Top Headlines 30.04.2016

1. Mongolia conferred its highest civilian award 'North Star' on two noted Indian scholars-Lokesh Chandra and Mansur Haider for their contribution to Mongolian studies.

2. Indian economy is projected to expand by 7.6 percent in 2016-17 and 7.8 percent in 2017-18, said the United Nations Economic and Social Survey for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)-2016 report.

3. Three Indian origin persons have been named among 100 highest-paid CEOs globally with PepsiCo's Indra Nooyi and Lyondell Basell's Bhavesh Patel making it to the top ten CEO list compiled by California based company Equilar.

4. Bureaucrat-turned-politician N K Singh will be honoured with Japan's second highest national decoration for his contribution in boosting Indo-Japan economic relations over last few decades. The prestigious 'The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star' will
be conferred on Singh by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

5. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Mahindra Intertrade Ltd and MSTC Limited, a PSU under the Ministry of Steel, for setting up a Joint Venture Company for establishing first of its kind Auto Shredding Plant in India in New Delhi.

6. Indian academician Radha Kumar was appointed to the United Nations' University Council to formulate its principles and policies, consider and approve biennial budget and work programme.

7. Veteran Journalist and founder member of the Indian Federation of Working Journalists S V Jayasheela Rao died. He was 88.

8. Senior journalists Manoj Sharma and Sarika Malhotra have been jointly awarded the inaugural Aster Media Awards for writings that have helped in creating public awareness on social issues.

9. Top seed Jagadeesh Kalaga of Andhra Pradesh won the Under-17 boys singles title, while Aakarshi Kashyap bagged twin crownes in the Under-15 and Under-17 girls’ singles category at the PNB MetLife Junior Badminton Championship Season 2 National Finals.

10. Nagaland's capital Kohima was declared as a 'smoke-free city'. Its official declaration was made by Kohima district Deputy Commissioner Rovilatuo Mor during a campaign for Smoke Free Kohima City.

11. Reliance Defence, a part of the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group, has inked a pact with Ukrain's state-owned Ukroboronprom to collaborate for assembling and maintaining the Antonov series of military and commercial transport aircraft.

Top Headlines - 29.04.2016

1. India successfully launched its seventh navigation satellite - IRNSS 1G on-board the PSLV from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre Sriharikota. India completed its landmark mission for a regional navigational system on par with US based GPS with the successful launch of IRNSS-1G, the seventh and last in the constellation of satellites that make up the system.

2. Renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has won the gold medal at '9th Moscow Sand Sculpture Championship 2016'. Pattnaik won the competition for his 15 feet high art work Mahatma Gandhi's sculpture for non-violence and peace.

3. Russia launched a Soyuz-2.1a rocket carrying three satellites from the newly-built Vostochny Cosmodrome located in the country's Far East.

4. Rajeev Sharma was appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of Power Finance Corporation (PFC), a Navratna Public Sector Undertaking. Sharma is presently CMD of Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd.

5. Lobsay Sangay, the Prime Minister (Sikyong) of Tibetan government-in-exile was re-elected, defeating his lone rival Penpa Tsering, the Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament, by a margin of 9012 votes.

6. The Cabinet gave its approval for the memorandum of understanding between Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and the Insurance Authority of United Arab Emirates.

7. Well known cartoonist V T Thomas, the creator of 'Boban and Molly', died. He was 87.

8. Panama and the United States have signed an agreement on sharing of bank account information.

9. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Papua New Guinea on cooperation in the field of Healthcare and Medical Science.

10. Indian archer Deepika Kumari equalled the world record in women's recurve event in the first stage of the Archery World Cup. Deepika shot 686 in the 72-arrow ranking round to equal the feat of London Olympics gold-medallist Ki Bo Bae of Korea.

11. Ratings agency India Ratings has lowered the India's GDP growth forecast to 7.7 per cent for the current financial year, from 7.9 per cent earlier.

