onwards. Apart from him,
11 other persons were honoured with Champions of Change award for their exemplary
leadership.
Hevesy Medal Award 2015:Professor Susanta Lahiri

Hevesy Medal Award an international award of excellence that honours scientist for their
outstanding achievements in nuclear and radio chemistry.
Professor Susanta Lahiri was awarded prestigious the Hevesy Medal Award 2015. The award was
presented to him for his outstanding contributions in heavy ion induced radioisotope production,
converter targets, tracer packet technique and green chemistry.
Sahitya Shiromani Samman - 2015

Uttar Pradesh government has conferred Sahitya Shiromani Samman upon noted Hindi poet Gopal
Das Neeraj. The award carrying cash prize of 21 lakh Rupees was bestowed upon Neeraj by UP Chief
Akhilesh Yadav. While presenting award, CM Akhilesh Yadav also announced to give Rashtra RatnSitara-e Hind award to Neeraj for his lifelong service to Hindi literature.
Along with Gopal Das Neeraj, veteran Hindi litterateur Uday Pratap Singh was also conferred with
Sahitya Shiromani award and cash prize of 21 lakh Rupees
Haryana Government gives yoga guru

Ramdev Cabinet Minister Status
In January 2015, state government had appointed
him as its brand ambassador to promote yoga and
ayurveda.
Asteroid 316201 was named as 316201

Malala after the youngest Nobel laureate and
girls education campaigner Malala Yousafzai
UN Peace Envoy Jamal Benomar Resigns

United Nation (UN) peace envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar has resigned, after losing support from Gulf
countries for his mission in the conflict-riven nation. Since 2012, he was serving as UN Secretary General
30 years old Vankadarath Saritha,
first woman bus driver of Delhi Transport Corporation
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DEATHS
Worlds oldest person Misao Okawa dies aged 117 in Japan
Only four living people born before 1900 remain, according to the US-based
Gerontology Research Group. The planets most senior citizen is now 116-year
-old Gertrude Weaver, who lives in Arkansas.
By 2050, Japan is projected to have more than 700,000 people aged over 100
far more than the US, with the next biggest cohort of centenarians, despite
a much smaller population.
Hayley Leanne Okines (3 Dec1997 2 Apr 2015)

An English girl with the extremely rare aging disease known as progeria. She was
known for spreading awareness of the condition. Although the average life expectancy for sufferers is 13 years, Hayley was part of a drug trial that had seen her
surpass doctors' predictions of her projected lifespan. However, she died on 2
April 2015 at the age of 17 due to complications of pneumonia, having lived four
years beyond doctors' initial predictions.
Kailash Vajpeyi, Renowned Hindi poet passes away

He was one of the prominent poets in a group known as San saatth ke baad ki kavita (Post-1960 poetry)
that had shaped Hindi literature.
Awards- He was conferred with Sahitya Akademi award (2009) for his work Hawa mein hastakshar
(Signature in the air). Lucknow University had awarded him with Vachaspati title.
Sunita Tomar, face of Indias anti-tobacco campaign, died due to Cancer : She had shot a 30 second video
titled Sunita for the Union Ministery a year ago, highlighting the devastating
effect of smokeless tobacco.
Ace mountaineer Malli Mastan Babu, who died

during an expedition in South America
Malli, who had set a record of climbing seven summits across the seven continents, including the world's highest peak Mount Everest, left for Argentina
towards the end of March and went missing, and was later found dead
Veteran Marathi film and stage actress Bimba Modak passes away
Former Governor of Assam and three-time Chief Minister
of Odisha Janaki Ballav Patnaik
Sir Christopher Alan Bayly, a renowned historian passed away in Chicago,
United States. He was 70. As a historian he was specialised in global, Indian and British Imperial history.
His works were based on the 18th and 19th century India and British imperial
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38
Former Nepalese PM Surya Bahadur Thapa passes away

Thapa had served as Prime Minister of Nepal for five times under three different kings. His was in office
from 1963-64, 196569, 197983, 199798 and 2003-04
Stanislav Gross was the youngest PM of Czech Republic passes away

Former Czech Republic Prime Minister Stanislav Gross passed away on 16 April 2015. He was 45.
Stanislav Gross was the youngest PM of Czech Republic and was elected in July 2004 at the age
of 34. He had led the Social Democrat government as PM for one year i.e. till 2005. Prior to becoming PM he had served as interior minister from 2000 to 2004 in two governments, including
under Milos Zeman, who is now president of Czech Republic.
Retired Air Chief Marshal Hrushikesh Moolgaonkar passed away

He was recipient of the prestigious Param Vishisht Seva medal and Mahaveer Chakra.
Veteran Australian Cricket legend and former Captain Richie Benaud passes away
Veteran Australian Cricket legend and former

Captain Richie Benaud passes away
Former Australia captain and legendary cricket commentator Richie Benaud
passed away on 10 April 2015. He was 84. About Richie Benaud Richie
Benaud was an Australian Test cricket all-rounder and a pioneering leg-spin
bowler.
Renowned Assamese Film director, actor Bidyut Chakraborty passes

away
He was awarded Indira Gandhi award for Best First Film of a Director for his film Rag-Birag in 1996.
German Nobel laureate novelist Gunter Grass passes away

Grass is recognized for his efforts to revive German culture in the aftermath of World War II and also had
given voice and support to democratic discourse in the post war Germany
In 1999, he was awarded Nobel Prize for literature for his efforts to revive German literature after the Nazi
era. Hermann Kesten Prize (1995). He was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
in 1993
Lieutenant General Hanut Singh (retd) passed away in Dehradun,

Uttarakhand.
He was a 1971 Indo-Pak war hero and one of the most famous officers of the Indian Army

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