17th April 2016

A.Indian Army conducts Shatrujeet battle exercise in Rajasthan

1.The Indian Army conducted major battle exercise named as ‘Shatrujeet’ in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan near to the border with Pakistan. 

2.The sole purpose of the exercise was to evaluate the capability of the Indian Army and fine tune its proactive war strategy to respond swiftly to any threat to nation’s security. 

Key facts 
1.The 2016 Shatrujeet battle exercise was steered by the Mathura based 1 Corps, one of the three principle strike corps of the Indian Army. 

2.It aimed to evaluate the capability of the Indian Army to strike deep into enemy territory in an integrated air-land battle environment. 

3.It was an operation-oriented exercise that focused on validating integrated battle theatre fighting concept. 

4.It also incorporated the new-age technologies, weapon platforms and systems as well as long range precision targeting vectors. 

5.It was post preparatory training exercise manoeuvres at subordinate units and formation levels by conducting integrated operational manoeuvres.

B.Delhi Government launches Phase 2 of odd-even scheme

1.Delhi Government has launched the second phase of odd-even car rationing scheme to check pollution in the national capital. 

2.The second phase will be from 15 April 2016 till 30 April 2016. The scheme aims at curbing vehicular pollution and reducing traffic congestion on the roads of NCR Delhi. 

Key facts 
1.Under it, four wheelers with licence plates ending in an odd number will ply on odd dates and those ending with an even number can run on even dates. 

2.It will be between 8am and 8pm and on Sunday no restrictions are applied. 

3.The penalty in case of a violation is Rs. 2,000. During this implementation, public transport including buses and the Metro will be run at high frequency. 

4.Residents are being urged to carpool in order to reduce pressure on public transport. 

Exemptions: President, Vice President, Prime Minister, Union Ministers and other VIPs have been exempted. Besides emergency vehicles, vehicles driven by women, CNG vehicles and cars carrying school children in uniforms will be also exempted.

C.Jharkhand Government launches Bhimrao Ambedkar Awas Yojana for widows

1.Jharkhand Government has launched Bhimrao Ambedkar Awas Yojana for widows to create equality and harmony in society, ensuring all round development enshrined in the Constitution. 

2.It was launched by Chief Minister Raghubar Das on the occasion of 125th birth anniversary of Dr. B R Ambedkar. 

Key facts 
1.The scheme (Yojana) aims at building 11000 units (houses) for widows in 2016-17 financial year with the budgetary allocation of 80 crore rupees. 

2.Under it, beneficiaries would get an amount of 75000 rupees to build a house in hilly terrains districts and 70000 rupees in plains area. 

3.The amount would be distributed among the beneficiaries in three installments directly in their bank accounts. Under it widows will also get pension.

16th April 2016

A.MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga appointed as member of US cybersecurity body

1.US President Barack Obama has nominated MasterCard’s Indian-American CEO Ajay Banga as a member of the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. 

2.Mr. Banga is one of the 10 members of the Commission which also includes General Keith Alexander former Director of the top US spying body National Security Agency (NSA). 

3.The commission was established in February 2016 to make detailed recommendations to strengthen cybersecurity in both the public and private sectors while protecting privacy, ensuring public safety and economic and national security. 

About Ajay Banga 
1.Banga is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad. 

2.He had started his career at Nestle India, working in sales and management roles from 1981 to 1994.

B.Mary Kom named as AIBA ambassador for Women’s World Boxing Championship

1.Iconic Indian woman boxer Mary Kom has been named as the International Boxing Association (AIBA) ambassador for Women’s World Championship. 

2.She is one of the eight ambassadors for the upcoming World Championship of AIBA scheduled from May 19 to 27, 2016 in Astana, Kazakhstan. 

3.The AIBA-appointed ambassadors for the World Championship also include Nicola Adams (Great Britain), Marlen Esparza (US), Adriana Arauja (Kazakhstan), Stanimira Petrova (Bulgaria) and Khadija Mardi (Morocco). 

4.The female officials chosen as ambassadors are Kheira Siki Yakoub (Algerian) and Jennifer Huggins (Canada). 

About MC Mary Kom 

1.Her full name is Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom and belongs to Kom tribal community of the north-eastern state of Manipur. 

2.She is nicknamed Magnificent Mary. 

3.She is Five-time World Boxing champion, and the only woman boxer to have won gold medal in each one of the six world championships.

C.Google extends free internet service through WiFi to 10 railway stations

1.The search engine giant Google has extended free internet service through WiFi to 10 railway stations across the country to provide internet to over 1.5 million people. 

