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.

9th April 2016

A.Sajibu Cheiraoba festival celebrated in Manipur with religious fervor

1.The traditional festival of Sajibu Cheiraoba was celebrated in Manipur to mark the beginning of a new year with cultural gusto and religious fervor. 

2.The festival is mainly observed on the first lunar day of the lunar month Sajibu (March/April) by the Meiteis community, a majority ethnic group of Manipur. 

3.Celebrations On the occasion of Sajibu Cheiraoba, People clean and decorate their houses and arrange joint family feast. 

4.Traditional cuisines are offered to local deities at the entrance gates of the houses. After meals, people start climbing nearby hills in the afternoon to offer prayers. 

5.Thabal Chongba, a local folk dance is also being organized at different locations of Manipur valley.

B.Rajasthan becomes the first state to pass land title Bill

1.Rajasthan state assembly passed the Rajasthan Urban Land (Certification of Titles) Bills, 2016 for providing statutory backing to land records With this Rajasthan has become the first state to pass land title bill for effectively guaranteeing land and property ownership. 

2.Key provisions of the bill 
State residents living in urban areas, which are governed by the municipalities or state development authorities, can seek a certificate of ownership of their lands by paying a nominal fee to the state government. 

3.The state government will set up an authority which will be headed by an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Officer. 

4.The authority will seek all the documents from the landowners, and will verify it against records held by the state. 

5.It will first issue a provisional certificate for which the state will not stand guarantee. 

6.If there are no objections or dispute arises, the authority will issue a certificate and a map to the owner with state guarantee. 

7.This Bill is seen as one of the key steps towards land reforms as it will create an efficient and transparent modern land market, provide certainty of tenure and end litigation that often mires development projects.

C.Union Government gives nod to India’s first Metrino Pod Taxi project

1.The Union Government has approved country’s first Metrino Pod project i.e. personal rapid transit (PRT) network for Gurgaon, Haryana. 

2.It was announced by Haryana Public Works (Building and Roads) Minister, Rao Narbir Singh. 

3. It will be completely private project and as for financing, the entire investment will be made by the private company that sets up the PRT. 

Key facts 
1.The pilot project will span a 13 km stretch from the Gurgaon-Delhi border to Badshapur Mod on Sohna Road. 

2.The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has submitted the feasibility report for this project. 

3.The private company implementing project will recover its investment in 25 years through tickets. 

4.The fare of Metrino Pod taxi would be similar to that of Metro.

D.Union Government launches ISBN portal

1.The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has launched the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) portal in New Delhi. 


2.It was launched by Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani as part of Union Government’s ambitious Digital India campaign. 

Key facts 
1.The ISBN portal seeks to facilitate publishers and authors to register for allotment ISBN online. 

2.It aims to automate completely the process of seeking application, their examination and allotment of ISBNs. 

3.The portal has developed software has several modules such as users’ registration, online application submission, ISBN generation. 

3.It also includes ISBN generation request from the National Agency to the International Agency at UK. 

4.The automation process will lead to maintain inventory as well as process the data that will be provided by the users. 

5.It will help to move away from traditional process of registration and allotment of ISBN. 

E.Union Government constitutes B B Tandon Committee to monitor Government Advertisements

1.The Union Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry has constituted a three-member Committee to see that guidelines set for government advertisements by the Supreme Court are followed. 

2.The committee will be headed by the former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) B B Tandon. Senior TV journalist Rajat Sharma and ad-man Piyush Pandey will be the other two members of the committee. 

Background 
The committee was constituted by I&B Ministry based on the recommendation of the three-member selection committee comprising Press Council Chairman Justice (retd) C K Prasad, I&B Secretary Sunil Arora and advertising professional Prasoon Joshi. Supreme Court order on Government Advertisements In May 2015, Supreme Court in its order had issued Guidelines on Regulating Government Advertisements based on recommendations of Prof NR Madhava Menon Committee. 

8th April 2016

A.Hashim Thaci sworn in as new President of Kosovo

1.Hashim Thaci has sworn in as the President of Kosovo after he was elected by the parliament in March 2016. 

