PDF IVth Week 23rd to 30th April 2017
1. World Book and Copyright Day: 23 April
The World Book and Copyright Day is celebrated every 23rd of April, a symbolic date in remembrance of the deaths of two major authors: William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes.
By celebrating this Day, UNESCO seeks to promote reading, publishing and the protection of copyright.
2. English Language Day: 23 April
English Language Day at the UN is celebrated on 23 April, the date traditionally observed as both the birthday and date of death of William Shakespeare.
The Day is the result of a 2010 initiative by the Department of Public Information, establishing language days for each of the Organization's six official languages.
English, along with French, is one of the two working languages of the United Nations Secretariat, and one of the Organization's six official languages.
3. India becomes 2nd largest importer of LPG
India toppled Japan as the world’s second-largest importer of liquefied petroleum gas as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pledge to provide cooking gas cylinders to the poor and wean them off polluting fuels, drove up consumption.
Imports of LPG, mostly used as cooking fuel, soared 23 percent during the financial year that ended March 31.
Japan’s imports slipped 3.2 percent during the same period.
China remains the world’s top importer.
4. 1st ‘India Indonesia Energy Forum’ held in Jakarta
India and Indonesia have agreed to explore cooperation in areas like oil, coal, electricity and energy efficiency, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said.
Goyal and Indonesian Energy and Mineral Minister Ignasius Jonan met during the first 'India Indonesia Energy Forum' held in Jakarta.
A Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (Indonesia) on cooperation in the field of oil and gas was signed on the occasion.
5. Australia to import Indian mangoes for first time
Indian mangoes will be imported to Australia for the first time after protocols were revised to allow the Asian-grown fruit into the local economy, a media report said.
The fruit would be allowed into Australia as long as they were treated with irradiation before leaving India.
This meant that Australians would be able to enjoy the fruit long after the local season ended.
6. Pakistan's Gwadar port leased to Chinese company for 40 years
A state-run Chinese company will handle the operations of Pakistan's strategic Gwadar port for a period of 40 years.
Minister for Ports and Shipping Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo said the China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC) would carry out all the development work on the port on the Arabian Sea.
7. India is now world's fifth largest military spender
India's military expenditure grew around 8.5 per cent in 2016, making it the world's fifth largest spender at $55.9 billion.
According to figures by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri), India spent $55.9 billion on its military in 2016.
US remains the world's largest military spender registering a growth of 1.7 per cent between 2015 and 2016 to $611 billion.
China was second largest spender in 2016.
The third largest military spender was Russia, while Saudi Arabia dropped to fourth position in 2016 from third in 2015.
8. India, France carry out joint naval exercise
The Indian Navy has began a joint maritime exercise with the French Navy at the Mediterranean Sea to further deepen combat coordination between the two navies.
Guided missile destroyer INS Mumbai, stealth frigate INS Trishul and fleet tanker INS Aditya are taking part in the 'Varuna' exercise which will continue till April 30.
Points to Remember
The 'Varuna' series of exercises began in 2000 and have grown into an institutionalised form of interaction between the two navies.
Bilateral exercises such as 'Garuda', 'Shakti' and 'Varuna' have been a regular feature between the two nations.
9. World Malaria Day: 25 April
World Malaria Day is observed globally on 25 April every year.
This year’s global theme for World Malaria Day is ‘End Malaria for Good.’
World Malaria Day is an occasion to highlight the need for continued investment and sustained political commitment for malaria prevention and control.
10. World Intellectual Property Day: 26 April
World Intellectual Property Day is observed internationally on every 26 April.
The observance of WIPD is organised by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
The aim is to learn about the role that intellectual property rights (patents, trademarks, industrial designs, copyright) play in encouraging innovation and creativity.
The theme of this year's World Intellectual Property Day is 'Innovation- Improving lives'.
11. India to host 18th World Road Meeting
India is set to host the 18th World Road Meeting (WRM 2017) on November 13, the International Road Federation (IRF) said.
The WRM, the biggest global platform for road engineers, safety and transport experts and companies engaged in road safety products, will be attended by over 4,000 delegates from across the world.
The theme of this year's edition is 'Safe Roads and Smart Mobility: The Engines of Economic Growth'.
12. Press freedom rankings: India slips 3 places to 136
India slipped three places in the 2017 world press freedom rankings to 136th among 180 countries, the dismal performance blamed on “Modi’s nationalism” and growing “self-censorship” in the mainstream media.