Daily GK Update : 28th April, 2016

1. New Zealand's $5 bill named best banknote of the year
i. New Zealand’s five-dollar note has been named the banknote of the year for 2015 by the International Bank Note Society.

ii. The note incorporates some of the world’s most advanced security features and beautifully showcasing New Zealand’s history, culture, and heritage. The $5 note has won form the 40 eligible designs from a record 20 countries.

iii. The $5 note has featured mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary and on the other side, a rare yellow-eyed penguin and local flora.

2. MoU signed between Railways and ISRO
i. The Railways has signed up an Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to develop an application for Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System. The MoU has been signed on March 17th, 2016 and came into force now.

ii. This MoU will fulfill the requirements of Indian Railways in terms of issues and needs related to science and technology which include, the development of an advance warning system at Unmanned Railway Crossings for road users, the mapping of Indian Railway assets through Geo- spatial technology and to develop paperless unreserved ticketing solution based on geo-fencing of station area.

iii. Under this agreement the ISRO will also develop a real time train information system by using communication satellite services to meet the Indian Railway satellite based communication requirements.

3. New naval detachment launched at Lakshadweep Androth Island
i. The Indian Navy has inaugurated a naval detachment at Androth Island of the Lakshadweep archipelago.

ii. It will help Indian Navy to have better surveillance and reach in the Arabian Sea. The naval detachment was inaugurated by Vice Admiral Girish Luthra, who is the Flag Officer Commanding-in- Chief of the Southern Naval Command.

iii. The facility will function as an observance and reporting organization. It will provide communication network connectivity with the mainland and also enable monitoring of Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOC). It will also help in radar surveillance.

4. Cabinet nod to solar power plant of 200 MW at Jetsar, Rajasthan
i. The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gave its approval for utilisation of 400 hectares of un-
cultivable farm land at the Central State Farm (CSF), Jetsar in Sri Ganganagar District, Rajasthan for setting up of a solar power plant of capacity exceeding 200 MW.

ii. The land is presently in possession of National Seeds Corporation (NSC), a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the administrative control of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The Solar Power Plant will be set up by a CPSE, which would be selected through negotiation.

iii. NSC will provide 400 hectares of un-cultivable land, out of the 5394 hectares under its possession to the identified CPSE, which will bear the costs relating to the installation of the Solar Power Plant. The selected CPSE will have to do tariff based competitive bidding for the project.

5. Cabinet approves MoU between India and Papua New Guinea on cooperation in the field of health area and medical science
i. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for signing an Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) between India and Papua New Guinea on cooperation in the field of Healthcare and Medical Science.

ii. The bilateral MoU will encourage cooperation between the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare of India and the Ministry of Health and HIV/AIDS of the Papua New Guinea through joint initiatives in the health sector.

iii. It will strengthen bilateral ties between India and Papua New Guinea.

6. MoU between Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of
India and the Insurance Authority, UAE
i. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto approval for the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and the Insurance Authority of United Arab Emirates. The MoU was signed in February 2016.

ii. The MoU provides for enhanced cooperation between the two authorities in the field of insurance supervision by providing a framework for co-operation such as channels of communication.

iii. It will also result in increasing mutual understanding through the exchange of regulatory and relevant supervisory information including confidential information to enforce or ensure compliance with their respective laws and regulations.

7. BSE inks pact with Korea Exchange to list Sensex-based derivatives
i. BSE Ltd on Thursday said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Korea Exchange (KRX) of South Korea, for listing S&P BSE Sensex-based derivatives contracts on the latter.

ii. The agreement is expected to further the development of derivatives markets in India and South Korea. It will encourage
the sharing of information, and foster new opportunities for the exchanges and their respective issuers.

iii. The MoU also includes information sharing by both parties to promote each other’s understanding of a product’s listing process and the market’s functioning. BSE and KRX have also agreed to conduct joint research in the area of derivatives markets and to support the development of new products, experience sharing and cooperation on IT system.