2.The free internet service was extended as part of Google’s tie up with Railtel, the internet provider arm of Indian Railways. 

3.These 10 Railway Stations are: Pune, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Raipur, Ranchi, Vijayawada, Kacheguda (Hyderabad), Ernakulum Jn (Kochi) and Vishakhapatnam. 

4.The free internet service is built over the fiber network of Raitel which is designed to offer high speed broadband experience to users. 

5.The first such kind of service was launched at Mumbai Central in 2015. 

6.This service will provide travellers passing through these stations to easily stream a high definition video, research their destination, download a book or a new game for their journey.

D.Delhi Government bans sale of all forms of Chewable Tobacco for 1 year

1.Delhi government has banned the manufacture, distribution, storage and sale of all forms of chewable tobacco for one year in the interest of public health. 

2.The ban incudes all forms of chewable tobacco including scented, flavoured or mixed and sold in other forms such as gutkha, pan masala, khaini and zarda. 

3.In this regard, Delhi Department of Food Safety has issued an official notification and it will also cover unpackaged products of chewable tobacco within the ambit of the ban. 

4.The ban will be valid for one year from the date of publication of this notification in the official gazette. 

Background 

1.This notification was issued in pursuance of earlier September 2012 order which had banned on ‘gutkha’ in the NCT Delhi based on a series of directions from Supreme Court. 

2.But tobacco retailers defied the notification as the term ‘gutkha’ used in it which didn’t banned them from selling the components of ‘gutkha’ (betel nut and raw tobacco) in separate pouches.

E.Supercomputer Param Kanchenjunga unveiled at NIT Sikkim

1.Supercomputer Param Kanchenjunga was unveiled at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Sikkim. 

2.It has been named after Kangchenjunga mountain, the third highest mountain in the world which lies partly in Nepal and partly in Sikkim. 

3.It was formally unveiled by Sikkim Governor Shrinvas Patil at the NIT Sikkim campus at Ravangla in South Sikkim District. 

4.It is said that it most powerful and fastest supercomputer among all the 31 NITs and Sikkim NIT has secured a rare distinction of having such a supercomputer. 

5.Param Kanchenjunga has been jointly developed by Pune-based Centre for Development of Advanced Computing ‘C-DAC’ and the NIT Sikkim at a cost of three crore rupees. 

6.The supercomputer is expected to help achieve excellence in research and engineering education in the north-east region. 

Supercomputer: It is a computer that can do complete tasks faster than any other computer of its generation. It has high speed and memory and is usually thousands of times faster than ordinary personal computers.

F.Delhi ranked 44th among world’s 50 Future-ready Cities

1.National Capital of India, Delhi has been ranked 44th among the world’s 50 ‘future-ready economies cities’ that are embracing technology for growth. 

2.It was revealed by the recently released report ‘Future-Ready Economies Model’ by the Information Technology major Dell. 

Key facts

1.The list is topped by San Jose, followed by San Francisco, Singapore, London, Washington DC, etc. 

2.These high-growth cities were evaluated on the parameters of human capital, infrastructure and commerce. 

3.The model scores large, high-growth global metropolitan areas based on attributes that enable people and organisations to access new tools and ideas that deliver better connectivity, better economic performance and a greater ability to attract talent.

15th April 2016

A.India ranks 44th in 2016 Global Connectivity Index

1.India ranked 44th with total score of 30 among 50 different countries in the 2016 Global Connectivity Index (GCI) report compiled by Chinese telecom giant Huawei. 

2.The GCI analyzes the full spectrum of measurements for connectivity and provides a detailed map of the global digital economy. 

3.The index benchmarks 50 countries on the basis of its ICT infrastructure including broadband, data centers, cloud services, big data and IoT in the scale ranging from 0 to 100. 

4.These 50 countries, account for 90 percent of global GDP. 

Key facts 

Top 10 countries in 2016 GCI: United States (score-74), Singapore (72), Sweden (70), Switzerland (68), United Kingdom (65), Denmark (64), South Korea (63), Netherlands (63) and Japan (62). 

B.Akash Missile System successfully test fired

1.Indigenously developed surface-to-air supersonic Akash missile System was successfully test fired from complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipuri in Odisha. 

2.Test: Two rounds of Akash missiles were fired against Pilot less target aircraft (PTA) Lakshya, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Banshee and Para-barrel. 

3.It successfully destroyed the targets coordinated by the user, demonstrating its ‘killing’ efficiency. 