In the index, India was ranked just three places above Pakistan and was one place below violence-torn Palestine.
India was ranked 133 last year.
Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark took the first four positions in the rankings respectively.
China was 176th among 180 countries and was described as the “world’s leading prison for citizen journalists”.
North Korea was at the bottom of the index.
13. World Immunization Week: 24-30 April 2017
World Immunization Week, celebrated in the last week of April, aims to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against disease.
This Year’s theme is VACCINES WORKS.
Immunization saves millions of lives and is widely recognized as one of the world’s most successful and cost-effective health interventions.
Today, there are still 19.4 million unvaccinated and under-vaccinated children in the world.
14. Indian short film to be screened by Unesco in Indonesia
Rahul V. Chittella's short film "Azaad", starring Atul Kulkarni and Sakshi Tanwar, will be screened by Unesco as part of a World Press Freedom Day event on May 3 in Jakarta, Indonesia.
It tells the story of the dysfunctional relationship between a father and his son.
The event, being held to celebrate the principle of freedom of press, is taking place in Jakarta from May 1-4.
Points to Remember
World Press Freedom Day is observed on 3 May every year.
This year’s theme is “Critical Minds for Critical Times: Media’s role in advancing peaceful, just and inclusive societies”.
15. Haryana launches mobile app to create awareness among pregnant women
The National Health Mission (NHM) in Haryana has launched a mobile-based application to create awareness among pregnant women, parents and health workers.
The application, Kilkari, was launched during the concluding day of the 'State-level Orientation Workshop’.
16. National Panchayati Raj Diwas: 24 April 2017
National Panchayati Raj Day is the national day in India celebrated by Ministry of Panchayati Raj on 24 April annually.
Then Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh inaugurated the first National Panchayati Raj Day in 2010.
Points to Remember
The Panchayat Raj system was first adopted by the state of Rajasthan in Nagaur district on 2nd Oct 1959.
The second state was Andhra Pradesh.
17. Railways to set up Rs 200-crore solar power plant in Bhilai
The Indian Railways is going to set up a solar power plant in Bhilai (Chhattisgarh), where it has spare land, through Railway Energy Management Company Limited (REMCL).
The project cost of the 50 MW plant is estimated at Rs 200 crore. Of the total cost, 20 per cent will be borne by the Railways, while the remaining 80 per cent will be raised through debt.
This means, the Railways will bear Rs 40 crore of the construction cost, while the power will be purchased through a developer model, wherein the developers will be asked to operate and maintain the solar project.
18. India’s first sea ropeway to link Mumbai and Elephanta island
India's first and longest ropeway will connect Mumbai with the Elephanta Island in the Arabian Sea.
The proposed 8-km long ropeway will be constructed by the Mumbai Port Trust.
The proposed ropeway will start from Sewri in Mumbai's east coast and end at Raigad district's Elephanta Island.
Points to Remember
Elephanta Island is globally renowned for Elephanta Caves, which is a Unesco World Heritage site.
Known locally as Gharapuri Caves, the small 16 sq. km island has several archaeological remains pointing to its rich cultural heritage, including the famous temples carved out of rocks.
19. Govt to set up Central University for differently abled
Central Government will set up a Central university for Divyangs in Uttar Pradesh.
This was stated by HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar while addressing the convocation function of Shakuntala Mishra national rehabilitation university in Lucknow.
20. Singh inaugurates two-day National Conference on Agriculture for Kharif Campaign- 2017
The National Conference on Agriculture for Kharif Campaign – 2017 is being organised on 25th and 26th April, 2017 at New Delhi.
The Conference was inaugurated by Radha Mohan Singh, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and also addressed by Parshottam Rupala and Sudarshan Bhagat, Ministers of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
Points to Remember
Radha Mohan Singh is currently a member of the 16th Lok Sabha (2014-2019), the lower house of the Parliament of India.
He represents Purvi Champaran constituency in Bihar state.
21. PM Modi Flag-off First UDAN Flight under RCS
The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will flag off the first UDAN flight under RCS on Shimla- Delhi sector on 27th April, 2017.
Simultaneously, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will also flag off the inaugural UDAN flights on Kadapa – Hyderabad and Nanded-Hyderabad sectors.
To make air travel accessible to citizens in regionally important cities, the Ministry launched ‘Ude Deshka Aam Naagrik’ (UDAN) Regional Connectivity Scheme in October, 2016.
22. Bengal drops 'Pradhan Mantri' tag from central scheme
The West Bengal government has decided to drop the tag “Pradhan Mantri” from “Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna” and rename it as “Bangla Fasal Bima Yojna”.
