Current Affairs Magazine

Table of Contents
News on RBI/Finance/Economy/Industry
Non Financial News on India and states
Awards & Honors
Reports/Lists/Indexes
Sports News Global
News Appointments India Appointments World Days from March
to June Books in News
Autobiographies
Sports Personalities in May
Obituaries from March to June 2

News
on
Finance/Banking/Economy/Indust
ry
The government cleared a proposal to set up the India Post payments bank
with a corpus of Rs.800 crore and has plans to have 650 branches operational
by September 2017, telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
The union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved an
investment of Rs 3,770 crore for development of the first phase of the
Chennai Metro Rail project.
The Central Statistical Ofce (CSO) on 31 May 2016 released the provisional
estimates of national GDP for
2015-16. It pegged GDP growth at 7.9 percent in Quarter 4 of 2015-16 and 7.6
percent in the whole of
2015-16. India continued to remain a bright spot in world economy with robust
macro-economic and fiscal parameters.
The Government of India and the World Bank on 31 May 2016 signed a 9.2
million US dollar grant agreement under the World Bank-Global
Environment Facility (GEF) Programme for the Eficient and Sustainable
City Bus Service Project.
India and Morocco on 31 May 2016 launched the India-Morocco Chamber of
Commerce and Industry
(IMCCI) in Rabat,
Morocco.
The Uttar Pradesh (UP) Government on 31 May 2016 approved the Detailed
Project Report (DPR) of Varanasi Metro rail project. The DPR will now be sent
to the Union government for approval. The responsibility of coordination for
preparation of DPR for Metrosin Kanpur, Varanasi, Meerut and Agra was assigned to
Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) by state government.
The Direct Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme 2016 came into effect on 1 June
2016. The scheme was incorporated as Chapter X of the Finance Act, 2016. The
declarations under this Scheme may be made on or before the 31 December 2016
in respect of tax arrears & specified tax.
BMW India Financial Services announced a tie up with ICICI Lombard General
Insurance to offer motor insurance for BMW customers.
State Bank of India, the country's largest public sector bank, has launched a
mobile payment solution that will enable customers to make digital
payments at ofline stores by scanning a QR (quick response) code on
their smartphones. The service has been launched in Bengaluru with a sizable
number of merchants and will soon expand into other cities. Dubbed mVisa, the
solution is a card-less way for customers to pay for goods at offline stores, and will
be available to all SBI credit card, debit card and net banking users. The solution
which is bank agnostic will be accessible to customers through the company's SBI
Anywhere app.

New Development Bank (NDB), headed by K V Kamath, has chosen ICICI Bank,
which he used to head, for its first tie-up with any bank in India to explore
opportunities around bond issuances, co-financing, treasury management and
human resources.

3D design company Autodesk on Thursday signed a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Maharashtra to provide advanced
design technology to - local MSMEs from the manufacturing sector in the
state.
The Union Cabinet gave its ex-post facto approval to the memorandum of
understanding (MoU) between the Reserve Bank and the Central Bank of United
Arab Emirates (UAE) on co-operation on currency swap agreement.
Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy on
4 May 2016 launched
Contract Labour Payment Management System- a portal of
Coal India Limited (CIL).
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on 4 May 2016 gave its approval for
development of two laning with formation of four lane of Shimla Bypass
(Kaithlighat to Shimla section) on National Highway22 in Himachal
Pradesh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1 May 2016 launched the Pradhan Mantri
Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) at Ballia, Uttar Pradesh. It will benefit the poor, especially
the women. The scheme aims to provide cooking gas connections to five crore
below-poverty-line beneficiaries over the next three years.
Salient features of
PMUY

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved 8000 crore

rupees for the next 3 years starting from financial year 2016-17.
PM Ujjwala Yojana will provide 5 crore LPG
connections to BPL Families.
FM had announced about the scheme in his 2016-17.Budget Speech with a
budgetary provision of 2000 crore rupees
Fast-growing Yes Bank and the old private sector Federal Bank have been
the first ones of the block to hit Gujarat International Finance Tech-City
(Gift) and are hoping to make the most of easy regulations, low operational costs
and the opportunity to raise dollar-denominated funds.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on 1 May 2016 launched
Chandranna Bima Yojana in Vijayawada. The Yojna launched on the occasion of
May Day is an insurance scheme for the working class people.
India and New Zealand on 1 May 2016 signed an Air Services Agreement
paving the way for introduction of direct flights between the two
countries.
Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu on 3 May 2016 launched e-enabled
application, Project Management & Information System (PMIS) at Rail Bhawan
in New Delhi. The application will used for proper monitoring of all the Railway
projects throughout the country. Indian Railways have over 600 major projects of
network expansion and modernization costing around 4.5 lakh crore rupees.
Aviva Plc has acquired additional 23 per cent stake in stake in Aviva Life
Insurance, from Dabur Invest Corp for Rs 940 crore. This was one of the Foreign

Direct Investment (FDI) proposals approved by the government on March 7.

Following this acquisition, Aviva Plc's stake in the joint venture has increased
to 49 per cent.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has retained its growth forecast for
India this year at 7.5%, largely driven by private consumption even as weak
exports and sluggish credit growth weigh on the economy.
State-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) announced the commissioning
of a 600-Mw coalbased thermal power plant Jhabua Thermal Power Project in
Madhya Pradesh.
National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) on 5
May 2016 signed a partnership agreement with Facebook to build a product
design initiative in India. The agreement focus on assisting the innovation
ecosystem by helping product based companies to build solutions in key sectors
where technology can play a transformational role.
Indian Railways (IR) on 4 May 2016 announced the creation of Non-Fare
Revenue Directorate to carry out advertisements in rail coaches, along the
track and near stations. The decision to create a directorate was taken to
increase the revenue substantially from non-tariff sources.
Union inter-ministerial Board of Approval (BoA) on 28 April 2016 approved the
proposal of Infosys to set up an IT/ITeS special economic zone (SEZ) in
Bengaluru in an area spread over 4 hectares.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 28 April 2016 released consultation paper on
Peer to Peer (P2P) lending to classify it as Non-Banking Financial Company
(NBFC). The suggestions or comments on the Paper may be sent to Department of
Non-Banking Regulation, RBI on or before 31 May 2016.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 5 May 2016 released Draft Guidelines for on
tap Licensing of Universal Banks in the Private Sector. It also sought views
and comments on the draft guidelines from banks, non- banking financial
institutions, industrial houses, other institutions and the public at large latest by 30
June
201
6.
Eligible
Promoters:
i.
Existing non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) that are controlled by
residents and have a
successful track record for at least 10 years.
ii.
The residents, individuals or professionals who have 10 years of
banking and finance experience.
iii.
Residents owned entities or groups in the private sector which have a
successful track record
for at least 10 years.
Corporate
structure:
i.

ii.

The requirement of Non-Operative Financial Holding Company

(NOFHC) is not mandatory for individual promoters or standalone
promoting or converting entities that do not have other group entities.
Individual promoters or promoting entities or converting entities that
have other group entities, shall set up the bank only through an NOFHC.

Minimum capital requirement: The initial minimum paid-up voting equity

capital for a bank shall be 5 billion rupees. Thereafter, the bank shall have a
minimum net worth of 5 billion rupees at all times.
Foreign shareholding in the bank: The foreign shareholding in the bank would
be as per the existing foreign direct investment (FDI) policy. The aggregate foreign
investment limit is 74 per cent.

The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) under Union Ministry
of Commerce & Industry permitted 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) into
asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) through automatic route.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 9 May 2016 announced that it will shortly
issue 1000 rupees denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi Series
2005 with the inset letter 'R' in both the number panels. The banknotes of
1000 rupees banknotes will have six angular bleed lines in four sets of
1-2-2-1 lines on the obverse in both, the upper left and right hand edge of the
banknotes. These will facilitate identification of these notes by visually impaired
persons. The existing identification mark (diamond shape in 1000 rupees) near the
left edge of the banknote has been enlarged.
India and Mauritius on 10 May 2016 signed a protocol on taxation at Port
Louis, Mauritius. The protocol provides for amending the convention for the
avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to
taxes on income and capital gains.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 10 May 2016 cancelled the certificate of
registration of the four
NonBanking
Financial
Companies (NBFCs).
The NBFCs whose certificate of registration
were cancelled include

M/s
M/s
M/s
M/s

Neelanjali Engineering Private Limited

Novoflex Tradecom Private Limited
Guide Investments and Trading Co. Pvt. Ltd
Enol Ventures Private Limited

At a time when most Indian banks profitability has been marred by high levels of
bad loans and provisions, Kotak Mahindra Bank's earnings reflect the rise of yet
another superior class bank despite the challenging times. The private lender which
recently toppled ICICI Bank to emerge as India's 2nd most valued private
bank reported a 32% rise in its net profit for the quarter ended March 2016.
The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a monetary penalty of 2 lakh on Jalgaon
District Co-operative
Bank
Ltd.
ICICI Bank launched the countrys frst contactless business credit card in
association with Jet Airways for small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their
employees. Christened Jet Airways ICICI Bank Business Advantage Card,
India's largest private sector bank, in a statement said, this co-branded credit card
will help customers to save on their business expenses.
Swiss Re launched a corporate accelerator, 'InsurTech', to help startups develop
business solutions for the insurance sector in India.
India and five other nations, including China and Israel, signed a pact for
automatic exchange of information on tax issues and develop new tools and
standards for tackling tax base erosion and evasion. The signing ceremony took

place Beijing. Other countries which have already signed the pact include Australia,
France, Germany, Japan, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Italy and the UK.
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 12 May 2016 gave
its approval to Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to sign a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Financial Services Regulatory
Authority (FSRA), Abu Dhabi.

PayU India and Paytm have got amongst the frst in-principle approvals for
operating as a Bharat Bill Payments Operating Unit (BBPOU), allowing them
to offer interoperable bill payment service to consumers. Consumers will be able to
pay all their bills anytime and anywhere under the Bharat Bill Payment System
(BBPS), and the companies will provide platforms to offer these services.
Singaporean lender DBS Bank is creating its biggest
outside of headquarters, in
Hyderabad where the company plans to have over
1,500 headcount.

technology

hub

The board of World Bank has approved a $625 million loan to support the
central governments programme to generate electricity from rooftop
solar power plants. The board also approved a co- financing loan of $120 million
on concessional terms and a $5 million grant from the Climate Investment Funds
Clean Technology Fund.
The Union Government in the second week of May 2016 decided to replace 5year plans with 15-year vision documents. The long-term perspective plans will
be prepared by the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog beginning
from 2017-18 financial year.
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) on May 14, 2016 commissioned a 660 MW
supercritical thermal unit at Mouda Super Thermal Power Station (STPS) at
Mouda in Nagpur district of Maharashtra.
Income Declaration Scheme of the Union Finance Ministry will start from 1 June
2016 and will remain in force till 30 September 2016. The scheme is also called
four month window for declaring black money.
Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari on 16 May
2016 launched three initiatives for best practices in road transport sector. These
three innovative IT initiatives are: INFRACON, ePACE and up-Scaled INAM PRO.
Carmaker Maruti Suzuki and Uttar Pradesh government has signed an MOU
for imparting training to
500
youths
under
the
skill
development mission.
State-run power producer NTPC Limited on 16 May 2016 signed a Joint Venture
Agreement (JVA) with state-run miner Coal India limited to foray into the
Fertilizer Sector and revive plants of the Fertilizer Corporation of India
Limited (FCIL).
The State Bank of India (SBI) on 17 May 2016 informed the BSE that it is
seeking in-principle sanction of the Union Government to enter into negotiation with
its 5 subsidiaries and Bharatiya Mahila Bank for acquisition.
HDFC Bank Ltd. on 16 May 2016 launched SmartUp solution. It is a first-of-its-kind
dedicated platform for start-ups to fulfill all their banking needs.
The
benefts
SmartUp include

of

Enhanced transaction limit with no minimum balance requirement for

first six months

Customized Salary Account offering coupled with best-in class services and
largest suite of product range
PayZapp for Business - for providing invoicing, delivery and collection
solutions and secure money
transfer
The Union Government on 17 May 2016 constituted a five member committee to
comprehensively review and give recommendations on the Fiscal Responsibility
and Budget Management (FRBM) roadmap for

the future. The committee will be headed by former Revenue and Expenditure
Secretary NK Singh. It has been asked to submit its report by 31 October 2016.
The Union Government on 17 May 2016 opened up a Tatkal Window to expedite
examination of patent applications by start-ups as well as entities choosing
India for the first filing of patent. The move came in the backdrop of 2.37 lakh
patent applications pending in the country.
The Income Tax (IT) department on 17 May 2016 launched an electronic
grievance redressal system enivaran to fast track taxpayer grievances and
ensure early resolution of their complaints. In this regard, a separate and
dedicated window for grievance redressal was also launched in the Income Tax
Business Application (ITBA).
Amazon India forged a partnership with Development Commissioner
Handloom of the Union Ministry of Textiles under which it will educate, train
and enable cooperatives and weavers to directly sell their products on the online
portal.
Japanese frm Nomura has exited from its JV with LIC Mutual Fund. LIC
Nomura Mutual Fund is again being positioned as LIC Mutual Fund -- the original
name it had before Nomura came in with 35 per cent stake in the joint venture.
State-owned BHEL has commissioned
Thermal Power Station in
Maharasht
ra.

250

mw

thermal

unit

of

Parli

Union Government on 17 May 2016 announced that it is working to revise the

rehabilitation of bonded labour scheme and make it a Central Sector
Scheme. The revised scheme was announced by Bandaru Dattatreya, the Minister
of State (IC) labour and Employment.
Apple Inc. on 19 May 2016 opened a new Development Offce in Hyderabad,
Telangana. The office was
formally opened by Apples CEO
Tim Cook.
Apple Inc. on 18 May 2016 announced establishment of a new iOS App
Design and Development
Accelerator
in
Bengaluru.
Apple Inc signed an MoU with a city-based engineering college for women,
G.Narayanamma Institute of Technology & Science for Women, choosing the
institution as a centre for excellence, the third in the world, for launching
MAC lab-based training.
Indias leading passenger vehicle maker, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) has
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Chhattisgarh Transport
Department to set up a new Institute of Driving
& Trafc Research at Naya Raipur, the
state capital.

India and Central European country Slovenia on 17 May 2016 signed a protocol to
amend an existing double taxation avoidance treaty in Ljubljana. This new
agreement will curb tax avoidance and tax evasion.
India and Iran inked a dozen agreements ranging from a contract to develop the
strategic Chahabar port to an initial pact to set up an aluminium plant and one on
laying a railway line to give India connectivity to Afghanistan and Central Asia.
List
of
MoUs
Agreements:
i.

