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VETRII IAS STUDY CIRCLE

Current Affairs

TNPSC

(MAY - 2017)

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My Dear Aspirants,

Greetings to all of you! “What we think we become” said Gautama Buddha. We all have dreams. To turn

dreams into reality it takes a lot of determination, dedication, self discipline and hard work.

We at VETRII IAS Study Circle are committed to provide the right guidance, quality coaching and help

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TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS IRCL MAY 2017

9600124042/ 9840097666

CONTENT

SL. NO TITLE PAGE NO

1. Important Days 1 - 4

2. National Affairs 5 – 20

3. State Affairs 21 - 27

4. International 28 - 32

5. Schemes 33 - 38

6. Economy 39 - 42

7. Awards & Honours 43 - 50

8. Science & Technology 51 - 55

9. Sports 56 - 60

10. Personalities 61 - 63

11. Defence 64 - 67

12. General Knowledge 68 - 74

13. Summit 75 - 77

14. Important Index 78 – 79

15. Appointment 80 - 82

TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I May 2017

9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 1

IMPORTANT DAYS

MAY 1 INTERNATIONAL WORKERS' DAY:

International Workers' Day also known as Labour Day celebrates the spirit of labourers. It

is observed globally on 1 May every year.

To pay tribute to the labourers.

In India, the first Labour Day, or May Day, was celebrated in 1923 in Chennai.

MAY 2 GANGA CLEANLINESS PLEDGE DAY

The National Mission for Clean Ganga observe Ganga Cleanliness Pledge Day on May 2 at

various places in the rivers basin states

To spread awareness and ensure public participation for the programme.

MAY 2 WORLD ASTHMA DAY

It was Designated by Global Initiative for Asthma

Theme: Asthma: Better Air, Better Breathing

MAY 2 FIRST WORLD TUNA DAY

To conserve one of the globe‘s most popular fish to be caught and eaten.

A saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a sub-grouping of the mackerel family

(Scombridae)

MAY 3 WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY

To pay tribute to those journalists who lost their lives while working on stories they‘re

passionate about.

To proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993

Theme: Critical Minds for Critical Times: Media’s role in advancing peaceful, just and inclusive

societies.

MAY 8 - WORLD RED CROSS DAY

To commemorate the birth anniversary of Henry Dunant, he is the recipient of 1st Nobel

Peace Prize.

The theme for this year (2017) is “Less Known Red Cross Stories”.


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MAY 10 - WORLD MIGRATORY BIRD DAY

To highlight the interdependence of people and nature, and more specifically people and

migratory birds, as they share the same planet and the same limited resources.

The theme of WMBD 2017 is “Their Future is Our Future – A Healthy Planet for Migratory

Birds and People”.

MAY 11 - NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY DAY

To mark India‘s technological advancements.

"Technology for inclusive and sustainable growth".

To celebrate the anniversary of first of the five tests of Operation Shakti (Pokhran-II)

nuclear test, held on 11 May 1998 in Pokhran, Rajasthan

First indigenous aircraft 'Hansa-3' on this day.

Test firing of the Trishul missile.

MAY 12 - INTERNATIONAL NURSES DAY

International Nurses Day (IND) is celebrated every year all around the world on 12th of

May.

The theme of 2017 International Nurses Day (IND) is ―Nursing: A voice to lead –

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals‖.

To commemorate the birth anniversary of the Florence Nightingale and to mark the nurse's

contributions towards people‘s health.

MAY 15 - INTERNATIONAL DAY OF FAMILIES

The International Day of Families is observed on the 15th of May every year.

The Theme of 2017 International Day of Families - “Families, education and well-being”.

Families and family-oriented policies in promoting education and overall well-being of

their members.

MAY16TH - NATIONAL DENGUE DAY

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India, to control the

Dengue through create awareness, initiate preventive actions and continue till

transmission season is over.

Dengue is a common viral disease spread by a mosquito called Aedes Aegypti.


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MAY 17 - WORLD TELECOMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION SOCIETY DAY

World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) is celebrated annually

on 17 May.

The theme for WTISD-2017 is "Big Data for Big Impact".

MAY 20 - WORLD METROLOGY DAY

World Metrology Day is celebrated on May 20 globally every year.

The theme for World Metrology Day 2017 is Measurements for transport.

World Metrology Day is an annual celebration of the signature of the Metre Convention on

20 May 1875 by representatives of seventeen nations.

MAY 21 - NATIONAL ANTI TERRORISM DAY

National Anti-Terrorism Day was observed on May 21 across the country to raise the

awareness of the danger of terrorism and violence.

To commemorate the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

22 MAY - INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

The International Day for Biological Diversity (or World Biodiversity Day) is a United

Nations–sanctioned international day for the promotion of biodiversity issues. It is held on

May 22.

Scope of the UN Post-2015 Development Agenda's Sustainable Development Goals.

Theme for the year 2017 is ―Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism‖.

23rd MAY- WORLD TURTLE DAY

The World Turtle Day 2017 was observed globally on 23rd May 2017.

To protect the turtles and tortoises and their rapidly disappearing habitats across the

world.

MAY 28 - INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION FOR WOMEN‟S HEALTH

To protect the sexual and reproductive health of women.

MAY 29 - INTERNATIONAL DAY OF UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEPERS

The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers observed on 29 May globally.


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The theme is “Investing in Peace Around the World".

MAY 30 - GOA STATEHOOD DAY

Goa Statehood Day is observed on May 30.

1987, Goa terminated to be a Union Territory and became the 25th State of the Union of

India.

MAY 31- WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY

World No Tobacco Day is observed around the world every year on May 31 by the World

Health Organization (WHO).

The theme is "Tobacco – a threat to development".


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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

INDIA AND UK TO SIGN MOU TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY OF URBAN

TRANSPORT SYSTEM

India and the United Kingdom agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on

bilateral cooperation between the Indian Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and

Britain's Transport for London (TFL) in the urban transport sector for cooperation in policy

planning, technology transfer and institutional organisation.

The decision was taken on a three-day visit Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road

Transport, Highways and Shipping.

ISRAEL AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES SIGNS $630 MILLION DEAL WITH INDIA

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) signed a $ 630 million deal with the Indian State-

owned aerospace and defense company Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).

This deal was a part of the Make in India initiative, BEL will be used as the main contractor

for the project.

Israel's Barak 8 long-range surface-to-air missile system was successfully tested aboard an

Indian Navy ship.

INDIA AND PALESTINE SIGNED FIVE MOU

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas

signed 5 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs).

List of MoUs inked during the visit of Mahmoud Abbas

MoU on visa exemption for diplomatic passport holder;

MoU on agriculture cooperation;

MoU on cooperation in the field of IT & Electronics;

MoU on cooperation in the health sector;

MoU on cooperation in the field of youth affairs and sports.

USA TO SELL HIGH-TECH CHEMICAL PROTECTIVE CLOTHING TO INDIA

The United States will be selling high-tech Joint Service Lightweight Integrated Suit

Technology (JSLIST) protective clothing worth $75 million to India.


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For the first time, the USA notified the sale of CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological and

nuclear) Support Equipment, the Joint Service Lightweight Integrated Suit Technology

(JSLIST) protective clothing, to the US Congress.

India‘s formal cooperation with USA in the area of defence also includes bilateral

engagement on defence through the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) and

the India-US Research, Development, Testing and Evaluation (RDT&E) Agreement.

INDIA, RUSSIA AGREE TO WORK CLOSELY IN VARIOUS SECTORS

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dimitry Rogozin arrived in New Delhi recently on a one-

day visit to attend India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission (IRIGC-TEC) meeting.

India and Russia agreed to work closely in various sectors, including security, nuclear

energy, and disaster management.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj stated that the progress made in the

implementation of agreements signed between the two countries in Goa last year during

the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) Summit.

India planned to celebrate the 70th year of Indo-Russian diplomatic relations.

INDIA SIGNS 12 FORMAL AGREEMENTS WITH GERMANY

India and Germany signed twelve memoranda of understanding (MoU) after bilateral

discussion talks presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor

Angela Merkel.

The agreements inked included nine joint declarations of intent (JDIs) and three MoU.

Agreement on collaboration between the Ministry of Skill Development and

Germany‘s BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research);

JDI between Ministry of Science and Technology and the BMBF (Federal Ministry of

Education and Research) for the establishment of an Indo-German Centre for

Sustainability;

JDI between the Ministry of External Affairs and the German Foreign Office on

cooperation on cyber policy;

JDI between the Ministry of Finance and BMZ (Federal Ministry for Economic

Cooperation and Development) on Indo-German Development Cooperation;

JDI between the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and BMWi (Federal Ministry of

Economic Affairs and Energy);

JDI between the Department of Heavy Industries and BMBF (Federal Ministry of

Education and Research) on cooperation in vocational education and skill

development for machine tools;


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Agreement between Ministry of Health and BMG (Federal Ministry of Health) on

cooperation in the health sector;

Agreement between the AYUSH and BMG (Federal Ministry of Health) over

cooperation in alternative medicine;

JDI between the Ministry of External Affairs and the German Foreign Office on

collaboration between Foreign Service Institutes of both the country;

JDI between the Ministry of Railways and German Ministry of Transport on

cooperation in railway safety.

JDI between the Ministry of Urban Development and German Ministry for Economic

Cooperation and Development on cooperation for sustainable urban development;

JDI on the continuation of cooperation in the field of advanced training of corporate

and junior executives from India between the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and

BMWi (Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy).

UNION MINISTRY ANNOUNCES IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EXPANDED

INDIA-CHILE PTA

India and Chile will implement a bilateral expanded Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA)

from May 16, 2017.

India-Chile PTA which was signed on 6th September 2016.

The original PTA had a limited number of tariff lines, wherein both sides had extended

tariff concessions to each other.

The expanded PTA has a wider coverage of tariff concessions which covers around 96

percent of bilateral trade.

INDIA AND FIJI INKS AGREEMENT ON DEFENCE COOPERATION

India and Fiji signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Defence Cooperation.

Minister of Defence, Finance and Corporate Affairs, Arun Jaitley and the Minister of

Defence and National Security of Fiji, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola in New Delhi signed MoU on

cooperation on defence industry, military training, humanitarian assistance & disaster

management.

Currently, Chile is the fourth largest trading partner of India in LAC (Latin America and the Caribbean)

region after Brazil, Venezuela and Argentina.


9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 8

Note:

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations

(UN).

It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April

1946.

According to the International Law, State government sumitted the legal argument to this

court.

And then this court give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized

United Nations organs and specialized agencies.

Its judgments have binding force and are without appeal for the parties concerned.

INDIA ELECTED AS PRESIDENT OF UN-HABITAT

India elected as the President of the UN-Habitat after a gap of 10 years. It is an organ of the

United Nations Organisation (UNO).

UN-Habitat promotes socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements across

the world.

This is only the third time that India elected as President after 2007 and 1988.

M.Venkaiah Naidu will preside over the deliberations of the Governing Council of UN-

Habitat for the next two years.

TWO INDIAN WARSHIPS VISIT EGYPTIAN PORT CITY

Two Indian Warships visited Egypt as part of Indian Navy's overseas deployment to the

Mediterranean Sea and the west coast of Africa.

INS Mumbai and INS Aditya are the two warships arrived in the port city Alexandria on

May 5.

The warships engaged for the purpose of sports and social engagements with the Egyptian

navy.

INDIA WON STAY AT INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE IN KULBHUSHAN

JADHAV CASE

In a major breakthrough for the government‘s efforts in the case of Kulbhushan

Jadhav, the former naval officer sentenced to death in Pakistan, the government received a

stay order from the International Court of Justice at The Hague.

INDIA INKED SEVEN AGREEMENTS WITH SPAIN

India and Spain signed seven agreements after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi visit to

Spain.

The agreements are:

Agreement for Transfer of Sentence Persons


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Memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in Organ Transplantation

MoU on Cooperation in Cyber Security

MoU on Cooperation in Renewable Energy

MoU on Technical Cooperation in Civil Aviation

Agreement on visa waiver for holders of diplomatic passports.

MoU between Foreign Service Institute and Diplomatic Academy of Spain.

PM TO VISIT SRI LANKA

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Srilanka on May 11 to attend the biggest

Buddhist festival Vesak Day.

Vesak, most important day in the Buddhist calendar, marks the commemoration of Lord

Buddha‘s birth, enlightenment.

PM is also likely to visit Kandy in the central province which is famous for production of

Ceylon Tea.

INDIA SIGNED 4 AGREEMENTS WITH MAURITIUS

India has extended a 500 million dollar line of credit to Mauritius.

The Line of Credit has been signed between SBM Mauritius Infrastructure Development

Co. Ltd and Export-Import Bank of India.

Four Agreements:

Oceanography Institute in marine sciences and technology.

Agreement on Maritime Security.

Memorandum of understanding (MoU) for setting up of a civil services college in

Mauritius.

MoU was signed between the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and

Mauritius

Submission of instrument of ratification of International Solar Alliance (ISA) by Mauritius.

Note

Spain is India's seventh largest trading partner in the European Union.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the first Indian PM to visit Spain in nearly 30

years.

The previous Indian PM to visit Spain was Rajiv Gandhi, in 1988.


9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 10

INDIA ASSISTS MAURITANIA FOR $65.68 MILLION FOR ELECTRIFICATION

PROJECT

Central Government approved letters of credit worth $65.68 million for a solar-diesel

hybrid rural electrification project in the north African country Mauritania.

Mauritania is one of the few African countries to develop full-blown trade with India.

INDIA TO INVEST RS 10,000 CRORE IN DEEP SEA MISSION

India planned to invest Rs 10,000-crore Deep Sea Mission, likely to commence by the year

end to explore mineral wealth beneath the ocean floor.

Seawater desalination project of Rs 2,000 crore at the Chennai coast will also be taken up

under the mission.

The oceans that surround the Indian peninsula have over 1,300 islands. They give seven

and a half thousand kilometres of coastline and 2.4 million square km of Exclusive

Economic Zone.

China is also working on deep sea mission for mining mineral deposits in the Indian and

Pacific oceans.

Japan will build war museum in Manipur

Technology giant, Japan will build war museum where Japanese camp was located during

World War II at Maiba Lokpa in Bishnupur district. Kenji Hiramatsu has declared that

nearly 70,000 Japanese soldiers had died in world war battles in 1944.

UNION CABINET APPROVES CO-OPERATION BETWEEN INDIA AND JAPAN

The Union Cabinet gave ex-post facto approval to the signing the Memorandum of

Cooperation (MoC) with Japan on Railway Safety.

The MoC would provide a platform for Indian Railways to interact and share the latest

development and knowledge in the railway sector.

Note of MoC;

Track safety

Latest technology related to railway track safety

Rolling stock safety

CABINET APPROVES AGREEMENT BETWEEN INDIA AND TAJIKISTAN

The Union Cabinet gave its approval for signing and ratifying, an Agreement between

India and Tajikistan.


9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 11

The Agreement would provide a legal framework for sharing of information and

intelligence between the Customs authorities of the two countries and help in the proper

application of Customs law.

The Cabinet also gave its approval for the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax

Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting.

UNION CABINET APPROVES PHARMA MISSION TO DEVELOP BIO-

PHARMACEUTICALS

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved a programme for the

development of bio pharmaceuticals through industry-academia collaboration, entailing an

investment of Rs 1,500 crore by it over a period of five years.

The programme will focus on the development of specific products such as vaccines,

biotherapeutics, medical devices.

The mission will be implemented by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council

(BIRAC) – a public sector undertaking of Department of Biotechnology (DBT).

CABINET APPROVES AMENDMENT OF THE ANCIENT MONUMENTS AND

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND REMAINS ACT, 1958

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the

introduction of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites Remains

(Amendment) Bill, 2017 in the Parliament.

To make way for certain constructions limited strictly to public works and projects

essential to public within the prohibited area.

UNION CABINET APPROVES PROPOSAL TO BUILD 10 ATOMIC REACTORS

The Union Cabinet cleared a proposal allowing for the construction of 10 indigenous

Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR).

The reactors will have a capacity of 700 Mega Watt.

Note:

The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites Remains Act, 1958 (as amended in the

year 2010) prohibits grant of any permission for new construction within the prohibited

area of a centrally protected monument/ site.

Prohibition of new construction within prohibited area is adversely impacting various

public works and developmental projects of the Central Government.

The amendment will pave way for certain constructions limited strictly to public works and

projects essential to public within the prohibited area and benefit the public at large.