The reason behind the decision to drop the Pradhan Mantri tag, taken at a state Cabinet meeting earlier this month, was that the Centre's share in such schemes had come down to 50:50, state agriculture minister Purnendu Basu explained.
As per the norm, the farmer had to pay one-third of it while the remaining two-thirds was borne by the Centre and the state government.
Earlier, the Centre's contribution was either 90 per cent or around 75 per cent, which now came down to 50 per cent or below in several schemes.
23. Online Statement Of Transaction (e-SOT) and the e-PRAN card launched
With a view to digitally empower the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) subscribers and improve the quality of service, the facility of online viewing of the statement of transaction(e-SOT) and also the e-PRAN card have been launched.
The Atal Pension Yojana (APY) Scheme is being implemented through 235 APY-Service Providers all over the country consisting of 27 Public Sector Banks (PSBs), 19 private banks, 1 foreign bank, 56 Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), 109 District Cooperative Banks (DCBs), 16 State Cooperative Banks(SCBs), 6 Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) and the Department of Posts.
Points to Remember
The Atal Pension Yojana (APY) was launched by the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on 09th May, 2015 and became operational from 1st June, 2015.
APY is available for all citizens of India in the age group of 18-40 years.
Under the APY, the subscribers would receive a minimum guaranteed pension of Rs. 1000 to Rs. 5000 per month from the age of 60 years, depending on their contributions, which depends on the age of the subscriber at the time of joining the APY.
24. Centre Takes 10 New Swachh Iconic Places under Swachh Bharat Mission Phase II
The second quarterly review meeting on the Swachh Iconic Places (SIP), an initiative of Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation under Swachh Bharat Mission, was held in Katra, Jammu and Kashmir.
On this occasion, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar announced ten new Iconic places to be taken under the Phase II of Swachh Iconic Places initiative.
These ten new iconic places which are to be brought to a higher standard of swachhta and visitors’ amenities are : 1. Gangotri, 2. Yamunotri. 3. Mahakaleshwar Temple, Ujjain, 4. Char Minar, Hyderabad, 5. Church and Convent of St. Francis of Assissi, Goa, 6. Adi Shankaracharya’s abode Kaladi in Ernakulam, 7. Gomateshwar in Shravanbelgola, 8. Baijnath Dham, Devghar, 9. Gaya Tirth in Bihar and 10. Somnath temple in Gujarat.
Points to Remember
The campaign was officially launched on 2 October 2014 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The government is aiming to achieve an Open-Defecation Free (ODF) India by 2 October 2019, the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi.
Slogan:- One step towards cleaniness
25. Naidu launches MSEFC portal and MyMSME app
M. Venkaiah Naidu, Union Minister for Urban Development, Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation and Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting launched two important initiatives of the Ministry of MSME, viz. Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council (MSEFC) portal and MyMSME Mobile App on the occasion of the 15th Meeting of the National Board for MSME.
Union Minsiter for MSME Shri Kalraj Mishra and Minister of State for MSME Shri Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary were present on this august occasion.
With the access to this platform, micro and small enterprises would be able to file their delayed payment related grievances online.
The grievance filed would be communicated through email and SMS to the parties involved.
26. Karnataka Is The Most Corrupt State In The Country, Reveals Survey
People in Karnataka faced corruption the most in accessing public services, a think-tank has claimed, based on its survey in 20 states.
The Centre for Media Studies (CMS) released its 11th round of the the annual corruption study 'CMS India Corruption Study 2017'.
According to the survey, "77% of respondents" in Karnataka said they experienced corruption in accessing public services.
"This is followed by Andhra Pradesh (74%), Tamil Nadu (68%), Maharashtra (57%), Jammu and Kashmir (44%) and Punjab (42%),".
"In 2005, the more corrupt states were Bihar (74%), Jammu and Kashmir (69%) Odisha (60%), Rajashthan (59%) and Tamil Nadu (59%),".
27. Haryana: Ballabhgarh renamed as Balramgarh
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced that Ballabhgarh would now be known as Balramgarh.
He also announced a number of projects for the development of Ballabhgarh and NIT Faridabad Assembly constituencies.
The government had earlier renamed Gurgaon as Gurugram and Mewat as Nuh.
It had accepted requests from villagers to rename several villages.
28. ISRO Develops "Solar Calculator" Android App
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said its Ahmedabad-based Space Applications Centre has developed an android app for computing the solar energy potential of a place.