&

India-Iran Cultural Exchange Programme

ii.

MoU between the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India and the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) of Iran on Policy Dialogue between
Governments and Interaction between Think Tanks
iii.
MoU between Foreign Service Institute, MEA and the School of
International Relations, Irans
MoFA
iv.
Implementation Protocol between Department of Science and
Technology, Ministry of S&T and Irans Ministry of Science, Research and
Technology on Cooperation in the Fields of Science and Technology
v.
MoU between Indian Council for Cultural Relations and Islamic
Culture and Relations
Organizations of the IR Iran
vi.
Bilateral contract on Chabahar Port for port development and
operations between IPGPL [India Ports Global Private Limited] and Arya
Banader of Iran
vii.
MoU between EXIM Bank and Irans Ports and Maritime Organization
[PMO] oncurrent
specific terms for the Chabahar Port project
viii.
Confirmation Statement between EXIM Bank and Central Bank of Iran This confirms the availability of credit up to INR 3000 crore for the import
of steel rails and implementation of Chabahar port.
ix.
MoU between ECGC [Export Credit Guarantee Corporation] Limited of
India and the Export
Guarantee Fund of Iran (EGFI)
x.
MoU between National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) and the
Iranian Mines and
Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO)
xi.
MoU between IRCON and Construction, Development of Transport
and Infrastructure
Company(CDTIC) of Iran
xii.
MoU for cooperation between the National Archives of India and the
National Library and
Archives Organisation of the Islamic Republic of Iran
India, Iran and Afghanistan inked an agreement on the Chabahar port on the
Gulf of Oman that will make it a transport and transit hub to boost trade.
Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 20 May 2016
tightened the norms for investing in Participatory Notes (P-Notes). The
norms have been tightened with a view to check money laundering.
IRDAI has imposed a penalty of Rs. 35 lakh on Future Generali India
Insurance Co for violating various laws including the ones related to payments,
licensing of insurance agents and file and use policy.
The World Bank will provide
Karnataka Urban Water Supply
Modernisation
project.

assistance

of

$100

million

to

the

The Union Cabinet on 25 May 2016 approved the National Capital Goods
Policy 2016. This is first ever policy for Capital Goods sector with a clear objective

of increasing production of capital goods from 2.3 lakh crore rupees in 201415 to 7.5 lakh crore rupees in 2025.
The Government of Telangana and the US-based healthcare tech firm Eclat
Health Solutions on 24 May
2016 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Under the MoU, the
Eclat will invest 15 million
US dollars in Tier II cities of
Telangana.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has signed a pact with Bharat

Electronics Limited (BEL) for developing advanced airborne communication
and electronic warfare systems.
State-run BHEL has commissioned the first 800 mw supercritical thermal unit
Yeramarus Thermal Power
Station
in
Raichur,
Karnataka.
DTH player Tata Sky has partnered TechProcess Payment Services, an
electronic payments company, for the Next Gen Digital Payments Platform.
Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL) will be entering into a binding MoU
with global clothing brand
Forever 21 to acquire its online and offline rights for the
Indian market.
State-owned Oriental Insurance has for the first time tied up with a private
online insurance broker,
Coverfox, to sell its comprehensive motor insurance product for both four
and two wheelers.
The Union Cabinet on 25 May 2016 gave ex-post facto approval to the MoU between
India and Japan for promoting sustainable, stable and low-carbon thermal power
development in India.
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 25 May 2016
approved for fnancial restructuring of Hindustan Steel Works Construction
Limited (HSCL). It also approved its takeover by National Buildings Construction
Corporation Limited (NBCC) to takeover HSCL.
Tech Mahindra will acquire U.K. headquartered Target Group to strengthen its
presence in the banking and financial services (BFSI) segment in the European IT
services market.
Yes Bank has partnered with Click&Pay, a Hyderabad-based mobile payment
solutions enterprise, to
facilitate
cashless,
secure
and
flexible
transactions for customers.
State Bank of India-country's largest lender-has established the largest
network of Point of Sales (PoS) machines in the country. As per the latest
Reserve Bank of India data, at the end of March 31st 2015 SBI has 2.96 lakh PoS
terminals across the country, more than HDFC Bank's 2.81 lakh, Axis Bank's 2.58
lakh terminals and ICICI Bank's over 2 lakh PoS machines.
The government has commissioned 1,780 km of rail lines and also completed
over 6,000 km of highways in 2015-16 period, the Prime Minister's Ofce said
in a statement.
Reserve Bank has allowed Axis Bank to raise foreign shareholding to up to
62%, from the earlier limit of
49
%.

E-commerce major Flipkart introduced "No Cost EMI" option to make online
shopping affordable for high- end purchases through an attractive financing option
of equated monthly installments (EMI) where customers will not bear additional
cost. The company has partnered with Bajaj Finserv and key brands to create this
offering which is available for select products and sellers for now.
For the first time in the country, a division of the Indian Railways has introduced
an 'Auto Vision Policy'. The Southern Railway, which caters to the 'Detroit
of India', the Chennai automobile cluster, has introduced the policy and also
signed memorandums of understanding with two major ports to bring down cost to
match road transportation.

Tata Motors has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the

Automotive Skill Development Council (ASDC), a government of Indiarecognised skill council for a collaborative skill development program in the
automotive sector.
India and Germanys Development Bank KfW on 1 April 2016 signed an
agreement to provide loan assistance of 500 million Euro (about 3750
crore rupees) for the modern and sustainable metro system for Nagpur city. This
is the frst German assistance to Metro project in the country. The loan
period is of
20 years with a moratorium of five years and disbursal will be based on the
progress of the project over three years.
India and Saudi Arabia on 3 April 2016 inked fve agreements to boost the
bilateral cooperation between the two nations. The agreements were signed
in Riyadh during the two day visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Saudi Arabia
from 2 April to 3 April 2016.
Telecom operator Aircel has signed 2G intra-circle roaming agreement with
state-owned BSNL on panIndia basis.
Mahanadi Coalfelds Limited (MCL) on 4th April said that it has become the
top coal producer in the country by producing a record 138 mt of dry fuel in
the financial year 2015-16, contributing 39 per cent to the incremental growth of
Coal India Limited (CIL).
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) under Union
Ministry of Commerce and Industry on 31 March 2016 launched the Startup India
portal http://startupindia.gov.in and mobile app in New Delhi.
Startup India
Hub:

The Startup India Hub was established within Invest India will be a single
point of contact for the entire Startup ecosystem which would enable
exchange of knowledge.
The Hub will work in a hub and spoke model with Governments, VCs, Angel
Funds, Incubators, Mentors, etc.
It will assist Startups through their lifecycle, on all aspects, such as
providing mentorship, incubator facilities, IPR support, funding etc.
The Hub will be operational from 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM on working
days and can be reached via the toll free number: 1800115565 or the email
ID: dipp-startups@nic.in

Union Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy Minister of State (Independent
Charge) Piyush Goyal on 31 March 2016 launched Vidyut PRAVAH- Electricity,
Price Availability and Highlights mobile application in New Delhi. The mobile
application provides highlights of the power availability in India on real time
basis. The app will empower common people to demand 24X7 power from the
states and will take transparency to the next level and make state governments
more accountable.

E-commerce giant Flipkart on 1 April 2016 announced that it has acquired

payments start-up PhonePe
Internet
Pvt. Ltd.
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI)
announced on 1 April 2016 that it has inked a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) with Australia India Business Council (AIBC). The MoU aims at
strengthening and promoting business ties with Australia.

Union Finance Ministry on 30 March 2016 extended the safeguard duty on

steel imports until March
2018. The duty was imposed to protect domestic manufacturers from
cheap Chinese imports.
Union Government on 31 March 2016 released the Indian Intellectual Property
(IP) Panorama in New Delhi. It is a single window interface for information on
Intellectual Property and guidance on leveraging it for competitive
advantage.
Amazon, the global e-commerce and cloud services firm, on 30 March 2016
commenced work on its biggest campus at Hyderabad in India. It is the largest
campus outside the United States (US) for Amazon.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 5 April 2016 launched Stand Up India
Scheme to promote entrepreneurship among Scheduled Caste/Scheduled
Tribes and Women entrepreneurs. On this occasion, the Prime Minister also
inaugurated a Kaushal Kendra (Skilling Center) under Pradhan Mantri
Mudra Yojna in Noida. It provides for refinance window through Small
Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) with an initial amount of
10000 crore rupees. It will create credit guarantee mechanism through the
National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC).
DCB Bank on 3 April 2016 launched an Aadhaar-based Automatic Teller
Machine (ATM) usage facility wherein a customer can transact using his
biometric details instead of the PIN. The step is first of its kind in India. The
ATM will accept Aadhaar number and Aadhaar fingerprint (biometric) instead of
ATM/Debit Card and PIN to dispense cash from the bank account. It is a Cardless
and PIN less ATM. This ATM is currently placed in pilot site at DCB Bank at
Peninsula Business Park, Lower Parel, Mumbai.
YES Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with T-Hub, a
technology incubator set up by Telangana government, to set up a centre of
excellence for startups in fintech space.
Private lender Yes Bank inked a tripartite agreement for on-lending $50
million loan from World Bank arm IFC to women entrepreneurs. The bank
will engage Goldman Sachs for identification and lending methodology to reach
out to credit worthy businesswomen, the lender said in a statement.
India has signed an agreement with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) for a
possible $100 million line of credit to facilitate exports to IDB's member
countries.
The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship Rajeev
Pratap Rudy on 5 April 2016 launched Transnational Skill Standards in New
Delhi. On this occasion, 2
Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed between National Skill
Development Council (NSDC) and Association of Colleges (UK) and NSDC
and UK Awarding Organization City & Guilds and Pearsons Education.
Blackstone India, the Indian arm of global private equity fund Blackstone Group
on 4 April 2016 entered

into a definitive agreement with Hewlett Packard Enterprise to buy a

majority stake in Mphasis Limited.
Delhi-based e-commerce marketplace, ShopClues, announced that it had signed
an MoU with National
Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC), to support
its e-Karobar initiative.
The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) signed a
memorandum of understanding with the Life Insurance Corporation of India to
supplement funds under its fund-of-funds operation that aims to provide
venture capital for medium and small enterprises.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Afairs (CCEA) on 6 April 2016 cleared

conversion of Working Capital Term Loan (WCTL) of Bank of Baroda's (BoB)
29.91 crore rupees loan to Andrew Yule & Co. Ltd. (AYCL) into equity shares.
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 6 April 2016
gave its ex-post facto approval for implementation of One Rank One Pension
(OROP). The benefit will be given with effect from
1
July
2014.
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 6 April 2016
gave approval for increasing the framework agreement between Exim Bank of
India and a consortium of Iranian banks lead by Central Bank of Iran. It
would help in financing the purchase of goods and services from India to
3000 crore rupees from 900 crore
rupees.
Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 6 April 2016 gave its
approval to the Recommendations on Fiscal Deficit Targets and Additional
Fiscal Deficit to States during Fourteenth Finance Commission (FFC)
award period 2015-20 under the two flexibility options. The commission adopted
the fiscal deficit threshold limit of 3 per cent of Gross State Domestic Product
(GSDP) for the States. Further, It was also provided a year-to-year flexibility for
additional fiscal deficit to States.
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi 6 April 2016 gave
its approval to implement of the National Hydrology Project. It will be a central
sector scheme with a total outlay of
3679.7674 crore
rupees.
Union Government on 5 April 2016 launched the low cost micro solar device, Surya
Jyoti. The solar dome would help rural and urban population to have a reliable
access to electricity.
Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Radha Mohan Singh, on 6 April
2016 laid the foundation stone of Haryana State University of Horticultural
Sciences at Karnal, Haryana.
The Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on 5 April 2016 launched Odisha
Adarsh Vidyalaya (OAV)
project at Sasan Ambagaon village in his home constituency Hinjli
in Ganjam district.
Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy Piyush
Goyal along with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on 7 April
2016 launched two schemes in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. These are
National Energy Efficient Agriculture Pumps Programme and National
Energy Eficient Fan Programme.
Future Group in the first week of April 2016 acquired Rocket Internets
online furniture platform
FabFurnish for 20 crores rupees. It is the Future Groups first acquisition of
an e-commerce portal.

ITC Limited and Starwood Hotels & Resorts on 7 April 2016 announced that
they have signed agreements to extend their existing partnership for 11 ITC
Luxury Collection hotels and 1 hotel under the Sheraton brand.
NPCI on April 11 launched next generation online payments solution - Unified
Payments Interface (UPI) which will leverage trends such as increasing
smartphone adoption and deeper penetration of mobile data. UPI is a
channel that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of
any bank) of a participating bank, merging several banking features, seamless
fund routing and merchant payments

into one hood. It will empower users to perform instant push and pull transactions
and transform the way people make payments today.
Country's largest service provider Bharti Airtel said its mobile commerce subsidiary,
Airtel M Commerce Services, had received payments bank license from the
Reserve Bank of India. In February this year, Kotak Mahindra Bank signed an
agreement to pick 19.9 per cent stake for Rs 98.38 crore in Airtel M Commerce
Services.
XBRL filing was in news on 11 April 2016 as the Union Corporate Affair Ministry
exempted the housing fnance companies from it. For this, the ministry
amended the Companies (Filing of Documents and Forms in Extensible Business
Reporting Language) Rules. XBRL or Extensible Business Reporting Language,
provides a common, electronic format for business reporting.
The frst-ever three-day North East-ASEAN (Association of Southeast
Asian Nations) Business Summit
concluded at the City Convention Centre in Imphal, Manipur. It was held from 7
April to 9 April 2016.
Axis Bank, Indias third largest private sector lender has reduced its key lending
rates by 15 basis points, effective from April 18, after Reserve Bank of India
reduced repo rate by 25 basis points last week. The lender is the first bank to
slash its MCLR (Marginal Cost based Lending Rate), benchmark rate used for
pricing loans across all tenors. Commercial banks moved to new loan pricing regime
MCLRfrom April
01,
2016.
The UAEs mobile communications and technology provider du has partnered
with Indias mobility
solutions provider Mahindra Comviva for its value
added services.
NEMHARI-A, a plant based Formulation for Management of Mulberry Root
Knot Disease, was in news on 12 April 2016. It came in news after National
Research Development Corporation (NRDC) entered into a license agreement
with M/s Rainbow Agrilife India Private Limited, for commercialization of the
plant.
Union Road, Transport and Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari
and South Korea Oceans and Fisheries Minister Kim Young Suk signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 13 April 2016 in Mumbai. This MoU is
for cooperation and mutual assistance between India and Republic of Korea
in port related matters and their developments.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between MicroSave and
NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) to initiate collaboration to
support the Jan Dhan Yojana, boost digital transactions and to accelerate creation
of less-cash economy in India through RuPay, IMPS, AePS and UPI. NPCI will be
working with commercial banks and will be supported by MicroSave in this
programme.
India was the world's largest remittance recipient in 2015 despite
experiencing a $1 billion drop from the previous year, the first decline in its

remittances since 2009, the World Bank has said. India retained its top spot in
2015, attracting about $69 billion in remittances, down from $70 billion in 2014, the
World Bank said in its annual report 'Migration and Development Brief'.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) on 14 April 2016 took over
the infrastructure of abandoned Tapti gas feld in western offshore from its
joint venture partners Reliance Industries and BG. This transfer of assets in India
is first of its kind.