8. Experian India has launched the fraud detection mechanism
i. The Global data services company, Experian, headquarter in Dublin, Ireland, has launched its 'Hunter Fraud Score' in India, which is a new scoring mechanism.

ii. The mechanism will help to measure the probability of fraud in a credit application across banking and insurance industries. It will help the country to increase their efficiency in fraud detection.

iii. Hunter prevents application fraud by matching credit application data against multiple data sources including the shared fraud data. It comprises several rules that work towards identifying inconsistencies in credit applications.

9. DBS Bank launches 'mobile-only bank' in India
i. The Singapore's largest bank, DBS has unveiled the 'mobile only bank’ in India. The ‘digibank’ uses technologies, such as bio metrics and artificial intelligence, to enable paperless, signature less and branch less bank.

ii. This is the India's 1st mobile only bank which targeting 5 million retail customers. The bank will leverage bio metrics-enabled ID and Aadhaar card to ensure that that there is no paperwork.

iii. It will provide customer service via a 24*7 artificial intelligence- driven virtual assistant, which understands natural language and has learning ability, so that it is able to respond in real-time.

10. Japan unveiled Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympics emblems
i. The new emblem of Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympic Games was unveiled here on Monday, featuring an indigo-coloured check in the design.

ii. The logo features a circular Japanese traditional checkered pattern. Below the design are the words “Tokyo 2020” and under them the five interlocking Olympic rings, reports Xinhua.

iii. The logo was chosen from a shortlist of four announced on April 8 after more than 14,599 entries were publicly accepted. Tokyo 2020 organisers had to scrap a logo by Japanese designer Kenjiro Sano over its close resemblance of a theatre in the Belgian city of Liege created by designer Olivier Debie.

11. ICC suspends the Cricket Association of Nepal
i. The Cricket Association of Nepal has been suspended by the International Cricket Council due to a ‘vacuum of cricket leadership’ in the country and also in view of government interference in the
board. The ICC took the decision after the 2nd meeting of the year at ICC headquarter in Dubai.

ii. According to ICC, the membership of CAN will remain suspended until it becomes free of government interference and is properly structured to begin exploiting the tremendous cricket talent and opportunities that exist in Nepal.

iii. However, the ICC decided that Nepal cricket teams would continue to feature in ICC events.

12. Panel suggests fine or jail for celebs in misleading ads
i. Parliamentary Standing Committee has been formed to tackle misleading advertising as well as to fix liability on endorsers/ celebrities.

ii. The committee to be headed by MP J C Divakar Reddy advocated that the Department of Consumer Affairs should be empowered to make laws to regulate growing sectors of e-commerce, direct selling and multi-level marketing where consumer complaints are on the rise.

iii. The panel suggests that for first time offence the violator may be penalized with either a fine of Rs 10 lakh or imprisonment up to two years or both. For second time offence a fine of Rs 50 lakh and imprisonment of five years.

13. Kerala cartoonist V T Thomas passed away
i. Kerala cartoonist V T Thomas, popularly known as Toms has passed away on 27 April 2016 following a brief illness at in Kottayam, Kerela. He was 86.

ii. Toms created the legendary cartoon characters Boban and Molly (Bobanum Moliyum). He was born in 1929 in Kuttanad in Alappuzha district and initially served the British Army.

iii. Apart from Bobanum Moliyum, the characters which weaved magic in Toms' creative world were the of the kids lawyer Pothen, the flirty Appy Hippy, the nincompoop panchayat president Ittunnan (chettan) and so on.

14. Deepika Kumari equals world record in recurve event at Archery World Cup
i. India's Deepika Kumari has equalled the world record in Women's Recurve event at the qualifying stage of Archery World Cup being held in Shanghai.

ii. Padma Shri recipient Deepika recorded a score of 686 out of 720 to finish 1st in qualifiers and equal the world record set by South Korea's Ki Boe Bae at the World University Games in Gwangju last year.

iii. She has already qualified for the Rio Olympics with her performance at the Copenhagen World Championships last year. In the previous editions of the World Cup, Deepika had won silver medals 2011, 2012 and 2013 in the individual events.

15. Sudarsan Pattnaik bags gold medal at Sculpture Championship in Moscow
i. Renowned artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has won the gold medal at ninth Moscow Sand Sculpture Championship in Russia.

ii. Mr. Pattnaik won the competition for his 15 feet high art work Mahatma Gandhi's sculpture for non-violence and peace .

iii. The 20 top sculptors from different countries competed at the championship. Padma Shri Mr. Pattnaik has participated in more than 50 international sand sculpture championships across the world and won many awards for the country.

Top Headlines - 28.04.2016

1. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released its Regional Human Development Report. Working age people in Asia have been surveyed in this report. The UN report said that India is projected to dominate the growth in the working-age population in Asia Pacific by 2050.

2. Senior IAS officers Ashok Lavasa and Ajay Mittal were appointed as Expenditure and Information and Broadcasting secretaries respectively.

3. A six-metre statue of former South African president Nelson Mandela has been unveiled in Palestine. It is the first time such a sculpture of the anti-apartheid icon Mandela is unveiled outside South Africa.

4. Chinese scientists launched a sounding rocket from south China's Hainan Province. Kunpeng-1B was launched from Danzhou City by the National Space Science Center (NSSC).

5. Badminton ace Nandu Natekar has been inducted into the Legends Club, founded by the late Cricket Club of India president Raj Singh Dungarpur along with 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev. Natekar is the first non-cricketer to be inducted in this club.

6. K Ashok Kumar, a research scholar from IIT Kharagpur (KGP), won the prestigious International Plant Nutrition Scholar Award.

7. A Naval Detachment (NAVDET) at Androth Island of Lakshadweep was inaugurated by Vice Admiral Girish Luthra, AVSM, VSM, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command.

8. IPL team Gujarat Lions have entered into a partnership with Reliance Games, a publisher and developer of mobile games. With this partnership, Reliance Games becomes the Official Gaming Partner of the Rajkot based team, led by Suresh Raina.

9. International Bank Note Society named New Zealand's five dollar note as the best banknote of 2015 among nearly 40 eligible designs from a record 20 countries.

10. Harry Wu, Chinese human rights campaigner, and author and founder of the Laogai Research Foundation died. He was 79.

Top Headlines - 27.04.2016

1. The finance ministry has approved 8.7 per cent interest on PF deposits in Employees Provident Fund organisation (EPFO), lower than 8.8 per cent decided by the Central Board of Trustees (CBT).

2. To check debit card frauds, SBI has launched a facility under 'SBI Quick: SMS and Missed Call Banking' service whereby the customer can choose to 'activate or deactivate' their cards using various platforms, like ATM, and Point of Sale (POS).

3. The Eleventh Indo-Mongolia joint training Exercise, ‘Nomadic Elephant - 2016’ to promote military associations between India and Mongolia has commenced in Mongolia. The exercise will culminate on 08 May 2016. The aim of this exercise is to develop synergy and inter- operability between the two armies to fight in Counter Insurgency and Counter Terrorism environment under the United Nation mandate.

4. Madhya Pradesh Assembly Speaker Sitasharan Sharma has been nominated as a member of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

5. Mohun Bagan and India striker Jeje Lalpekhlua was declared winner of the 'Indian Player of the Year' award by the Football Players Association of India (FPAI).

6. Boeing India President Pratyush Kumar has been appointed as the Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in India.

7. Shri J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare announced India’s first public-private-partnership (PPP) agreement for research and innovation in preventive health between ICMR and Sun Pharma.

8. Krishnapatnam Port launched a direct bi-weekly rail connectivity service between ICD Bengaluru and the port in association with state- owned Container Corporation or CONCOR.

9. The Judo Federation of India (JFI) said that Commonwealth Judo Championships 2018 will be hosted by India. Championship will be organised in Jaipur. This will be the first time that Commonwealth Judo Championships will be held in India.

10. E-Commerce major Snapdeal has appointed former HUL Brand Director Kanika Kalra as its Vice President (Marketing).

Top Headlines - 26.04.2016

1. Veteran actor Jeetendra, filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Bollywood star Ranveer Singh were honoured with '74th Master Dinanath Mangeshkar Awards'.

2. Britain's annual rich list has two sets of India- born brothers grabbing the top two slots. Mumbai-born property magnates David and Simon Reuben have topped 'The Sunday Times' Rich List 2016 with a fortune of 13.1 billion pounds, followed by the Hinduja brothers at 13 billion pounds.

3. Shri J P Nadda, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare inaugurated the first of its kind Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) compliant facility within the Central Government for manufacture of DPT and TT vaccine at the Central Research Institute (CRI), Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh.

4. Nine newly-elected members, five of them from the Congress, were administered their oath of membership of the Rajya Sabha. The members from Congress include Anand Sharma from Himachal Pradesh, Ranee Narah and Ripun Bora from Assam, and Pratap Singh Bajwa and Shamsher Singh Dullo from Punjab.

5. Papa Wemba, one of Africa's greatest music stars, died. Papa Wemba was well known as the "king of Congolese rumba". He was 66.

6. Bob and Mike Bryan won the Barcelona Open doubles tennis title. Bryan brothers defeated Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas and the
Spaniard Marcel Granollers to win the title.

7. Indian shooter Mairaj Ahmed Khan started off his campaign at the ISSF World by winning a silver medal in Men’s Skeet tournament. It is India's first medal in skeet in the World Cup.

8. Leicester City forward Riyad Mahrez has been chosen for the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) Player of the Year award.

9. World's fifth-ranked, Spaniard Rafael Nadal, defeated Japan's Kei Nishikori to win his 9th Barcelona Open title. With this win, he has equaled Guillermo Vilas’ record of 49 career clay-court titles.

10. Singer Billy Paul died. He was 81. He was best known for his Grammy-award winning hit, 'Me and Mrs. Jones'.

Top Headlines - 25.04.2016

1. NASA has awarded a $67 million contract to Washington-based Aerojet Rocket dyne to develop an advanced Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) system for deep-space missions.

2. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) has cleared the insurance policy for all 21 nuclear reactors in the country. The policy was cleared under the India Nuclear Insurance
Pool (INIP) that was set up to address liability issues for both suppliers and operators.

3. Nepal observed the first anniversary of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that claimed the lives of around 9,000 people last year. Several people gathered at the Durbar Square in Nepal's capital Kathmandu and released.

4. Twitter India has collaborated with data journalism website IndiaSpend to provide users with real-time air pollution updates in Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai, the microblogging website announced in a blog post.

5. ISRO Chairman AS Kiran Kumar said that the space agency will test its reusable launch vehicle in May. Called RLV-TD, the vehicle will be released from a height of over 70 kilometer for its re-entry into the atmosphere.

6. Rising Pune Supergiants batsman Kevin Pietersen has been ruled out of the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after sustaining a calf injury. The 35-year-old was injured during Pune's match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

7. The Centre has amended the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act to expedite the process of dispensation of justice to victims of atrocities. The provisions include completion of investigation and filing of charge sheet within 60 days.

8. A mosque in Kerala has decided to allow the entry of Muslim women for the first time in its history. Muslim women "in the right attire" can enter the Thazhathangady Juma Mosque, only on April 24 and May 8.

Top Headlines - 24.04.2016

1. According to the study by global research firm Ipsos, Google ranks on the top in the new list of ten most influential brands in the country and is followed by Facebook, Gmail, Microsoft and Samsung in the top five, all of which are foreign brands. While another foreign brand WhatsApp is sixth on the India's top 10 most influential brands, Flipkart is the top ranked Indian brand at seventh place.

2. Japanese Financial services Firm Nomura said that India's GDP growth is likely to reach 7.8 per cent in 2016-17. This has been projected in a report by Nomura. The GDP growth rate will be 7.6 percent in the current fiscal.

3. BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Narendra Jadhav, Malayalam actor Suresh Gopi, journalist Swapan Dasgupta and boxer M C Mary Kom have been nominated for Rajya Sabha. President Pranab Mukherjee, on the recommendation of the government, nominated the six for Rajya Sabha.

4. Bollywood Actor Manoj Bajpayee will be honored with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in the Best Actor category (Critics’ Choice) for his performance in Hansal Mehta's biographical drama, "Aligarh".

5. WWF-India and Ricoh India signed the 'Project Nature Watch' partnership which aims at providing need-based infrastructure support to frontline and field staff working in the forest and marine areas for monitoring species such as the red panda, snow leopard, tiger, elephant, rhino, olive Ridley turtle and other threatened fish diversity, coral reefs, cetaceans and marine mammals.

6. Padma Shri awardee Indian-American Ashok Mago has received the prestigious Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Texas in the US for his services to the world of trade and industry.

7. Automobile giant Mahindra & Mahindra has become the first Indian company to join a global energy campaign led by an international non profit group that will work with the world's most influential businesses in setting commitments to double their energy productivity. By signing up to 'EP100' campaign led by 'The Climate Group', the world’s largest manufacturer of tractors has committed to doubling their energy productivity by 2030.

8. Indian Information Service (IIS) officer Bhupendra Kainthola was appointed as Director of Pune-based Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).

9. Senior IAS officer J S Mathur was appointed as Secretary in the Union Ministry of Panchayatai Raj. Mathur is 1982 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.

10. Bollywood star Salman Khan will be the Goodwill Ambassador for Rio Olympics 2016 by India. Olympic games will be held from 5 august to 21 august in Rio. More than 10,500 athletes from 206 countries will take part in 28 Olympic Games.

11. Famous Urdu poet Malik Zada Manzoor Ahmed died. He was 91.

Top Headlines - 23.04.2016

1. 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’. Time’s annual list also includes pioneers like American composer Lin Manuel-Miranda, leaders like IMF head Christine Lagarde and icons like Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio.

2. India has replaced China as top destination for foreign direct investment in 2015, according to the report of FDI Intelligence, a division of The Financial Times. India attracted $63 billion worth
FDI projects in 2015.

3. India's largest IT services firm TCS has been recognised as one of the UK's leading employers for women in a list published by 'The Times'. TCS employs over 1,00,000 women globally, a third of its total workforce. The Times Top 50 Employers for Women recognises organisations that are spearheading gender equality in the workplace and making a conscious effort to even out the playing field for men and women.

4. Himachal Pradesh has bagged another National Award in Agriculture sector for 2015-16 as Hamirpur district has been
selected for the Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Public Administration. The award is given for excellent implementation of Soil Health Card Scheme.

5. Chinese President Xi Jinping took over as the 'commander-in- chief' of a new joint command headquarters for China's military.

6. Famous American singer and composer Prince died in Minnesota. He was 57.

7. African country Chad's incumbent President Idriss Deby won the first phase of presidential elections and now he will be the president of the country for the fifth time.

8. India signed the Paris Agreement on climate change in New York. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar signed the
agreement at a high-level ceremony convened by UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon.

9. Malaysian Government has introduced the Electronic Travel Authorization Visa (e-visa) for a short visit to Malaysia. Currently, the e-visa facility is available to Indians residing in India only and is valid for a single journey stay of maximum 30 days in Malaysia for tourism purposes.

10. Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, inaugurated India’s '1st Second-Generation (2G) Ethanol plant' at Kashipur in Utarakhand.

Top Headlines - 22.04.2016

1. London-based Indian diplomat Amitav Banerji was conferred one of the highest awards of Cyprus 'Commander of the Order of Merit' at a ceremony at the Cypriot high commission.

2. Media in India continues to be under stress as the country figures low at 133 out of 180 nations in the latest press freedom index. This report was released by the Paris-based agency 'Reporters Without Borders'.

3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined the prominent world leaders when his wax figures took up residence at Madame Tussauds branches in Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok.

4. The Australian city of Melbourne has been named the world's best sporting city of the past decade, beating London, New York, Tokyo, Berlin and Sydney to the crown.

5. Google India remained as the most attractive employer in the country followed by Mercedes-Benz in the second place, according to leading human resource consultancy Randstad. According to the 6th edition of Randstad Award 2016, Google India emerged as the most attractive employer for a second consecutive year.

6. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi gave its approval for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Bhutan on technical cooperation in the field of capacity building, benchmarking and bilateral exchange in infrastructure engineering.

7. The Indian Navy announced grant of permanent commission to women officers on completion of seven years in service. Navy is last of all 3 armed forces to allow permanent commission to women.

8. The Indian cricket board (BCCI) appointed Rahul Johri as its new chief executive officer. Before this assignment, Johri was executive vice-president and general manager for South Asia at Discovery Network.

9. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan Yojana has been renamed as 'Khelo India' by the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs. Two other sport projects — Urban Sports Infrastructure Scheme and National Sports Talent Search Scheme have been absorbed under Khelo India.

10. Justice PK Mishra, former Chief Justice of Patna High Court, was appointed as the Lokayukta of Goa.

11. US President Barack Obama has nominated Indian-American Geeta Pasi, a career foreign service officer, as the country's next envoy to Chad.

Top Headlines - 21.04.2016

1. Panama will adopt international tax reporting standards and participate in the automatic exchange of tax information by 2018, as the country has come under a harsh spotlight in the wake of revelations arising from the "Panama Papers" controversy.

2. Hawk-Eye technology will be used to decide whether the ball has crossed the goal-line at this year's European Championship. The British company's camera-based system, used in tennis and cricket and at the 2014 World Cup final, will be installed in all the 10 stadiums hosting the tournament in France.

3. The Centre informed the Supreme Court that 256 of 675 (over one-third) of India’s districts have been declared drought-hit. The court, hearing a PIL filed by NGO Swaraj Abhiyan, was also told that at least 33 crore people (25% of the population) are affected.

4. The IMF, World Bank, United Nations and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have joined forces to build effective tax systems, for avoiding tax base erosion and developing new standards for taxing multinational enterprises.

5. The government has revoked the order tightening rules for withdrawal of provident fund money, within hours of keeping it in abeyance for three more months. The notification issued on 10th February, 2016 is cancelled. Now the old system will continue.

6. Rod Daniel, the filmmaker who directed a young Michael J Fox in the 1985 fantasy-comedy "Teen Wolf" has died. He was 73.

7. India and China today held the 19th round of talks to resolve the vexed border dispute amid a growing discord between the two nations over Beijing blocking India's bid to get JeM chief Masood Azhar banned in the UN.

8. The Bombay HC allowed the BCCI to hold the May 1 Mumbai versus Pune IPL match in Pune. Earlier, the HC had ordered to shift the venue of all the IPL matches scheduled in drought-hit Maharashtra after April 30.

Top Headlines - 20.04.2016

1. Multi-lateral funding agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a project loan of $300 million (about Rs 2,000 crore) for upgradation of over 400 kilometer (km) of major district roads in
Uttar Pradesh.

2. Tata Trusts and Jain Irrigation Systems (JISL) have signed an agreement to work towards improving agriculture extension, agribusiness and research and development systems in multiple geographies across the country.

3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Narayana Superspeciality Hospital in Katra,Jammu and Kashmir. This 230 bed hospital has been set up by Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board at a cost of 300 crore rupees.

4. Deepak Mishra, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the 1984 batch, has been appointed as the Additional Director General in Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

5. World's No. 1 Tennis Player Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams won 'Sportsman of the Year' trophy for a third time at the 16th Laureus World Sports Awards.

6. Hours after creating history by becoming the first Indian gymnast to qualify for the Olympics, Dipa Karmakar clinched the gold in vaults finals at the test event of the Rio Games.

7. World's leading news agency Reuters and The New York Times jointly got the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news photography. Reuters and The New York Times shared the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news photography for images of the migrant crisis in Europe and the Middle East.

8. Pakistan Cricket Board appointed former Test leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed as the new head coach of the National Cricket Academy.