Developed at the behest of the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, the app is considered to be a "very useful" tool for installation of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels that is used for tapping solar energy, it said.
29. E-taxi trial run in Nagpur from May 24
The trial run of the first electric taxi in the country will start from May 24 in Nagpur, Union Minister for Road Transport Nitin Gadkari said.
The Minister said the Nagpur Municipal Corporation will undertake the project.
According to Gadkari, e-taxis will be part of the government's plan to reduce pollution.
Nagpur is represented by Gadkari in the Lok Sabha.
30. Kerala hosts country’s first-ever athletics meet for transgender persons
At least 132 people participated in the first-ever athletics meet for transgender persons organised by the Kerala government at Thiruvananthapuram Central Stadium.
The first-of-its-kind tournament saw them taking part in popular track and field events such as sprint, relay race, shot put and long jump.
Each district council in Kerala appointed a coach and allotted a ground for the participants to train for three days before the tournament.
Points to Remember
Kerala historically known as Keralam, is an Indian state in South India on the Malabar Coast.
It was formed on 1 November 1956 following the States Reorganisation Act by combining Malayalam-speaking regions.
Pinarayi Vijayan is the Chief Minister of Kerala while P. Sathasivam is the governor. Thiruvananthapuram is the Capital of Kerala.
31. India's first book village to come up in Maharashtra's Bhilar
Bhilar village located near Panchagani in Maharashtra is all set to embrace the tag of India's first 'village of books.
The initiative is being inaugurated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on May 4.
Led by Education minister Vinod Tawde, this project was undertaken by the Marathi Bhasha department wherein 25 artistically decorated locations around the village will turn into reader hot spots with display of books.
Around 15,000 books (in Marathi) would be made available in the village premises.
32. Country's first digitalised Panchayat ward in Kerala
A ward in the Kottayam district of Kerala has became India's first digitalised panchayat ward.
Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment Krishan Pal Gurjar inaugurated the website of the first digitalized Panchayat ward number 15 of Aymanam Grama Panchayat.
33. India Post Payment Bank to open 650 branches this year
India Post Payment Bank (IPPB) is planning a mega expansion to open 650 branches this year. The first two branches of IPPB were opened in January 2017 in Ranchi and Raipur.
The focus of the payment bank will be on door-step banking, A survey conducted by the department showed "huge" potential for door-step banking.
34. Yes Bank ties up with Paisabazaar.com
Private sector lender Yes Bank has announced alliance with Paisabazaar.com under which the bank will offer conditionally approved loans to the latter’s existing customers.
As part of the partnership, the bank will help Paisabazaar.com through its advanced analytics and data mining capabilities to offer customers of the financial marketplace with customised and conditionally approved offers across retail lending products.
The aim is to make the process of availing a loan easy and seamless and act as a one stop financial solution provider for all retail lending needs of the customer, it said.
Points to Remember
YES BANK is India's fifth largest private sector Bank, founded by Rana Kapoor in 2004.
Yes Bank is the only Greenfield Bank licence awarded by the RBI in the last two decades.
It is headquartered in Mumbai.
It is the First Private Bank in India to be awarded ISO 14001:2004 certificate 2013.
35. MFIN launches financial literacy app for microfinance clients
Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), a self-regulatory organisation and an industry association of microfinance, has launched a financial literacy mobile app for microfinance clients.
The app was launched in the capital in the presence of Meenakshi Lekhi, Member of Parliament, and Manoj Mittal, Deputy Managing Director, SIDBI.
It is aimed to help microfinance clients in understanding the dynamics involved in microfinance, including credit history, interest rates, repayment cycles and their rights as a borrower.
36. SEBI makes P-Note norms stricter to curb black money in markets
Markets regulator Sebi has barred resident as well as non-resident Indians (NRIs) from making investments through participatory notes (P-Notes).
P-notes are mostly used by overseas individual investors, hedge funds and foreign institutions to invest in the Indian securities markets through registered foreign institutional investors (FIIs).
Point to remember
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) was first established in the year 1988 as a non- statutory body for regulating the securities market. It became an autonomous body by The Government of India on 12 April 1992 and given statutory powers in 1992 with SEBI Act 1992 being passed by the Indian Parliament.
The chairman who is nominated by Union Government of India. Two members, i.e., Officers from Union Finance Ministry. One member from the Reserve Bank of India.
The remaining five members are nominated by Union Government of India, out of them at least three shall be whole-time members.