About Akash Missile 
1.Akash (in English it means sky) is a mid-range surface-to-air missile (SAM). It is medium range nuclear capable supersonic missile. 

2.Indigenously developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under the Integrated Guided-Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). 

Features: 
1.The missile has supersonic speeds ranging from Mach 2.8 to 3.5. It is multi target, multi directional, all weather air-defence system consisting of surveillance and tracking radars. 

2.It has capability to carry warhead of 60 kg. It can engage aerial targets up to a range of approximately 25 kms.

C.PM Narendra Modi launches Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan

1.Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched ‘Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan’ (Village Self Governance Campaign) to strengthen Panchayati Raj in villages and ensure social harmony in villages. 

2.It was launched on the occasion of 125th birth anniversary of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar at his birthplace at Mhow, Madhya Pradesh. 

Key facts 
1.The campaign aims to generate nation-wide efforts to strengthen Panchayati Raj, increase social harmony across villages, promote rural development and foster farmers’ welfare and livelihoods of the poor. 

2.It is eleven day campaign (from 14th April to 24th April 2016) will mainly focus on generating nationwide efforts on promoting above mentioned aim of the campaign. 

3.The campaign will be run jointly by the Union Ministries of Rural Development, Social Justice, Agriculture, Labour and Information and Broadcasting along with the States Governments.

D.PM Narendra Modi launches National Agriculture Market portal eNAM

1.Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched National Agriculture Market portal eNAM to connect e-mandis in several States. 

2.eNAM is an online inter-connectivity of e-mandis, aimed at ushering in much needed agriculture marketing reforms to enable farmers to get better price of their produce. 

Key features 

1.e-National Agriculture Market (NAM) is a pan-India e-trading platform. It is designed to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities. 

2.Farmers can showcase their produce online from their nearest market and traders can quote price from anywhere. 

3.It will result in increased numbers of traders and greater competition. It will also ensure open price discovery and better returns to farmers. 

4.During the launch, 21 mandis from eight states were connected to this unified portal

E.PM Narendra Modi inaugurates Maritime India Summit 2016

1.Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Maritime India Summit 2016 in Mumbai, Maharashtra. 

2.This is India’s first ever Maritime Summit and the flagship event organised by Union Ministry of Shipping. 

Key facts 

1.The first of its kind two day summit (from April 14 to 16, 2016) will be held at the Bombay Convention and Exhibition Centre in Goregaon, Mumbai. 

2.South Korea is the partner country for the summit and will be represented by a high level ministerial and business delegation. 

3.The main focus of summit is to give impetus to Make In India and blue economy under the Union Government’s ambitious Sagarmala Project emphasising on port-led development It will be global summit that will comprise of an Investors’ Summit along with exhibition and demo session. 

4.More than 50 other maritime nations have been invited. On the occasion of this event, Union government also released a national perspective plan for the Sagarmala Project. 

14th April 2016

A.Maharashtra becomes first state to pass law against social boycott

1.The Maharashtra legislature has unanimously passed the Maharashtra Prohibition of People from Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2016 to end the menace social boycott practiced by extra-judicial institutions like caste and community panchayats. 

2.With this Maharashtra became first state in the country to adopt a comprehensive law to root out oppression carried out by parallel justice delivery system (kangaroo court) in the name of age old traditions, caste and religion. 

Key Features of Bill 

1.The Bill terms social boycott as a crime and says anybody indulging in it would face imprisonment maximum upto three years and a fine of 1 lakh rupees or both. 

2.It disallows social boycott of any individual or groups by caste panchayats or groups of individuals or gavki or by its members or by social or economically influential persons. 

3.Persons involved in practice of social boycott for reasons like rituals of worship, inter-caste marriage, any connection to lifestyle, dress or vocation will face stringent punishment. 

4.The offence registered under the act will be congnizable and bailable. It will be tried by a judicial magistrate of the first class. 

5.The victim of social boycott or any member of the victim’s family can file a complaint either to police or directly to the magistrate. 

B.Nauru becomes 189th member of IMF, World Bank

1.The Republic of Nauru, a tiny South Pacific island nation in Pacific Ocean became the 189th member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank i.e. Bretton-Woods institutions. 

2.Nauru had applied for membership in the Washington-based IMF and World Bank in April 2014. 

3.Its initial subscription quota for IMF will be of SDR (Special Drawing rights) 2 million or about $2.81 million. 