India was among the first four countries to get a loan from the newly
established BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) New
Development Bank (NDB) which gave a $250 million funding to Canara Bank
for a renewable energy project. The China-based NDB has approved four green
renewable energy projects from India, China, Brazil and South Africa entailing Bank
financing of $811 million.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 14 April 2016 inaugurated the Maritime
India Summit 2016 (MIS
2016) in Mumbai. While inaugurating the summit, the PM invited investors to
come to India. Maritime India Summit 2016 is a maiden flagship initiative of the
Ministry of Shipping, Government of India that provides a unique platform for
participants to explore potential business opportunities in Indian Maritime Sector.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 14 April 2016 launched the pilot of e-NAM, the
e-trading platform for the National Agriculture Market, for the farmers. It was
launched on 125th birth anniversary of Baba Saheb Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar.
Capital Small Finance Bank, India's frst small finance bank, was launched in
Jalandhar on 24 April. It opened 10 new branches on its inaugural day.
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has
sanctioned a loan of Rs 1,000 crore to Haryana State Warehousing
Corporation (HSWC) for purchase of wheat during the ongoing rabi marketing
season.
Union government on 22 April 2016 constituted the inter-ministerial panel to
prepare a blueprint for doubling farmers' income by 2022. The government's
decision to set up the panel follows the budget announcement that set a target of
doubling farm incomes by 2022. The panel will be headed by Ashok Dalwai,
Additional Secretary at the Union Agriculture Ministry.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 1 will launch Rs. 8,000 crore scheme
to provide 5 crore free LPG connections to Below Poverty Line (BPL)
families using the money saved from 1.13 crore cooking gas users voluntarily
giving up their subsidies. The scheme is called Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana
and Mr. Modi will be launching it on May 1 at Ballia in Uttar Pradesh and Dahod in
Gujarat on May 15.
Owing to poor performance of developers, the Union Road Transport and
Highways Ministry has taken a decision to terminate three highway
projects worth over Rs. 3,000 crore. The projects are Rargaon- Jamshedpur
(Rs. 1,650 crore) in Jharkhand, Rohtak-Jind (Rs. 410 crore) in Haryana and
Haridwar- Dehradun (Rs. 1,021 crore) in Uttarakhand.
The Commerce and Industry Ministry on 21 April 2016 launched a service
named Twitter Seva to address issues and grievances of startups,
exporters and importers, and other stakeholders.
Full service airline Vistara has entered into a strategic partnership with Tata
Consultancy Services (TCS) for a broad range of information technology (IT)
services, including application maintenance services and airport infrastructure
support.

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the umbrella organisation for

all retail payments system in the country has announced relaxation for claiming
personal accident insurance for all RuPay cardholders in the country.
Earlier in November, this benefit was extended to RuPay Classic cardholders to avail
accidental insurance benefit if the cardholder has performed minimum one
transaction in 90 days.

Flagship refiner-marketer Indian Oil Corporation has inked an MoU with

Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation to examine the possibility of jointly
working on setting up a LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) import terminal at
Chittagong port and other downstream infrastructure in that country.
Infosys co-founder on 17 April 2016 launched a new app named Itihaasa that
chronicles Indian IT journey since the 1950s. The app 'itihaasa' is one of the largest
chronicles of its kind with 600 videos featuring 44 technology stalwarts.
IFMR Capital has facilitated the first ever capital market transaction for
MUDRA (Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency), which focuses on
providing low cost loans to microfinance and non- banking financial institutions.
The Union Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the
expansion of the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Chile, a move that
will help in doubling of exports to the Latin American nation in the future.
JK Tyre and Industries Ltd on 18 April 2016 announced that it had completed
the acquisition of tyre, tube and flap maker Cavendish Industries, a unit of
Kesoram Industries Ltd, for 2195 crore rupees. Kesoram Industries is a B.K. Birla
Group company.
Panasonic India and AES India Private Limited on 18 April 2016 announced an
agreement to construct a
10 MW energy storage array at Panasonic's Technopark manufacturing
facility in Jhajjar, Haryana. This joint project is the first large-scale batterybased energy storage project in India.
The Haryana Government on 1 April 2016 notified its Afordable Plotted
Housing Policy 2016 for low and medium potential towns also known as Deen
Dayal Jan Awas Yojna.
The RBL Bank on 19 April 2016
to open dedicated branch for
at Koramangala, Bengaluru by
chairman of Unique Identification

became the first private sector bank in India

start-ups. The dedicated branch was inaugurated
Nandan Nilekani, noted entrepreneur and former
Authority of India (UIDAI).

Mahindra & Mahindra on 22 April 2016 became the frst Indian company to
join a global energy campaign, EP100, led by an international non-profit group.
The Climate Group. It will work with the world's most influential businesses in
setting commitments to double their energy productivity.
Cab aggregator, Uber has entered into a partnership with Gujarat Tourism and
FICCI in Ahmedabad city to facilitate training for Uber driver-partners.
DBS Bank, Singapores largest bank, has unveiled digibank, Indias first
mobile-only bank, targetting five million retail customers. The bank said Digibank
brings together an entire suite of ground-breaking technology from biometrics to
artificial intelligence (AI) for customers, breaking away from conventional banking
norms with their onerous form-filling and cumbersome processes, to a paperless,
signatureless and branchless bank.
The government has decided to reverse its decision of reducing the interest rate on
Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) and stick to rate of 8.8%
for 2015-16 as recommended by the Central Board of Trustees (CBT).

India's investments in the UK zoomed nearly 65% in 2015, establishing it as the

third largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Britain after the
US and France.

Experian, the global information services company, in the last week of April 2016
launched a fraud detection mechanism named the Hunter Fraud Score.
India on 28 April 2016 extended a Line of Credit (LoC) of 1 billion US dollars
to Mongolia. The LoC was extended after delegation-level bilateral talks between
the Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh and Mongolian Foreign Minister
Lundeg Purevsuren in New Delhi.
NITI Aayog chaired by Vice Chairman Dr Arvind Panagariya launched the Urban
Management Programme on 27 April 2016 in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
The state participation was at the level of Secretaries of Urban Development,
Municipal Commissioners and other senior officials of State Government and
parastatal bodies. About 150 participants were present in the event.
The Union Cabinet on 27 April 2016 approved to enhance investment by Bharat
Petroleum Corporation
Limited (BPCL) in Bharat Oman Refneries
Limited (BORL).
Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and Saarc Development
Fund (SDF) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for mutual
cooperation and collaboration.
Mahindra Intertrade has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with
MSTC Ltd for a joint initiative to set up India's first auto shredding facility.
The Bombay Stock Exchange has entered into a memorandum of understanding
(MoU) with the Korea Exchange (KRX) in Seoul to extend their co-operation
by listing S&P BSE Sensex-based derivatives contracts.
India and France have signed an MoU for the construction of six nuclear
reactors at Jaitapur in Maharashtra, two months after the two countries decided
to conclude the techno-commercial negotiations for the project by the year end.
Bharti Airtel has entered into an agreement with American Tower Corporation
(ATC) for the sale of about
1,350 mobile towers in East African
country Tanzania.

Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 23 March 2016

approved the 1500 million
US dollar project of World Bank to support Swachh Bharat
Mission - Gramin (SBM-G).
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), a Maharatna central public sector
enterprise, has successfully commissioned a 600 Mw coal-based thermal power
plant Singareni thermal power project in Telangana.
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 23 March 2016 gave
its approval for India to accede to the Ashgabat Agreement. The Agreement is an
international and transit corridor facilitating transportation of goods between Central
Asia and the Persian Gulf.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) signed a Memorandum of Understanding

(MoU) to collaborate on supporting Indias expansion plans for clean energy

infrastructure.
Wipro announced a five-year partnership with the countrys top food
service company Jubilant
FoodWorks to deliver energy management services and help reduce energy
and operational costs.

The World Bank Board on 25 March 2016 approved a 250 million US dollar
Development Policy Loan (DPL) for Rajasthan. The loan was granted to
support the government of Rajasthan in improving the performance of its electricity
distribution sector under the States 24x7 Power for All program.
Taxi-hailing application, Ola, has partnered with private general insurer Bajaj
Allianz General Insurance
to provide motor insurance solutions to its
driver partners.
Power equipment manufacturer Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has
commissioned second 40
Mw hydropower generating unit at the Teesta low dam hydro electric project
(HEP) stage-IV in West
Beng
al.
The Government of Mizoram and the Japan International Cooperation Agency
(JICA) on 24 March 2016 signed a MoU on Capacity Enhancement on Sustainable
Agriculture and Irrigation Development in the State.
The Union Cabinet on 23 March 2016 gave its ex-post facto approval for a MoU
between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to mobilise long term
investment into the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF).
The European Union, through the European Investment Bank (EIB), will
lend India 450 million (approximately Rs. 3,300 crore) towards
constructing a 23-km long Lucknow Metro rail line and a purchasing a fleet of
new trains.
The government permitted 100 per cent FDI in the market place format of
e-commerce retailing with a view to attract more foreign investments.
Anil Ambani-led Reliance Defence has inked a pact with Israels Rafael
Advanced Defence System to set up a JV in India for specialised areas including
air-to-air missiles that will oversee projects worth USD 10 billion (over Rs. 65,000
crore) in ten years.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on 28 March 2016
dedicated the Pattiseema Lift
Irrigation Project to the people of
the state.
The frst direct container MV Harbour-1 Vessel between India and
Bangladesh carrying cotton was flagged off from Krishnapatnam of Andhra
Pradesh to Chittagong on 28 March 2016.
Union Minister for Minority Affairs Najma Heptulla on 29 March 2016 launched
innovative entrepreneurship and skill development programme of Maulana Azad
National Academy for Skills (MANAS) through leading national and
international experts in diferent skill sets.
Tata Motors signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the
Maharashtra Ex-Servicemen Corporation or MESCO), for creation of
employment opportunities for ex-servicemen of Indian Army. This is in response to

Tata Motors solution for the Defence Ministry's prestigious $10 billion combat
vehicle programme.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed all companies engaged in the
infrastructure sector to raise external commercial borrowings with a
minimum maturity of fve years, including those nonbanking finance companies
(NBFC) regulated by the central bank. The borrowings have to be fully hedged, the
central bank clarified in a notification on its website. The individual limit of
borrowing under the automatic route is currently at $750 million.

Markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 29

March 2016 decided to increase the Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI)
investment limit in Central Government securities. This will boost inflows of
foreign funds into Indian capital markets. The limit was increased to 140000 crore
rupees from 135400 crore rupees and will be effective from 4 April 2016. It will be
further increased to 144000 crore rupees from 5 July 2016.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 29 March 2016 signed a Special Currency
Swap Agreement with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Under the arrangement,
the Central Bank of Sri Lanka can draw up to 700 million US dollars for a maximum
period of three months.
BHEL has commissioned first 250 Mw unit at coal-based Nabinagar thermal
power plant of Bhartiya Rail
Bijlee Company Ltd in Aurangabad
district of Bihar.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 29 March 2016 cancelled the certifcate of
registration of the 22 Non- Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs).
Telangana IT minister KT Rama Rao and transport minister P Mahender Reddy
launched the State Road Transport Authoritys new mobile app, M-Wallet on
30 March 2016 in Hyderabad. It is first of its kind in any state of India.
NTT Data, Inc. and Dell Inc. on 28 March 2016 announced that they have entered
into a definitive agreement for NTT Data to acquire Dell Services.

News on India
[Non-Financial]

&

States

A Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU) between the Government of India and

the Government of the United States of America was signed to enhance
cooperation on energy security, clean energy and climate change.
India joined the Hague Code of Conduct (HCoC) a global ballistic missile
proliferation regime but made it clear that it will not have any impact on the
national security as well as country's missile programmes.
Sachin Tendulkar's name to be used in Kerala Government's Anti-Drug
Campaign. This was announced on 1 June 2016 by the Chief Minister Pinarayi
Vijayan. He said that the cricket icon has given his consent to use his name to
strengthen the campaign against liquor and drug abuse in the state.
The Union Cabinet on 1 June 2016 gave its approval for signing of a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) between the United States (US) and India to enhance
cooperation in the field of wildlife conservation and combating wildlife
traficking.
Union Government approved the proposal of extending age of superannuation of
all doctors of Central
Health Services to 65 years with effect from
31 May 2016.

To make the country disaster-resilient and reduce loss of lives, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi released the first ever national plan prepared in the country,
National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP). The plan is based on four priority
themes outlined by the United Nations Sendai Framework, -- understanding
disaster risk, improving disaster risk governance, investing in disaster risk
reduction

(through structural and non-structural measures) and disaster preparedness, early

warning and building back better in the aftermath of a disaster.
Bengaluru, India's technology hub is witnessing a larger inflow of qualified
professionals than it is losing talent to other cities in the country, according to social
network firm Linkedin that compiled data based on changes users made on their
profiles on its platform.
Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu and Karnataka Chief Minister
Siddaramaiah inaugurated the underground corridor of Bangalore Metro Rail on 30
April 2016. Bangalore Metro Rail is also known as Namma Metro. This makes
the Namma Metro or Bangalore Metro as the first in South India to have an
operational underground section of Metro Rail.
Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao on 29 April 2016 launched Adi
Praman, a web-based application. With this, Maharashtra became the first state
to provide caste validity certificates online.
The Supreme Court of India on 30 April 2016 decided against extending the
deadline for phasing out diesel cabs in National Capital Region (NCR). It
ordered the diesel cabs to go off the roads from 1 May
201
6.
The Supreme Court of India on 2 May 2016 appointed a three-member panel headed
by former Chief Justice of India (CJI) RM Lodha to oversee the functions of the
Medical Council of India. It is the regulator of medical profession and education in
India.
The Union Cabinet on 4 May 2016 approved the signing of Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between
Ministry of Women & Child Development (MWCD) and Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation (BMGF).
Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu on 5 May 2016 dedicated to the
nation a high speed Wi-Fi hotspot at the three Railway Stations. These stations are
Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, Kachiguda in Telangana and Raipur in
Chhattisgarh. The Wi-Fi facility for the visitors and rail users of these stations has
been commissioned by RailTel in association with Google for providing high speed
state of the art world class internet experience to the commuters.
Goa-based defence shipyard, Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL), on 5 May 2016 launched
Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Shaurya at Vasco. The is the fifth ship of a
series of six off-shore patrol vessels (OPVs) that the Indian Coast Guard had tasked
the Vasco defence public sector undertaking to build.
The Union Government on 5 May 2016 announced that the H.R. Nagendra
Committee on Yoga Education in Universities has recommended seven
programmes for implementation in universities. The Union Government on 15
January 2016 had constituted a committee on yoga education in universities. The
committee was headed by Professor H.R. Nagendra, Chancellor, Swami
Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana, Samsthana, Bengaluru.