Headquarter: Mumbai
Chairman: Ajay Tyagi
37. Belgium opens honorary consulate in GIFT City
Belgium has become the first country to open an honorary consulate office in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City).
Besides the Belgian Embassy in New Delhi, two Consulates-General in Mumbai and Chennai, and an honorary consulate in Kolkata, Belgium has expanded its diplomatic representation in India with this new office in Gandhinagar.
Hari Sankaran was nominated as Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of Belgium to the state of Gujarat.
38. Indian Oil to build new terminal at Motihari to supply fuel to Nepal
The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) plans to build a new oil terminal at Motihari in Bihar to supply fuel to neighbour Nepal through the planned pipeline up to Amlekganj in Nepal.
The old terminal at Raxaul, also in the same Indian state, will be closed, according to an IOC official.
In August 2015, the Indian and Nepalese governments signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a product pipeline, and subsequently IOC and Nepal Oil Corporation entered into a MoU for laying down of the pipeline by the Indian company.
Initially, the plan was to lay the pipeline from Raxaul to Amlekganj, but it was later decided to extend it till Motihari.
39. Air India, Boeing to launch training centre for AMEs
In collaboration with the aircraft maker Boeing, the public sector airways carrier Air India will soon start a training centre for Aircraft Maintenance Engineers (AME).
Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), HR Jagganathan said, “The training centre will be opened at Nagpur’s Maintenance Repair Overall (MRO) service centre. The first batch will be started within six months. We will select 28 students in every batch.”
In next few months, over 500 aircrafts will be purchased and the need for AMEs would go up to 3500 AMEs.
40. India to surpass Germany as 4th largest economy by 2022: IMF
India will surpass Germany as the world’s fourth-largest economy by 2022 and push the UK out of the fifth rank in 2017, according to an analysis of growth projections by the International Monetary Fund.
However, according to the IMF analysis, India has to address a lot of issues in order to make the climb.
These include implementing the Goods and Services Tax (GST), dealing with stressed assets among all major economies across the globe, increasing productivity and employment opportunities, encouraging corporate investment and overcoming a shortfall of infrastructure.
41. Google introduces 'Solve for India' campaign
Google has announced the new “Solve for India” initiative, especially for tier-2 cities such as Pune, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kochi, Indore, Nagpur, Nashik, Madurai, Kanpur, and Chennai.
This program will aim to support entrepreneurs and developers of the country.
Entrepreneurs will now have the opportunity to learn directly from Google engineers who will share product usage insights.
42. Himanta Biswa Sarma becomes interim BAI president
BJP leader and Assam Badminton Association President Himanta Biswa Sarma was appointed Badminton Association of India's interim head during its executive council meeting.
The post of president was left vacant after the sudden demise of former president Akhilesh Das Gupta.
An executive council meeting was called and Sarma was appointed as the interim president.
43. Mridul Gehlot elected president of kabaddi federation
Mridul Gehlot and Dinesh Patel were elected unanimously president and general secretary of Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI).
The elections were held under the the supervision of justice I S Israni.
Observers from the Sports Ministry, Indian Olympic Association, International Kabaddi Federation and Asian Kabaddi Federation were also present for the elections.
44. Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar appointed new Director General of CRPF
Senior IPS officer Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar was appointed as the new Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
His appointment comes two days after the CRPF lost 25 jawans in the deadly Sukma attack.
Bhatnagar will be replacing acting DG Sudeep Lakhtakia.
In another key appointment, R K Pachnanda was appointed as DG of the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
He'll be taking over from Krishna Chaudhary, who is set to retire in June this year.
Pachnanda is currently serving as DG of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
45. Nita Ambani made member of IOC’s Olympic Channel Commission
India's first woman International Olympic Committee member Nita Ambani has made it to two important commissions of the global sports governing body, including the prestigious Olympic channel.
Besides the Olympic Channel, the 53-year-old Ambani has also been made a member of Olympic education Commission as IOC announced the composition of 26 commissions for 2017.
She is one of the 16 members of the Olympic Channel Commission headed by United States Olympic Committee Chairman Lawrence Francis Probst.
She will serve the world sport's apex body till the age of 70.
46. Syrian Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini becomes UNHCR ambassador
Syrian refugee and Olympic athlete Yusra Mardini has been appointed UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador.
She swam at the Olympic last August as one of 10 athletes in the first-ever refugee Olympic team.
Points to Remember
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), also known as the UN Refugee Agency, is a United Nations programme mandated to protect and support refugees and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to a third country.
Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is a member of the United Nations Development Group.
The UNHCR has won two Nobel Peace Prizes, once in 1954 and again in 1981.
It was founded on 14 December 1950. Italy’s Filippo Grandi is the head of UNHCR.
47. Apollo Hospitals' Shobana Kamineni is the new President of CII
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), a non-governmental trade association, announced that 56-year-old Shobana Kamineni, executive vice-chairperson of Apollo Hospitals Enterprises Ltd (AHEL), is the industry association’s new President for the year 2017-18.
She takes over from Dr Naushad Forbes, co-chairman, Forbes Marshall Limited.
Uday Kotak, executive vice chairman and managing director, Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited is the new Vice President of CII.
48. Hema Malini, Aishwarya Rai Bag Dadasaheb Phalke Awards
Veteran actress- politician Hema Malini along with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, filmmaker Shoojit Sircar and Zeenat Aman bagged the Dadasaheb Phalke Excellence Awards 2017.
These are not Dadasaheb Phalke Awards presented by the Government of India, these are the Dadasaheb Phalke Film Foundation Awards which started around three years back and from then on, have been organised every year in Mumbai to honour the contribution of various artists to Indian cinema.
Chitra Productions in association with Dadasaheb Phalke Excellence Awards 2017 celebrated the 148th birth anniversary of the father of Indian Cinema, the respected Dadasaheb Phalke.
This year, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan won the award for the film Sarabjit while Hema Malini won the Award in the category of Kala Shree.
Veteran Zeenat Aman received the Lifetime Achievement Award. On the other hand, Sircar bagged Creative Director Award for Pink, along with Rohit Roy, who bagged the Best Negative Role in Film for Kaabil.
49. TripAdvisor presents Bali with 2017 Travelers' Choice Awards
Travel planning and booking website TripAdvisor has bestowed on Bali an award as the “best destination,” after the island was named the global winner of the 2017 Travelers' Choice Awards in March.
According to the website, Bali improved in three main categories from 2015 to 2016: Accommodation, attractions and restaurants.
The website also revealed the top three countries where users did most research on Bali: China, the Netherlands and India.
50. 'Newton' wins best film at Hong Kong Film Festival
Actor Rajkummar Rao-starrer "Newton" has won the best film honour at the Hong Kong International Film Festival.
Amit Masurkar-directed "Newton", which also stars Anjali Patil, is a political satire.
It had its world premiere at the 67th Berlin Film Festival where it won the International Federation of Art Cinemas (CICAE) award in its Forum segment.
51. Satyarthi given P.C. Chandra award
Nobel laureate and social activist Kailash Satyarthi was presented the P.C. Chandra Purashkar (award) for his global crusade against child slavery and exploitative child labour.
The 63-year-old Satyarthi was handed over a citation, a trophy and a cheque of Rs 10 lakh.
Satyarthi, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 with Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan, urged everyone to work towards making India a "child-friendly country".
52. Goldman Prize for Prafulla Samantra
Social activist Prafulla Samantra was announced one of six winners of the Goldman Environmental Prize, in San Francisco.
The prize citation said this was for his "...historic 12-year legal battle that affirmed the indigenous Dongria Kondh’s land rights and protected the Niyamgiri Hills from a massive, open-pit aluminum ore mine."
Since 1990 when the awards were first instituted, five Indians — Medha Patkar, M.C. Mehta, Rasheeda Bi, Champaran Shukla and Ramesh Agrawal — have won the prize. Mr. Samantra will be the sixth.
Other winners this year include Mark Lopez, United States; Uroš Macerl, Slovenia; Rodrigo Tot, Guatemala; Rodrigue Katembo, Democratic Republic of Congo; and Wendy Bowman, Australia.
53. Moushumi Chatterjee gets BFJA lifetime achievement award
Veteran actress Moushumi Chatterjee has received the lifetime achievement award, while actor Ashish Vidyarthi was honoured for his contribution to Indian Cinema at the 80th Bengal Film Journalists’ Association (BFJA) awards.
The BFJA, the oldest association of film scribes in the country was founded in 1937.
Bengali film superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee was given the best actor award for his role in Sankhachil. Prosenjit shared the honour with actor Chiranjeet Chakraborty for Chotushkone.
Rituparna Sengupta was given the best actress crown for her role in Rajkahini along with Paoli Dam for “Natoker Moto” (2015).