4.It will be the second smallest member of the Fund, after Tuvalu. Benefits to Nauru By joining the World Bank: The island country gains access to financial support, technical support and special expertise to deal with Pacific area issues, such as water and sanitation and disaster risk management amid the threat of climate change and rising sea levels. 

5.By joining the IMF: Nauru can benefit from the IMF’s crisis lender’s advice on managing government finances and monetary policy. 

6.Before Nauru, the last country to join the World Bank and IMF as 188th member was South Sudan in April 2012.

C.Sushila Karki: First female Chief Justice of Nepal’s Supreme Court

1.The Constitutional Council of Nepal has selected Justice Sushila Karki (63) for the post of Chief Justice (CJ) of the Supreme Court of the country. 

2.With this selection she will become 26th chief justice of the apex court and the first female CJ in Nepal’s history. 

3.However, her nomination is expected to be confirmed by a Parliamentary Hearings Committee which endorses the recommendation. 

4.She will succeed Kalyan Shrestha who retired from the top post. She shall have tenure of 1 year and retire in June 2017 upon reaching the age limit. 

About Sushila Karki 

1.Born on June 7, 1952 in Biratnagar. She had completed a bachelor’s degree in law from Tribhuvan University in 1978. 

2.She has also done her post graduate in political science from Banaras Hindu University. 

3.Currently she is seniormost judge in the Supreme Court of Nepal. Since 2010, she is member of the International Association of Women Judges.

D.NPCI launches Unified Payments Interface

1.The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has launched “Unified Payments Interface (UPI)” to revolutionise mobile payment system in the country. 

2.It was launched by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan. 29 banks have agreed to join the platform. 

3.UPI seeks to provide uniform mobile payment system by leveraging digital trends such as increasing smart phone adoption and deeper penetration of mobile data. 

Key features of UPI 

1.The UPI is for mobile based payment method that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any bank) of a participating bank. 

2.It merges several banking features, seamless fund routing and merchant payments into one hood. 

3.Thus, it will be a single app for accessing different bank accounts. It facilitates ‘virtual address’ as a single payment identifier for sending and collecting money and works on single click 2 factor authentication. 

13th April 2016

A.Union Cabinet approves MoU between India, UAE to check human trafficking

1.The Union Cabinet has given its approval for signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and United Arab Emirates (UAE) on cooperation in preventing and combating of Human Trafficking.

2.The MoU will increase the bilateral cooperation on the issues of prevention, recovery, rescue and repatriation related to human trafficking especially of women and children expeditiously. 

3.Salient features of MoU Strengthen cooperation to prevent all forms of human trafficking, especially that of women and children. 

4.Ensure speedy investigation and prosecution of traffickers and organized crime syndicates in either country. 

5.Taking preventive measures in order to eliminate human trafficking and for protecting the rights of trafficked victims. 

6.Anti-trafficking Task Forces and Cells will work to prevent human trafficking on both sides. 

7.Concerned authorities and Police will work in close cooperation and exchange information to interdict human traffickers. 

8.The repatriation of victims would be done expeditiously and the home country will undertake the effective and safe measures for re-integration of the victims.

B.Union Cabinet gives nod to MoU between India and Bangladesh on cooperation in the field of Fisheries

1.The Union Cabinet has given its approval for extension of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and Bangladesh on cooperation in the field of Fisheries. 

2.The MoU was signed in September 2011 to enhance bilateral cooperation in the field of Fisheries and aquaculture and allied activities between two neighbouring countries. 

3.With this extension, the MoU will remain in force for a period of next five years i.e. 2021 unless either of the parties terminate it. 

4.This MoU can be extended for further period as may be mutually agreed upon. Since it came in to force, the MoU has strengthened the friendly relations between India and Bangladesh. 

5.It had played important role in promotion of development of cooperation in fisheries and aquaculture and allied sectors through mutually agreed activities and procedures.

C.India, US agree to sign logistics support pact

1.India and United States have agreed to sign Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) to ramp up bilateral defence ties. 

2.In this regard, an announcement was made by Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter after delegation-level talks between two sides. 

3.Ashton Carter was on three day official visit to India. By signing LEMOA, both countries will be able to have access to each other’s logistics support along with refuelling and berthing facilities. 

4.LEMOA is one of the three foundational agreements that guide US high technology cooperation with other countries. 

5.Other two are Communications Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation (BECA). 

6.Both countries will also sign two other agreements that will allow the two militaries to work in closer coordination with each other. Besides, India and US also announced the launch of two dialogues 

(i) Between the two navies on submarine safety and anti-submarine warfare, 

(ii) Maritime security dialogue between officials of the defence and foreign ministries of the two countries.