NMDC Limited has signed a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ISRO's

National Remote Sensing Centre, opening up possibilities for use of satellite
technology for mineral exploration and other related ventures.
112, the single emergency number that will help people to reach immediate
services of police, ambulance and fire department will be operational
throughout India from 1 January 2017. Single emergency number
112 of India will be similar to the '911' all-in-one emergency service in
the United States.

The Karnataka Government in the first week of May 2016 decided to establish
Asias first-ever Rice Technology Park at Gangavati. Besides, a Maize
Technology Park will also be established at Ranebennur in Haveri district.
Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
Uma Bharti on 9 May
2016 launched nine projects for rural sanitation initiatives for conservation
of River Ganga in Sahibganj, Jharkhand. The initiatives were launched under
Namami Gange Programme of the Ministry.
Google on 9 May 2016 announced the launch of its free high-speed public
WiFi service at railway stations of Ujjain, Jaipur, Patna, Guwahati, and
Allahabad. Google has deployed service over RailWire which is an extensive fibre
network of Indian Railway's arm Railtel that provides Internet services.
Indian Space Research Organisation has established Nozzle Testing
Laboratories (NTL) at Vikram
Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, to carry out better research in
the area of rocket nozzle.
Indian Navy on 11 May 2016 decommissioned its fleet of iconic Sea Harriers. This
episode of decommissioning marked the end of an era in Indias naval history, as
the country holds an official ceremony phasing out the last of its iconic Sea Harrier
jets.
The Supreme Court on 11 May 2016 struck down the regulation of Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) which made it mandatory for telecom
companies to compensate subscribers for call drops from January 2016.
The Uttar Pradesh government on 11 May 2016 gave its nod to develop nearly 200km long bicycle highway from Agra to the lion safari in Etawah. The plan
aims at encouraging eco-tourism in the vicinity of the Taj Mahal.
Integrated Underwater Harbour Defence
(IUHDSS) and Mine Warfare Data
Centre (MWDC) were inaugurated on 11
May 2016.

and

Surveillance

System

Maharashtra government on 12 May 2016 declared drought in over 29000

villages of the state, most of them in parched Marathwada and Vidarbha regions.
The Prime Minister along with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena
on 14 May 2016 released
'Simhastha Declaration' at Ninora village in Ujjain. Both leaders addressed the
concluding session of the
3 day International Vichar Mahakumbh for the month-long Simhastha Mela. Sri
Lankan President Sirisena was on a two day visit to India from 13 May to 15 May
2016.
India on 15 May 2016 successfully test fired an indigenously developed Advanced
Air Defence interceptor missile, Ashwin. It was launched from the complex of Abdul
Kalam Island (formerly known as Wheeler Island) off Odisha coast.
The Union Ministry of AYUSH and the World Health Organization (WHO) on
13 May 2016 signed the Project Collaboration Agreement (PCA) for cooperation on
Global promotion of Traditional Systems of Medicine.

Parkash Singh committee constituted to inquire into the omission and

commission on part of all officers and officials of police and civil administration
during Jat Quota agitation submitted its report to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar
Lal Khattar. The report was submitted on 13 May 2016.

World's largest single rooftop solar power plant of 11.5 Mw capacity was
inaugurated in Beas near Amritsar in Punjab. Spread at a single rooftop
stretch of 42 acre at Dera Baba Jaimal, the project was synchronised earlier this
year.
India and the United States (US) on 16 May 2016 held the first round of
discussions under the recently constituted Maritime Security Dialogue. The
dialogue was held between the officials of Defence and External Affairs ministries
and their US counterparts.
Mobile app for transportation Ola signed an MoU with National Safai
Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC) established
under the aegis of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to focus on
building a sustainable framework by supporting entrepreneurship, skill development
training and self-defence courses for Safai Karamcharis and Scavengers.
Uttar Pradesh government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with
Kingdom Company of veteran actor Sanjay Khan to establish a 1,000-acre theme
park along the Agra Ring Road, which connects the Yamuna Expressway and the
under-construction Lucknow-Agra Expressway.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on 18 May 2016 conducted the trial
run of India's first ever Metro train equipped to run in the driverless mode.
The train was ceremonially flagged off by Union Minister for Urban Development M
Venkaiah Naidu and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The six- coach train was
ferried to India from South Korea.
The Odisha Government on 17 May 2016 decided to launch Green Passage
Scheme for orphan students. The scheme will ensure that the orphan students
get free of cost higher education in the state.
India on 18 May 2016 successfully test fired indigenously developed Prithvi-II
missile from the Chandipur, off Odisha coast.
President Pranab Mukherjee on 19 May 2016 inaugurated an Intelligent
Operations Centre (IOC) in Rashtrapati Bhavan. President Mukherjee also
launched a Mobile App Monitor for transformation of Presidents Estate into a smart
township.
Union Health Minister on 20 May 2016 launched the Kayakalp Fortnight at All
India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. It has to be observed from the
date of launch to 3 June 2016 throughout the country in various Central Government
hospitals. The aim of the Kayakalp Fortnight is to intensify Kayakalp initiative under
the Swachch Bharat Abhiyaan.
The term Medicines with the Red Line was in news on 19 May 2016 as the
campaign was appreciated by the Global Review on Antimicrobial Resistance.
The 27th edition of the India-Indonesian CORPAT (Coordinated Patrol)
concluded on 19 May 2016 in
Belawan,
Indonesia.
The US House of Representatives on 20 May 2016 gave its nod to a bipartisan
legislation to improve defence ties with India. In this regard, an amendment to
the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) was approved by the House. The

amendment is dubbed as Enhancing Defence and Security Co-operation with

India.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on 23 May 2016 successfully launched
its maiden indigenous winged Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) from Sriharikota
spaceport in Andhra Pradesh.

National Green Tribunal Circuit Bench banned light and heavy diesel vehicles,
which are more than 10 years old, in six major cities, including state capital
Thiruvananthapuram and commercial capital Kochi, in Kerala.
India and Oman on 22 May 2016 signed 4 Memorandums of Understanding
(MoUs)/agreements in
Muscat. They were signed during the visit of Indian Defence Minister
Manohar Parrikar to Oman.
Details
related
MoUs/Agreements

to

MOU on Defence Cooperation between the Ministry of Defense of

Sultanate of Oman and
Ministry of Defence of India
MOU between the Royal Oman Police (Coast Guard) and the Indian Coast
Guard in the field of
Marine Crime Prevention at Sea
MOU between the Government of the Sultanate of Oman and India on
Maritime Issues
Protocol between the Government of the Sultanate of Oman represented by
Royal Air Force of Oman and the Government of India represented by the
Indian Air Force on Flight Safety information Exchange
Himachal Pradesh fisheries department in the third week of May 2016 launched
an artificial propagation programme for rehabilitation and conservation of Golden
Mahseer fish.
The Union Minister of State for Science and Technology YS Chowdary on 20 May
2016 launched Qora. It is an indigenously developed faecal incontinence (FI)
management system.
The government announced the names of 13 more cities that will be developed
under the Centre's 'Smart City Mission' with Lucknow in poll-bound Uttar
Pradesh topping the list, followed by Warangal in Telangana and Dharmashala in
Himachal Pradesh. Other cities, which won this round, were Chandigarh, Raipur
(Chhattisgarh), New Town Kolkata, Bhagalpur (Bihar), Panaji (Goa), Port Blair
(Andaman and Nicobar Islands), Imphal (Manipur), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Agartala
(Tripura) and Faridabad (Haryana).
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on 22 May 2016 launched
the PEHAL programme for the district of Shimla. Under the PEHAL, 5 focus
areas were identified by the district administration for development.
The Union Government on 20 May 2016 constituted a committee of experts on
defence spending. The
11-member committee will be headed by Lt Gen DB Shekatkar (retd) and
include top military officers and civilian experts.
Fast Attack Craft INS Tarmugli was on 23 May 2016 commissioned into Indian
Navy by Vice Admiral HCS Bisht, AVSM, Flag Ofcer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern
Naval Command at Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam.
The abbreviation NEDA standing for North East Democratic Alliance was in
news as Bharatiya Janata

Party (BJP) on 24 May 2016 formed NEDA to boost development agenda in NorthEastern states of India.
The Union Cabinet, presided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on 25 May 2016
granted ex-post facto approval to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed
between the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and the Ministry of
Tourism, Government of Maldives.

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on 25 May 2016
launched 20 Nirbhaya buses of Rajasthan State Transport Corporation
(RSTC). These buses are fitted with multiple safety measures to better protect
women passengers. The 20 buses launched as a pilot project under the NIRBHAYA
scheme include 10 luxury and 10 ordinary roadways buses.
Intel India announced three innovative initiatives to strengthen its support for
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Digital India programme. Building on the momentum
of its "Ek Kadam Unnati Ki Aur" initiative to accelerate access to technology in
non-urban India, Intel India e-launched its latest "Unnati Kendra at Common
Service Centre" (UK at CSC) in Karnal, the first in Haryana. Intel India also
announced the "Digital Unnati" website that is being set up in collaboration with
the CSC e-Governance Services India Ltd.
The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Smriti Zubin Irani on 25
May 2016 launched the multilingual knowledge portal www.bharatvani.in at
Lucknow. With its launch, Bharatavani became the largest online repository
of dictionaries in India.
The finding of the first of its kind survey conducted at the Chhatrapati Shivaji
International Airport, Mumbai were released by the Research Team of
L.N.Welingkar Institute of Management (WE School) in May 2016 at Mumbai
Customs House.
An advanced version of BrahMos land-attack supersonic cruise missile system was
successfully test fired at 12 noon in the Western Sector by the Indian Air Force (IAF).
The Ministry of Railways on 26 May 2016 launched Rail Humsafar Saptaah, a
week-long initiative to highlight significant achievements made by Indian Railways
in all spheres. The Rail Humsafar Saptaah concluded on 1 June 2016.
ISRO said it will launch a record 22 satellites in a
single mission in June.
Lakshadweep on 27 May 2016 signed 24x7 Power for All document. It became
the frst Union Territory (UT) to sign the document which aims to provide
each household access to electricity through 24x7 Power supply by 2019.
Seeking to stimulate and enhance the strategic research and innovation capabilities
of the Indian biotech industry, BIRAC, a PSU under the Ministry of Science and
Technology signed an MoU with Horticulture Innovation Australia for launching
a joint funding call.
The Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) ARUSH was commissioned on 26 May 2016
by the Coast Guard
Commander (Western Seaboard) Additional Director General SPS
Basra at Kochi.
Second submarine assembly workshop of the Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL)
was inaugurated by Defence
Minister Manohar Parrikar on 28
May 2016.
Nine-coach Spanish train Talgos trial run was conducted on 29 May 2016 on the
Bareilly-Moradabad route of Uttar Pradesh. It was conducted as part of the
Railways strategy to increase the speed of trains.

Ministry of Railways and PEC University of Technology, Chandigarh on 30 May 2016

signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up Kalpana Chawla Chair
on Geospatial Technology for Indian Railways at the University.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 4 April 2016 returned to New Delhi after
concluding his official visit to
Belgium, United States and
Saudi Arabia.
Major Highlights of the visit
to Belgium
In the first leg of his visit to Belgium, Modi was given a ceremonial welcome at
Egmont Palace in
Brussels. Brussels is the headquarters of European
Union and NATO.
He attended 13th India-EU summit and held meeting with Belgium Prime
Minister Charles Michel
Major Highlights of the visit to the
United States

In the second leg of his tour to three nations, Modi visited the United States
where he attended the 4th Nuclear Security Summit in Washington
DC. The summit focused on a gamut of issues pertaining to nuclear security.

Major Highlights of the visit to

Saudi Arabia
Prime Minister inspected the guard of honour at the Ceremonial Welcome in
Riyadh.
India and Saudi Arabia signed five agreements and MoUs.
IIT-Madras was ranked number one amongst Research and Teaching
Institutions in Engineering amongst several other similar institutions in India.
The Rankings 2016 was released today by the Minister for Human Resource
Development. IIM-Bangalore lead among management institutions.
India and Sri Lanka on 31 March 2016 signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) to provide 150 fshing boats and fishing equipment
to 300 Tamil fishermen from Mullaithivu in North Sri Lanka.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on 31 March 2016 launched the Phase I of
Green Delhi initiative by planting trees at the Triangular Park at the ITO Chowk.
Vaccum cleaning of all Public Works Department (PWD) roads will be started at
regular intervals starting from 1 April 2016.
Union Minister for Environment and Forests Prakash Javdekar on 3 April 2016
inaugurated a White Tiger Safari at Mukundpur in Satna district of
Madhya Pradesh. The Safari is situated adjacent to the Mukundpur Zoo
which is spread over 75 hectares. The frst of its kind safari has cost 50 crore
rupees and is spread over an area of 25 hectares.
The Shri Trimbakeshwar Devasthan Trust (STDT) passed a resolution on 3 April
2016 that bars all persons, men and women from entering the sanctum till the next
decision. Only the traditional and hereditary priests will be allowed to enter the
sanctum of the Trimbakeshwar temple in Nashik district of Maharashtra.
Kachhabali village in Bhim tehsil of Rajsamand District became the first in
Rajasthan to vote to close down its only liquor shop.