54. Veteran actor K. Viswanath wins Dadasaheb Phalke award for 2016
Renowned Film Director & Actor Shri Kasinadhuni Viswanath is to be conferred the 48th Dada Saheb Phalke Award for the year 2016.
I&B Minister Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu approved the recommendation of the Dada Saheb Phalke Award committee.
Points to Remember
The Award is conferred by the Government of India for outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian Cinema.
The Award consists of a Swarn Kamal (Golden Lotus), a cash prize of Rs. 10 lakhs and a shawl.
Last year it was given to veteran actor and director Manoj Kumar.
55. Aditi Ashok, SSP Chawrasia win Golf Industry Awards
SSP Chawrasia and Aditi Ashok were among the winners at the second Golf Industry Association (GIA) Awards.
Aditi bagged Outstanding Achievement as a Player award.
Chawrasia bagged the Award for the Men's Player of the Year.
56. GMR Airport Wins ‘Golden Peacock Business Excellence Award 2017’
GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd. (GHIAL), which operates Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), Hyderabad has won the coveted Golden Peacock Business Excellence Award (GPBEA) 2017 in the large scale industry-Transportation-Aviation category.
YES BANK Limited has been awarded the Golden Peacock Innovative Product/Service Award 2017.
Golden Peacock National Training Award was given to State Bank of India, Life Insurance Corporation of India and Bangalore International Airport Limited.
The awards were presented at the 27th World Congress on Business Excellence and Innovation being held in Dubai.
57. Goa varsity confers D Litt on President
President Pranab Mukherjee was bestowed with a D Litt degree by the Goa University.
Mukherjee was conferred with the D Litt degree during the 29th annual convocation of the university at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium.
Goa Governor Mridula Sinha, who is also the university's chancellor, awarded the degree to Mukherjee.
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar too was present on the occasion.
58. Indian businessman Yusuff Ali wins Queen's Enterprise Award
A prominent Indian businessman's food processing plant in Britain has won the prestigious Queen's Enterprise Award 2017 for its exceptional contribution to the UK's trade, industry and economy.
Yusuff Ali M.A , 61, said the recognition for his Birmingham-based Y International (UK) Ltd will spur his Abu Dhabi headquartered Lulu Group International to further expand business interests in the UK.
The Queen's Award for Enterprise is conferred annually by Queen Elizabeth II on her birthday, April 21, upon businesses that display great enterprise across the fields of innovation, international trade, promoting opportunity through social mobility and sustainable development.
59. Srishti Kaur wins Miss Teen Universe pageant
Srishti Kaur from India was crowned Miss Teen Universe 2017, beating out 25 other contestants from around the world in the annual beauty pageant.
Samantha Pierre from Canada and Ary Trava from Mexico were the runners-up in the event held at the Ruben Dario National Theatre in Nicaragua’s capital Managua.
Kaur, a resident of Noida, also won the prize for best national costume.
60. RDPR bags e-Puraskar
The Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Department of Karnataka has bagged e- Puraskar Award for the best performance in empowering panchayats by using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools, for 2016-17.
Kerala bagged the second prize, while West Bengal secured third prize in the category of ICT tools.
The cash prize for the first position is Rs. 2 crore, Rs. 1 crore for second position and Rs. 50 lakh for third position.
61. President of India presents CII Awards
The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented CII President’s Award for Lifetime Achievement to Mr. Rahul Bajaj and CII foundation Woman Exemplar Award in New Delhi.
Speaking on the occasion, the President congratulated all the awardees – Mr. Rahul Bajaj, Chairman, Bajaj Auto Ltd. for receiving this year’s CII President’s Award for Lifetime Achievement and those conferred with Woman Exemplar Awards.
62. Bhubaneswar smart city plan gets USA global award
The American Planning Association (APA) has announced this year's international excellence award for the Bhubaneswar smart city project.
The award called Pierre L'Enfant International Planning Excellence Award 2017 will be given on May 8 in New York city.
This is the first time in the 50 years history of APA's annual award programme that an Indian city has been recognised for its planning efforts.
63. Hero MotoCorp named ‘Indian MNC of the Year’
Pawan Munjal-led Hero MotoCorp was conferred the ‘Indian MNC of the Year’ award by the All India Management Association (AIMA).
Other awards are:
Arundhati Bhattacharya: Business leader of the year.
Dilip Shanghvi: ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’
Rahul Sharma : ‘Transformational Business Leader of the Year’ awards respectively.
Nandan Nilekani: ‘outstanding initiative of the year’ for India Stack.