D.Dogri Poetess Padma Sachdev selected for 2015 Saraswati Samman

1.Dogri Poetess and novelist Padma Sachdev (76) has been chosen for the prestigious Saraswati Samman for the year 2015. 

2.She has been chosen for her autobiography ‘Chitt-Chete’ written in Dogri language and published in 2007. 

3.In her 662-page autobiography, Ms. Sachdev has included some historic photographs with dignitaries from her state, nation and the world. 

4.Her work was selected by the jury presided by former Chief Justice AS Anand from 22 works in as many languages published between the years 2005-2014. 

About Saraswati Samman 

1.Saraswati Samman is an annual award bestowed upon Indian citizen for his outstanding literary work written in any Indian language mentioned in Schedule VIII of Constitution and published during last 10 years. 

2.It has been named after an Indian goddess of learning and is considered to be among the highest literary awards in India. 

Established: 1991 by the K. K. Birla Foundation.

E.PM Narendtra Modi inaugurates 3rd Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation

1.Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the third edition of Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi to save wild tigers. 

2.India is host of this edition of conference in which more than 700 tiger experts, scientists, managers, donors and other stakeholders are participating. 

Key facts 

1.The conference will discuss issues related to tiger conservation and anti-poaching strategies. 

2.Ministers and government officials from all 13 tiger range countries (TRCs) participating in the conference. 

3.These 13 TRCs are: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand, and Vietnam. 

4.In this edition of conferences participating TRCs will share their 

(i) good practices and success stories in conserving tigers 

(ii) success stories in conserving tigers. 

12th April 2016

A.12 April: International Day of Human Space Flight

1.Every year 12th April is being observed as the International Day of Human Space Flight to commemorate the date of the first human space flight in the history of mankind. 

2.On this day in 1961, Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet Union (USSR) cosmonaut undertook first successful first human space flight. 

3.This historic event opened the way for space exploration for the benefit of all humanity. 

4.In Russia and some other former USSR countries, this historic day is celebrated as Cosmonautics Day. 

5.2016 is the 55th anniversary of First Human Space Flight. 

Background 

1.The United Nations (UN) had declared 12 April as the International Day of Human Space Flight after UN General Assembly had passed its resolution A/RES/65/271 of 7 April 2011. 

2.The day seeks to celebrate each year at the international level the beginning of the space era for mankind.
B.RBI gives nod to Bharti Airtel’s payments Bank Unit 

1.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given its in-principle approval to Bharti Airtel’s payments bank venture — Airtel M Commerce Services Ltd (AMCS). 

2.With this AMCS has become the first entity to receive final approval from the RBI to start a payments bank. 

3.Airtel M Commerce is a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, a telecom company. 

4.Private sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bank has upto 19.9 per cent stake in Airtel M Commerce. 

Note: The Payments Banks are not allowed to lend. Hence, a tie-up with banks will help them source loans for their customers.

C.Danny Willett wins 2016 US Masters Golf  

1.Danny Willett (28) from England won the prestigious 2016 US Masters Golf tournament. 

2.It was his first major championship with a score of 283 (−5) and three strokes ahead of runners-up Lee Westwood (UK) and the defending champion Jordan Spieth (US). 

3.With this victory, Willett became the first European golfer to win the Masters since 1999, and the first from England since Nick Faldo’s similar win in 1996.

4.Defending champion Spieth had led by five shots as he had approached the 10th but later he dropped six shots in three holes. 

5.He tied for second spot with Lee Westwood. 2016 US Masters Golf was the 80th edition of the Masters Tournament held at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
D.India, Maldives sign six agreements in different sectors
1.India and Maldives have signed six agreements in different sectors to boost bilateral relations between both maritime neighbouring countries. 

2.These agreements were inked after comprehensive talks between visiting Maldives President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. 

3.The bilateral agreements were signed in the fields of avoidance of double taxation, conservation and restoration of ancient mosque, tourism and defence. 

4.Agreements signed are Agreement for Avoidance of Double Taxation of income derived from International Air Transport. 

5.Agreement for the Exchange of Information with respect to Taxes: It envisages mutual assistance for exchange of information concerning taxes relevant to the administration and enforcement of the domestic. 

6.It also includes exchange of information relevant to the assessment, determination and collection of such taxes, the recovery and enforcement of tax claims, or the investigation and prosecution of tax matters. 