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India‘s first PHWR was constructed at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan in technical cooperation

with the Atomic Energy Canada Ltd (AECL).

ORACLE SIGNS MOU WITH JHARKHAND FOR CLOUD-BASED CITIZEN

SERVICES

The Government of Jharkhand and Oracle signed a Memorandum of Understanding

(MoU) to improve cloud-based citizen services and to make Jharkhand an attractive

destination for start-ups.

Oracle offer its support to the state through its vast portfolio of technology solutions,

including Oracle Cloud.

For the first time, the company has brought Oracle OpenWorld one of its most successful

event to India.

POLL CONTESTANTS WILL NOW HAVE TO DECLARE SPOUSE INCOME - LAW

MINISTRY OF INDIA

Election contestants have to declare their own and their spouse's sources of earning in their

contesting polls.

According to the Election Commission, the amendment is aimed at bringing in more

transparency.

At present, it is mandatory for the poll contestants to disclose the details of assets and

liabilities for self, spouse and three dependents in Form 26 at the filing of nomination

papers but not the source of income.

PRASAR BHARATI SIGNS MOU WITH MOROCCO'S SNRT

Government-run Prasar Bharati got into an agreement with Morocco's Societe Nationale

de Radiodiffusion et de Television (SNRT) to step up cooperation in the broadcasting

sector.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed during the fifth India Morocco

Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) in Rabat, Morocco's capital.

AMUL SIGNED MOU WITH ISRO FOR FODDER ACREAGE ESTIMATION

For fodder acreage estimation using satellite observation and space technology, Amul has

signed Mou with ISRO. The ISRO will be useful to identify the food crops and fodder

crops at village areas. It will also locate village areas to cultivate wastelands for green

fodder cultivation.


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INDIA INTEGRATED TRANSPORT SUMMIT SIGNED MOUS WORTH RS 2

LAKH CRORES

Thirty-four Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) amounting about Rs 2 lakh crores

were signed in the three-day India Integrated Transport and Logistics Summit that was

concluded in New Delhi.

Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Shri Nitin Gadkari set an urgent

need to bring down logistics cost in the country to globally comparable rates.

V.O. CHIDAMBARANAR PORT TRUST AND TANGEDCO SIGN MOU TO

UPGRADE COAL JETTY-I&II

V.O. Chidambaranar Port (VOCP) is set to increase a four-fold in the capacity of two of its

Coal Jetties (CJ) – Jetty I and II from 6.25 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 24.

The VOCP Trust signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Tamil Nadu Generation

and Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO) for the gradational Jetty I and II in

New Delhi.

INDIAN RAILWAYS TO INSTALL CCTV CAMERAS OVER 900 STATIONS

The Indian Railways will install CCTV surveillance systems at more than 900 stations

under the Nirbhaya Fund at an approved cost of Rs. 500 crore to strengthen security at rail

premises.

CCEA GIVES APPROVAL TO NEW COAL LINKAGE POLICY

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved a new coal linkage policy

to ensure an adequate supply of the fuel to power plants through a reverse auction.

The new policy will help in ensuring fuel supplies to the power plants in an organised

manner.

Coal linkage policy is designated by the Union Government for the allocation of coal

among thermal power plants.

Note:

The Centre had created Nirbhaya Fund with a Rs. 1000 crore corpus in its 2013 Union

Budget to support initiatives by the government and NGOs working towards protecting the

dignity and ensuring the safety of women in the country.

The Railways have about 8,000 stations out of currently 344 stations have already been

provided with CCTV cameras.


9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 14

UNION CABINET APPROVES VIJAYAWADA AIRPORT AS INTERNATIONAL

AIRPORT

The Union Cabinet has given its approval for the declaration of Vijayawada Airport as

International Airport, as per the provisions of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.

Declaration of an airport as International Airport depends upon traffic potential and

demand from airlines for operation of international flights.

CENTRAL GOVERNMENT PROPOSES RULES TO BAN UNRULY FLYERS FOR

OVER 2 YEARS

The government declared draft rules for a „no-fly list‟ for banning unruly passengers.

The government has come up with three levels of disruptions for flyers.

Level 1 is disruptive behaviour like physical gestures, abusive language which can lead to

suspension for 3 months.

Level 2 is physically abusive behaviour like pushing, kicking, sexual harassment etc, which

can lead to suspension for 6 months.

Level 3 is life-threatening behaviour and the suspension is 2 yrs or more.

ODISHA‟S SUALGIRI, SWALGIRI COMMUNITIES NOTIFIED AS SCHEDULED

CASTES

Odisha‘s Sualgiri and Swalgiri communities have been notified as Scheduled Castes

following President Pranab Mukherjee‘s assent to a new law.

The SC category status will entitle these communities to reservation in government jobs

and admission in educational institutions, besides some other financial benefits.

Some of the major schemes for the scheduled castes include post-matric scholarship,

national overseas scholarship, Rajiv Gandhi national fellowship, concessional loans from

National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation, hostel facilities for the

SC boys and girls etc.

DIPP AMENDS DEFINITION OF STARTUP

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) amended the definition of a

Startup.

New Definition of Startup:

An entity will be considered as a Start-Up if its turnover is less than Rs 25 crore and has not

completed seven years from the date of its incorporation/registration.


9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 15

TAJ MAHAL, INDIAN MONUMENT TO FIGURE IN TOP 10 GLOBAL

LANDMARKS

Taj Mahal is the only Indian monument which has featured in the list of top 10 Global

Landmarks, by Traveller‘s Choice.

Taj Mahal secured the fifth position on this list.

SUPREME COURT WILL GO PAPERLESS FROM JULY 3

PM Narendra Modi and Chief Justice J S Khehar launched Integrated Court Management

Information System scheme for complete digitisation of litigation in all courts, which in the

first phase promises paperless filing of appeals in the Supreme Court from July 3.

CENTRAL GOVT APPROVED TO RENAME TWO RAILWAY STATIONS AND

ONE AIRPORT IN MUMBAI

Mumbai's iconic railway station, "Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus" (CST) renamed to

"Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus" (CSMT)

Western Railway's "Elphinstone Road station" has been rechristened as 'Prabhadevi' station

Mumbai Airport named "Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport" has been renamed as

"Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport".

NGT ANNOUNCES RS. 1 LAKH FINE FOR DUMPING E-WASTE AROUND

RAMGANGA

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) announced anyone found dumping electronic waste(e

-waste) on the banks of river Ramganga in Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh have to pay Rs

one lakh as environment compensation.

This decision was taken by the bench headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar.

River Ramganga is a tributary of the Ganga.

According to reports, India is the fifth-largest producer of e-waste, discarding roughly 18.5

lakh metric tonnes of electronic waste annually.

INDIA‟S FIRST BIO REFINERY PLANT INAUGURATED IN PUNE

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highway Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the country‘s

first bio-refinery plant which produces ethanol from the variety of biomass. The project is

situated at Rahu in Pune district.


9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 16

INDIA‟S FIRST UNDERWATER RAIL TUNNEL COMPLETED

The country‘s first tunnel under the Hooghly river for establishing metro link between

Howrah and Kolkata has completed.

Rachna, a giant tunnel-boring machine (TBM), was deployed to dig the underwater tunnel

that runs a length of 502 metres under the river.

The project connects Howrah to the west and Salt lake to the east.

The East-West Metro will have 12 stations, six will be underground stations.

EDELWEISS TOKIO LAUNCHES INDIA'S FIRST LIFE INSURANCE PRODUCT

Edelweiss Tokio launched India's first and the simplest life insurance product that can be

bought at a point of sale (PoS).

Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance recently launched PoS Saral Nivesh the first product to be

approved by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India's

(IRDA)guidelines on point of sale life products.

PoS Saral Nivesh is a non-linked, non-participating endowment life insurance plan which

offers both protection and saving.

PM NARENDRA MODI INAUGURATE INDIA'S LONGEST RIVER BRIDGE

PM Narendra Modi will inaugurate India 's longest river bridge, 9.15 - km -

long Dhola - Sadiya bridge near the China Border.

The bridge is built over the Brahmaputra river.

The design is such that the bridge can withstand the movement of military tanks.

It is 3.55 km longer than the Bandra-Worli sea link in Mumbai, making it the longest bridge

in India.

WORLD‟S HIGHEST RAILWAY BRIDGE TO COME UP OVER CHENAB RIVER

World‘s highest railway bridge which will be 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower is to

come up over the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir at a cost of around Rs. 1,100 crore

in around two years.

The new railway bridge will be of an arch-shaped structure in hostile terrain. It will be

constructed using over 24,000 tonnes of steel and will rise 359 meter above the river bed.

After completion of the bridge it will surpass the record of the Beipan river Shuibai railway

bridge (275 m) in China.


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INDIA‟S SECOND TALLEST FLAG POLE INAUGURATED IN KOLHAPUR

India‘s second tallest flag pole has been Inaugurated in Kolhapur. The pole which is 303

feet high has been constructed in the Police training academy garden as a part of the

Kolhapur beautification project.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the pole by unfurling a national flag of

5400sq ft as a part of the ‗Maharashtra Din‘ celebrations in the state.

The country‘s tallest flag pole is located at the Indo-Pak Attari Border and is 360 feet high.

INDIA - WORLD'S BIGGEST TWO-WHEELER MARKET

India overtook china to emerge as the world's biggest market for two-wheelers.

A total of 17.7 million two-wheelers were sold last year, that's over 48,000 units every day.

China achieved 16.8 million units sold two - wheelers.

Indonesia is holding a steady third two - wheeler market with annual sales estimated at 6

million units.

ARUN JAITLEY TO LAUNCH AERONAUTICAL TEST RANGE IN KARNATAKA

Union Defence Minister Arun Jaitley inaugurated a first-of-its-kind Aeronautical Test

Range (ATR), which will be used to test the country's first unmanned aircraft, in the

Chitradurga district of Karnataka.

It has been planned by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) and in

collaboration with other Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) labs.

The current length of the runway at the ATR is 2.2 km.

It can be used for testing of bigger aircraft like AEW&CS (Airborne Early Warning

&Control Systems) aircraft.

SWACHH SURVEKSHAN - 2017

Swachh Survekshan 2017 was carried out in 434 cities across the country and the following

are th highlights of the survey.

Criteria and weightages for different components of sanitation

A: Solid Waste Management including Door-to-Door collection, Processing and

Disposal, ODF status etc

B: Citizen feedback

C: Independent observation

Top 3 cities

1. Indore, 2. Bhopal, 3. Visakhapatnam,


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The last 3 cities

434. Gonda (UP), 433. Bhusawal (Maharashtra), 432. Bagaha (Bihar),

IRCTC SURVEY ON CLEANLINESS OF STATIONS

The Minister of Railways, Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu released Third Party Audit

Report on Station Cleanliness and Inaugurated Swachh Rail Portal.

First survey conducted by IRCTC in 2016 by conducting interviews of passengers at the

stations

The second survey has been conducted by Quality Council of India (QCI)

The following are the first 3 rankings in each category as per the survey:

Rank A1 Category Station (Out of 75) A Category Station

(Out of 332)

Railway Zone

1. Vishakhapatnam, East Coast

Railway

Beas, Northern

Railway

South East Central

Railway

2. Secunderabad, South Central

Railway

Khammam, South-

Central Railway

East Coast Railway

3. Jammu Tawi, Northern Railway Ahmednagar,

Central Railway

Central Railway

DARWAZA BAND – FREE NATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR OPEN DEFECATION

Union Ministry for Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government of India, launched a

new campaign titled „Darwaza Band‟ to promote toilet use and freedom from open

defecation across the country‘s villages.

Key facts:

This campaign is led by Shri Amitabh Bachchan.

An exhibition displaying various toilet technologies was also put up.

The „Darwaza Band‟ campaign has been supported by the World Bank and is being

rolled out countrywide immediately after the launch.

A part of the campaign also features actor, Ms Anushka Sharma, who will be seen

encouraging women to stand up for this issue in their villages and assume a leadership

role.


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ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY BANS CATTLE SLAUGHTER ACROSS INDIA

The Environment Ministry banned cattle slaughter and introduced restrictions on the sale

of cattle to prevent their killing.

A gazette notification, titled Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock

Markets) Rules, 2017 by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change states

that no one can bring cattle to an animal.

Animal markets cannot be set up within 50 km of an international border and 25 km from

a state border.

All animal markets have to run with the approval of district animal market committee to

be headed by a magistrate.

GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES THE NEW TEST AND TREAT POLICY FOR HIV

PATIENTS

The Central Govt has recently launched the new policy for HIV suffering individuals.

HIV destroys the CD4 T cells in the body and weakens the Body‘s immune system.

As per the new policy, ―As soon as a person is tested and found to be positive, he will be

provided with ART (antiretroviral therapy) irrespective of his CD count or clinical stage‖

Men, women, adolescents and children with HIV+ cases will come under this category.

SHIVPAL YADAV FORMS NEW PARTY

Due to Samajwadi Party (SP) has split, Shivpal Yadav announced the launch of a new party.

The party name is ―Samajwadi Secular Morcha‖, which will be headed by Mulayam Singh

Yadav.

Mulayam is the one who founded the SP in 1992.

Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore;

India will organise Tagore cultural Festival in Egypt to mark the 156th birth

anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore from May 8-12.

Tagore Festival will be organised by the Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture

(MACIC), which is the cultural wing of the Indian Embassy in Cairo.

As a part of the festival, a dance drama based on Tagore‘s work called Chitrangada will be

performed by the Kolkata-based Dancers Guild.

Chitrangada is the warrior princess in the epic, Mahabharata.


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WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) DETECTED FIRST THREE ZIKA

VIRUS CASES

According to the WHO Report, the first three Zika affected patients has identified in India

all from Ahmedabad in Gujarat. Aedes Aegypti infected mosquito spread this Zika virus.

There is no vaccine or treatment for this Zika infection.

Short News

The union minister of state for social justice and empowerment, Krishnan pal Gurjarhas

inaugurated the first digitalised panchayat ward website.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates Patanjali Research Institute in Haridwar,

Uttarkhand.The institute is established with an aim to globally establish the vedic

knowlege of ayurveda of Ancient Indian Saints.

Bengaluru has been named the world‘s most affordable tech city in the new Savills Tech

Cities Index. Bengaluru ranks 20th among tech cities in the world while Austin topped the

list, followed by San Francisco and New York.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) signed the agreements

with Facebook and MobiKwik in order to popularise the internet and its value added

services among its customers.

Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/C) for Culture and Tourism inaugurated an

exhibition “Return of the Three Stone Sculptures from Australia to India” (Seated

Buddha, Worshippers of Buddha, Goddess Pratyangira) in National Museum New Delhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid the foundation stone for All India Institute of

Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Changsari in the Kamrup District of Assam.

PM Narendra Modi and Japan's PM Shinzo Abe will together lay the foundation stone for

the bullet train project in the month of September.Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train will

have the speed of 320 km per hour.


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STATE AFFAIRS

AFTER 84 YEARS, COBRA LILY BLOOMS AGAIN

The incredibly rare Arisaema translucens, more commonly remembered as the cobra lily,

was recently rediscovered in the western Nilgiris after 84 years.

It was last collected in 1932.

COUNTRY'S 1ST ORNAMENTAL FISH PARK IN CHENNAI BY AUGUST

India's first Aquatic Rainbow Technology Park (ARTP) will be set up in Chennai within

three months.

The park, an ultra-modern exclusive facility for ornamental fish equipped with multi-

species hatchery and live feed culture units, will fulfil a major requirement of the industry

for mass production of high value aquarium fish. Fisheries College and Research Institute,

Ponneri, will develop the facility.

Tamil Nadu is the second largest exporter of ornamental fish after West Bengal. After

completion, it will be handed over to ornamental fish breeders and farmers on lease for

three years.

IARI AT ASSAM

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the setting up of Indian

Agricultural Research Institute (lARI) in Assam.

lARI-Assam would be a Post-Graduate Institution of higher learning in Agricultural

Education.

It will have the hallmark identity of an IARI including all sectors of agriculture like field

crops, horticultural crops, agro-forestry, animal husbandry, fisheries, poultry, piggery,

silk rearing, honey production, etc.

NARMADA SEVA MISSION

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched river conservation project Narmada Seva

Mission in Madhya Pradesh.

Note :

Barely a few hundred cobra lily plants are left in the wild and they can be found only in a

small area measuring less than 10 square kilometres in the Nilgiris.

This is probably the only member of the Arisaema family to have a translucent spathe

(permitting light to pass through but diffusing it so that objects on the opposite side are

not clearly visible).


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The prime minister will release a roadmap for the conservation of the Narmada, the lifeline

of Madhya Pradesh, at Amarkantak.

The program gives the conclusion of 'Namami Devi Narmade Sewa yatra' launched on

December 11, 2016.

MADHYA PRADESH BANS SAND EXCAVATION IN NARMADA RIVER

The State Government of Madhya Pradesh put an indefinite ban on the sand excavation in

the Narmada River.

This announcement has been made by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Bhopal.

BENGAL GOVERNMENT MAKES BENGALI MANDATORY IN SCHOOLS

West Bengal State government has made Bengali mandatory in all schools, including

private English medium schools.

Apart from Bengali, English and Hindi, students can opt for other languages such as Urdu,

Gurmukhi, Nepali and Ol-Chiki as the medium of instruction in schools of the State.

The decision was taken in schools comes at the backdrop of Kerala government‘s recent

promulgation of an ordinance in April making Teaching of Malayalam compulsory in all

schools of Kerala.

DAILONG VILLAGE IN MANIPUR DECLARED AS BIODIVERSITY HERITAGE

SITE

The Manipur government has declared Dailong village of Tamenglong district as a

Biodiversity Heritage Site of the state.

It has been declared as Biodiversity Heritage Site under Section 37(1) of Biological

Diversity Act, 2002.

KARNATAKA GETS ITS OWN BUTTERFLY

The Southern Bird Wing has been chosen as the „State butterfly‟ of Karnataka.

It is the largest butterfly in India and is endemic to south India, particularly Karnataka.

Karnataka is second state in the country to adopt a state butterfly.

Maharashtra had chosen the Blue Moron in 2015.

It should be noted here that state butterfly tag does not come with additional protection.

KARNATAKA CHILD MARRIAGE (AMENDMENT) BILL 2016

President Pranab Mukherjee has given his assent to the long-pending Prohibition of

Child Marriage (Karnataka amendment) Bill, 2016, giving greater powers to the police

and increasing the penalty for child marriage.


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7.4 KM LONG STRETCH OF CHENNAI METRO TRAIN SERVICE

Venkaiah Naidu, Union Urban Development Minister, and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister

Edappadi K Paklaniswamy have inaugurated the 7.4 km long stretch of Chennai Metro

Train service in Chennai.

Under the first phase, the total of 54 km stretch will be available. The department is

working to complete the 1st phase pending work by the end of the year 2017.

MUMBAI IS THE WORLD‟S BUSIEST SINGLE-RUNWAY AIRPORT

The GVK group-run Mumbai airport has become the world's busiest amongst the single-

runway facilities by handling 837 flights a day or one in 65 seconds on an average in fiscal

2017, taking over London's Gatwick airport that had 757 flights a day.

Notably, no other large city in the world is served by one airport, that too with a single-

runway

DARBAR MOVE IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR

Leaders in Jammu and Kashmir have circulate the idea of legal cancellation of the 146-

year-old Dogra-era practice of „Darbar Move‟.

Note

Darbar Move is the State‘s civil secretariat shuttles between summer capital Srinagar and

winter capital Jammu bi-annually.

It was introduced by Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1872.

Terming this as a costly affair, leaders have asked for bifurcation of the offices.

Every year, over 7,000 employees of the civil secretariat shuttle between Srinagar and

Jammu along with the files, which are ferried in buses and tracks.

It costs the State over ₨.40 crore.

Note :

The Bill was amended last year by the State Assembly and sent to the Centre.

Karnataka is among the States that record a high number of child marriages in the

country (about 23% of the total, according to a recent survey).

A large number of child marriage cases are reported from north Karnataka, including

Dharwad, Belagavi, Bagalkot, Koppal, Raichur and Vijayapura districts.


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HARYANA GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES EVERY HOUSE TO GET SMART ID

The teams of Saksham and e-Numerator would visit houses to feed their GPS location in

tablets and create smart house IDs online and link each house with biometric in Haryana.

The unemployed youth would be provided employment through this survey under

Saksham Yojana.

MADHYA PRADESH FIRST STATE TO SHIFT FINANCIAL YEAR TO JAN-DEC

FORMAT

Madhya Pradesh has become the first state in the country to shift its financial year from

the present April-March cycle to January-December.

The shift is the outcome of NITI Aayog governing council meeting chaired by

Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Such a shift will help in better economic and political management of India.

BANGANAPALLE MANGO GOT GI TAG

The Banganapalle Mango has received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag, making

Andhra Pradesh the proprietor of the variety known for its sweetness.

Note :

Banganapalle mangoes have been grown for over 100 years in Andhra Pradesh.

It is also known as Beneshan, Baneshan, Benishan, Chappatai and Safeda.

Besides, they are also called Banaganapalli, Banginapalli, Banaganapalle.

The primary centre of origin of the fruit is Kurnool district comprising Banaganapalle,

Paanyam and Nandyal madals.

UTTAR PRADESH GOVERNMENT PASSES GST BILL

The Uttar Pradesh legislature passed the UP Goods and Service Tax (GST) Bill 2017.

ABOUT GI TAG: A GI tag indicates that the product comes from a specific region.

GI is covered under the Intellectual Property Rights and the Trade Related Aspects of

Intellectual Property Rights.

A GI tag certifies the origin of a product or produce from a particular region as the quality

or other features of the product are suitable only to the place of its origin.


9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 25

Four key GST legislations - the Central GST Act, the Integrated GST Act, the GST

(Compensation to States) Act and the Union Territory GST Act - were passed by

Parliament in its last session. The four legislations have since got the president's approval.

The GST bill is the result of the Narendra Modi Government's push towards wider

economic reforms.

UP CM FORMS „MAA‟ COMMITTEE TO KEEP AN EYE ON MID-DAY MEALS

SERVED TO STUDENTS

‗Maa‘ Committees will now keep an eye on mid-day meals served to students in the

primary schools of Uttar Pradesh to ensure that they get nutritious food prepared in

hygienic conditions.

It will be a committee of six mothers, from all sections of society, whose students are

studying in that school.

From cleanliness in kitchen, to quality of food being served to children, they will keep an

eye on minute details.

FIRST AUTOMATIC WEATHER STATION IN NAGPUR

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has inaugurated the state‘s first automatic

weather station at Dongargaon in Nagpur.

This is one of the unique project in the country, which will measure wind direction, wind

speed, air temperature, relative humidity and record amount of rainfall.

This information will be shared with farmers who can then manage sowing in a much

better and planned way as per the weather conditions

NAGPUR TO GET INDIA'S FIRST ELECTRIC RADIO CABS ON MAY 26, 2017

Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari will launch electric radio cabs on May 26, 2017 for

the first time in India.

The pilot project will start with 200 e-taxis starting from Gadkari‘s constituency, Nagpur.

While Mahindra & Mahindra has supplied the electric vehicles to the Nagpur government,

the infrastructure for charging these vehicles will be provided by the local governing body.

'NO SCHOOL BAG' ON SATURDAYS IN UTTAR PRADESH SCHOOLS

Students of Class 1-12 studying in schools recognised by Uttar Pradesh government will not

have to bring their school bags on Saturdays.


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In an effort to promote extra-curricular activities among students, the Yogi Aditryanath

government has decided to make Saturday a 'Funday' by involving children in creative

activities.

KOCHI METRO RAIL OFFER JOB TO MEMBERS FROM TRANSGENDER

COMMUNITY

Kochi Metro decided to employ 23 members of the transgender community.

This is the first time a government-owned company has formally appointed members of

the transgender community.

TEJAS EXPRESS

Tejas Express country's first ultra-modern train will begin its first journey flagged off by

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu from Mumbai to Goa.

Indian Railways has introduced Braille assistance system in Tejas Express. It will have bio-

toilets.

Railways plan to introduce similar trains on Delhi-Chandigarh and Delhi-Lucknow routes

soon.

FREE WI-FI FACILITY INAUGURATED AT 28 RAILWAY STATIONS IN INDIA

Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu inaugurated free Wi-Fi Internet facility at 28 Railway

Stations of Konkan Railway from Kudal Railway Station in Maharashtra.

Indian Railways has tied by with SYSCON/JOISTER for providing 2 Mbps peer-to-peer 24

hrs Free Wi-Fi bandwidth.

GOA GOVERNMENT TO SIGN MOU UNDER PMBJP FOR SUBSIDISED

MEDICINES

Under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP), goa government will

sign the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Central govt.

It is expected that the MoU will be signed in June 2017. In the presence of Chief Minister of

Goa, Manohar Parrikar, this agreement will take place

Short news

Odisha will introduce boat ambulance service in four districts where people face

difficulties in getting health service.The government will also shortly add 92 Basic Life

Support (BLS) ambulances to its fleet of 420 ambulances.


9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 27

The Goa State government decided to ban buying and selling of plastic bags below 50

microns.The ban will come to effect from July onwards.

Assam got its first Shatabdi Express, the new Shatabdi Express train will run between

Dibrugarh and Guwahati.

The Haryana Government will set up police public schools in all subdivisions to provide

best education facillities to the children of police personnel in the state by the end of April

2018.

The Sarbananda Sonowalgovernment has changed the names of all the major roads of the

most important city of Assam.

A ward in the Kerala's Aymanam district became India's first digitised panchayat ward.

The minister launched the website HYPERLINK "http://www.digitalaymanam.com" at

the function.

The State which has become the first in the coutnry to shift to January to December format

for financial year - Madhya Pradesh.

UP Diwas would be celebrated for the first time with the Yogi Adityanath government

deciding to observe the day with fervour across the state on January 24, 2018


9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 28

INTERNATIONAL WORLD‟S FIRST ROBOT POLICE OFFICER

Dubai has appointed world‟s first robot police officer at the 4th Gulf Information

Security Expo and Conference.

This robot is known as robocop. It is around 5-foot tall and weighs a 100kg.

It can not only identify hand gestures from a distance of up to 1.5 m, but can also detect

people‘s emotions and facial expressions.

The robot will patrol shopping malls and other tourist attractions.

FIRST WOMEN‟S TV CHANNEL LAUNCHED IN AFGHANISTAN

The first ever women television channel “Zan TV (or Women‟s TV)” started in Kabul,

Afghanistan.

The main purpose to launch the women TV channel is to highlight the rights of Afghan

women and to improve their status and ensure their equity with men in the conservative

society.

WORLD'S LARGEST TELESCOPE CONSTRUCTION BEGINS IN CHILE

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet inaugurated the construction of the world's largest

optical and infrared telescope, to be located at the Paranal Observatory in the Antofagasta

region.

The telescope will be constructed at a 3,000 meter-high mountain in the middle of the

Atacama desert.

The telescope is scheduled to commence its operations in 2024.

BLESSU-2 ROBOT OF GERMANY

It is a robot priest that beams lights from its hands and grants automated „blessings‟ to

people recently launched in Germany.

Once you select whether you want the blessings in a male or female voice, the robot raises

its arms, flashes lights from its hands, recites a biblical verse and says: “God bless and

protect you”.

The devotee also has a choice of printing out the blessing.


9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 29

UN RELEASES THE FIRST DRAFT OF NUCLEAR BAN TREATY

The United Nations released a first draft nuclear ban treaty banning the possession and

use of nuclear weapons.

The draft was released in Geneva.

The treaty confirms that use of nuclear weapons is a violation of the International

Humanitarian Law.

USA AND SIX GULF COUNTRIES SIGN MOU TO CONTROL TERROR

ORGANISATIONS

Six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the United States of America have

signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Riyadh to curb financing of terror

organizations like Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Haqqani network, the Taliban.

The MoU was signed between US and Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and

the United Arab Emirates.

UN SECURITY COUNCIL TO HOLD EMERGENCY MEETING AFTER NORTH

KOREA MISSILE TEST

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will hold an emergency meeting on North

Korea's latest missile test.

The long-range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12 (Mars-12) is launched by North Korea

on May 15, 2017.

The US, Japan and South Korea requested the emergency discussions after Pyongyang

launched a missile.

Headquarters of UNSC - New york City, United States.

„EAGER LION‟ MAJOR MILITARY EXERCISES

Jordan and the United States conducted annual military exercises known as "Eager Lion"

with about 7,400 troops from more than 20 nations taking part.This is the Seventh Edition.

RUSSIA, TURKEY AND IRAN SIGN DEAL ON SAFE ZONES IN SYRIA

Turkey, Iran and Russia signed an agreement to set up of four "de-confliction zones" in

Syria - the latest attempt to reduce violence in the country.

Note:

A robot priest launched in Germany to mark the 500th anniversary of the start of the

Reformation was a religious revolution which took place in the Church in the 16th century.


9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 30

The major objective of the memorandum is to stop the violence and facilitate conditions for

the safe, voluntary return of refugees as well as to provide rapid and uninterrupted

delivery of relief supplies and medical aid.

The Syrian conflict is six years old. It has been estimated that more than 320,000 people

have been killed in Syria.

INDIA WILL GIVE RS 35 CRORE TO BANGLADESH IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS

India will give Rs 35 crore to children of freedom fighters in Bangladesh in the next five

years under the new 'Muktijodha scholarship' scheme.

All freedom fighters are now eligible for five years multiple entry on Indian visa and 100 of

them will be provided free medical treatment in Indian hospitals every year.

NEPAL‟S FIRST FEMALE CHIEF JUSTICE SUSPENDED

Sushila Karki, who had one of the highest positions ever held by a woman in Nepal, was

suspended automatically after the motion signed by nearly half the members in parliament.

Karki was accused of interfering with executive powers and issuing biased decisions.

PENTAGON SUCCESSFULLY TESTS ICBM DEFENSE SYSTEM FOR FIRST TIME

United States of America for the first time successfully tested its defence system against an

Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM).

A ground-based interceptor was launched at a California air base and shot down a mock

ballistic missile.

It was the first live-fire test against a simulated ICBM for the Ground-Based Missile

Defense.

MADE IN CHINA C919 PASSENGER JET TAKES MAIDEN FLIGHT

The twin - engine 158 - 174 seat passenger jet made by state owned commercial Aircraft

corporation it features several imported elements like German landing Gear and Austrian

interior.

Note:

India initiated the Muktijodha Scholarship Scheme in 2006 for descendants of the 1971

Freedom Fighters. Until now, more than 10,000 scholarships worth Tk 150 million have

been disbursed.

Under the new scheme, students at a higher secondary level will get a one-time grant of

Tk 200,000 (Rs 1,53,700) and those at the undergraduate level will get Tk 50,000 (Rs

38,430).


9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 31

Single-aisle plane can carry up to 168 passengers and is meant to rival Airbus and Boeing

aircraft.

China's first domestically-made regional jet, the twin-engine regional ARJ21, flew its

passengers in June 2016.

WORLD'S LARGEST X- RAY LASER LIGHTS UP IN GERMANY

The world's biggest X-ray laser generated its first light in Hamburg, Germany.

The 3.4 kilometer (2.1 mi) long European X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) produced a

pulsing laser light with a wavelength of 0.8 nanometer.

XFEL is a billion times more brilliant than conventional synchrotron light sources and can

capture images at atomic resolution.

MOUNT LHOTSE RECORDS FIRST SUMMIT IN 3 YEARS

After the destruction caused by an avalanche above the icefall section in 2014 and the

devastating earthquakes in 2015, the climbers could not summit Mt Lhotse in the past 3

years.

Indian climber Debasish Biswas and a woman climber from New Zealand were the first to

successfully climb Mt Lhotse

Mt Lhotse is the fourth highest mountain in the world. The first three highest mountain

ranges are Mt Everest, K2 and Kangchenjunga.

HEADQUARTERS OF IPHRC OF OIC INAUGURATED IN SUADI ARABIA

Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission of Organization of Islamic

Cooperation headquarters has inaugurated at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

This unit aims to promote the human rights and fundamental freedoms in the Muslim

world.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL LAUNCHES NEW GLOBAL CAMPAIGN BRAVE

Amnesty International (AI) launched 'Brave' to fight against a growing wave of attacks

against those defending human rights.

The new Brave campaign calls on states to recognise their dignity and equal rights of all

people and to ensure their freedom and safety under the United Nations declaration

adopted in 1998.

According to the report of Front Line Defenders, Last year 281 people were killed globally

for defending human rights from 156 in 2015.