Maruti Suzuki: ‘MNC of the Year’ (in India)
Coal India Ltd the ‘outstanding PSU of the year’.
64. Cricket removed from 2018 Asian Games programme
The game of cricket has been removed from the programme list of the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang.
Apart from cricket, skateboarding, sambo and surfing are among the other sports which have been removed from the programme in order to reduce the burden on Indonesian organisers.
This measure was taken as a part of the series of changes aimed at reducing the total number of events from 493 to 431. Also omitted from the list are kurash and belt wrestling events.
65. Nadal wins Monte-Carlo Masters
Defending champion Rafael Nadal won the Monte Carlo Masters for an unprecedented 10th time, easily beating Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-1, 6-3 in the final.
In the doubles final, Rohan Bopanna and Pablo Cuevas beat seventh seeds and reigning Roland Garros champions Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez 6-3, 3-6, [10-4] to win the title.
Nadal’s 70th career title was his first of the season; he lost three finals this year, two of those to Roger Federer.
66. Haryana emerge champion at National Youth Athletics Meet
Haryana beat arch rivals Kerala after six years to win the team championship at the National Youth Athletics Meet, which concluded in Hyderabad.
Haryana emerged champions with 166.5 points. Kerala, which stood at the top place in the last five years, could manage only 134.75 points to finish runners-up.
67. India wins 16 medals at US Open karate Championship
India finished with a rich haul of three gold, two silver and 11 bronze medals at the US Open Karate Championship held in Las Vegas.
Shaifali Agarwal, Abhishek Sengupta won a gold medal, a silver in two different individual events. India also won a gold medal in the team event.
The Indian team was led by Sensei Yashpal Singh Kalsi and Members of the Indian contingent -- Abhishek Sengupta, Rantej Singh, Harcharan Singh Chowhan and Shaifali Agarwal were trained under Sensei Kalsi.
68. MCC offers life membership to former India captain Sandhya Agarwal
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has offered honourary life membership to Sandhya Agarwal, former captain of the Indian women’s Test team.
A resident of Indore, Agarwal has played 13 Tests and 21 ODIs from 1984 to 1995.
Agarwal is being honoured in recognition of her distinguished service to the game.
After her retirement, she continued to contribute to the game as a selector and coach, besides being a member of the BCCI’s women’s committee.
Points to Remember
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club in London, founded in 1787.
MCC was formerly the governing body of cricket both in England and Wales as well as worldwide.
MCC revised the Laws of Cricket in 1788 and continues to reissue them (from time to time), and remains the copyright holder.
69. Valtteri Bottas wins his first F1 title in Russia
Finland's Valtteri Bottas celebrated the first Formula One victory of his career at the Russian Grand Prix.
Championship leader Sebastian Vettel finished Second while Kimi Raikkonen finished third.
Lewis Hamilton Finished fourth.
70. Red-Hot Rafael Nadal Wins 10th Barcelona Open Title
Rafael Nadal romped to Barcelona Open title as he swept aside Austria's Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-1 for a 51st clay-court crown.
This was Nadal's 10th Barcelona Open title.
Nadal won in Barcelona between 2005-2009, 2011-13 and now in the last two years.
71. Actor Vinod Khanna passes away at 70
Veteran actor and sitting BJP MP Vinod Khanna passed away at the age of 70 after a difficult battle with cancer.
The actor, who was part of several Bollywood hits like Amar Akbar Anthony and The Burning Train, was admitted to the HN Reliance Foundation and Research Centre in Girgaon, Mumbai recently.
Vinod Khanna, a sitting Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Gurdaspur district of Punjab, was born on 6 October, 1946. He was seen in 141 films between 1968 and 2013.
72. Popular Tamil actor Vinu Chakravarthy passes away
Well-known Tamil actor and writer Vinu Chakravarthy, who had starred in over 1,000 films, breathed his last on 27 April 2017. He was 74.
Vinu Chakravarthy has acted in more than 1000 movies in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam languages.
He is known for his comedian, supporting and villainous roles.
Daily current affairs Quiz – http://currentaffairs.wifistudy.com/ GK Quiz – http://gk.wifistudy.com/ English Quiz – http://english.wifistudy.com/ Aptitude Quiz – http://aptitude.wifistudy.com/ Reasoning Quiz – http://reasoning.wifistudy.com/ Computer Quiz – http://computer.wifistudy.com/ Banking Quiz – http://bankingawareness.wifistudy.com/ Marketing Quiz – http://marketing.wifistudy.com/