11th April 2016

A.IIT- Kharagpur wins National IP Award

1.The IIT (Indian Institute of Technology)-Kharagpur has won the National Intellectual Property (IP) Award in the academic institutes category. 

2.The institute will be awarded the prize Top Academic Institute for Patents 2016 by the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry on the occasion of World IP Day i.e. 26 April 2016. 

3.IIT- Kharagpur’s ‘100 patents drive’ initiative had played pivotal role for winning this award. 

4.Under it IP Portal was launched to simplify the process of patent filing by students as well as professors who have done some substantial research within the institute. 

About National IP Awards 

1.The Indian Intellectual property office (IIPO) under the aegis of Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry confers national intellectual property awards. 

2.These awards are bestowed every year on outstanding innovators, organisations and companies in the fields of patents, designs, trademarks, and geographical indications on the occasion of World IP Day.

B.Pakistan, China launch joint air force training exercise Shaheen 5

1.Pakistan and China have launched a joint bilateral air force exercise named Shaheen (Eagle) 5 in Pakistan. 

2.This is the fifth edition of such drill between the two countries that will take place from April 9 to 30, 2016. 

3.This edition of exercise seeks to boost bilateral relations between all-weather friends China and Pakistan. 

4.For its part Pakistan wants to upgrade its air force, now dependent on a mostly outmoded fleet of US, French and Chinese fighter jets. 

Backgroud 

1.The first edition of Shaheen drill was held in Pakistan in March 2011, the second in China’s western Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in September 2013 and the third was held in Punjab, Pakistan, in May 2014. 

2.Shaheen-4 i.e. fourth edition of the bilateral exercise was held in China last in 2015. It had featured fighters, fighter bombers as well as airborne early warning and control aircraft.

C.UN to observe 125th birth anniversary of Dr.B.R.Ambedkar

1.For the first time, United Nations (UN) will observe the birth anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, father of the Indian Constitution on April 13, 2016, a day before his date of birth. 

2.The main focus of this observance will be on combating inequalities to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

3.The 125th birth anniversary Dr. Ambedkar will be commemorated at the UN headquarters in New York by the Permanent Mission of India to the UN, in association with the Kalpana Saroj Foundation and Foundation For Human Horizon. On the occasion A panel discussion will be organised on the topic “Combating inequalities for the achievement of SDGs”. 

4.It prime objective will be of raising awareness of the importance of addressing all forms of inequality for achieving the SDGs. 

5.United Nations Development Group Chair and Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme Helen Clark will deliver the keynote speech. 

6.Comment The landmark 2030 Agenda for SDG recognises that combating inequality within and among countries, creating sustained, inclusive and sustainable growth and fostering inclusion are interdependent. 

7.The vision of Dr. Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, to achieve social justice and equality also finds resonance in the core message of the 2030 Agenda.

D.Pakistan successfully test-fires anti-ship Zarb missile

1.Pakistan has test fired anti-ship surface to sea “Zarb” missile from the coastal areas successfully. 

2.It hit its target in the Arabian Sea after it was fired from a strategic point located at a coastal area. 

3.The missile was formally inducted into Pakistan Navy‘s defence system soon after the test. 

Key facts 

1.Zarb means hit in Urdu language. It is the Chinese C-602.Missile which is export version of the YJ-62. 

2.The C-602 is claimed to have a range of 280 kms and weighs around 300 kg. It has semi-armour-piercing warhead and GPS guidance. 

3.Comment The missile’s successful test is considered as an addition into Pakistani Navy’s strategic power and demonstrated its combat capabilities, combat preparedness and an important step towards further strengthen its seaward defence.

E.Lee Chong Wei wins 2016 Malaysian Open title of Badminton

1.Malaysia’s badminton star Lee Chong Wei has won2016 Malaysian Open title in the men’s single category. 

2.In the final held at Kuala Lumpur, Lee defeated Chen Long (world number 1) of China in straight games 21-13, 21-8 in a match that lasted 42 minutes. 

3.It was Chong Wei’s overall 11th Malaysia Open title after having won in 2004, 2005, 2006 and consecutively from 2008-2014. 

4.Other category winners of 2016 Malaysian Open Women’s singles Title: It was won by Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand). 

5.Men’s doubles Title: It was won by South Korean pair, Kim Gi-jung and Kim Sa-rang. 

6.Women’s doubles Title: It was won by Chinese pair, Tang Yuanting and Yu Yang. Mixed doubles Title: It was won by Indonesian pair, Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir.