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National News
India’s first semi-high speed train flagged off
- Train runs at a speed of 160 km per hour, covering the 184 kilometer distance between Delhi and Agra in 105-110 minutes.
- Train coaches have been made at Kapurthala Railway Coach Factory in the Punjab
- Bio-toilets developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
“Stand Up India” scheme Launched
- To promote entrepreneurship.
- A Web portal for the scheme launched in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
- Initiative is taken to elevate entrepreneurship among Scheduled Caste/Schedule Tribe and Women by providing loans between Rs. 10 Lakhs to Rs. 100 Lakhs.
- 5100 E-Rickshaws also distributed at the launch event by Bhartiya Micro Credit (BMC) under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojna scheme.
- Kaushal Vikas Kendra also inaugurated in Noida.
UIDAI produced 100 crore Aadhaars
- First Aadhaar was issued in 2010.
- Achieved just after the government notification of Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, benefits and services) Act, 2016
- Will give statutory support to exchange of subsidies and advantages to qualified individuals having Aadhaar (UID) number.
Panama Papers: Investigation of 500 Indians
- Panama Papers say 500 Indians being named for illegal fund holdings in abroad.
- World’s most prominent people and hundreds of Indians have been named.
Coastal security exercise in Andamans
- exercise will be 13th in the series
- local populace will also be sensitized about coastal security mechanism of the islands
- Usage of toll-free telephone number 1093 dedicated for reporting coastal security issues.
- Police, marine police force, India Reserve Battalion (IRBn), CISF, customs, fisheries department and other agencies will be involved in the southern and northern groups of islands.
- Validation of standard operating procedures for coastal security of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, various drills and contingencies.
India’s first SPV on smart city, started operations
- SPV was set up as per the Smart City Mission Guidelines to enable faster execution of projects by delegating to them powers of various concerned departments and agencies.
Telangana unveils new ICT Policy 2016
- Policy is proposed to transform Telangana into the most preferred destination for any IT company.
- Policy seeks to attract $3 billion investment to the State and create about 6 lakh jobs.
Denial of AMU minority status verdict upheld
- Government has made it clear in the Supreme Court that the government is convinced that the 1967 Constitution Bench judgment, which had held that AMU was not “established” by Muslims, still held sway.
- Azeez Basha versus Union of India verdict of the Supreme Court had denied AMU protection under Article 30 of the Constitution.
- In 1981, Parliament restored the minority status to the university. But the Allahabad High Court in January 2006 struck down the provision of the AMU
India at 6th position in top-10 manufacturers list
- United Nations Industrial Development Organization has placed India at 6th among the world’s top 10 largest manufacturing countries.
- China tops the list of 10-top industrial producers
- Other countries include US, Japan, Germany and Korea. Indonesia is at number 10 position.
International
“Global Report on Urban Health” publicized
- Compared data on health from urban areas of 100 countries.
- Report was led and written by the WHO Centre for Health Development in Kobe, Japan.
Business and Economy
India signs USD 100m draft export pact with ICD
- Agreement was signed by Khaled Al-Aboodi, CEO of the ICD, and Tarun Sharma, regional head on behalf the EXIM Bank.
- MoU will also be achieved through the exchange of information on trade-related matters
- identification of business opportunities for Indian companies to pursue in ICD’s member countries
RBI cuts repo rate by 25 basis points
- Repo Rate : 50%
- Reverse Repo Rate : 00%
- Marginal Standing Facility Rate : 00%
- Bank Rate : 00%
- CRR : 4%
- SLR : 25%
Xiaomi invests $25 million funding in Hungama
- First investment made by Xiaomi in the country.
- Hungama has 65 million monthly active consumers.
- Has partnerships with over 700 content creators, and offers over 8,000 movies in Hindi, Tamil, and other regional languages.
- Will start integrating Hungama’s content services, including themes and ringtones into its platforms
Science and Technology
ISRO, NASA to jointly launch satellite to study earthquakes and their patterns
- Satellite is called NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, or NISAR
- Designed to make observations and measurements of ecosystem disturbance, ice-sheet collapse, and natural hazards such as tsunami, volcanoes and landslides.
World’s maiden Public Immunization for Dengue
- Has been launched by Philippines.
- Philippines had the highest dengue incidence recording 200,415 cases in 2015.
- Philippine government is spending 5 billion pesos ($98 million) to regulate the free vaccines.
Ola introduce e-rickshaws on its platform
- Total of 5,100 Ola e-rickshaws will be launched in partnership with Bhartiya Micro Credit (BMC)
- Will be deployed across Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad.
- Can be booked on the Ola mobile application
Environment and Ecology
World’s First White Tiger Safari Opened in Madhya Pradesh
- Sanctuary is spread over an area of 25 acre and is built at a cost of Rs 50 crore.
- There are three white tigers and two Royal Bengal tigers.
- Nine more white tigers will arrive in the coming months.
- World’s first white tiger was discovered in the Vindhya region around 100 years ago.
- Safari will be named after Rewa princely state’s ruler Maharaja Martand Singh who had a ‘pet’ white tiger named Mohan in 1951.
- It became the progenitor of all known white tigers in the world after the ruler arranged for its breeding.
People in News
Indian Manish Sharma appointed to Panasonic’s Global Executive Council
- He was earlier MD of Indian operations
- Global executive council of Panasonic is a key decision-making body
- Gives shape to the company’s business plans across the world
- An Indian has been inducted onto the decision-making body for the first time ever.
Jazz saxophonist ‘Gato’ Barbieri dies at 83′’
- recorded 35 albums between 1967 and 1982,
- He toured regularly and went on to record four more albums,
- His recording of smooth jazz “Que Pasa,” reached 2 on Billboard’s contemporary jazz charts.
- won a Grammy for best instrumental composition in 1973 for his music for “Last Tango In Paris“
- Barbieri received a Latin Grammy lifetime achievement award for a career that covered “virtually the entire jazz landscape.”
Awards
Pranab Mukherjee presents National Geoscience Awards 2014
- 33 geoscientists received the National Geoscience Awards (NGA 2014)
- Includes one Award for Excellence, one Young Scientist Award and 19 individual and / or team awards in 16 fields of geosciences.
Viswanathan Anand to get Hridaynath Award
- Honor will presented with a cash award of Rs 2 lakh and a memento.
- Will receive the prize from the Maharashtra governor C Vidyasagar Rao.
- Hridaynath Award felicitates and recognizes successful individuals across the country from various walks of life.
Sports
Waqar Younis Resigns as Pakistan Cricket Coach
- Pakistan’s head coach Waqar Younis resigned from his position after his team exit from the World Twenty20 tournament.
- Shahid Afridi stepped down as Pakistan’s T20 captain. He was appointed to his post in 2014. He will be replaced by Sarfraz Ahmed