The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) of the

Ministry Social Justice and
Empowerment on 31 March 2016 launched the Inclusiveness and
Accessibility Index.
Rail Minister Suresh Prabhu on 5 April 2016 flagged of India's fastest train, the
Gatimaan Express from Delhi's Hazrat Nizamuddin station. The train
completed its maiden journey from Delhi to Agra in 100 minutes as compared
to about 2-3 hours that other trains take to cover the distance.

Indian Air Force (IAF) will participate in Red Flag air exercise along with US,
NATO and allied forces that are scheduled to be conducted from 28 April to 13
May 2016 in Alaska.
Apollo Hospitals has partnered with Google to provide additional healthcare
information to Google's
Knowledge
in
India.
The Union Government on 5 April 2016 constituted a high-level committee to
suggest ways to strengthen the border protection along the border
with Pakistan. It will also address the issue of gaps and vulnerability in
border fencing along Indo-Pakistan border. The committee will be headed by
former Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta and will submit its report in three
months.
Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel officially launched the state-wide
implementation of National Food Security Act, which has been renamed as 'Maa
Annapurna Yojna (Scheme)' by the state government.
The Bihar Government on 5 April 2016 decided to impose a total ban on
alcohol in towns and cities. The decision to ban sale and consumption of India
Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) in municipal and town council areas with immediate
effect was taken at a Cabinet meeting.
A statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh will be installed in France's Saint-Tropez town on
17 September 2016.
The town is the birth place of Maharajas Army General JeanFrancois Allard.
Twenty-fve Ministries and Departments of the Union Government on 31
March 2016 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on IMPacting
Research INnovation and Technology (IMPRINT) initiative.
Mumbai hosted the BRICS Friendship Cities Conclave from April 14-16. The
event is being organized by Mumbai First, a think tank, along with the active
support of the Government of India and Government of Maharashtra. The forum has
received support from all the partner countries Brazil, Russia (India) China and
South Africa.
The Union Government on 8 April 2016 approved countrys frst Metrino Pod
project for Gurgaon, for which the state government would not have to
pay anything. The work on this project would start by 1
June
2016.
Sajibu Cheiraoba, a traditional festival that marks New Year of the Meiteis
(majority ethnic group) of Manipur, was celebrated on 8 April 2016. It was
celebrated with cultural gusto and religious fervor in Manipur.
India and Maldives on 11 April 2016 singed six agreements to boost the
bilateral relations between the two countries.
The
signed
Agreements/MoUs are

1.

Agreement for Avoidance of Double Taxation of income - The Agreement

seeks to avoid double taxation of income derived from international air
transport.
2. Agreement for the Exchange of Information with respect to Taxes.
3. Bilateral Agreement related to Orbit Frequency Coordination of "South Asia
Satellite proposed
at 48oE.

4.

MoU for Cooperation in the area of conservation and restoration of ancient

mosques and joint research and exploratory surveys in Maldives.
5. MoU on cooperation in the field of Tourism.
6. Action Plan for Defence Cooperation.

India and the US agreed "in principle" to a logistics exchange agreement to

enable both militaries to use each other's assets and bases for repair and
replenishment of supplies, an issue which did not find favour with the previous
UPA government.
The UNICEF and GITAM University signed an MoU to empower the
adolescents and to address the adolescents issues in Visakhapatnam
District. Visakhapatnam has been selected as one of the four districts in India to
deal with adolescents issues. The other districts are Purulia, West Bengal; Sibsahar
District in Assam; and East Singhbum in Jharkhand.
Delhi government on 12 April 2016 launched PoochhO Carpool app to help
people explore carpooling options during the 15-day exercise during the oddeven car-rationing scheme. The second phase of the scheme set to begin from
15 April 2015.
Kerala High Court on 12 April 2016 banned noise-making freworks displays
between sunset and sunrise
in all places of worship in the state. The ban order follows the Puttingal fire
tragedy that killed more than
100
people.
The Information & Broadcasting ministry on 11 April 2016 constituted a threemember committee to check violations of the Supreme Court guidelines
with regard to content in government advertising. The committee is headed
by former Chief Election Commissioner B B Tandon.
Union Government in the second week of April 2016 signed Sachin Tendulkar to
endorse the I Support
Skill
India
campaign.
India joined hands with Germany to attain "pristine" status of Ganga by
adopting river basin management strategies used for cleansing rivers like Rhine
and Danube of pollutants. Ministry of Water Resources and German
International Cooperation (GIZ), owned by the German Federal Government,
signed an agreement in this regard.
Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 13 April 2016
approved to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and
United Arab Emirates (UAE) on cooperation in preventing and combating of
Human Traficking.
Haryana Government on 12 April 2016 decided to rename Gurgaon as
Gurugram and Mewat as Nuh.
Golden Tobacco Ltd. in April 2016 became the first company in India to
implement the Union Health Ministrys Cigarettes Packaging Amendment

Rules, 2014. As per it, both sides of the cigarette packs shall display specific health
warnings in 85 percent of the area as against the present 40 percent.
Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 13 April 2016
approved India for adopting the Statute of the South Asia Wildlife Enforcement
Network (SAWEN) and India.

PM Narendra Modi on 14 April 2016 launched 'Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday

Abhiyan' at Mhow, Madhya Pradesh. The Abhiyan (campaign) was launched on
the 125th birth anniversary of Babasaheb Ambedkar at his birthplace to
strengthen Panchayati Raj in villages and ensure social harmony in villages. The
campaign also seeks to promote rural development and foster farmers welfare and
livelihoods to poor.
Nuclear capable undersea ballistic missile, code named K-4, was successfully
test fired on 31 March 2016 from an undisclosed location in the Bay of Bengal. The
test was conducted nearly 45 nautical miles away from Vishakhapatnam coast in
Andhra Pradesh.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on 13 April 2016 launched
Mission Drinking Water. The mission was launched in the backdrop of recurring
droughts and severe water crisis in Marathwada and Vidarbha region of the state.
The Government of India on 14 April 2016 reconstituted the Indira Gandhi
National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) Trust with immediate efect. Senior
Journalist Ram Bahadur Rai was selected as President of IGNCA. Veteran
dancer Sonal Mansingh, film maker Chandraprakash Dwivedi and lyricist Prasoon
Joshi are included as members of the 20 member reconstituted body.
Google in collaboration with RailTel, the telecom arm of the Indian Railways,
rolled out free Wi-Fi service at Bhubaneswar railway station on 17 April
2016. With this, Bhubaneswar railway station became the second station to
be covered under the Google-RailTel Wi-Fi project. Free Wi-Fi by GoogleRailTel took off at Mumbai Central in January 2016
Indian Railway on 17 April 2016 for the first time used an unmanned air
vehicles or drones to inspect the ongoing work on the Dedicated Freight
Corridor (DFC) project. The drone was used for three days on a trial basis to
monitor a total of 98 kilometers on the DFC. Out of this, it was used to monitor 42km long track between Baghega to Srimadhopur in Rajasthan in the Western
DFC and the 56-km long line between Durgawati and Sasaram in Bihar.
Sikkim Governor Shrinvas Patil on 17 April 2016 formally unveiled
Supercomputer named Param Kanchenjunga at the National Institute of
Technology (NIT) Sikkim. It is named after Kangchenjunga Mountain (8586 m),
the third highest mountain in the world. The Param Kanchenjunga is the most
powerful and fastest among all available at the 31 National Institute of
Technology's.
Panagarh Air Force Base of West Bengal was renamed as Air Force Station
Arjan Singh on 16 April 2016.
This can be termed as a rare honour to the nations oldest soldier Marshal of
Air Force Arjan Singh.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das on 14 April 2016 launched the
Bhimrao Ambedkar Awas Yojana for widows. Its objective of the scheme is to
create equality and harmony in society, ensuring all round development.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on 25 April 2016 formally
inaugurated the state's interim government complex named AP Government
Transitional Headquarters at Velagapudi village in capital region Amaravati.

The term India Pride Project (IPP) was in news in the fourth week of April 2016.
It is an initiative by two NRIs who seek to bring back the lost artefacts to India.
Through the initiative, they seek to answer that India was looted of more artefacts
in the post-colonial era than under the British or Mughals.

Scientists at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram

indigenously manufactured the world's lightest synthetic material called
silica aerogel or blue air or frozen smoke. It was in news in the third week
of April 2016. Silica Aerogel is the lightest synthetic material ever made by man.
The Uttarakhand High Court on 21 April 2016 quashed the imposition of
President' Rule in the state and revived the term of Congress Government
headed by Harish Rawat. The court also asked Harish Rawat to prove his majority
on 29 April 2016.
India and Mauritius have signed an agreement for cooperation in the feld
of traditional medicine and homeopathy, a move which will help both the
nations to conduct joint research and exchange experts in these fields.
The Maharashtra Government on 18 April 2016 decided to make it
mandatory to have a hologram on every alcohol bottle manufactured and
sold in the state. The step was taken to check sale of spurious liquor.
Union Minister for Culture and Tourism and Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma on 18
April 2016 released a Commemorative Coin of 200 rupees and a Circulation
Coin of 10 rupees to mark the Martyrdom Day of Tatya Tope.
Maharashtra government on 18 April 2016 decided to restrict digging of
borewells beyond 200 feet. The action was taken to check the steep decline in
ground water level in the state, which at present is facing recurring droughts and
severe water crisis in Marathwada and Vidarbha region.
Union Government on 19 April 2016 extended the Beti Bachao Beti Padho
(BBBP) Scheme in additional
61 districts across 11 States and Union Territories. The scheme was
extended in the districts with low
Child
Sex
Ratio.
President Pranab Mukherjee on 22 April 2016 nominated of six eminent
personalities from diferent felds to Rajya Sabha following a recommendation
of the Union government.
The
nominated
members are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Subramanian Swamy
Narendra Jadhav
Navjot Singh Sidhu
Suresh Gopi
Swapan Dasgupta
Mary Kom

The Union Government on 23 April 2016 launched Sahapedia.org, India's first

online interactive portal on the cultural heritage of the country. Sahapedia
is a collection of resources on the diverse heritage of India. It is non-profit society,
led by former TCS chairman S. Ramadorai, who is the head of the National Skill
Development Agency.
The 11th Indo-Mongolia joint training Exercise, titled Nomadic Elephant 2016 commenced on 25 April

2016 in Mongolia. The exercise aims at promoting military associations between

India and Mongolia will culminate on 8 May 2016.

Government of Madhya Pradesh, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)

and Sun Pharma on 25 April
2016 entered into an agreement for research and innovation in preventive
health. This agreement for Malaria Free India and other innovation in preventive
health was announced by Union Health Minister JP Nadda in New Delhi at a function
on the occasion of World Malaria Day.
Indian Missile Corvette, INS Karmuk along with a Dornier Maritime Patrol
Aircraft participated in the
22nd Indo-Thai Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) on 25 April 2016 in
the Andaman Sea.
The Department of Telecommunications on 22 April 2016 notified the Panic
Button and Global Positioning System in Mobile Phone Handsets Rules
2016. Under these rules, all feature phones will have the facility of panic button
configured to the numeric key 5 or 9. All the smart phones will have the panic
button confgured to three times short pressing of the on-of button. Further, with
efect from 1 January
2018, all mobile phones will be required to have the facility of identifying the
location through satellite based GPS.
Parliamentary Standing Committees report on the Consumer Protection Bill 2015
was tabled in Parliament on 26 April 2016. The committee headed by Telugu
Desam Party MP J C Divakar Reddy in its report recommended holding
celebrities accountable for misleading advertisements and stringent provisions
including jail term up to five years and penalty up to 50 lakh rupees.
The Shyam Benegal-headed committee constituted to revamp Central
Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on 26 April 2016 submitted its report to
Information & Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley. The committee has recommended
that CBFC should only be a film certification body whose scope should be restricted
to categorizing the suitability of the film to audience groups on the basis of age and
maturity.
Union Tourism Ministry on 26 April 2016 launched NOC Online Application and
Processing System (NOAPS) Web Portal of National Monuments Authority.
The Portal was developed through the technology and expertise of Indian Space
Research Organization (ISRO), who are in the process of mapping of 3686 ASI
protected monuments and sites.
A Naval Detachment (NAVDET) was on 26 April 2016 inaugurated at the Androth
Island of Lakshadweep
Vice Admiral Girish Luthra, AVSM, VSM, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief,
Southern Naval Command.
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on 28 April 2016 launched Indias
seventh navigation satellite of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite
System (IRNSS 1G) into a Sub-Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (Sub-GTO) onboard PSLV-C33. With this launch, India successfully joined the elite group of
countries that have their own navigation system technology to cater to the
mammoth navigational needs.

Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik on 28 April 2016 inaugurated 100

piped water supply projects for rural areas. The CM also pledged to make
piped water provision in all gram panchayats by 2017.
Union government on 27 April 2016 issued a notification banning the import of
dogs for commercial breeding. The imports are allowed only for research or
defence purposes.
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 27 April 2016
approved for signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and
Papua New Guinea on cooperation in the fields of Healthcare and Medical
Science.

The Maharashtra government on 27 April 2016 decided to increase the

punishment for chain snatching up to 5 years of rigorous imprisonment along with
a fine of 25000 rupees.
Union Minister for State (IC) for Power, Coal and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal on
30 April 2016 launched National LED programme - Unnat Jyoti by Afordable
LEDs for All (UJALA) in Madhya Pradesh. He launched the programme along
with the state CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan at a function in Bhopal.
Indian Navy on 28 April 2016 decommissioned Indian Naval Ships (INS) Veer
and Nipat at a ceremony in the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai. They both are of VEER
class corvettes.
India will host the eighth annual Summit of BRICS from
October 15-16 in Goa.
Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare JP Nadda on 21 March 2016 launched
three new initiatives to combat Tuberculosis (TB).

Bedaquiline Drug
Third line ART programme for People Living with HIV
500 Cartridge Based Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (CBNAAT) machines

The abbreviation CPGRMS was in news on 22 March 2016 as the Union Minister of
State (Independent
Charge) Dr Jitendra Singh initiated a telephone feedback mechanism under the
CPGRMS for the first time.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on 21 March 2016
established the Gadanki Ionospheric Radar Interferometer (GIRI) near
Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. It was set up at the National Atmospheric Research
Laboratory (NARL) which is an autonomous research institute of the Department of
Space.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 23 March 2016 inaugurated broadband
connectivity to North Eastern States via Bangladesh to strengthen
telecom services in the region. Under the project, an international gateway for
broadband connectivity will be set up at Agartala in Tripura.
The Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV), ICGS Arnvesh, of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) was
commissioned on 21
March
2016
in
Visakhapatnam.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 22 March 2016 launched the
Longitudinal Ageing Study in
India
(LASI).
National Green Tribunal (NGT) on 22 March 2016 fined 20 lakh rupees on
Uttarakhand-based Darrameks
Hotels and Developers Pvt Ltd (DHDPL) for construction
on Ganga floodplains.
Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J P Nadda on 26 March 2016 launched the
rotavirus vaccine as part of the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) of

the country. The vaccine is being introduced initially in four states, which are
Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Odisha and will be
expanded to the entire country in a phased manner.
President Rule was imposed in Uttarakhand on 27 March 2016 following the
approval of the recommendation of the Union Cabinet by the President Pranab
Mukherjee.
The Telecom Commission approved the number 112
emergency number for India on 28
March 2016. This is similar to 911 of United States and 999 of
United Kingdom.

as

the

single

Tata Motors on 28 March 2016 announced that it signed a follow-on contract with
the Indian Army to supply 619 units of its 6X6 high-mobility vehicle (HMV) multi-axle
truck.
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is set to launch a record
number of 22 satellites in a single mission in May 2016. The launch vehicle
will inject 22 satellites into orbit, a first in the history of the organisation. Polar
Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV C34 will carry Indias remote sensing satellite
Cartosat
2C along with 21 other satellites to be injected
into the orbit.
The four micro-satellites to be
launched are:

Maritime Monitoring and Messaging Microsatellite (M3MSAT)

LAPAN A3
BIROS
SKYSAT Gen2-1

India will establish the first Indian chair in the Arab world at Egypts
prestigious Ain Shams University
(ASU
).
The Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar on 29 March 2016 launched
Project Salamati in Chandigarh. The project seeks to maintain a healthy balance
between the births of children by using injectable contraceptive.
The Indian Institute of Technology Patna (IIT-P) organised the First International
Symposium on Fifth
Generation
(5G)
technology.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel on 30
March 2016 remotely launched Asia's biggest telescope, the Aryabhatta
Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) which is located at
Devasthal near Nainital in Uttarakhand.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on 29 March 2016 flagged of Indias frst
indigenous composites
bow mounted Sonar Dome during
DefExpo 2016 in Goa.
India and US signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for building a stateof-the-art Ligo (Laser Interferometer Gravitational - wave Observatory)
project in the country, almost a month after the discovery of gravitational waves.
Haldhar Nag, the 66-year-old poet in Kosli language, was in news in the last
week of March 2016. He came in news after President Pranab Mukherjee on 28
March 2016 conferred Padma Shri 2016 on him at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

Awards
Honors

&

Physicist Sriram Ramaswamy, Director of TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary

Sciences, Hyderabad, was elected as the Fellow of The Royal Society, as
announced on 29 April 2016. His name appeared on the list of 50 new fellows and
10 new Foreign Members announced by the Royal Society.

An Indian-American journalist, Neela Banerjee, was felicitated with a prestigious

with Edgar A. Poe award on 1 May 2016. She was felicitated by US President
Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle during the annual White House
Correspondents Dinner in Washington.
Indian Parashar Kulkarni in the first week of May 2016 won the
Commonwealth Short Story Prize for
2016, for the Asia region. He was awarded for his politically grounded
unpublished short fiction 'Cow and
Company'.
The agriculture project Harita-Priya of Andhra Pradesh on 3 May 2016 won the
World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) 2016 prize in eAgriculture category. The prize was announced in Geneva by International
Telecommunications Union (ITU) Secretary-General Houlin Zhao.
President Pranab Mukherjee on 4 May 2016 conferred the 15th set of Federation of
Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Niryat Shree and Niryat Bandhu Awards in New
Delhi. The awards were presented at the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Federation
of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).
1.

Reliance Industry was adjudged as the top foreign exchange earner

and leading exporter of last 50 years.
2. TCS bagged the Gold Award in IT services. Exporters from engineering,
chemicals, textiles, agro and processed sector, etc. were also given
Gold/Silver/Bronze awards.
3. State Bank of India got the Gold award followed by Canara Bank and
Punjab National Bank are among the supporting institutions.
Switzerland government on 4 May 2016 honoured the late bollywood film
maker Yash Chopra with a special statue. This statue was installed at middle
of the Interlaken which is inside the Kursaal area near the Congress Centre which is
a prime, popular spot for the tourists.
Bureaucrat-turned-politician N.K. Singh was honoured with Japans second
highest national decoration
The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star award for his
contribution in strengthening Indo- Japan ties in the field of trade and investment
over the last few decades.
Madhya Pradesh Tourism (MPT) on 9 May 2016 received the Best Indian
Destination for Wildlife
Award. The award was presented by the Lonely Planet Group.
Indian-American elementary teacher, Revathi Balakrishnan was honoured by
US President Barack Obama at the White House in the first week of May 2016.
She was named as 2016 Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year.
President Pranab Mukherjee on 12 May 2016 conferred the Florence
Nightingale Awards to 35 nurses from across the country on the occasion of
International Nurses Day at the Rashrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
Beti, a four minute documentary film on girl child education from India, has
been invited for special screening at the 42nd Seattle International Film
Festival (SIFF), Washington DC.

South Korean author, Han Kang, on 16 May 2016 won the 2016 Man Booker
International Prize for her novel 'The Vegetarian'.
The United Nations in the third week of May 2016 announced that four Indian
peacekeepers and a civilian will be honoured along with other 124 personnel with a
prestigious U.N. medal. Head Constable

Shubhkaran Yadav, Rifleman Manish Malik, Havildar Amal Deka, Naik Rakesh
Kumar and Gagan Punjabi will be honoured with the Dag Hammarskjold Medal
awarded posthumously.
Nandini Bhandaru, a doctoral researcher at IIT-Kharagpur, bagged the European
Materials Research
Societys (EMRSs) Young Scientist Award at the EMRS 2016 Spring Meeting
Lille France.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced on 14 May 2016
that noted space scientist Udupi Ramachandra Rao, popularly known as U.
R. Rao, will be honoured with the International Astronautical
Federation (IAF) Hall of Fame Award for 2016.
Indian artist Anjali Chandrashekar on 3 May 2016 won the third prize in UN
Poster for Peace contest presented by the UN Office for Disarmament
Afairs (ODA) to raise awareness of the need for nuclear disarmament. Her
poster titled Cutting Barriers through Peace featured a peace dove slicing
through a nuclear weapon.
Indian-American Syamantak Payra, a 15-year-old from Friendswood, Texas, in May
2016 won Intel
Foundation Young Scientist Awards of 50000 US dollar.
An Indian-American biotechnologist Rupa Iyer was on 19 May 2016 awarded with
the University of Houstons Distinguished Leadership in Teaching Excellence Award,
the highest teaching award of United States.
Indian American professor Rakesh K Jain on 19 May 2016 received the US
National Medal of Science from the US President Barack Obama.
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh
Ambani was on 17 May
2016 awarded with the prestigious Othmer Gold Medal for his entrepreneurial
leadership by the
United States based Chemical Heritage Foundation.
Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling was on 22 May 2016 conferred with the
Yugkavi Siddhicharan
Prize by Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli.
British director Ken Loach's film I, Daniel Blake on 22 May 2016 won the Palme
d'Or at Cannes Film
Festival.
Technology Academy Finland (TAF) on 24 May 2016 declared American
innovator Frances Arnold as winner of the 2016 Millennium Technology
Prize. The 1 million euro prize is awarded biennially and Arnold is the first
female winner in its 12-year history.
Bharti Enterprises founder and Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal on 27 May 2016
received 2016 Harvard
Business School Alumni Achievement Award. It is the Harvard Business
Schools highest honour.

Pakke Tiger Reserve on 22 May 2016 received the 'India Biodiversity

Award 2016' in one of its four categories in Mumbai. The reserve is in East
Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh. The Hornbill Nest Adoption Programme of
the Pakke Tiger Reserve was awarded the prize under Conservation of
threatened species category.
Legendary Oscar winning Indian music composer A.R. Rahman was awarded
Japan's Fukuoka prize for
2016.

An Indian-American scientist Arnab De has received the prestigious 'Springer

Theses Award' for his outstanding research on developing transgenic mice to
study a critical tumor-suppressor.
Aditi Krishnakumar, an Indian woman author in Singapore, in fourth week of May
2016 won the
'Scholastic Asian Book Award'. She was awarded for her 32000-word manuscript
"Codex: The Lost
Treasure of the Indus".
The President of India Pranab Mukherjee on 29 May 2016 presented the Malti
Gyan Peeth Puraskar for the year 2016 at a function held at Rashtrapati
Bhavan.

Reports, Lists & Indexes

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries leads the pack of 56 Indian firms in
Forbes's annual list of the world's 2,000 largest and mostpowerful public
companies, with the US leading the list with 586 companies. The 2016 Forbes
'Global 2000', a snapshot of the world's largest companies, shows the
dominance of US and China in the current global business landscape. Ranked 7th,
HDFC is the only Indian company in top-ten in in the consumer financial
services sector, where others include Capital One, Visa and MasterCard.
Global organization EY on 10 May 2016 released the Renewable energy country
attractiveness index
2016. The report reveals 40 countries on the attractiveness of their renewable
energy investment and deployment opportunities based on a number of indicators.
Index was topped by the United States (US) and was followed by China at 2nd
position and India at 3rd position.
India is ranked at ninth position in crony-capitalism index that was released
by the Economist in the first week of May 2016. India has a crony sector wealth
accounting for 3.4 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). As per the latest
crony-capitalism index the non-crony sector wealth in India amounts to
8.3 per cent of the GDP. Russia topped the list and followed by Malaysia, the
Philippines and Singapore.
India, which is has emerged as world's second largest mobile market, is also the
fifth largest producer
of e-waste, discarding roughly 18.5 lakh metric tonnes of electronic waste
each year, a study says. The telecom equipment alone accounting for 12 per cent
of the e-waste, a joint study by Assocham-KPMG said.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on 24 May 2016 launched
its inaugural World Wildlife Crime Report. The report highlights how the
poaching and illegal trade of thousands of different species across the globe
present real environmental dangers.
As Narendra Modi completes two years as Prime Minister, he remains the
second most-liked world leader on Facebook. The list of most-liked world

leaders on Facebook released by the social network shows that Modi is second
only to US President Barack Obama and is followed by Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan.
Kotak Mahindra Bank Chief Uday Kotak, who has a net worth of about $7.1
billion, is the sole Indian in
Forbes' list of 40 of the most powerful people in the financial world who
control the flow of trillions of

dollars around the global economy. 57-year-old Kotak is ranked 33rd in the Forbes
list of 'Money Masters: The Most Powerful People In The Financial World' topped by
Blackstone Group's CEO Stephen Schwarzman, who has a net worth of $10.2 billion
and oversees assets worth $344 billion.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on 24 May 2016 released the
report titled Actions on Air Quality. The report was released during the second
United Nations Environment Assembly
(UNEA2).
India has secured ninth position in the 2016 Foreign Direct Investment
Confdence Index, a global management consulting firm today said, underlining
that the country is finally embarking on a growth path that will see it unlock its
full potential.
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) released a report titled Protecting people through
nature with the subtitle
Natural world heritage sites as Drivers of sustainable development. The
report was launched in April
201
6.
The UN-Habitat on 18 May 2016 released the new global flagship report on
sustainable urban development titled World Cities Report 2016, Urbanization and
Development: Emerging Futures. The report states that a New Urban Agenda is
needed to unlock the transformative power of cities.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on 5 April
2016 released Trends in world military expenditure, 2015 report. As per the
report, while the USA remained as worlds biggest spender in 2015, India
moved up one spot in the global rankings to reach the sixth position in
terms of military expenditure.
Reliance Industries director Nita Ambani and State Bank of India chairman
Arundhati Bhattacharya have been ranked top two in Forbes' "Asia 50 Power
Businesswomen 2016" list, which acknowledges the inroads women are making
in the business world, despite gender inequalities.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on 6 April 2016 released its first Global
Report on Diabetes. The report was released to mark the World Health Day
2016 that was celebrated on 7 April with the theme - Beat Diabetes.
India's rank remained unchanged at 19th in 2015 in the list of top 30
merchandise exporters of the world, according to a WTO report. China
continues to hold the top position in the list. However, India's ranking among top
importers slipped by one notch to 13th in 2015, from 12th in previous year. In
imports, the US topped the list.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Global Tiger Forum (GTF) on 10
April 2016 announced that after a century of constant decline, global wild tiger
populations have increased. According to the most recent data, around 3890
tigers now exist in the wild, which is up by 22 percent from an estimated 3200
in 2010.

Tiger
population
diferent countries

India: 2226
Russia: 433
Indonesia: 371
Malaysia: 250

in

Dell on 15 April 2016 released its ranking of Future Ready Economies Model
globally. As per the ranking, San Jose topped the list of 50 future-ready
cities around the world that are embracing technology to adapt and thrive in an
ever changing and globalised future. The national capital Delhi was ranked
44th in the list.
RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, tennis star Sania Mirza, actress Priyanka
Chopra, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and founders of Flipkart Binny Bansal and
Sachin Bansal have been named by Time magazine in its list of the '100
Most Influential People in the World'.
India with a score of 43.17 was ranked 133 out of 180 countries in the
2016 World Press Freedom Index
that was released on 20 April 2016. The Index was published by Reporters
Without Borders (RSF). In 2015
Index, India with a score of 40.49 was ranked 136 out of 180 countries. The index
has been topped by Finland followed by the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark and
New Zealand at second, third, fourth and fifth position respectively.

Sports
News
Indian boxer Sonia Lather on 27 May 2016 won the silver medal at the
AIBA Women's World
Championships
in
Astana.
CEAT Cricket Awards 2016 were conferred on the players in a function of 20th
edition of CEAT awards at Mumbai on 30 May 2016. Former India captain Dilip
Vengsarkar was conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award. England
batsman Joe Root was named as the CEAT International Cricketer of the Year
and also International batsman of the Year 2016 while Indias test captain
Virat Kohli was named CEAT T20 Player of the Year.
Sri Lanka seam bowler Nuwan Kulasekara announced his retirement from Tests with
immediate effect on
1 June 2015. He continues his career in limited
over cricket.
Leicester City was crowned as champions of English Premier League on 2 May
2016. It was crowned with the title without playing, as nearest challenger
Tottenham Hotspur had 2-2 draw with Chelsea. This is the frst time in the clubs
132-year history that Leicester is champion of England.
Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar accepted Indian Olympic Association
(IOA)s invitation to become the countrys goodwill ambassador for the Rio
Olympics alongside ace shooter Abhinav Bindra and Bollywood star Salman Khan.
Leicester City striker forward Jamie Vardy was named 2015-16 Footballer of
the Year by the Football Writers Association (FWA). He will be honoured with
the prestigious FWA accolade, which has been running since 1948, at a gala dinner
in London on 12 May 2016.

England's world number one Mark Selby on 2 May 2016 won World
Championship title of Snooker. In
the final match played in Shefeld, Selby from Leicester defeated Chinas
Ding Junhui 18-14.
Indian shooters bagged three gold medals and a bronze on the opening
day of the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany on 1 May 2016. The Indians
won a gold each in the team events of men's 25m standard pistol and women's 50m
rifle prone competitions. India also earned an individual gold medal in

the men's 25m standard pistol competition through Rituraj Singh. Gaayathri
Nithyanadam bagged a bronze in the women's 50m rifle prone competition. The
Indian team of Rituraj Singh, Shivam Shukla and Arjun Das walked away with the
gold medal in the team event of the men's 25m standard pistol competition,
shooting a total of 1661.
Indian team on 1 May 2016 bagged one silver and two bronze medals at
Archery World Cup at the
Yuanshen
Stadium in
Shanghai.
PCB has appointed Mickey Arthur as Pakistan's head coach. He fills the role
vacated by Waqar Younis' resignation in April, following Pakistan's early exit from
the World T20.
Defending Champion Pakistan on 6 May 2016 won the Asian Kabaddi
Championship 2016 (Circle Style)
that held at Wah Cantonment in Pakistan. It defeated
India by 19 points.
Number one seed Novac Djokovic on 8 May 2016 defeated Andy Murray 6-2, 3-6,
6-3 to conquer the Mutua Madrid Open title in Madrid, Spain. Romanian tennis
player Simona Halep on 7 May 2016 won the women singles title of the Madrid
Open.
Indian boxers on 9 May 2016 won four medals at the 7th Asian Youth
Championships held in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan. India finished at third in the overall
standings with three silver and a bronze medal in the tournament. The Indian
boxers who won silver medals are National champion Ankush Dahiya (60kg),
Ashish Kulhirya (64kg) and Reyal Puri (81kg). Manjeet Singh (+91kg) won the
solitary bronze.
Oscar winning music composer A R Rahman agreed to be the Goodwill Ambassador
of the Indian Olympic contingent, joining cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, ace
shooter Abhinav Bindra and Bollywood star Salman Khan.
Charlotte Edwards, Englands women cricket team captain, announced her
international retirement on
11
May
2016.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) on 11 May 2016 announced that it has lifted
the provisional suspension imposed on Sri Lanka wicket-keeper batsman Kusal
Perera.
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry on 10 May 2016 was named the NBAs
Most Valuable Player
for the second straight
year.
Indian womens squash team on 15 May 2016 won the silver medal at the 18th
Asian Team squash championships. In the final played at Taipei in Chinese Taipei,
Indian team lost to the Malaysian team by
0-2 margin. In the first match, Indias Sachika Ingale lost in straight games 7-11,
6-11, 10-12 to Malaysian

Sivasangari Subramaniam. Later, Delia Arnold of Malaysia defeated India's top

player Joshna Chinappa 911, 13-11, 11-8,
11-9.
World No. 1 women's doubles team of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis on 15
May 2016 captured the Italian Open title. The pair defeated Elena Vesnina and
Ekaterina Makarova 6-1, 6(5)-7, 10-3 in the final to clinch the title.
Andy Murray on 15 May 2016 won his frst Italian Open Men's Singles Tennis
title. In the final played in
Rome, third-ranked Murray defeated the top-ranked
Djokovic 6-3, 6-3.

Dutch teenager, Max Verstappen, on 15 May 2016 became Formula One's

youngest race winner after winning the Spanish Grand Prix. Red Bull's
Verstappen defeated Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen by 0.616 seconds.
A three-member Indian women's archery team comprising Deepika Kumari,
Bombayla Devi and
Laxmirani Majhi was on 16 May 2016 named for the
Rio Olympics.
Steeplechase athlete Sudha Singh on 14 May 2016 set a national record in
womens 3000m steeplechase
event to finish eighth at the IAAF World Diamond League
held at Shanghai.
Barcelona FC on 15 May 2016 retained the Spanish league title La Liga with 3-0
score against Granada in the final match.
The Indian 4x100m women's relay team on 18 May 2016 broke the 18-year-old
national record to finish in 4th position at the IAAF World Challenge held in Beijing,
China. The 4x100m women relay team, which included Dutee Chand, Srabani
Nanda, HM Jyoti and Merlin Joseph, clocked 44.03 seconds to finish the race.
Denmark on 22 May 2016 won the 2016 Thomas Cup badminton tournament. In
the final match played at Kunshan, China, the Danish team defeated Indonesia 3-2.
Denmark is also the frst European nation to win the Thomas Cup.
Chinese women badminton team showing its supremacy on 21 May 2016 won the
Uber Cup title. In the final played at the Kunshan Sports Centre Gymnasium in
Beijing, the host country defeated South Korea
31.
Mohun Bagan on 21 May 2016 clinched the Federation Cup title for the 14th
time. In the final played at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati, Bagan
defated Aizwal FC 5-0.
Indias ace cueist Pankaj Advani on 22 May 2016 won the Asian 6-Red snooker
title. To win this tile for the first time, he defeated top-seeded Malaysian Keen Hoh
Moh 7-5 in the finals held in Abu Dhabi.
Sanjay Bangar was on 26 May 2016 appointed as the head coach of Indian Cricket
team for Zimbabwe tour.
Indian para athlete Amit Kumar Saroha clinched gold medal in men's club throw
(F-51) at the 2016 French
Open Athletics Championship
in Paris.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on 29 May 2016 won the ninth edition of the
Indian Premier League (IPL).

Player of the match Ben Cutting (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

Player of the series - Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Asian Games discus throw gold medal winner Seema Punia on 29 May 2016
qualified for the Rio Olympics with a 62.62m effort at the Pat Young's Throwers
Classic 2016 at Salinas in the United States.
National football team goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu on 29 May 2016
became the frst Indian to play top-tier European football league match. He
turned out for Norwegian side Stabaek FC in Norwegian Premier League
(Tippeligaen) .

England cricket captain Alastair Cook on 30 May 2016 became youngest

Cricketer to score 10000 test runs. The previous record was held by Indian
legend Sachin Tendulkar who reached the landmark score against Pakistan at Eden
Gardens in 2005. Cook was 31 years, 5 months, 5 days old, when he achieved the
feat.
Real Madrid on 29 May 2016 won the 2015-16 UEFA Champions League title. In
the titled clash, Real
Madrid defeated their city rivals Atletico Madrid via a penalty shoot-out
following a 1-1 draw.

Global
News
Asias largest technology trade show COMPUTEX was started in Taipei on 31 May
2016. It is attracting
more than 1600 companies from 30 countries to showcase their
latest products.
The European Union (EU) and the US have signed the "Umbrella Agreement", which
puts in place a comprehensive high-level data protection framework for criminal law
enforcement cooperation.
The 42nd G7 Summit was held at Ise-Shima in Japan for 2-days from 26
May to 27 May 2016.
The United Nations World Humanitarian Summit concluded on 24 May
2016 in Istanbul, Turkey. The summit was organised by the United Nations Ofce
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA).
A jury in San Francisco on 26 May 2016 cleared Google of copyright
infringement in a case brought by
Oracle over Googles use of Java in Android. Oracle was seeking damages of
up to $9 billion US dollars.
Microsoft and Facebook have agreed to jointly build a subsea cable across the
Atlantic Ocean to meet growing demand for high-speed cloud and online services.
The World Bank Group has launched the much anticipated Pandemic Emergency
Finance Facility (PEF) a new financing mechanism to quickly mobilise funds to
tackle global disease outbreaks and create a new insurance market for pandemic
risk.
A team of scientists on 18 May 2016 successfully tested hypersonic superjet
technology as part of the Hypersonic International Flight Research
Experimentation (HIFiRE) program. It is one of the largest collaborative research
programs between Australia and the USA.
US-based law firm BakerHostetler in May 2016 hired the worlds first robot lawyer
ROSS to assist the company and its various teams in legal research.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the European Union (EU) on 16
May 2016 announced the launch of #EmergencyLessons campaign on education
in crisis zones.

China on 15 May 2016 launched the Yagoan-30 remote sensing satellite. It was
placed in the sunsynchronous orbit (SSO) by using the Long March 2-D rocket.
Australian researchers built the worlds first scanning helium microscope
(SHeM). An announcement in this regard was made by the scientists belonging to
the University of Newcastle in the third week of May
201
6.

Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) of the Food and Agriculture

Organnisation (FAO) will enter into force on 5 June 2016. The agreement seeks to
ensure sustainable fisheries and responsible fish stock management globally.
The Air Forces of India and the U.S. on 13 May 2016 concluded the 2016 Red Flag
aerial combat exercises at Alaska in the U.S. A successor to the Cope Thunder
exercise series, the main phase of the Red Flag exercises had commenced on 28
April 2016 with a mix of combat and support elements from the Indian Air Force
(IAF), US Air Force (USAF) and US Navy (USN).
SpaceX on 6 May 2016 successfully launched the Japanese communications
satellite, JCSAT-14 on Falcon
9 rocket from Cape Canaveral,
Florida.
United Nations (UN) on 6 May 2016 announced the establishment of the UN Zika
Response Multi- Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) to finance critical unfunded
priorities in the response to the Zika outbreak.
Atomic Oxygen was detected in the upper layers of the Martian atmosphere
known as Mesosphere. This presence of Atomic Oxygen for the first time since the
last observation 40 years ago was detected by an instrument onboard the
Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA).
The term Social Fridge was in news in the second week of May 2016 with
Argentina adopting it to feed the needy ones who are facing the hardship due to
increase in job cuts and inflation in the country. The genesis of social fridge or
solidarity fridge lies in the recent economic crisis of Europe during which countries
like Spain and Germany saw the mushrooming of such fridges.
A group of researchers at the Human Media Lab at Queens University on 5
May 2016 announced that
they have developed the worlds first holographic flexible smartphone
named HoloFlex.
Brazils Senate voted to impeach President Dilma Roussef after months-long
fight that laid raw the countrys fury over corruption and economic decay,
hurling Latin Americas largest country into a political turmoil just months
before it hosts the Summer Olympics.
The Kenyan Government on 11 May 2016 announced that it will close Dadaab
refugee camp. The camp, which is home to 330000 Somali refugees, is often
referred to as the world's largest camp.
Australian entrepreneur Craig Steven Wright on 2 May 2016 publicly identifed
himself as the creator of Bitcoin, digital cryptocurrency. He claimed to be the
real person behind the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, a claim
that is disputed within the Bitcoin community.
United States of America (US) Navy on 2 May 2016 tested the world's
largest unmanned surface vessel named Sea Hunter in San Diego.
The European Central Bank (ECB) on 4 May 2016 announced that it will
permanently stop producing the
500 euro banknote by the end of 2018. The ECB will also exclude it from the
Europa series, taking into account concerns that this banknote could facilitate illicit

activities. Also nicknamed as the Bin Laden note, the value of the 500 euro
banknote is several times greater than many of the largest circulating notes of
other major currencies, such as the United States 100 dollar bill.
Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines on 5 May 2016 agreed to conduct
coordinated sea patrols and establish a hotline to combat piracy and kidnappings in
waters bordering the three nations.

Dr Manvendra K Singh, a scientist from Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur city, was

awarded a grant of SGD 3
million (about 14.7 crore rupees) by Singapores National Research Foundation
(NRF).
US President Barack Obama on 9 May 2016 signed National Bison Legacy Act into
law officially making the
American bison the countrys first national mammal.

Appointments
India
1.

Narasimha Raju takes oath as

Karnataka
CIC
2. Dilip Tuli appointed as
Senior Vice
President of Housing.com
3.
Former TCS
CFO S
Mahalingam is non- executive
chairman of City Union Bank
4.
Sameer Chadha appointed
as Partner and CEO of KPMG
India
5. Kishore Biyani appointed
as MD of
Bharti Retail
6.
Former CBDT chief Anita
Kapur
was
appointed
as
member
of
Competition
Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT)
7. Kumar Rajesh Chandra
appointed Chief
of Bureau of Civil Aviation
Security
8. Senior advocate Atma Ram
Nadkarni
appointed Additional Solicitor
General
9. Ex-Snapdeal VP Rahul Taneja
appointed as Chief Business
Officer for Jabong
10. Ranglal Jamuda appointed
Odisha
food
commission
chairperson
11. Axis Bank announced the
elevation of
Rajesh Dahiya and Rajiv
Anand as
Executive Directors

12.

Shell
India
announces
Nitin
Prasad
as new
chairman
13. Ashok Chawla new
chairman of National
Stock Exchange (NSE)
14. Justice Navin Sinha sworn
in as Chief
Justice of Rajasthan High
Court
15. Justice Deepak Gupta
sworn-in as Chief
Justice of Chhattisgarh High
Court
16.
Justice
Tinlianthang
Vaiphei sworn in as acting
Chief Justice of Tripura High
Court

17. IndiGo has appointed Rohit

Philip as its chief financial officer
18. Pankaj Kumar Mishra appointed
Financial Intelligence Unit chief
19. Former Union Minister V
Narayanasamy sworn in as
CM of Puducherry
20. Anantha Radhakrishnan is new
MD of
Infosys BPO
21. Mamata Banerjee sworn in as
West
Bengal CM for second time
22. Sarbananda Sonowal sworn-in as
Assam Chief Minister
23. Lieutenant General SK Saini
takes over as 46th Commandant
of Indian Military Academy
24. Rakesh Kumar Mishra
appointed Director of Centre
for Cellular and Molecular
Biology
25. S K Sharma appointed CMD of
Nuclear
33. Admiral Sunil Lanba takes
charge as
Chief of Naval
Staff
34. Rahul Johri takes charge as
first ever
BCCI
CEO
35. Sudeep Lakhtakia
appointed CRPF Additional
DG
36. Former Delhi Police
Commissioner BS Bassi
appointed UPSC member
World
1.

Indian American Sikh woman,

Harmeet
Kaur
Dhillon,
elected
to
key
Republican
position
2. Cate Blanchett appointed UN
refugee
agency's
goodwill
ambassador
3.
Sterling Holiday appoints
Damian G H Niesel as COO
Resorts

Power Corporation of India

26. Kiran Bedi appointed
Lieutenant
Governor of Puducherry
27. Anurag Thakur
appointed as the
youngest BCCI President
28. Pinarayi Vijayan sworn-in as
Chief
Minister of Kerala
29. Ex-finance secretary Ratan
P Watal appointed Principal
Advisory in Niti Aayog
30. Startup Village head Sanjay
Vijaykumar
appointed advisor to
Rajasthan govt council
31. Surajit Kar Purkayastha
appointed
Director General of West Bengal
Police
32. Ashok Lavasa takes over
as finance secretary
4.