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Short news

The exhibition of Global Mobile Internet Conference (GMIC) was held in Beijing, capital of

China, April 27, 2017.The Global Mobile Internet Conference is hosted annually in Beijing

and Silicon Valley.

lir Meta was elected as President of the Republic of Albania

Pro-European centrist leader Emmanuel Macron elected as President of France. He

becomes the youngest President and occupant of the Elysee Palace (official residence of the

President of France).

The city which has become the first in the world to get its own font (the font known by the

city's name has been developed by Microsoft and is available in 23 languages for Office 365

users) – Dubai

The medivial saint on whose 1000th birth anniversary a commemorative stamp was

released by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi

The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan is on the official visit to India. He is

accompanied by the senior cabinet ministers and a 150 member business delegation. It is

estimated that the two countries may sing some agreements.

Japan has selected the former Union Minister of law and Justice, Ashwani Kumar for the

Spring Imperial Decorations. He has been selected for this post for his contribution to the

strengthening of bilateral ties and promotion of friendship between two countries.


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SCHEMES

VIDYA-VEERTA ABHIYAN

The Minister for Human Resource and Development, Prakash Javadekar launched

Students for soldiers- a nationwide Vidya – Veerta Abhiyan to encourage Universities and

educational institutions across the country to display portraits of Param Veer Chakra-

decorated soldiers.

The decorated soldiers portraits were handed over to the Vice Chancellors of Jawaharlal

Nehru University, Delhi University. The aim of this Abhiyan is to instill a sense of

patriotism and nationalism among students.

He unveiled Veergatha books on the 21 Param Veer Chakra awardees for educating school

children about the sacrifices made by the Param Veer Chakra awardees

“ONE IP- TWO DISPENSARIES” AND “AADHAAR BASED ONLINE CLAIM

SUBMISSION” LAUNCHED

Minister of State (I/C) for Labour and Employment, Shri BandaruDattatreya launched two

schemes ―One IP- Two Dispensaries‖ and ―Aadhaar based Online Claim Submission‖ on

the occasion of International Labour Day 1 MAY 2017.

Under One IP- Two Dispensaries scheme ESIC has given an option to an Insured Person

(IP) to choose two dispensaries, one for self and another for family through an employer.

Under Aadhaar based Online Claim Submission scheme all EPF Members who have

activated their UAN and seeded their KYC (Aadhaar) with EPFO will be able to apply for

PF final settlement, Pension withdrawal benefit and PF part withdrawal from the their

UAN Interface directly.

“RASHTRIYA SWACHHATA KENDRA” TO BE SET UP BY “SWACHH BHARAT

MISSION”

―Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra‖ will be set up by ―Swachh Bharat Mission‖ Ministry of

Drinking Water and Sanitation at Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti (GSDS), Rajghat under

the vision of Prime Minister during the centenary year of Champaran Satyagraha.

To create awareness on ―Swachhata‖, Ministry of Culture has developed ―e-guide (Audio-

Visual)‖ App for the tourists visiting National Museum.


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CABINET APPROVED SAMPADA SCHEME

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra

Modi has given its approval SAMPADA (Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and

Development of Agro-Processing Clusters) for the period 2016-20 .

The objective of SAMPADA is to supplement agriculture, modernize processing and

decrease agri-waste.

Note:

This scheme will be launched under the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI).

SAMPADA is an umbrella scheme incorporating ongoing schemes of the Ministry like

Mega Food Parks, Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure, Food Safety

and Quality Assurance Infrastructure, etc.

It is also new schemes like Infrastructure for Agro-processing Clusters, Creation of

Backward and Forward Linkages, Creation / Expansion of Food Processing & Preservation

Capacities.

TWO CRORE LPG CONNECTIONS GIVEN UNDER PRADHAN MANTRI

UJJWALA YOJANA

According to the Minister for Petroleum and Natural gas Dharmendra Pradhan stated that

more than 2 crore LPG gas connections are given under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala

Yojana(PMUY) in the last one year.

The scheme implemented across 600 districts in the country and the LPG distribution

process has been integrated through digital platforms.

4600 new distributors were added in the last 3 years primarily in the rural areas.

38 per cent beneficiaries of the scheme belong to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes.

THE GOVERNMENT RENAMED THE MATERNITY BENEFIT SCHEME

The Central Government has renamed the “Matritva Sahyog Yojana” as “Pradhan Mantri

Matritva Vandana Yojana (PMMVY)”. This scheme is used to give Rs 6000 to pregnant

and lactating mothers for the first live birth.

Note:

This is the second time that the scheme’s name has been changed.

When it was launched way back in 2010 it was called “Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana”.


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INDIAN MISSION, VEDANTA ADOPT

UJALA SCHEME IN UK

The Indian High Commission in London and

metals tycoon Anil Agarwal led Vedanta

Group will be among the first to adopt India‘s

UJALA scheme of replacing all their old lamps

with energy-saving LED bulbs in the UK.

Minister of state for power, coal and

renewable energy Piyush Goyal presented

them with their first set of LED bulbs during

the launch of the Energy Efficiency Services

Limited‘s (EESL) expansion plans in the UK,

which have been branded as ‗UK Joins

Affordable LEDs for All‘ (UJALA).

The National LED programme was launched

by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January

2015.

Under this scheme, consumer can buy five

LED bulbs at the rate of Rs 20 each by

showing monthly electricity bills or ID cards.

NARMADA SEVA MISSION;

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched river conservation project Narmada Seva

Mission in Madhya Pradesh.

The prime minister will release a roadmap for the conservation of the Narmada, the lifeline

of Madhya Pradesh, at Amarkantak.

The program gives the conclusion of 'Namami Devi Narmade Sewa yatra' launched on

December 11, 2016.

"ANTYODAYA ANNA YOJANA"

The Haryana government has decided to open canteens offering meals at affordable rates.

Under the "Antyodaya Anna Yojana" scheme the workers at 23 locations in the state can

avail their food.

Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) is a Government of India sponsored scheme to provide

highly subsidized food to millions of the poorest families.

Note:

Unnat Jivan by Affordable

LEDs and Appliances for All

(UJALA) was launched by Prime

Minister of India Narendra

Modi on 1st May 2015,

replacing the “Bachat Lamp

Yojana”.

Within 1 year of its launch,

9 crore LED bulbs were sold

in the country, reducing

their electricity bills by

₹55 billion (US$850 million).

The scheme was announced as

“Domestic Efficient Lighting

Programme (DELP)” on 5

January 2015, urging the

people to use LED bulbs in

place of incandescent bulbs,

tube lights and CFL bulbs as

they are more efficient, long

lasting and economical in

their life cycle duration.

The programme has already

turned India into the world’s

LED capital, accounting for

10-12% of the global market 4

billion bulbs.


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PNEUMONIA VACCINE - MISSION INDRADHANUSH

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda launched new Pneumococcal

Conjugate Vaccine(PCV) for Pneumonia

The vaccine is a part of government‘s Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) the name

of the UIP launched is " Mission Indradhanush".

In India, more than 1 lakh children die of pneumonia every year.

The vaccine will provide protection against 13 types of pneumococcal bacteria which

results in pneumonia.

This is the twelfth disease for which the Health Ministry launched a vaccine.

CHIEF MINISTER OF UP HAS LAUNCHED ENCEPHALITIS VACCINATION

DRIVE

Chief Minister of UP, Mr.Yogi Adityanath has launched an encephalitis vaccination

campaigns in the 38 districts. This campaign aims to eradicate the deadly Japanese

Encephalitis disease that takes hundreds of children lives. The Minister has also provided a

toll-free number to know about the encephalitis.

APP & PORTAL

OPERATION CLEAN MONEY PORTAL

The Union Minister of Finance, Shri Arun Jaitley, officially launched the Portal

of Operation Clean Money in New Delhi.

Note:

Aim:- To tab dishonest citizens hiding their income to the authorities and Government"

The salient features of the Operation Clean Money Portal are Providing comprehensive

information at one place consisting of Step by Step Guides for creating a tax compliant

society and Enabling Transparent Tax Administration by sharing status reports.

There has been 18 lakh people who have been identified by the Central Board of Direct

Taxes (CBDT) after demonetisation with respect to irregularities in tax payment and

income band.

UNION MINISTRY LAUNCHED SWACHH BHARAT APP LAUNCHED IN

NATIONAL MUSEUM

Swachh Bharat App launched in National Museum under Ministry of culture by the

Minister of State for culture & Tourism Dr. Mahesh Sharma.


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The app will enable visitors to report garbage on the premises of the Archaeological

Survey of India (ASI) monuments across the country.

Around 30 galleries in the National Museum equipped with a device that will make use of

the intranet to connect to the app.

UNION MINISTER LAUNCHED AN ANTI-RAGGING MOBILE APP OF THE

UNIVERSITY GRANTS COMMISSION (UGC)

Human Resources Development Minister Prakash Javadekar today launched an Anti-

Ragging Mobile App introduced by the University Grants Commission (UGC) at New

Delhi.

This app will work on Android system and students can log in and register their

complaints instantaneously.

The complaint will be sent to the concerned authorities for timely action and the action will

be initiated immediately.

MOBILE APP FOR PARAMILITARY FORCES TO LODGE GRIEVANCES

Home Minister Rajnath Singh launches important mobile applications namely Ministry of

Home Affairs (MHA) Grievances Redressal Mobile Application and "BSFMyApp" (For

Border Security Force) in New Delhi.

All the Para Military Jawans will also be able to register their complaints and get the

details about their pay, provident funds, and reputation among others.

SEVA MOBILE APP

Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, Shri

Piyush Goyal launched the Saral Eindhan Vitaran Application (SEVA) mobile app,

developed in-house by Coal India Limited (CIL) for power sector consumers.

SEVA is a part of ‗Digital India‘ initiative aimed at increasing the Consumer Connect as

well as the Transparency and Accountability in Coal dispatch.

DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS LAUNCHES PORTAL FOR

INFORMATION ON MOBILE TOWER RADIATION

The Department of Telecommunications has launched a web portal called the ‗Tarang

Sanchar‘ web portal that will allow tracking of radiation emitted from mobile towers

within their locality and check for their compliance with the Electromagnetic field (EMF)

emission norms defined by the government.

The web portal is aimed at myths and misconceptions about mobile towers and their

emissions.


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ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA LAUNCHES NATIONAL CONTACT

CENTRE

The Election Commission of India launched National Contact Centre.

The National Contact Centre is operated on a National Grievance Redressal System

Software.

This software is a single window platform to manage complaints and feedback received

through calls, emails, SMS and website access in an integrated and time-bound manner.

Each state and UnionTerritory will also soon setup and operationalize dedicated State

Contact Centre (SCC) and District Contact Centre (DCC) to ensure seamless flow of

information across the contact centres for handling issues/ query from citizens.

HDFC LIFE LAUNCHES AI-BASED INSURANCE EMAIL BOT 'SPOK'

The Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) announced the launch of an

artificial intelligence-based application 'SPOK'.

SPOK can read, understand, categorize, prioritize and respond to customer emails sent to

the private insurer.

It is an insurance email bot, can read customer queries within milliseconds and respond to

them.


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ECONOMY

INDIA IS NO. 2 STAINLESS STEEL PRODUCER IN THE WORLD

India has emerged as the second largest stainless steel producer in the world after China.

India toppled Japan in the year 2016 according to the figures disclosed by International

Stainless Steel Forum at a conference held in Tokyo, Japan, recently.

BASE YEAR OF WPI, IIP REVISED TO 2011-12

The government has revised the base year of wholesale price index (WPI) and index of

industrial production (IIP) to 2011-12 from 2004-05.

WPI has been changed six times so far since 1942 and this happens to be the 7th revision.

The IIP base year has also been changed to ensure that it remains more relevant in the years

that it is operational.

NITIN GADKARI LAUNCHES NHAI'S MASALA BOND IN UK

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari launched the National

Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Masala Bond at the London Stock Exchange.

The rupee-denominated offshore bonds are popularly known as Masala Bonds.

HOME MINISTRY ASKS NGOS TO OPEN BANK ACCOUNTS IN CORE

BANKING FORMAT

The Home Ministry has instructed around 5,845 Non - Governmental Organisations

(NGOs) to open their accounts in banks having core banking facilities.

Registration of more than 10,000 NGOs have been cancelled and more than 1,300 have been

denied a renewal over the last three years for various violations.

The Home Ministry mandated the NGOs registered under the Foreign Contribution

Regulation Act to have their accounts in either nationalised banks or in a few private banks

that have core banking facilities.

Note :

A base year is the year used for comparison in the measure of a business activity

or economic index.


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LIC HOUSING FINANCE LAUNCHED GRIHA SIDDHI

The LIC Housing Finance has come up with the ‗Griha Siddhi‘ product. Under this scheme,

the women borrow the loans up to Rs. 25 lakh at an interest rate of 8.35 per cent per annum.

I-T DEPARTMENT LAUNCHES NEW FACILITY TO LINK AADHAAR WITH PAN

The Income Tax department launched a new e-facility to link a person‘s Aadhaar with the

Permanent Account Number (PAN).

The department urged people to ensure that the date of birth and gender in PAN and

Aadhaar are exactly the same, to ensure linkage without failure.

Under the Finance Act 2017, it is mandatory for taxpayers to quote Aadhaar or enrolment

ID of the Aadhaar application form for filing income tax returns (ITR)

RESERVE BANK OF INDIA ALLOWS COOPERATIVE BANKS TO ISSUE MOBILE

WALLETS

Reserve Bank of India decided to permit all licensed cooperative banks having their own

ATM network to issue semi-closed prepaid payment instruments (PPI)s like mobile wallets.

A notification has been issued by RBI which enlists strict norms and conditions to be

followed by cooperative banks before permitting them to issue wallets for utility bill

payments and other activities up to a limit of Rs 10,000.

RBI will introduce the new Re 1 currency note

Reserve Bank of India will introduce the one rupee currency note. The government

of India will print this note under the act of Coinage Act, 2011.

The Note color will be pink and green. Oil exploration rig ‗Sagar Samrat‘ will also

be printed on the screen.

BHEL COMMISSIONS 270 MW THERMAL UNIT IN MAHARASHTRA

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited has commissioned 270 MW thermal unit in Nasik District

of Maharashtra state. The Maharashtra State Power Generation Company has taken the

complete responsibility to complete this project.

SBI HAS LAUNCHED THE NATIONAL HACKATHON RECENTLY

State Bank of India has recently launched the national hackathon for start-ups, students

who wish to look into the banking sector.


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SBI has designed the Hackathon name as ‗Code For Bank‘ based on technologies predictive

analytics, fin-tech/blockchain, digital payments.

PAYTM GETS APPPROVAL TO LAUNCH PAYMENT BANK

Digital payment and commerce company Paytm has received the final nod from the

Reserve Bank of India and is set to launch Paytm Payments Bank on May 23, 2017.

Renu Satti, vice-president of business at Paytm, will take over as the chief executive officer

(CEO) of Paytm Payments Bank.

Paytm is the third company from the 11 other applicants to launch payments bank after

Airtel and IndiaPost.

FEDERAL BANK LAUNCHES NEW TRADING PLATFORM „SELFIE‟

Federal Bank, in association with Geojit, has launched a new trading platform

called “Selfie” for customers.

The features of the Selfie Trading Platform are a uniform experience across multiple

platforms and devices and an advanced charting platform that enables users to trade

directly from charts, among others.

It will give its users absolute control over their investments with timely research inputs to

make sound investment decisions.

EPFO WILL INVEST RS 20,000 CRORE IN EQUITIES IN 2017-18

Union Minister, Bandaru Dattatreya states that EPPO invests Rs 20,000 exchange traded

funds for the 2017-2018 financial year.

Employees Provident Fund Organisation has approved a hike in investment limit in return

traded funds from 10% to 15 %. EPFO runs three schemes of social security:

Employees Provident Fund Scheme, 1952,

Pension Scheme, 1995,

Employees Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme, 1976

IOCL HAS BECOME THE INDIA‟S MOST PROFITABLE STATE-OWNED

COMPANY

Finally, Indian Oil Corporation has become the India‘s most profitable state-owned

company. IOC has overtaken the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). IOCL has

posted 70 percent hike in net profit to Rs. 19,106.40 crore 31st March 2017.


9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 42

WORLD CLASS WEAPONS-PRODUCING UNIT INAUGURATED IN

MADHYAPRADESH

Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Rural Development

Minister Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated the world level weapon production unit

―Punj Lyod Defence System‖ in Malanpur Industrial Area of Bhind district.

It is India's first private sector small arms manufacturing plant.

The plant will manufacture four products, namely, X95 carbine and assault rifle, Galil

sniper rifle, Tavor assault rifle and Negev Light Machine Gun (LMG).

It has been set up in joint partnership of Punj Lyod Raksha Systems and Israel Weapon

Industry under the Make in India Programme.

AIIB GRANTS $160 MN FOR ANDHRA PRADESH POWER PROJECT

China-sponsored Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) today approved USD 160

million loan for a ‗24×7 Power for All‘ project in Andhra Pradesh, the first credit from the

bank for an Indian project.

The AIIB, in which India is the second largest shareholder after China, has approved the

project with the objective to strengthen the power transmission and distribution system in

Andhra Pradesh.

The project is co-financed by the World Bank. Andhra Pradesh is one of the first states

selected for the roll out of the programme.

Short News;

YES BANK, India‘s fourth largest private sector bank, announced a partnership with

CASHKARO.COM to launch Card Linked Offers (CLO) cashback proposition.This

card transaction offers as part of its loyalty programme for both offline and online

shoppers.

HDFC Life has entered into a bancassurance tie-up with Catholic Syrian Bank to distribute

its individual life insurance products to the private lender‘s customers.

Karnataka Bank Limited entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Life

Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India for selling life insurance products

Note:

“Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is an multilateral development bank that aims

to support its members in their transition towards a low-carbon energy mix by promoting the

improvement of energy efficiency, such as upgrading the existing transmission and

distribution networks,”.

Head quarter:- Beijing, China

President:-Jin Liqun


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AWARDS & HONOURS IN TRIBUTE TO KALAM, NASA NAMES NEW SPECIES AFTER HIM

Scientists at NASA have named a new organism discovered by them after former president

and scientist APJ Abdul Kalam.

Till date, the new organism—a form of a bacteria—has been found only on the International

Space Station (ISS) and has not been found on earth.

Researchers at the NASA for work on inter-planetary travel, discovered the new bacteria on

the filters of the International Space Station (ISS) and named it Solibacillus kalamii to

honour the late president.

ISRO GOT INDIRA GANDHI PRIZE FOR 2014

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was recently presented with the Indira

Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for the year 2014.

The ISRO was selected for the prize in 2014 by a jury headed by Vice-President Hamid

Ansari.

THE MOST HEAVY WEIGHT MUSEUM IN INDIA – TULA BHAVAN

The museum in Davangere, Karnataka has 3,000 varieties of weighing scales and

measures.

The museum has the collections of Wire Gauges and a Depth measuring tape made in

Germany and folding scales from America and England originates in India.

Note:

The Indira Gandhi Prize or the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize or the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace,

Disarmament and Development is the prestigious award accorded annually by India to

individuals or organizations.

These prizes were given in the recognition of creative efforts towards promoting

international peace, development and a new international economic order.

It consists of a trophy made of banded Haematite Jasper, with a portrait of the late Prime

Minister Indira Gandhi in Jaipur miniature paintings, a cash award of ₹1 crore and a

citation.


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Including from the times of the Nizams of Hyderabad, the Mysore Wadiyars, the Adil

Shahis, and the Keladis.

Among the prize pieces are wooden beam scales from Mysore, and weighing stones used

during the Adil Shah period.

WORLD‟S LARGEST STATUE – ADIYOGI SHIVA STATUE – GUINNESS BOOK OF

WORLD RECORDS

The 112 feet tall statue of „Adiyogi‟ Lord Shiva unveiled by PM Narendra Modi on

February 24, 2017 has been declared the world‘s largest statue by the Guinness Book of

World Records.

PRESIDENT OF INDIA PRESENTED PRESIDENTIAL AWARDS FOR CLASSICAL

TAMIL

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented the „Presidential Awards for

Classical Tamil‟ for the year 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 on May 9, 2017 at Rashtrapati

Bhavan.

The Presidential Awards for Classical Tamil were instituted to give recognition and honour

to distinguished scholars who have made outstanding contribution to Classical Tamil

language and literature.

Note:

The Adiyogi Shiva statue is a 112-foot-tall (34 m) statue of Hindu deity Shiva located at

Coimbatore in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Designed by Guru Jaggi Vasudev founder of the Isha Foundation, it was built by the

foundation and weighs around 500 tonnes (490 long tons; 550 short tons).

Sadhguru said that the statue is for inspiring and promoting yoga, and is named Adiyogi,

which means ―the first yogi‖, because Shiva is known as the originator of yoga.

This is the second time the foundation had found itself in Guinness record books as on

October 17, 2006, the foundation had entered the Guinness Book for planting millions of

saplings.

Note : The museum entered the Limca Book of Records in 2016.


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Presidential Awards in two categories namely: Tholkappiyar Award and Young Scholar

Award.

Awardees: 2013-2014:

Tholkappiyar Award:

Dr. S.N. Kandasamy received the Tholkappiyar Award for the year 2013-2014.

Young Scholar Award:

Dr. Ula Balasubramaniyan, Dr. Kalai. Chezhian, Dr. S. Rajalakshmi, Dr. T.

Mahalakshmi, Dr.S.P. Salavanisree were received the Young Scholar Awards.

2014-2015:

Tholkappiyar Award:

Dr. A. Dakshinamurthy received the Tholkappiyar Award for the year 2014-2015.


Dr. A. Sathish, Dr. Muthuselvan, Dr. P. Thirugnanasambandham, Dr. M.

Vasanthakumari, Dr.G. Sathish were received the Young Scholar Awards.

2015-2016:

Tholkappiyar Award:

Dr. R. Kalaikovan received the Tholkappiyar Award for the year 2015-2016.


Dr. M. Vanitha, Dr. V. Prakash, Dr. S. Premkumar, Dr. G. Balaji, Dr. M. Munees

Murthy were received the young scholar awards.

Note :

The Tolkappiyar award is a Presidential Award for scholars in classical Tamil.

The Tolkappiyar awards were awarded from 2005 to 2006 in India.

This award was instituted by the Central Institute of Classical Tamil functioning under the

Ministry of Human Resource Development.

It is given in the recognition for teaching, research and publication in classical Tamil.

The award was named in honor of the ancient Tamil author, who is known

for Tolkappiyam.

Priyanka Chopra to be honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Award


9600124042/ 9840097666 Page 46

Priyanka Chopra will receive the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Award in a new

category that has been introduced by the jury - the 'International Acclaimed Actress

Award'.

The 'Mary Kom' actress will be the first recipient of this award.

Priyanka's mother Madhu Chopra too will be honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke Award in

the Best Film category for her maiden production, 'Ventilator'.

INDIAN PEACEKEEPERS TO BE HONORED WITH UN MEDAL

Two Indian peacekeepers will be among 117 military, police and civilian personnel to be

honored with a prestigious UN medal awarded posthumously for their courage and

sacrifice in the line of duty.

Rifleman Brijesh Thapa who served with the UN Organisation Stabilization Mission in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO)

Ravi Kumar who was deployed with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)

They will be honoured with the Dag Hammarskjold Medal on the International Day of UN

Peacekeepers to be observed on May 24

INDIAN WINS TOP INTEL SCIENCE AWARD IN US

An Indian boy Prashant Ranganathan won the world‘s largest pre-college science

competition.

The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) in the US in the

environmental engineering category for his project on bio degradation of pesticides.

CHAMLING CONFERRED WITH FIRST BS SHEKHAWAT AWARD BY PRESIDENT

Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling was conferred with the first Bhairon Singh

Shekhawat Lifetime Achievement Honour in Public Service by President Pranab

Mukherjee.

Note:

Chamling, who was first elected to power in 1994, is all set to break the record of Jyoti

Basu as longest serving Chief Minister in India.

Known as the 'Land of Flowers' with a population of around six lakhs, Sikkim is gaining

popularity as first fully organic state in India.


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WHO‟S TOBACCO CONTROL AWARD FOR HEALTH MINISTER J P NADDA

Union Health Minister J P Nadda is set to get the World Health Organization‘s (WHO)

award for outstanding global leadership in tobacco control.

Mr Abdullah Nazim Ibrahim, Minister of Health for Bhutan, Mr Tandin Wangchuk, A

Member of Parliament from Bangladesh, Mr Saber Hossain Chowdhury, The Chief

Executive Officer of Thai Health Promotion Foundation, Dr Supreda Adulyanon are among

the others selected for the award.

FELLOWSHIP AWARD IN UK

Indian Former Cricket player Sachin Tendulkar received the Fellowship Award at the 7th

annual Asian Awards in the United Kingdom.

India‘s playback singer Adnan Sami won the award for Outstanding achievement in Music.

The award for outstanding achievement in Cinema conferred on Om Puri who died earlier

this year at the age of 66.

10TH MOSCOW SAND ART CHAMPIONSHIP

Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik from Odisha has won the jury prize gold medal at the10th

Moscow Sand Art Championship.

Twenty five sculptors from different countries around the world had participated in the

championship on the theme - "World Around Us".

Pattnaik had created a 10 feet high sand sculpture of Lord Ganesh and inscribed "Go Green"

on the statue.

Recently, Pattnaik had created world's tallest sand castle at Puri beach.

AVVAIYAR AWARD

Tamil Nadu government honoured social worker Padma Venkataraman with the state‘s

―Avvaiyar Award‖ for the year 2017.

She was honoured for her efforts in the areas of women‟s welfare and rehabilitation of

leprosy-affected persons for the past 30 years.

WOODROW WILSON AWARD FOR GLOBAL CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP

ICICI Bank chief Chanda Kochhar become the first Indian woman to get the

prestigious Woodrow Wilson Award for Global Corporate Citizenship.


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The former Indian recipients of this award are APJ Abdul Kalam and Infosys director

Narayana Murthy.

This award was instituted in the year 1998 by the prestigious Wilson Center to honour

individuals in both the public sphere and business.

Senator Mitch McConnell was the recipient of 2017 Woodrow Wilson Award for Public

Service.

INSA MEDAL FOR YOUNG SCIENTIST

Sanjay Pratihar, a scientist at Assam‘s Tezpur University, has been selected for the

prestigious Indian National Science Academy (INSA) medal for the Young Scientist Award,

2017.

His contribution towards multi-metal complexes, theoretical understanding, selective

sensing of Hq2+ions and important applications in agriculture made to receive the award

with pride.

DAN DAVID PRIZE FOR INDIAN SCIENTIST

Indian scientist Shrinivas Kulkarni has won the Dan David prize for his contribution in

the field of astronomy.

Mr Kulkarni is a professor of astrophysics and planetary science at California Institute of

Technology in Pasadena, California.

INDIAN ACTRESS SHABANA AZMI STARRER MOVIE THE BLACK PRINCE

AWARDED AT INTERNATIONAL FILM FEST IN HOUSTON

The hollywood film The black prince starring Indian Actress Shabana Azmi and singer

poet Sainder Sartaaj awarded special Jury Remi Award at 50th Annual World Fest

Houston International film Festival.

The black prince is a historic film of the last king of Punjab - Maharajah Duleep Singh and

his relationship with Queen Victoria.

ISKCONS GOVARDHAN ECO VILLAGE WINS SMART VILLAGE AWARD

Govardhan Eco Village, set up by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness

(ISKCON) in adjoining Thane district, won a Smart Village award for being a sustainable

project in rural Maharashtra.

The village of Wada taluka is located 108km north of Mumbai at the foothills of the

Sahyadri mountains.


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The award, "Smart Village," instituted by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO),

which also gives awards in other categories.

RELIANCE JIO GETS 'DIGITAL SERVICE INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD'

Reliance Jio has received TM Forum's 'Digital Service Innovator of the Year Award' 2017.

TM Forum is the industry association driving digital business transformation of the

communications industry.

Reliance Jio got this award by acquiring 90 million customers in four months.

BSF OFFICER SUMMITS MOUNT EVEREST A RECORD 6TH TIME

Uttarakhand Mountaineer Border Security Force (BSF) Love Raj Singh

Dharmshaktu become the first Indian to summit Mount Everest a record six times.

The mountaineer, a Padma Shri awardee who works as an assistant commandant with the

BSF in Dehradun.

THE CANNES FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS 2017

The 70th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 17 to 28 May 2017, in Cannes, France.

Here the main recipients of the awards:

Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix (―You Were Never Really Here‖);

Best Actress: Diane Kruger, (―In the Fade‖);

Palme d‟Or ( the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival): ―The Square‖ (Ruben

Östlund)

Best Director: Taylor Sheridan, ―Wind River‖;

Jury Prize: Michel Franco, ―April‘s Daughter‖;

Best Performance: Jasmine Trinca, ―Fortunata‖.

Short news

Film Director and actor Kasinathuni Viswanath received Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the

country's highest award in cinema.

Dr. Purnima Devi Barman, wildlife biologist and conservationist of Assam, nominated for

the prestigious Whitley Awards also known as the Green Oscars

The President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee conferred the Florence Nightingale

Awards to 35 nurses across the country on the occasion of International Nurses Day at the

Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.

The Pune city police received the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and

Industries (FICCI) Smart Police Award for the year 2017.


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Hero MotoCorp, the India‘s largest two-wheeler manufacturer has won the title of Indian

MNC of the year‘ by AIMA.

Rohan Chakravarty an Indian Wildlife and environment cartoonist won World Wide Fund

for Nature (WWF) International President‘s Award

Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), Gujarat and Indian Tobacco

Company (ITC) Limited won the Porter Prize 2017.

Indian ethical hacker Anand Prakash awarded with 3.25 lakh by Twitter last year for

discovering a bug that let him tweet from any account on the microblogging platform.

Padmalaya Nanda from Odisha is set to represent India at the Little Miss Universe

beauty representation to be held in Georgia, the US from 31st May to 6th June 2017.

Yakshagana artist Surikumeri K. Govinda Bhat has been chosen for the Kendra Sangeet

Natak Akademi Award for 2016.


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SCIENCE & TECH 18-YEAR-OLD TAMILIAN DESIGNED WORLD'S LIGHTEST SATELLITE:KALAMSAT

WILL BE LAUNCHED BY NASA

Rifath Sharook, an 18-year-old from Tamil Nadu built a satellite that fits into a 4-

centimetre cube and weighs 64 grams.

The satellite „KalamSat‟, named after India's nuclear scientist and former President, APJ

Abdul Kalam.

It was made using reinforced carbon fibre polymer and weighs lesser than a smartphone's

weight.

It is the first one to be manufactured via 3D printing and got selected through a

competition named 'Cubes in Space', which was sponsored jointly by NASA and 'I Doodle

Learning'.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) planned to launch the rocket

on June 21.

INDIAN ORIGIN SCIENTISTS ELECTED FELLOWS OF UK ROYAL SOCIETY

Three Indian Scientists Krishna Chatterjee, Subhash Khot, Yadvinder Malhi elected as the

Fellows of The Royal Society, a premier scientific academy of the United Kingdom and the

Commonwealth, for their outstanding contributions to science.

Note:

The Royal Society is a self-governing fellowship society of the world‘s most distinguished

scientists drawn from all areas of science, medicine and engineering.

Krishna Chatterjee from Cambridge University recognised for discoveries of genetic

disorders of thyroid gland formation.

Subhash Khot from New York University is a theoretical computer scientist who is known

for his definition of the ―Unique Games‖ problem.

Yadvinder Malhi from Oxford University is an ecosystem ecologist who is recognised for

his works on understanding the functioning of a terrestrial ecosystem.

INDIA‟S FIRST UTERINE TRANSPLANT PERFORMED

India‟s first uterine transplant performed was recently performed by Pune doctors.

First successful transplant in the world was done in 2012 in Sweden.


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IIT KHARAGPUR RESEARCHERS DEVELOP NEW TECHNOLOGY TO

MANUFACTURE BIOFUEL

Scientists at IIT Kharagpur has come up with a new technology known as ‗soil-to-

soil‟ manufacturing technology for manufacturing cheaper, quicker and pollution-free.

The Project is funded by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Department of

Science and Technology and the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

The scientists used corn, sugarcane plants, the waste part of paddy straw, bamboo, banana

plant, pineapple and cotton plants to produce biofuel.

ISRO AND NASA COLLABORATE TO BUILD NISAR, THE WORLD‟S MOST

EXPENSIVE EARTH MONITORING SATELLITE

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Indian Space Research

Organisation (ISRO) will jointly develop and launch the world's biggest and most

expensive earth imaging satellite costing around $ 1.5 billion.

The satellite has been named as Nasa-Isro Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR).

This is two frequency Radio Detection And Ranging (RADAR) it is an L-band 24

centimeter RADAR and S-band 13 centimeter.

S - band is being built by ISRO and L-Band by NASA.

SOUTH ASIA SATELLITE SET TO BE LAUNCHED

India is all set to launch the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F09) carrying

the GSAT-9 or the "South Asia" satellite.

Initially, it was to be named ―SAARC Satellite‖ but its name was changed to South Asia

Satellite after Pakistan refused to join the project.

According to Indian Prime Minister, the Satellite will be a ―priceless gift‖ to neighboring

countries.

The satellite will lift off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra

Pradesh.

Note :

In India, infertility prevalence is between 3.9%- 16.8% of the population of child bearing

women.

Among the reasons, uterine factor is the cause in 20% of cases.

The uterine factor can be due to causes like congenital absence of uterus, uterine malformations,

genital tuberculosis and surgical removal of uterus for cancers.


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The lift-off mass of GSLV-F09 is about 2,230 kg which includes the satellite and its launch

vehicle.

The mission lifespan is 12 years.

The satellite is meant for providing communication and disaster support and

connectivities among the countries of South Asia region.

INDIA PLANS TO REPLACE MAITRI WITH A NEW PERMANENT RESEARCH

STATION

India has decided to replace the Maitri research station in Antarctica with a new one in the

next three to four years.

The country is also drafting laws to safeguard its interest in Antarctica and is poised to

expand its research activity in the coldest continent.

India does not have laws for Antarctica and is currently governed by international laws.

SCIENTISTS AT IIT DELHI DEVELOPS CHEAPEST RESPIRATORY FILTER

Scientists at Indian Institute of Technology Delhi have developed the device ‗Nasofilters‘

which is capable of restricting up to 95% of dust and air pollutants.

The Nasofilter has an incredible filter technology that gives protection against the finest

particulate pollutants especially the Particular matter(PM) 2.5 concentration.

The researchers involved in the project was recently awarded the “National Startups

Award” by President Pranab Mukherjee.

ISRO, NASA TO JOINTLY INSPECT 'OLDEST CIVILISATION' SITE IN

HARYANA

Teams of the NASA and ISRO planned to inspect the excavation being carried out at an

archaeological site in Haryana's Fatehabad district.

Archaeologists recovered important facts pre-dating the Harappan Civilisation from the

site, located in village Kurnal.

IIEST CREATES INDIA'S FIRST SMART GRID PROJECT

The Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST) has successfully

created the country's first smart grid project, which will generate power from renewable

sources of energy.

The project will be inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee.

Depending on the weather conditions and availability of waste products the smart grid

will be synchronised to generate power from solar, wind and vegetable waste resources.


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NASA DETECTS SIGNS OF WATER IN A DISTANT NEPTUNE SIZED PLANET

National Aeronautics and Space Administration( NASA) scientists detected a strong water

signature in the atmosphere of a distant Neptune-sized planet called HAT-P-26b.

HAT-P-26b has a primitive atmosphere composed entirely of hydrogen and helium.

The HAT-P-26b has located about 437 light years away.

The planet‘s metallicity was found to be about 4.8 times that of the Sun.

CHINA AND EUROPE TO BUILD MOON VILLAGE

The space agencies of Europe and China discussing about collaborative projects on the

moonbase.

Moon Village will be used as an International launching pad for future missions to mars

and also for the development of space tourism.

The Moon Village proposal is along the line of NASA's aim of getting astronauts to tthe

vicinity of Mars by the end of the 2030.

CHINA TESTS A LUNAR PALACE ON EARTH

China has set up a 160-square-meter (1,720-square-foot) laboratory called as ―Yuegong-1‖,

or “Lunar Palace” for simulating a lunar-like environment.

The Lunar Palace is hailed as the world‘s third bio-regenerative life-support base and the

first to be developed in China.

IIT ROORKEE SCIENTISTS CREATE LOW-COST SOLAR CELLS USING JAMUN

Researchers used naturally occurring pigment found in jamun as an inexpensive

photosensitiser for Dye Sensitised Solar Cells (DSSCs) or Gratzel cells.

Gratzel cells are thin film solar cells composed of a porous layer of titanium dioxide (TiO2)

coated photoanode, a layer of dye molecules that absorbs sunlight, an electrolyte for

regenerating the dye, and a cathode.

CHINESE SCIENTISTS BUILD WORLD'S FIRST QUANTUM COMPUTING

MACHINE

China has beaten the world at building the first ever quantum computing machine that is

24,000 times faster than its international counterparts.

Note:

Researchers also said that quantum computing could in some ways dwarf the processing

power of today's supercomputers.

Quantum computers could, in principle, solve certain problems faster than classical

computers.

Despite substantial progress in the past two decades, building quantum machines that


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BSNL LAUNCHES SATELLITE PHONE SERVICE USING INMARSAT

State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) started satellite phone service

through International Maritime Satellite Organisation (INMARSAT) which will be initially

offered to government agencies and later opened for others citizen in phased manner.

BSNL and Inmarsat opened a new Indian GSPS gateway to enable satellite phone services

through Inmarsat‘s fourth-generation constellation.

SAIL THE FIRST INDUSTRY TO USE PLASMA TECHNOLOGY FOR TOXIC

WASTE DISPOSAL

Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) in collabortion with United Nations Development

organisation(UNDO) set up a management facility for the disposal of Hazardous

Waste(Polychlorinated Biphenyl) by using Plasma Technology.

The project would come up in SAIL's flagship Bhilai Steel Plant.

NASA'S FIRST INFLATABLE GREEN HOUSE COULD ENABLE WATER

RECYCLING ON MARS

National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA) scientists designed

a inflatable Green House that could be used one day by astronauts to grow fresh food and

produce oxygen on Mars or Moon.

The main aspect is 'bioregenerative life support system' that duplicates Earth's

environment to be able to grow plants outside our planet.

Currently, the scientists are conducting test on prototype lunar test to determine what

type of plants and seeds should be taken along to make the system work.

Note : At high temperature Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB's) can burn and generate dangerous

by products such as dioxins.


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SPORTS

LOGO AND MASCOT OF ASIAN ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik released the logo and mascot of the 22nd Asian

Athletics Championships scheduled to be held at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar

from July 6 to 9, 2017.

The mascot, named Olly Turtle, describe the Olive Ridley turtles as Odisha‘s Gahirmatha

beach is a prime mass nesting site for the endangered species.

INDIA‟S WOMEN CRICKETERS DEEPTI SHARMA AND POONAM RAUT SETS

NEW WORLD RECORD IN ONE-DAY INTERNATIONALS

The partnership of Deepti Sharma and Poonam Raut scored 320 in 45.3 overs to become

the world‘s first pair, to achieve a 300-run opening-wicket partnership in One-Day

Internationals (ODIs).

The earlier best partnership for the first wicket in men‘s cricket was 286 scored by Sri

Lanka‘s Upul Tharanga and Sanath Jayasuriya against England in 2006.

ICC RAISES WOMEN'S WORLD CUP PRIZE MONEY

International cricket council (ICC) tries to popularise women's cricket and also the

upcoming 2017 World cup in England by increasing the prize money to $2 million.

The ICC announced that Decision Review system (DRS) will be put in place for the first

time in women's cricket during the eight team tournament in June.

LAXMAN HAS WON THE MCC HONORARY LIFE MEMBERSHIP

Former India batsman V.V.S. Laxman will receive the honorary life membership to the

Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).

After the icons Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Zaheer Khan,

Laxman has become the fifth Indian to receive the honor.He has scored 8,781 Test runs at

an average of 45.97.

ARJUN MAINI BECOMES FIRST INDIAN TO WIN A GP3 RACE

Arjun Maini, the first Indian driver to win a GP3 race at the Circuit de Catalunya in

Barcelona.


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The GP3 Series is a single-seater motor racing series launched in 2010

This victory has moved Arjun Maini into third place in the driver‘s championship

SAINA NEHWAL, PV SINDHU AND OTHER TOP SHUTTLERS FINALLY GET

DUES FROM BAI

India‘s badminton players PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal, received prize money and cash

dues for winning international events from Badminton Association of India (BAI).

A total of Rs 1.07 crore the Rs.30 lakh due to Kashyap for winning the Common Wealth

Games (CWG) gold and the 2015 India Grand Prix Gold title issued to the players.

Newly-elected BAI President Himanta Biswa Sarma distributed the money after 2014 CWG

men's champion Parupalli Kashyap raised the issue.

INDIA‟S BHAVANI DEVI WON GOLD IN FENCING CHAMPIONSHIP

Indian fencer C A Bhavani Devi won gold in the Turnoi Satellite Fencing Championship

at Reykjavik (Iceland).

Note:

Bhavani Devi, from Chennai, defeated Great Britain‟s Sarah Jane Hampson 15-13.

With this win, Bhavani Devi has also become the first Indian to win a gold medal in an

international fencing event.

She had previously won a silver medal.

JOSHNA CHINAPPA WINS HISTORIC ASIAN SQUASH TITLE

Joshna Chinappa scripted history by becoming the first Indian to clinch the Asian Squash

title with a thrilling win over compatriot Dipika Pallikal Karthik in the women‘s final in

Chennai.

In the men‘s final, however, Saurav Ghosal went down fighting against No.1 seed Max Lee

to finish second.

SHIV KAPUR ENDS 12-YEAR WAIT FOR ASIAN TOUR TITLE IN TAIWAN

Indian golfer Shiv Kapur lifted his first Asian Tour title in 12 years, winning the USD

300,000 Yeangder Heritage Championships with a blemish-free eight-under 64 in the final

round.


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INDIA RANKED 100TH IN FIFA RANKINGS

Federation International Football Association (FIFA) world football rankings, the Indian

national football has managed to secure a 100th spot and entered into the top 100 of FIFA

rankings. This is the first time in 21 years .

ASIAN BOXING CHAMPIONSHIP

Indian boxer Shiva Thapa won a silver medal in the 60-kg category at the Asian Boxing

Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

He also became the first boxer from the country to win medals at three consecutive

championships.

He won a gold medal in 2013 and a bronze in the year 2015.

ASIAN WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP 2017

Asian Wrestling Championship 2017 is started in KD Jadhav Indoor Stadium, New

Delhi from 10th May to 14th May.

Iran, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Japan, Korea, China, India, Mongolia – These

countries are participated in this Asian Wrestling Championship,

India finished the Game by ranked 5th position with 1 Gold Medal, 5 Silver and 4 Bronze

medals.

Medals for India:

Gold Medal:

Bajrang Punia won the Gold Medal in the 65 kg Men‘s freestyle Category.

Silver Medals:

Sumit won the Silver Medal in the 125 kg Men‘s freestyle Category.

Sakshi Malik won the Silver Medal in the 60 kg Women‘s freestyle Category.

Vinesh Phogat won the Silver Medal in the 55 kg Women‘s freestyle Category.

Sarita won the Silver Medal in the 58 kg Women‘s freestyle Category.

Divya Kakran won the Silver Medal in the 69 kg Women‘s freestyle Category.

Bronze Medals:

Harpreet Singh won the Bronze Medal in the 80 kg Men‘s Greco-Roman Category.


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Anil Kumar won the Bronze Medal in the 85 kg Men‘s Greco-Roman Category.

Ritu Phogat won the Bronze Medal in the 48 kg Women‘s freestyle Category.

Jyoti won the Bronze Medal in the 75 kg Women‘s freestyle Category.

INDIA WON 7 MEDALS AT 48TH GRAND PRIX OF LIBERATION PLZEN

SHOOTING MEET

India ended the Grand Prix of Liberation Plzen 2017 Shooting championships with seven

medals.

Indian men‘s 25m Standard Pistol team, Neeraj Kumar won the gold medal and Harpreet

Singh won silver medal.

Deepak Sharma won the bronze medal.

Indian shooter Heena Sidhu won a bronze medal in the women‘s 10-metre Air Pistol event.

Rifle shooter Tejaswini Sawant won silver in the 50m Rifle Prone event

Pemba Tamang won bronze in the Men s 25m Centre Fire Pistol.

Anmol Jain won a bronze in Men's 10m Air Pistol event.

EGYPTIAN OMAR BECOMES FIRST AMPUTEE TO SWIM ACROSS RED SEA‟S

GULF OF AQABA

Egyptian swimmer Omar Hegazy became the first amputee to swim across Red Sea‘s 20

kilometers Aqaba Gulf from Egypt to Jordan.

Hegazy, a 26-year-old boy who lost his left leg in a motorcycle accident.

Aqaba Gulf is a large Gulf at the northern tip of the Red Sea.

IPL10: MUMBAI INDIANS LIFT TROPHY BEAT RISING PUNE SUPERGIANT

Mumbai Indians snatch an incredible one-run victory from the jaws of defeat against

Rising Pune Supergiant to lift Indian Premier League season 10 trophy.

This was Mumbai Indians' third IPL trophy in 10 editions and more special for their

skipper Rohit Sharma, who is the only captain to win three titles. Rohit has in fact won

four IPL titles (one for Deccan Chargers in 2009).

Note :

Orange Cap: David Warner (641 Runs)

Purple Cap: Bhuvneshwar Kumar (26 Wickets)

Emerging player of the season: Basil Thampi

Fairplay award: Gujarat Lions

Most Valuable Player of the season: Ben Stokes

Man of the Final: Krunal Pandya


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Short news

Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has won the International Cricketer of the Year

award at the CEAT Cricket Rating International awards 2017.

India captain Virat Kohli, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina, found

places in this year's ESPN World Fame 100 list that made its debut last year.

Indian Shooter Shapath Bharadwaj reached his first ever International Shooting Sport

Federation (ISSF) World Cup stage Final.

Rafael Nadal won fifth Madrid Open title after his Barcelona Open and Monte Carlo

Masters titles.He has won 14 times the Grand Slam titles.

German Alexander Zverev beat Serbia‘s Novak Djokovic in the final of Association of

Tennis Professionals (ATP) Masters 1000 Italian Open Title in Rome.

German Racing driver Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) won the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix at

Monaco.

Valtteri Bottas has claimed his maiden Formula One victory, at the Russian Grand Prix,

Great Britain beat Australia in a hockey final of the 26th edition of the Azlan Shah Cup at

Ipoh, Malaysia.

Former India captain Jhulan Goswami has surpassed Australian Cathryn Fitzpatrick to

become the leading wicket-taker in Women‘s One-Day International (ODI) cricket.

Lewis Hamilton won the Spanish Grand Prix title from pole position in the Formula One

championship.

US-based Indian squash player Ramit Tandon has won his Professional Squash Association

(PSA) title r in the SYS Open.

The Indian Men‘s compound archery team Abhishek Verma, Chinna Raju Srither and

Amanjeet Singh won compound gold at World Cup stage 1 championships held in

Shanghai, China.

India's R Vaishali won the women's title in the Asian Continental Blitz Chess

Championship in Chengdu, China.

Hindustan Computers Limited will host the Asian Junior Tennis Championship 2017

competitions.

South Korea defeated China won badminton‘s Sudirman Cup 2017 for the first time in 14

years.It was held in Gold Coast Australia.

Lionel Messi has won the European Golden Shoe for a record-equalling fourth time,

drawing level with Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo.


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PERSONALITIES MAHMOUD ABBAS PRESIDENT PALESTINIAN IS ON 4-DAY OFFICIAL VISIT TO

INDIA

President Mahmoud Abbas will come to India on an official visit. During this, he will visit

Centre for Development of Advanced Computing in Noida to create cooperation between

Palestine and India Techno Park.

ROGER MOORE PASSED AWAY

British actor Roger Moore passed away at 89.

He was best known for his role as James Bond in films such as “Live and Let Die” and

“The Spy Who Loved Me.

Sir Roger was appointed as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 1991.

He passed away in Switzerland after a brief battle with cancer.

ANSHU JAMSENPA

Arunachal Pradesh's Anshu Jamsenpa became the first Indian woman to scale the Mount

Everest for the fourth time.

Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal were the first climbers to

conquer Mount Everest.

She also plans to scale Mount Everest again in this season to create a new record for

becoming the first woman to do twice.

Short news

The Hinduja Brothers - Srichand and Gopichand retained their top spot in the United

Kingdom's the SundayTimes Rich List 2017.Lakshmi Mittal group is fourth on the list

Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani topped the Forbes list of Global Game

Changers.


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Books and Authors

PM MODI‟S „MANN KI BAAT‟

President Pranab Mukherjee has received the first copy of two books ‗Mann Ki Baat – A

Social Revolution on Radio‘ and ‗Marching with a Billion‘.

This book written by journalist Uday Mahurkar and it is analysing Narendra Modi‘s

Government at Mid-term‘ at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

It contains a comprehensive, qualitative and academic analysis of programme – the

themes, the choice of topics, the salient features.

M.S. SWAMINATHAN: THE QUEST FOR A WORLD WITHOUT HUNGER – BOOK

ON DR. MS SWAMINATHAN

The Prime Minister released a two-part book series on the eminent agricultural scientist Dr.

M.S. Swaminathan.

Note:

Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan (born on 7 August 1925) is an Indian geneticist and

international administrator.

He was well known for his leading role in India‘s Green Revolution a program under

which high-yield varieties of wheat and rice seedlings were planted in the fields of poor

farmers.

Swaminathan is known as ―Indian Father of Green Revolution‖ for his leadership and

success in introducing and further developing high-yielding varieties of wheat in India. He

is the founder and chairman of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation.

SWACHH JUNGLE KI KAHANI – DADI KI ZUBANI – DR. MADHU PANT

Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, Minister for Information & Broadcasting released a set of books

titled „Swachh Jungle ki kahani – Dadi ki Zubani‟ (Forest Story) published by

Publications Division.

The books aimed at creating awareness amongst children would provide a encouragement

to the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

WORLD‟S FIRST PHILOSOPHICAL NOVEL ON GOD

A young Indian IAS officer, Haulianlal Guite, from Manipur state has recently published

a book titled ―Confessions of a dying mind: the blind faith of atheism‖ in New Delhi.


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The book explores the nature of science, religion, evidence and even love in light of

leading developments.

'METAPHYSICS, MORALS AND POLITICS'BOOK

President Pranab Mukherjee has received the first copy of a book, titled 'Metaphysics,

Morals and Politics', from its author Prof Amal Kumar Mukhopadhyay.

PRESIDENT RECEIVES FIRST COPIES OF TWO BOOKS

President of India Pranab Mukherjee has recently received the first copies of two books –

Color Atlas of Oral implants and Conservative Dentistry – Basics.

The color atlas – authored by Dr. Praful Bali and Dr. Lanka Mahesh focuses on advanced

procedures performed by the authors in the field of dental implantology.

The other book titled Conservative dentistry – Basics, authored by Dr. Dildeep Bali and Dr.

Deepika Chandhok focuses on the basic fundamentals of the subject.


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DEFENCE

INDIAN ARMY GETS ITS FIRST ARTILLERY GUN IN 30 YEARS

Indian Army will get its first artillery guns called M777 from British Aerospace Systems

(BAE).

Swedish Bofors guns were inducted in late1980 after which Army has not inducted any

modern artillery guns.

The two M777 howitzers guns will be used for compilation of firing tables.

The 155 mm/39-caliber howitzers have been bought to increase the army‘s capabilities in

high altitude.

Indian Army has a plan to use 3503 guns by 2020.

INDIAN NAVY SHIPS; INS KARWAR AND KAKINADA DECOMMISSIONED

Indian Naval Ships Karwar and Kakinada were decommissioned.

INS GANGA DECOMMISSIONED

Indian Navy frigate INS Ganga is placed in non-operational category from 28th May 2017,

followed by decommissioning, after 32 years of service.

INS Ganga is a Godavari-class guided-missile frigate of the Indian Navy and was built in

Mumbai by Mazagon Dock Limited.

INS Ganga was commissioned on December 30, 1985

Note: INS Karwar (M67), was the first of the “Natya” class minesweepers acquired from the

erstwhile USSR.

She was commissioned on 14 July 1986 at Riga (Russia) under the command of commander R

K Sinha.

The ship operated from Vishakhapatnam till 2013 after which, the ship was based at

Mumbai.

INS Kakinada (M70), was the second of the same class and also commissioned at Riga on 23

December 1986.

Like her sister ship, Kakinada also operated from Vishakhapatnam till 2013 before shifting

base port to Mumbai.


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29TH INDIA- INDONESIA CO-ORDINATED PATROL (CORPAT) COMMENCES

The 29th series of India–Indonesia CORPAT has begun at Port Blair under the aegis of

Andaman and Nicobar Command.

Note:

The Indonesian Navy and the Indian Navy have been participating in coordinated patrol

(CORPAT) twice a year since 2002.

This CORPAT is used to keep this vital part of the Indian Ocean Region safe and

secure for commercial shipping and international trade.

Apart from securing the trade sea route, the coordinated patrol also serves to enhance

mutual understanding and inter-operability between the two navies.

The CORPAT thus reflects the shared concern between the two countries for a peaceful

Indian ocean for the benefit of international community.

INDIA & JAPAN TO STRENGTHEN DEFENCE COOPERATION

India and Japan decided to strengthen their military cooperation and hopes to pursue a

strategic partnership for ensuring regional peace and stability.

The Defence Minister Arun Jaitley visited Tokyo to attend the annual meeting of the Asian

Development Bank.

The Malabar trilateral exercise between Japan, the U.S. and India are supposed to be held

in the Bay of Bengal from July 10.

BILATERAL EXERCISE BETWEEN INDIAN & REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE NAVY –

SIMBEX-17

Bilateral Naval Exercise between Navies of the Republic of Singapore and India is called as

―SIMBEX-17‖ commenced.

SIMBEX is an acronym for “Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercises”.

INDIAN ARMY SUCCESSFULLY TEST-FIRES ADVANCED BLOCK-III VERSION

OF BRAHMOS CRUISE MISSILE

Indian Army, successfully test-fired an advanced version of the Brahmos land-attack

cruise missile in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Note :

Bilateral cooperation between Singapore and India was first formalised when RSN ships

began training with the Indian Navy in 1994.

This year’s edition of SIMBEX-17 being held in the South China Sea would be the 24th in

the series and is aimed to increase interoperability between the RSN and IN as well as

develop common understanding and procedures for maritime security operations.


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The land to land configuration of Brahmos block III version was launched from a Mobile

autonomous Launcher(MAL). This was fourth successive launch of missile.

India also to conduct maiden test of Brahmos supersconic cruise missile's air version soon

The strike range of the missile was enhanced from 290 km to 450 km.

AGNI-II BALLISTIC MISSILE TEST FIRED SUCCESSFULLY

India has successfully carried out a fresh user trial of Agni-II ballistic missile from a

defence test facility in the Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha.

The objective of the test was to re-establish the operational effectiveness of the weapon

system.

Note:

Agni-II missile is a nuclear-capable, surface-to-surface missile which forms a part of India’s

strategic forces arsenal for nuclear deterrence with a range of over 2000 km. It can carry a

payload of 1000kg.

Agni-II weighs 17 tonnes and the range of the missile can be increased to 3000 km by

reducing the payload. It can be fired from both rail and road mobile launchers.

INDIA TEST-FIRES SPYDER MISSILE

The Surface-to-air PYthon and DERby(Spyder) missile system was test fired from the

mobile launching complex-III of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-sea at

Odisha.

The defence system comprises two missiles - Python and Derby - with an active onboard

radar which makes the Spyder system more lethal. Both the missiles are smokeless which

makes it harder to detect them visually and the launch position.

It is an acquired missile system from Israel which is a short-range, quick reaction surface-

to-air missile to neutralise enemy targets up to a distance of 15 km and at heights between

20-and-9,000 metres.

ASSAM DECLARED AS DISTURBED AREA UNDER AFSPA FOR 3 MORE

MONTHS

The Government declared the entire Assam as a ―disturbed‖ area under the Armed Forces

Special Powers Act (AFSPA) for another 3 months.

Note:

BrahMos is a product of joint collaboration between India and Russia and is capable of being

launched from land, sea, sub-sea and air against surface and sea-based targets.

The name Brahmos is a blended words of the Brahmaputra and the Moskva rivers.


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In addition, the government has placed three districts of Arunachal Pradesh, namely Tirap,

Changlang and Longding and other areas falling under 16 police stations bordering

Assam.

In Assam, 75 incidents of violence have been reported in 2016 and 9 in 2017.

The Assam has been placed under AFSPA since November 1990.

CRPF COMMAND SHIFTED FROM KOLKATA TO CHHATTISGARH

Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) shifted back from Kolkata to Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

The recent decision was taken due to the backdrop of 37 jawans killed of the paramilitary

force in Sukma district.

CRPF is the largest central armed police force or paramilitary force in India. It functions

under the aegis of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

DOCTRINE OF “SAMADHAN‟ FOR USE IN SECURITY OPERATIONS

The Home Minister has explained an operational strategy „SAMADHAN‟ to fight Left

Wing Extremism.

The elements of this strategy are:

S for Smart Leadership.

A for Aggressive Strategy.

M for Motivation and Training.

A for Actionable Intelligence.

D for Dashboard-based Key Result Areas and Key Performance Indicators.

H for Harnessing Technology.

A for Action Plan for Each Theatre.

N for No access to Financing.

Significance of this strategy:

This strategy is used for construction works, setting up of telecommunication, power and

railway facilities in the remote areas will be expedited.

Need for the doctrine:

There are 10 LWE – Left Wing Extremism affected states – Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh,

Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and

Madhya Pradesh.

As many as 12,000 citizens had lost their lives in Maoist violence over the last two

decades.

This SAMADHAN is used to tackle the Maoist Problems in these affected areas.


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GENERAL KNOWLEDGE INDIAN LEADERS AND THEIRS ORGANISATIONS/ASSOCIATIONS

Annie Besant 1847-1933

Founded the Theosophical Society in India and

started the Home Rule League.

Established Central Hindu School and College at

Banaras (later Bill]).

Newspapers — New India and Commonweal.

She prepared the Lotus Song, a translation of

'Gita' into English.

Acharya Narendra Dev 1889-1956

He was a lawyer . He gave up his practice and

joined Non Cooperation Movement.

He founded the Socialist Party in 1948.

Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray 1861-1944

He was a pioneer of chemical research in India.

His book ‗History of Hindu Chemistry‘ was

published in 1902.

Research work in Ayurveda with French Chemist

Berthelot.

Achyut S Patwardhan 1905-1971

Founder member of Congress Socialist Party

Ajit Singh

He founded the Bharat Mata Society and

launched a journal, Peshwa.

An active member of Ghadar Party.

AK Fazlul Haq Founder member of All India Muslim League and

its member from 1916 to 1921.

Founded the Krishak Praja Party in 1937 and

worked as Chief Minister of Bengal from 1938-43.

Amritlal Vithalal Thakkar 1869-1951

A founder of Bhil Seva Mandal and member of

Bharatiya Adamjati Sangh (tribal welfare

association).

Anand Mohan Bose 1847-1906

Founder member of the Indian Association of

Calcutta (1876), Indian National Conference

(1883) and Indian National Congress (1885).

Presided over the Madras Session of INC (1898).

Aruna Asaf Ali 1909-1996

India‘s first Ambassador of the USA.

Elected as first Mayor of Delhi, 1958.


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Newspapers (alongwith Edanta Narayana and

AV Baliga) — Link and Patriot.

Bhagat Singh 1907-1931

Member of Hindustan Socialist Republican Army.

He started the Militant Naujawan Bharat Sabha in

Punjab.

He killed British Official Saunders in 1928 and

was involved in Lahore Conspiracy and bombed

the Central Legislative Assembly.

Badruddin Tyabji 1844-1906

He was the first Barrister in Bombay.

Founder member of Bombay Legislative Council

(1882) and INC (1885).

Baliram Keshav Rao Hedgewar 1899-1940

He was a medical graduate and an active member

of the Congress. He also participated in Tilak‘s

Home Rule Movement.

He established the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

on September 27, 1925.

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay 1833-1894

His first novel was Durgesnandini, published in

1864. and he started the journal Bangadarsan.

Barindra Kumar Ghosh 1880-1959

He was a founder member of the Anushilan

Samiti, started in Calcutta in 1902.

He also helped in launching the weekly,

Yugantar.

He associated himself with The Statesman and

Basumati.

Behramji M Malabari 1853-1912 He worked for the cause or women and by his

efforts the Age of Consent Act (1891) was passed.

He condemned child marriage and forced

widowhood in his Notes on Infant Marriage and

Enforced Widowhood (1884).

He founded a social service organization known

as Seva Sadan.

Bhulabhai Desai 1877-1946

He formulated the Desai Liaqat formula in 1944

for negotiations with the League.

He advocated from the prisoners sides during the

INA trials

Chhakravarti Rajagopalachari 1879-1972

He hoisted the CDM in Tamil Nadu and was

arrested for leading a Salt March from


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Trichinapoly to

Vedaranniyam on the Tanjore coast.

He was the first and last Indian Governor General

of India (1948-50).

He became the Minister Home Affairs in the

country‘s first Cabinet.

He founded the Swatantra Party in 1959

CR Das 1870-1925

He founded the All India Swaraj Party in 1923.

He was elected as the first Mayor of the Calcutta

Cooperation in 1924

His works include Malancha in 1895 (poems),

Mala in 1904, Antaryami in 1915, KishoreKishoree

and SagarSangit in 1913.

Newspapers/JournalNarayana (Bengali monthly)

and Forward.

Dadabhai Naoroji 18251917

First to demand ‗Swaraj‖ in the Calcutta Session

of INC, 1906.

First Indian to be selected to the ―House of

Commons‖ on Liberal Party ticket.

He highlighted the draining of wealth from India

by the British and its effect in his book ―Poverty

and unBritish Rule in India ―(1901).

Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar 18911956 He founded the Depressed Classes Institute

(1924) and Samaj Samata Sangh (1927).

He set up a network colleges in the name of

Peoples Education Society.

He started ‗The Republican Party‘ in 1956.

Dr Rajendra Prasad 1884-1963

Founded the National College at Patna.

First President of the Indian Republic.

Newspaper — Desh (Hindi weekly).

Dr Zakir Hussain 1897-1969

He founded the Vidhva Vivahottejak Mandali

(society for the promotion of widow remarriage)

in 1893 which was named as Vidhwa Vivaha

Pratibandh Nivarak Mandali in 1895.

Other institutions include Mahisasuramardini

(home for widows) in 1898, Mahila Vidyalaya,

Nishkam Karma Math Monastery of Disinterested

Work in 1908, Indian Women‘s University in 1916


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and Samata Sangh in 1944.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale 1886-1915 Founded the Servants of Indian Society in 1905, to

train people who would work as national

missionaries

Gopal Hari Deshmukh „Lokahitwadi‟ 1823-

1892

He founded the Punar Vivah Mandal at

Ahmedabad to incourage widow remarriage.

He wrote articles in the Maharashtra weekly,

Praphakar, under the pen name, Lokhitwadi.

He started a weekly ‗Hitechchhu‘ in both Gujarati

and English.

Indulal Yagnik 1892-1972

He founded the Gujarat Vidyapeeth and

established Maha Gujarat Janta Parishad after

independence.

Newspapers/Journals—Navjivan Ane Satya

(monthly), Nutan Gujarat (daily)

Jawaharlal Nehru 1889-1964

First Prime Minister of Republic India (from 1947

to 1964), also known as architect of Modern India.

He authored the Doctrine of Panchseel and

believed in the policy of nonAlignment.

Books — ‗The Discovery or India', 'Glimpses of

world, History‘, 'A Bunch or old Letters', ‗The

Unity of India‘, ‗Independence and After', ‗India

and the world‘ etc.

Jamnalal Bajaj 1889-1942 He founded Gandhi Seva Sangha, Gau Seva

Sangha, Sasta Sahitya Mandal and assisted in the

establishment of Satyagrah Ashram at Wardha.

Jayaprakash Narayana 1902-1979

He formed the All India Socialist Party in 1934.

He founded the Janata Party.

Jyotiba Phule 1827-1890

He founded the Satyasadhak Samaj in 1873 for

educating low caste people and authored the

Sarvajanik Satyadharma Pustak.

Kanahiyalal Manaklal Munshi 1887-1971

Books—‘I Follow the Mahatma', ‗The Creative Art

or Life', ‗Akhand Hindustan, and Pilgrimage to

Freedom‘.

Khan Ahdul Ghaffar Khan 1890-1988

Founded an organization of non violent

revolutionaries known as ‗Red Shirts‖ or ―Khudai


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Khidmatgars‖.

Newspaper — Pakhtoon (In Pushto), later

published as Das Roza.

Lala Hardayal 1884-1939

He was the first President of the Ghadar Party

founded in San Francisco in 1913.

He founded the Indian Independence Committee

in Germany and an Oriental Bureau to translate

the writings in local language.

Books – Wealth of Nations, and Hints for Self

Culture.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad 1890-1958 President of Khilafat Committee. Presided over

the Congress Special Session at Delhi in 1923, to

become the youngest President. Also the longest

serving President of INC.

First Education Minister of Independent India.

Contributed in the foundation of UGC, AICTE

and IIT Kharangpur.

Book – ‗India Wins Freedom‘.

Madam Bhikaji Cama 1861-1936

She founded the Free India Society and the Bande

Mataram.

Madan Mohan Malaviya 1861-1946

He founded the Nationalist Party in 1926.

Motilal Nehru 1861-1931

He founded the Swarajya Party along with CR

Das.

Muhammad Iqbal 1873-1938

He was the first person to give the idea of a

separate Muslim State.

He composed the song, ―Share Jahan Se Achha.‖

Pherozeshah Mehta 1845-1915

He started a newspaper, ‗The Bombay Chronicle‘

and founded the Central Bank of India.

Rabindranath Tagore 1861-1941

His first poem was published in the 'Amrit Bazar

Patrika' and then he wrote 'Banaphul' (story and

‗Bhanusinher Padavali‘ (series of lyrics).

He founded Shantiniketan near Bolpore on

December 22, 1901.

He founded the Vishva Bharati University.

Raikumari Amrit Kaur 1889-1964

She was appointed as the first Health Minister of


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India, after independence.

She founded the Indian Council of Child Welfare

and was the founder member of the All India

women's Conference.

Ram Manohar Lohia 1910-1968

He was the founder member or the Congress

Socialist Party (1934)

He founded the Socialist Party of India after

Independence and worked for the development

of Hindi as the National Language.

Ram Prasad Bismil 1897-1927

His most famous composition is ―Sarforoshi ki

tamanna ab hamare dil mein hai‖.

Ras Behari Bose 1886-1945

He founded the Indian Muslim League and

organized its first session at Bangkok in 1942.

Sachindra Nath Sanyal 18951945

He was the founder member of Hindustan

Republican Association

Subhash Chandra Bose 1897-1945

Founded the Independence for India League with

JL Nehru.

He founded the Forward Block (1939) and Kisan

Sahha.

Autobiography — ‗The Indian Struggle‘.

Sarojini Naidu 1879-1949

She was the first woman to become the Governor

of Uttar Pradesh State.

Her famous poetries include The Golden

Threshold (1905), The Feather of the Dawn; The

Bird of

Time (1912) and The Broken Wing (1917).

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan 1888-1975

He founded the Free India Society in London in

1906.

He started the Kheda or Kaira Satyagrah in 1918

He was the first national leader to be arrested

during the Civil Disobedience Movement.

In post independence period, he was appointed

as the first Deputy Prime Minister


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List Of Books Written By Indian National Leaders;

Mahatma Gandhi

Hind Swaraj (1909)

The Story of My Experiments with Truth

(Autobiography)

The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi

Dadabhai Naoroji

Poverty and Un-British Rule in India

Lala Lajpat Rai

The Story of My Deportation (1908)

Arya Samaj (1915)

The United States of America: A Hindu‘s

Impression (1916)

Young India (1916)

Unhappy India (1928)

England's Debt to India (1917)

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

India Wins Freedom (1957)

Jawaharlal Nehru

The Glimpses of World History (1934)

An Autobiography (1936)

The Discovery of India (1946)

India's Freedom (1962)

Madan Mohan Malavya

The Immanence of God

Subhash Chandra Bose

The Indian Struggle

Bala Gangadhar Tilak

The Arctic Home in the Vedas

Sarojini Naidu

The Golden Threshold (1905)

Mahadeva Govind Ranade

Rise and Falls of Maratha Power

The Pershwa Diaries

Introduction to the Sathara Rajahs

V.D Savarkar

The Indian war of Independence

Hindutva

Syed Ahmad Khan

The Causes of the Indian Revolt

Rajendra Prasad

India Divided

At the Feet of Mahatma Gandhi

B. R Ambedkar

The Buddha and His Dhamma

Mr. Gandhi and the Emancipation of the

Untouchables

The Untouchables

Annihilation of Caste

Thoughts on Pakistan


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SUMMIT

2ND MEETING OF NPDRR IN NEW DELHI

Home Minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the second meeting of National Platform for

Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR) in New Delhi.

The NPDRR is a multi-stakeholders National Platform which promotes participatory

decision making in disaster management and strengthens federal policy of the country.

The theme of the meeting is Disaster Risk Reduction for Sustainable Development:

Making India resilient by 2030.

NITI AAYOG HOLDS THE FIRST SAMAVESH MEETING

The first meeting of the National Steering Group and other knowledge partners was held

in NITI Aayog on 17th May 2017.

The meeting was aimed at bringing together 32 premier educational and policy research

institutions to catalyse the development process, enhance institutional capacity

development and a field level interface with the community for New India 2022.

The meeting witnessed signing of MoUs between NITI Aayog and major think tanks across

the country to create an ecosphere of evidence based policy research.

START UP INDIA SUMMIT TO BE HELD IN DUBAI

Dubai will host a two-day ―Startup India Summit‖ in the United Arab Emirates

with Consulate General of India (CGI) Dubai and Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi in

partnership with Indian Software Product Industry Round Table (iSPIRIT).

Note:

This is the first ―Start-Up Summit‖ being held in the UAE.

The aim is to provide a shared platform for the Start-up ecosystem in both India and UAE

for greater collaboration, exchange ideas, interact with academia, investors and industry.

India is the third largest ecosystem in the world leading in tech innovation.

SMALLEST NATION JOINS SOLAR ALLIANCE

The world‟s smallest republic, the tiny island nation of Nauru has become the sixth

country to ratify the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Framework pact.


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ISA Framework pact was initiated by the Indian and French Governments at the climate

change summit held at Paris in 2015.

Five more nations, from Africa, — Comoros, Cote d‟Ivoire, Somalia, Ghana and

Djibouti — have committed to sign the pact during the ongoing meeting of the African

Development bank in India.

Note about Nauru;

Formerly known as Pleasant Island, Nauru is an island country in Micronesia in the

Central Pacific.

With 10,084 residents in a 21-square-kilometre area, Nauru is the smallest state in the

South Pacific and third smallest state by area in the world, behind only Vatican City and

Monaco.

Note about ISA:

India launched the International Solar Alliance (ISA) at the CoP21 Climate Conference in

Paris.

The alliance brings together developed and developing countries, governments and

industries, laboratories and institutions in a common enterprise.

The main aims of ISA include reducing financial risk across a larger global market,

encouraging cooperation on technology, building capacity, and increasing energy access.

The new body will function from the National Institute of Solar Energy in India, Gurgaon.

The Union Government of India has announced that it will provide land and $30 million to

form a secretariat for the Alliance, and also support it for five years.

43RD G-7 SUMMIT HELD IN ITALY

The 43rd G7 summit was held on May 26–27, 2017 in Taormina, Sicily, Italy.

The 43rd G7 summit was the first summit for British Prime Minister Theresa May, French

President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, and U.S. President

Donald Trump.

It was the first time since 1987 that the G7 summit held in Italy was not hosted by Silvio

Berlusconi.

Note:

The Group of 7 (G7) is a group consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the

United Kingdom and the United States. The European Union is also represented within the

G7.


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In March 2014, the G7 declared that a meaningful discussion was currently not possible

with Russia in the context of the G8. Since then, meetings have continued within the G7

process.

Next G-7 Summit will be held in Canada in 2018.

2017 NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION (NATO) SUMMIT HELD IN

BELGIUM

The 28th edition of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit started in Brussels

Belgium.

The top agenda of the meeting was terrorism.

The main aim is to fight against Islamist terrorism.

The 2018 NATO summit will be held in Istanbul, Turkey.

FINLAND TO HOST 2017 ARCTIC ENERGY SUMMIT

Finland has agreed to host the 2017 Arctic Energy Summit as the first major event of their

Arctic Council Chairmanship, which runs 2017 to 2019.

The Arctic Energy Summit was last held in Fairbanks in 2015.

In Finland, the Summit will build on past work, highlight the Finnish Chairmanship and

100th Anniversary.

NEW DELHI TO HOST 3-DAY INDIAN MOBILE CONGRESS MEET IN

SEPTEMBER

Union Minister for Communications Manoj Sinha announced the Mobile Congress 2017

(IMC 2017) is scheduled as a three-day event from 27th to 29th September 2017 in New

Delhi.

This is the first time India is all set to host its own mobile mega show.

The Indian telecom market is the second-largest in the world after Chin


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IMPORTANT INDEX

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM INDEX 2017

World Press Freedom Index for the year 2017 has been released.

What do you need to know about the World Press Freedom Index?

World Press Freedom Index is published annually by Reporters Without Borders (RWB)

since 2002.

It measures the level of freedom available to journalists in 180 countries using the

following criteria:

Pluralism, Media independence, Media environment, And self censorship,

legislative environment, infrastructure and abuses.

Rankings of Various Countries:

India is ranked 136, three points down from last year.

Finland ranked the No. 1 position due to political pressure and conflicts of interests.

It has some of the most dangerous countries for journalist: Pakistan (139),

Phillippines (127) and Bangladesh (146).

INDIA RANKS 26 IN WORLD BANK POWER LIST

India to be ranked 26th in World Bank‘s electricity accessibility list in the current year from

99th spot in 2014.

Out of the 18,452 villages which lacked electricity, over 13,000 villages has been provided

access to electricity.

The flagship scheme Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) was launched

by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with an aim to provide 24×7 uninterrupted electricity

supply to each rural household across the country by 2022.

INDIA‟S GDP PROJECTED TO GROW 7.4% IN 2017-18: FICCI SURVEY

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) predicted India‘s

gross domestic product (GDP) growth will be around 7.4% for fiscal 2017-18.

The agriculture sector is estimated to reach 3.5 per cent growth and improvement.

The industrial and services sector are expected to grow by 6.9% and 8.4% respectively in

2017-18.


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INDIA RANKS SECOND IN EY RENEWABLES LIST

India is placed in the second spot in the renewable energy country attractiveness index

by EY (formerly Ernst & Young). China was ranked at the top.

The country has added more than 10GigaWatt (GW) of solar capacity in the last three

years – starting from a low base of 2.6 GW in 2014.

This growth is possible only by the ambitious targets of Central Government to build 175

GW in renewable energy generation by 2022 and renewable energy account for 40 per cent

of installed capacity by 2040.

WEF – UN HABITAT DATA

According to World Economic Forum‘s UN Habitat Data of 10 most densely populated

cities, Dhaka, with 44500 people per square meter, is placed at first position.

Mumbai, with 31700 people/sq.meter secured the second place

The 10 most densely populated cities are

1. Dhaka

2. Mumbai

3. Medellin

4. Manila

5. Casablanca

6. Lagos

7. Kota

8. Abuja

9. Singapore

10. Jakarta

Six of the most densely populated cities are in Asia, three in Africa and one in South America.

INDIA RANKED 120TH AMONG 131 NATIONS IN WOMEN WORKFORCE –

WORLD BANK REPORT

According to India Development Report released by World Bank, India had one of the

lowest female participation in the workforce, ranking 120th among 131 countries.

As per the report, the participation level has been dropping since 2005, despite having 42%

women who are graduates.

Note:

Jobs for Indian women remain primarily in the agriculture sector.

The share of women in services and industry is less than 20%.

World Bank’s India Development Report said that even among countries with similar

income levels, India is at the bottom, together with Yemen, Pakistan and Egypt.


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APPOINTMENT

INDIAN APPOINTED TO HIGH-LEVEL UN CLIMATE CHANGE POST

A senior Indian official Ovais Sarmad, 57 has been appointed as the deputy executive

secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),

under which the landmark Paris agreement by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Chandigarh girl Ananya Kamboj has been chosen for the Mission XI Million

8th Standard girl from Chandigarh, Ananya Kamboj has been chosen as the young journalist

at the Global Football for Friendship (F4F) Social Programme in Russia.

YUSRA MARDINI

Yusra Mardini, a Syrian woman who helped save a boat carrying fellow refugees, has been

appointed by the UN agency for refugees as its new Goodwill Ambassador.

Mardini, 19, was also one of the 10 athletes who made up the historic Olympic Refugee Team

and participated at the Rio Olympic Games last year.

Mr. Anthony Lianzuala took over as the New Controller General of Accounts (CGA),

Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance. He is the First person from the North-

Eastern Region to hold this position.

MALLIKARJUN KHARGE APPOINTED AS NEW CHAIRMAN OF PUBLIC

ACCOUNTS

Mallikarjun Kharge is the new chairman of the 21-member (14 from Lok Sabha and 7 from

Rajya Sabha) Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament.

Kharge replaced Congress leader K V Thomas.

Note

The chairman of PAC is appointed by the speaker of Lok Sabha.

The main function of PAC is to examine the audit report of Comptroller and Auditor

General (CAG) after it is laid in Parliament.

UNION GOVERNMENT APPOINTS 7 NEW SECRETARIES

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the appointment of secretaries in

different sectors.


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Sanjay Mitra as the next defence secretary with a fixed tenure of two years. He was the

secretary in the ministry of road transport and highways.

Anant Kumar Singh, appointed as the secretary in the textiles ministry.

Rashmi Verma, appointed as the secretary in the ministry of tourism.She was the secretary

in the textiles ministry.

Rajiv Srivastava, appointed as the next secretary in the ministry of woman and child

development.

Jagdish Prasad Meena appointed as the secretary in the department of consumer affairs.

Leena Nair, appointed as the secretary in the ministry of tribal affairs.

BR Sharma, appointed as the additional secretary in the home ministry

WHO ELECTED ITS NEW DIRECTOR GENERAL

Ethiopia‘s former health minister has been elected to serve as the next director-general of

the World Health Organization.

The first African selected to head the global health agency

AMUL THAPAR IS SECOND INDIAN JUDGE TO US CIRCUIT COURT OF

APPEALS

The United States Senate confirmed Indian-American Judge Amul Thapar to a key judicial

position on the powerful US court of appeals.

He has become the second Indian-American judge of an appeals court.

In 2013, Shri Srinivasan became the first Indian Judge to get appointed to the DC circuit

court of appeals by President Barak Obama.

Short news

Venu Rajamony appointed as India‟s Ambassador to the Netherlands

Air Marshal PN Pradhan appointed as the Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (IDS)

(Operations).

Olympic silver medalist P.V. Sindhu became a member of the BWF Athletes‘ Commission

Shri Sanjay Mitra, Appointed as the new Defence Secretary on May 24th, succeeding Shri G

Mohan Kumar.

Prabhat Kamal Bezboruah appointed as the new chairman.He is the first non IAS and

first industry representative of the Kolkata-headquartered Tea Board, the governing body of

the industry.

coffee grower M S Boje Gowda was appointed as chairman of the Coffee Board.


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US President Donald Trump nominated Indian-American Neil Chatterjee as a Member of

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).FERC is an agency responsible for overseeing

America‘s power grid and deciding on multibillion-dollar energy projects.

Aruna Sundararajan is appointed as the secretary of Department of Telecommunications

(DOT).

Justice Mukul Mudgal, Retired judge of Delhi High Court elected as the Chairman of

"International Federation of Association Football" (FIFA) Governance committee at the world

football governing body‘s 67th Congress meet in Manama, Bahrain.

Vinay Mohan Kwatra appointed as India‘s next ambassador to France. He is currently serving

as joint secretary in the Prime Minister‘s Office (PMO).

Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan, a Hepatitis B conqueror, was appointed the WHO Goodwill

Ambassador for the Hepatitis awareness programme in southeast Asia region.

French President Emmanuel Macron appointed Edouard Philippe as the new Prime Minister

of France.

Hassan Rouhani re-elected as the President of Iran.He was elected as President for his first

term in 2013.

Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal'Prachanda' resigned his post.Nepali Congress

President Sher Bahadur Deuba to become the next Prime Minister of Nepal.

Lenin Moreno elected as President of Ecuador in Ecuador Presidential Elections 2017.

Anurag Tripathy is the new Secretary of Central Board of Secondary Education.

Google's vice-president for South East Asia and India, Rajan Anandan appointed as new

chairman of Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).

Manipur Governor and former minority affairs minister Najma Heptulla appointed as the

chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, a public central university located in Delhi.

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