Chennai-born Raja Rajeswari

is
New Yorks first IndianAmerican woman judge
5. Taoiseach Enda Kenny was
re-elected as
Prime Minister of
Ireland
6. The British Labour party's
Sadiq Khan on
6 May 2016 was elected new
Mayor of London. His election as
Mayor of London made him the
first actively affiliated Muslim to
become mayor of a major
Western capital.
7. Rodrigo
Duterte
wins
Philippines presidential elections
8. Shashank
Manohar
unanimously
elected
as
Independent ICC Chairman
9. Fatma Samoura Appointed
FIFA's First
Female Secretary
General
10. Rahul Dravid and Mahela
Jayawardene appointed
to

ICC Cricket Committee, Anil

Kumble is chairman
11. Indian-American,
Manjit
Singh,
appointed
as
member
of
President's
Advisory Council on FaithBased
12. FIFA appoints Justice Mukul
Mudgal as Deputy Chairman of
its Governance Committee

13. UN Secretary-General appoints

Patricia Espinosa Cantellano
of
Mexico
as
Executive
Secretary of United Nations
Framework
Convention
on
Climate Change (UNFCCC)
14. Tsai Ing-wen inaugurated as
Taiwan's first woman president
15. Indian journalist Philip
Abraham elected
as Deputy Mayor in United
Kingdom
16. Binali Yildirim set to
become Prime
Minister of Turkey
17. UN
appoints
Mary
Robinson
and Macharia
Kamau Special Envoys on El
Nino and Clima
18. Baciro Dja named Prime
Minister of
Guinea Bissau

Days
1. International
Labour
Day
was celebrated on 1 May
2. The World Press Freedom
Day was on 3
May
3. World Migratory Bird
Day (WMBD)
observed on 10 May
4. National
Technology
Day
was celebrated across India on
11 May
5.
World Hypertension Day
2016 observed on 17 May
6. International Day of Families
was observed across the world
on 15 May
7. World
Telecommunication
and Information Society Day
(WTISD) was observed on 17
May
8. International Day to End
Obstetric
Fistula was observed across
the world on 23 May
9. International
Day
for
Biological

Diversity (IBD) observed on

22 May
10. The International Day of
United Nations
Peacekeepers was observed on
29 May
13. World Wildlife Day was
observed on 3
March
14. National Safety Day was
observed across
India
on
4
March
15. International
Women's
Day
was observed across the world on
8 March
16. World Kidney Day (WKD) was
observed globally on 10 March
17. The World Consumer Rights Day
(WCRD)
2016 was observed on 15
March
18. The International Day for the
Elimination
of
Racial
Discrimination 2016 was observed
on 21 March
19. International Day of Forests
was observed on 21 March
20. The tenth edition of the Earth
Hour was
observed globally on 19 March
2016 from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm
local time
21. International
Day
of
Happiness
was observed on 20
March
22. The World Sparrow Day was
observed across the world on 20
March
23. World Water Day (WWD)
2016 was
globally observed on 22
March
24. World Poetry Day was observed
across the world on 21 March
25. The World Meteorological Day
(WMD)
2016 was observed across the
world on
23 March

11. World No Tobacco Day

(WNTD) was observed globally
on 31 May
12. Zero Discrimination Day was
observed
across the world on 1 March
26. World Tuberculosis Day (WTD)
2016 was globally observed on 24
March
27. International Day of
Remembrance of
the Victims of Slavery and the
Transatlantic Slave Trade 2016
was observed globally on 25
March
28. World Theatre Day 2016
observed on 27
March
29. The International Day for the
Right to the Truth Concerning
Gross Human Rights Violations
and for the Dignity of Victims was
observed on 24 March
30. World Autism Awareness Day
2016 celebrated across the world
on 2 April

31. International
Day
of
Mine
Awareness and Assistance in Mine
Action was observed on 4 April
32. The International Day of
Sport for
Development and Peace (IDSDP)
on 6
April
33. World Health Day (WHD) 2016
was observed globally on 7 April
34. International Roma Day
celebrated on
April 8
35. World Homoeopathy Day was
observed on 10 April
36. International Day of Human
Space Flight was observed on 12
April
37. World Haemophilia Day was
observed globally on 17 April
38.
International
Day
for
Monuments
and
Sites
traditionally called World Heritage
Day observed on 18 April
39. 10th Civil Services Day observed
on 21
April
40. The International Mother Earth
Day was observed on 22 April
50. June 4 - World Day of
Innocent Children
Victims of Aggression
51. June 5 - World Environment
Day
52. June 8 - World Brain Tumor
Day, World
Oceans Day
53. June 12 - World Day Against
Child Labor
54. June 14 - World Blood Donor
Day
55. June 15 - World elder abuse
awareness day
56. 3rd Sunday of June - World
Fathers Day
57. June 16 - International
Integration Day
58. June 18 - International
Picnic Day,
Fathers day

41. The World Book and Copyright

Day was
celebrated on 23 April
42. National Panchayati Raj Day
observed on 24 April
43. World Malaria Day (WMD)
2016 was
observed globally on 25 April
44. The World Intellectual Property
Day
2016 was on 26 April
45. The Day of Remembrance for all
Victims of Chemical Warfare 2016
was observed on 29 April
46. The 2016 World Day for
Safety and Health at Work was
observed across the world on 28
April
47. The International Jazz Day
2016 was observed across the
world on 30 April
48. World Immunization Week 2016 is
being
organised across the globe
between 24
April and 30 April 2016
49. June 1 - Global Day of Parents,
World
Milk Day
59. June 20 - World Refugee Day
60. June 21 International Yoga Day,
World
Music Day
61. June 23 - International
Olympic Day, United
Nations Public Service
Day, International Widows
Day
62. June 26 - International Day against
Drug
abuse and Illicit Trafcking,
International
Day in support of Victims of torture

BOOKS & AUHTORS

Books in
News
Book Name
Launched By

The Kiss of Life: How a

superhero and my
defeated
A State son
in Denial
- Pakistan's
Misguided
and Dangerous
Endurance:
My Year in
Space and Our
Journey to
The Making of India: The
Untold Story of
British
Globalisation,
Democracy And
CorruptionAn
Toleran Indian
ce
Jinnah Often Came To Our
House
MARU BHARAT SARU
BHARAT
Jawaharlal Nehru and The
Indian Polity in
Perspect
The Z Factor:
My Journey As

Author
Emraan Hashmi co-authored
the book
with
author Bilal
Veteran journalist
BG

Arvind Kejriwal

Verghese
Scott
Kelly

Kartar
Lalvani

Pranab Bardhan
Mamata Bannerjee (CM of
West
Benga
Kiran
Doshi
Jain Acharya Maharaj
Edited by Prof Alexander

The Wrong
Man
At The Right
The Turbulent
Years,

Subhash Chandra of Zee

Group
[Autobiograp
President Pranab Mukherjee

Volume II

[Memoir]

Hamid Ansari
PM Narendra
Modi

Nathuram Godse The

Story of an
Assass
Who
was Shivaji?
Fixed! Cash and Corruption in
Cricket
Anything But Khamosh: The
Shatrughan
SinhaFrom the
On My Terms:
Grassroots to the
Corridors of
The Bose Brothers
and Indian
Independence An
Insiders
Account
Blood
on my
Hands:
Confessions of
Staged
Encounter
Ace against Odds

Anup Ashok Sardesai

Govind Pansare

Journalist Shantanu Guha

Ray
Bharathi S Pradhan
Sharad Pawar
[Autobiography]
Madhuri Bose, the grandniece of
Netaji Subhas Chandra
KishlayBose
Bhattacharjee

Sania
Mirza
Aseem Chhabra

Shashi Kapoor - the

Householder, the Star
India vs Pakistan: Why Cant
we just be
Friend
Chaos and Caliphate:
Jihadis and the
West in the Struggle for the
EastDetective
TheMiddle
Drowned

Husain Haqqani
Patrick Cockburn

Neil
Jordan
Ruskin
Bond
Ruskin
Bond
Mother Teresa

My Favourite Nature
Stories
The World Outside My
Window
A Call to Mercy: Hearts to
Love, Hands to
Serv
Book Gujarat Files: Anatomy
of a Cover
Up
The Unseen Indira Gandhi

Rana
Ayyub
Dr KP
Mathur

45

PM Narendra
Modi

Autobiogra
phy
Autobiography
Writer
The Kiss of Life: How
a superhero and my son
defeated cancer
Endurance: My Year in Space and Our
Journey to Mars
The Z Factor: My Journey As The Wrong Man At
The Right Time
Ace Against
Odds
On My Terms: From the Grassroots to the
Corridors of Power
The Turbulent Years : 1980-1996
The Dramatic Decade The Days Of Indira
Gandhi years
The Test of
My Life
Wings of
Fire
Courage and Conviction
A Shot at
History
The Race of
My Life
One Life Is Not
Enough
The Substance and The Shadow
The
Unbreakable
Playing It My
Way
Not Just an Accountant : The Diary of the
Nation's Conscience
Keep
Straight
from the Heart
All From
Memory
Matters of
Discretion
My Country My
Life
Truth, Love & a Little Malice
Jakhan Choto
Chilam

Emraan Hashmi
(Coauthored by
Bilal
Scot
Kelly
Subhash Chandra of Zee
Group
Sania
Mirza
Sharad Pawar

President Pranab
Mukherjee
President Pranab
Mukherjee
Yuvraj Singh
APJ Abdul Kalam
Gen VK Singh
Abhinav Bindra
Milkha Singh
K Natwar Singh
Dilip
Kumar
Mary
Kom
Sachin Tendulkar
Vinod
Rai
Kapil
Dev
BV AcharyaD
Inder Kumar Gujral
LK
Advani
Khushwant Singh
Satyajit
Ray

46

Lucknow Boy: A Memoir

Vinod Mehta

And then One Day : A Memoir

Sunny
Days

Nasiruddin Shah
Sunil Gavaskar

Sports Personalities in News May, 2016

Name
Rituraj Singh
Gaayathri Nithyanadam
Shivam Shukla
Arjun Das
Deepika Kumari
Bombayla Devi
Laishram
Laxmirani Majhi
Atanu Das
Jayanta Talukdar
Mangal Singh Champia
Nico Rosberg
Lewis Hamilton
Kimi Raikkonen
Jamie Vardy
Mark Shelby
Mickey Arthur
Novak Djokovic
Simona Halep
Ankush Dahiya
Ashish Kulhirya
Reyal Puri
Manjeet Singh
Charlotte Edwards
Kusal Perera
Stephen Curry
Pankaj Advani
Sachika Ingale
Joshna Chinappa
Sivasangari
Subramaniam
Delia
Arnold
Sania Mirza
Martina Hingis
Andy Murray
Max Verstappen
Dutee Chand
Srabani Nanda
HM Jyoti

Country
India
India
India
India
India
India
India
India
India
India
Germany
U.K.
Finland
U.K.
U.K.
South Africa
Serbia
Romania
India
India
India
India
U.K.
Sri Lanka
U.S.A.
India
India
India
Malaysia
Malaysia
India
Switzerland
U.K.
Netherlands
India
India
India

47

Sport
Rifle Shooting
Rifle Shooting
Rifle Shooting
Rifle Shooting
Archery
Archery
Archery
Archery
Archery
Archery
Formula 1
Formula 1
Formula 1
Football
Snooker
Cricket (Pakistan
Coach)
Tennis
Tennis
Boxing
Boxing
Boxing
Boxing
Cricket
Cricket
Basketball
Snooker
Squash
Squash
Squash
Squash
Tennis
Tennis
Tennis
Formula 1
Sprint Running
Sprint Running
Sprint Running

Merlin Joseph
Sanjay Bangar

India
India

Amit Kumar Saroha

India

Sprint Running
Head coach (Indian
cricket team) for
Zimbabwe tour
Para Athlete (for
differently abled)
Discus Throw
Cricket
Football

Seema Punia
India
Alastair Cook
U.K.
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu India

Obituari
es
Name

Country

Field

Raymond Samuel
Tomlinson
George Kennedy

U.S.A.

Inventor of Email

U.S.A.

Actor

Martin Crowe

New Zealand Cricketer & Commentator

Tony Warren

U.K.

Television Screenwriter

Pat Conroy

U.S.A.

Author

Mohan Roop

India

Director

Purno Agitok Sangma

India

Paramesh Krishnan
Nair
Kalabhavan Mani

India

Lok Sabha Speaker & CM of

Meghalaya
Film Archivist & Scholar

India

Actor & Folk Singer

Sir George Henry

Martin
Nana Vasconcelos

U.K.

Music Producer

Brazil

Percussionist

Lloyd Stowell Shapley

U.S.A.

Mathematician & Economist

Ernestine Anderson

U.S.A.

Jazz Vocalist

Anita Brookner

U.K.

Author & Art Historian

Paul Daniels

U.K.

Magician

Ustad Ali Ahmad

Hussain
Khan
Frank Sinatra

India

Shehnai Exponent

U.S.A.

Singer

48

Anker Joergensen

Denmark

Former Prime Minister

Andrew Grove

Hungary

Former Chairman & CEO of Intel

Johan Cruyff

Netherlands

Football Player

Cesare Maldini

Italy

Football Player

Ranjan Baindoor
Ronnie Corbett

India
U.K.

Cricketer
Comedian

Patty Duke
Zaha Hadid

U.S.A.
Iraq

Actress
Architect

Babu Bharadwaj
Merle Haggard

India
U.S.A.

Journalist
Musician

C Silvera

India

Politician

William Bill Campbell

U.S.A.

Silicon Valley Coach & Mentor

Satyanand Munjal

India

Hero Group Co-Founder

Banharn Silpa-archa

Thailand

Former Prime Minister

V.T.Thomas a.k.a.
Toms
Harry Wu

India

Cartoonist

China

Human Rights Activist

William Schallert

U.S.

Actor

Tony Cozier

West Indies

Cricket (Commentator)

Sandor Tarics

Hungary

Burt Kwouk

U.K.

Waterpolo (Oldest Olympic

Champion
Actor

K Anirudhan
RG Jadhav

India
India

Politician
Literary Critic

Suresh Chatwal
Andre Brahic

India
France

Actor
Astrophysicist

Razak Khan

India

Actor

49