2.He succeeds Atifete Jahjaga. With this, he becomes fourth President of Kosovo after the European country had unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008. 

3.Prior getting elected as President he was serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister in the Government led by Isa Mustafa. 

About Hashim Thaci 
1.Born on April 24, 1968 in the Drenica region of central Kosovo. 

2.From the early 1990s as a student, Thaci was involved in passive resistance to the Belgrade authorities. He had rose to prominence as the political leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), a paramilitary organisation that was active during the Kosovo War.

B.CP Gurnani appointed as Chairman of NASSCOM

1.The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) has appointed CP Gurnani as its Chairman for 2016-17 and Raman Roy as vice chairman for the period. 

2.Currently, Gurnani is Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tech Mahindra. 

3.He is a chemical engineer from the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela. He has over 31 years of rich corporate experience. Previously, he had worked at Hewlett Packard Limited, Perot Systems (India) Limited and HCL Corporation Ltd, and had led the merger of Tech Mahindra with Satyam. 

4.Raman Roy is the MD of Quatrro Global Services. He is widely regarded as a pioneer of the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in India. 

About National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) 1.NASSCOM is a global non-profit trade association (organisation) of Indian Information Technology (IT) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry. 

2.It facilitates business and trade in software and services and encourages the advancement of research in software technology. Established: It is registered under the Indian Societies Act, 1860. 

Headquarters: New Delhi.

C.Justice (Retd) Permod Kohli sworn in as Chairman of CAT

1.Retired Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court Justice Permod Kohli was sworn in as the Chairman of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). 

2.He succeeded Justice Syed Rafat Alam and will have tenure of 5 years with effect from the date of assumption of charge of the post or till attaining the age of 68 years, whichever is earlier. 

About Justice (retd) Permod Kohli 
1.Born in 1951 in Rajouri, Jammu and Kasmir. 

2.He had joined Bar at Jammu in 1972. In 1990, he was appointed as Advocate General of Jammu & Kashmir. 

3.He is an expert in Civil, Constitutional and Taxation cases. 

4.He had served as Judge in the High Courts of Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand and Punjab & Haryana.

D.Mother Teresa conferred with Founders Award posthumously in UK

1.Mother Teresa has been posthumously conferred with the United Kingdom’s prestigious Founders Award 2016. 

2.Teresa’s only living relative Agi Bojazhiu (niece) collected the award on her behalf. Other category recipients Community Service award: Rami Ranger, leading NRI entrepreneur and philanthropist. 

3.Business Leader of the Year award: Prakash Lohia, Chairman and co-founder of Indorama Corporation. 

4.Outstanding achievement in Television: Kunal Nayyar, actor from the hit American comedy series The Big Bang Theory. 

5.Outstanding Achievement in Cinema award: Asif Kapadia, oscar and BAFT-winning documentary-maker. 

6.Outstanding achievement in Sports award: Son Heung-Min, Tottenham Hotspurs football star of South Korea. 

7.Entrepreneur of the Year award: Anil Agrawal, founder and Executive Chairman of the metal and mining company, Vedanta Resources Corporation. 

7th April 2016

A.Sharad Agarwal appointed as head of Lamborghini India Pvt. Ltd

1.Lamborghini India Pvt. Ltd has appointed Sharad Agarwal as its country head with immediate effect. In his new role, Agarwal will oversee the functions of sales, marketing, after sales and network development of the company. 

2.He was previously the head of Field Force for Audi India. Sharad Agarwal was associated with Audi India since May 2012 as head of corporate sales, fleet and leasing and financial services. 

3.Later in 2015, he had moved as head of Field Force. He has rich experience of 15 years in the automotive industry and was also associated with Zuari Industries, TVS Motor Company and Mahindra First Choice. 

4.Lamborghini India Pvt. Ltd is the Indian arm of Italy-based super luxury sports car maker.

B.Union Cabinet gives nod to Revised Policy on crude oil import for oil PSUs

1.The Union Cabinet has given its approval to replace the existing policy on crude oil import by Oil PSUs and vest the oil PSUs with the power to evolve their own policies. 

2.This decision will provide operational efficiency, commercial flexibility and dynamic policy for crude oil procurement for PSUs based on their commercial requirements that will eventually benefiting the consumers. 

3.However their policies will be consistent with CVC guidelines and approved by the respective Boards. 

4.It will enable Oil PSUs to adopt the most effective procurement practices for import of crude oil with the changing times and changing geo-political environment. 

Background 
1.Under the existing policy for import of crude oil which was approved by the Union Cabinet in 1979, oil PSUs traditionally were allowed to source crude only from national companies of oil-producing nations. 

2.This policy was amended in 2001 by the Union Government and permitted oil PSUs to buy oil from top 10 foreign firms. 

C.India wins 2016 Asian Nations Cup Chess tournament
1.Indian men have won the 2016 Asian Nations Cup Chess tournament by defeating Vietnam in the final round by 3-1 score played in Abu Dhabi. 

2.In the final round match, Indian Grandmasters S P Sethuraman and K Sasikiran won on the 2nd and 4th boards while, B Adhiban and Vidit Santosh Gujrathi drew their respective matches on top and 3rd boards. 

3.With this win India gained 17 points, two more than World and Olympiad champions China. 

4.India drew Mongolia and beat the rest of the teams in a 22-team tournament. It was overall third time, Indian men won the event earlier they had won at Esfahan, Iran in 2005 and Kolkata 2009. 

5.In the women’s section, top seed China won the title with 15 points followed by Uzbekistan (14 points) at second Kazakhstan (13 points) at third position respectively. Indian women finished fourth position with 12 points.

D.Union Cabinet gives nod to implementation of One Rank One Pension Scheme
1.The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post facto approval for implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP) retrospectively with effect from 1st July, 2014. 

2.Decision in this regard was taken by Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. 

3.OROP will provide ex-servicemen of same rank and same length of service uniform pension regardless of date of retirement. 

Key facts 

1.The benefits of OROP will be given with effect from 1st of July 2014 and it will benefit ex-servicemen of all three services- Army, Navy and Air Force. 

2.The benefits will also be extended to family pensioners including war widows and disabled pensioners. 

3.All arrears will be paid in four half-yearly instalments. However all widows, family pensioners including those in receipt of Gallantry award will be paid arrears in one installment. 

4.Pension will be re-fixed every five years and future enhancements in rates of pension would be automatically passed to the past pensioners. 

6th April 2016

A.RBI cuts repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.5%
1.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cut down repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.5 per cent from 6.75 per cent, with immediate effect.

2. It was announced in the first bi-monthly monetary policy review of the RBI for the 2016-17 fiscal. 

3.First bi-monthly monetary policy for the 2016-17 says Repo rate: RBI has reduced the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points from 6.75 per cent to 6.5 per cent. 

4.It is the rate at which RBI lends to the financial system. Cash reserve ratio (CRR): RBI has unchanged CRR and kept it at 4.0 per cent of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL). 

5.Reverse repo rate: RBI has adjusted (hiked) reverse repo rate under the LAF to 6 per cent. 

6.It is the rate at which banks can keep excess funds with the RBI. The RBI also introduced number of measures to smoothen liquidity supply so that banks can lend to the productive sectors.

B.Vishwanathan Anand to be honoured with Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award

1.Five-time world chess champion Vishwanathan Anand (46) will be honoured with the Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award. 

2.Maharashtra State Governor C Vidyasagar Rao will bestow award upon him at an event to be held in Mumbai on April 12, 2016. About Vishwanathan Anand Born on December 11, 1969. 

3.He is an Indian chess grandmaster and a former world champion. He became India’s first grandmaster in 1988. 

4.He held the FIDE World Chess Championship from 2000 to 2002 and became the undisputed world champion in 2007. 

About Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award 

1.Established in 2011 by Mumbai- based socio-cultural organisation Hridayesh Art in the honour of music composer and singer Hridaynath Mangeskar. 

2.The award felicitates and recognises successful individuals across the country from various walks of life. 

3.It carries monetary award of Rs 2 lakh and a memento. Hridaynath is the son of renowned musician Deenanath Mangeshkar and is younger brother of Indian music legends Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. 

4.The previous recipients of the award include eminent personalities like Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Amitabh Bachchan, Hariprasad Chaurasia and A R Rahman

C.Scientists discover new planet with triple-star system named KELT-4Ab

1.Scientists have discovered a rare triple-star system named KELT-4Ab with a gas giant planet similar in size to Jupiter. 

2.It was discovered by the researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in the United States. 

3.The research was published in The Astronomical Journal. Key facts Known planets with three stars appearing in their sky are rare and the new discovery is just the fourth and the closest one yet. 

4.In KELT-4Ab triple-star system, the main star named KELT-A is brighter than the other stars that serve as suns for their planets. 

5.It has a gas giant planet, similar in size to Jupiter takes approximately three days to make its way around its sun (star) KELT-A. 

6.The other two stars are named KELT-B and C. They are much farther away and orbit one another over the course of approximately 30 years. 

7.It takes the pair of stars approximately four thousand years to orbit KELT-A. They appear much dimmer due to their great distance.

D.PM Narendra Modi launches Stand up India scheme for SC/ST, women

1.Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the Stand-up India scheme aimed at providing credit to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and women borrowers in the non-farm sector. 

2.The scheme is intended to promote entrepreneurship among SC/ST and women and further give a push to government’s financial inclusion programme. 

3.The broad features of the scheme Composite loan between 10 lakh rupees and up to 1 crore rupees will be provided to SC/ST and women and also inclusive of working capital component for setting up any new enterprise. Debit Card (RuPay) for withdrawal of working capital. 

4.Credit history of borrower to be developed of these under-banked sections of society. 

5.Refinance window through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) with an initial amount of 10,000 crore rupees. 

6.Creation of a corpus of 5,000 crore rupees for credit guarantee through National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC). 

7.Handholding support for borrowers with comprehensive support for pre loan training needs, facilitating loan, factoring, marketing etc. 

5th April 2016

A.Mehbooba Mufti sworn in as first woman Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir

1.Mehbooba Mufti Sayeed (56) took oath as the first woman Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, bringing to an end the three-month Governor’s Rule in the state. 

2.She was administered oath to the office by Governor NN Vohra at Raj Bhawan in the winter capital city of Jammu. 

3.Along with her 22 member council of ministers from BJP-PDP alliance also took oath. BJP leader Nirmal Singh took oath as Deputy Chief Minister of the state. 

4.Mehbooba Mufti succeeds her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in the role who had died in January 2016. 

5.She is also second Muslim woman to become the Chief Minister of a state in India after Syeda Anwara Taimur who had served as the first Muslim woman CM of Assam from 1980 to 1981.

About Mehbooba Mufti Sayeed 
1.Born on 22 May 1959 in Akhran Nowpora, Jammu and Kashmir. She is the president of the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). 

2.She is currently a Member of Parliament, representing Anantnag constituency in the 16th Lok Sabha and shall vacate this role in light of her Chief Ministership. 

3.Previously, she also had represented Anantnag constituency in the 14th Lok Sabha (2004-09).

B.World’s first public dengue vaccination programme launched in Philippines

1.The world’s first public dengue vaccination programme was launched in the Philippines with a French drug Dengvaxia (world’s 1st dengue fever vaccine) to combat mosquito-borne disease. 

2.Several hundred children aged between 9 and 10 were vaccinated with the injections in front of government health workers at a public school in eastern Manila. 

3.Mexico was first country in the world to approve first-ever Dengvaxia Dengue fever vaccine for the public use and Philippines was the first county in Asia to allow it. 

4.However with the launch of first public dengue vaccination programme, Philippines became first country to introduce, adopt and implement the first-ever dengue vaccine through the public health system and under public school settings. 

5.According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Dengue or haemorrhagic fever is the world’s most common mosquito-borne virus. 

6.It infects an estimated 390 million people in more than 120 countries each year, killing more than 25,000. 

7.Asia is home to some 70% of cases worldwide and in the Philippines 200,000 cases were reported in 2013.

C.World’s first White Tiger Safari opens in Madhya Pradesh

1.World’s first White Tiger Safari was inaugurated at Mukundpur in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh. 

2.It was inaugurated and opened to public by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. 

3.The first of its kind safari is situated adjacent to the Mukundpur Zoological Park. It is spread over an area of 25 hectares and has been built at cost of 50 crore rupees. 

4.The safari houses three white tigers, including two females named Vindhya and Radha and one male named Raghu. 

Background 

1.The first white tiger in Madhya Pradesh’s was spotted in Vindhya region in 1915. 

2.However, the rare breed of the big cat spotted for first time died in 1920. 

3.In 1951, a white tiger cub named Mohan was captured by Rewa Maharaja Martand Singh. 

D.Vietnam Police Chief Tran Dai Quang sworn in as 9th President

1.Tran Dai Quang has sworn in as the ninth President of Vietnam after he was elected by country’s National Assembly. 

2.He succeeds Truong Tan Sang and shall have term of five years. He was elected as President after he had secured 91.5% votes i.e. 452 valid votes out of the total 494 members of the unicameral house. 

About Tran Dai Quang 
1.Prior to getting elected as the President of Vietnam, Quang had served as Minister of Public Security of the country from 2011 to 2016. 

2.He is a member of the 12th Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam and is currently ranked second after General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trọ In August 2011 he was appointed Secretary of the Central Police Party Committee In 1972, he had attended the People’s Police School. 

3.He studied at the School of Foreign Languages Department of Cultural Affairs from 1972 to 1975.

4th April 2016

A.Cyprian Kotut wins 40th Paris marathon 2016
1.Cyprian Kotut (23) from Kenya has won the 40th edition of the 2016 Paris marathon held on 3 April 2016 in the men’s category. 

2.He finished the 35km race in an official time of 2hr 07min 10sec. 

3.Gebretsadik Abraha (Ethopia) finished the race at the second position The women’s title was won by Visiline Jepkesho (Kenya). 

4.She completed the race in 2hr 25 min 52sec ahead  of  Ethiopian  pair  Gulume  Chala (2nd position)  and Dinknesh  Tefera (3rd position).

B.Nico Roseberg wins 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix 

1.Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg from Germany has won the 2016 Gulf Air Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix held at Bahrain International Circuit in Manama. 

2.Bahrain Grand Prix title race was the second race of the 2016 season of Formula One in which total 11 teams had participated. 

3.It was Rosberg’s overall sixteenth championship title of F1 in his career and the second win in the 2016. 

4.Result of 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix  

First Position: Nico Rosberg (Germany) of Mercedes team. 

Second Position: Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) of Ferrari Team T

hird Position: Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain) of Mercedes team. 

Fourth Position: Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) of Red Bull team. 

Fifth Position: Romain Grosjean (Switzerland) of Haas team. 

Fifteenth Position: Nico Hulkenberg (Germany) of Force India team. 

Sixteenth Position: Sergio Perez (Mexico) of Force India team. Top 3 teams are: Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.

C.Indian Scientists develop biopolymer for water purification

1.Indian scientists have developed an eco-friendly biopolymer using nanotechnology for water-softening and water purification applications. 

2.It was developed by the team of scientists from Guwahati (Assam) based Institute of Advance Study in Science & Technology (IASST). 

Key highlights of research 
1.The eco-friendly biopolymer has been created using a naturally occurring substance, called chitosan. 

2.The chitosan has been obtained naturally from the hard outer skeleton of shellfish including crab, lobster, and shrimp as a backbone for the carbon nanoparticles to sit on. 

3.In this biopolymer, nanoparticles are the functional parts of the technology as they remove calcium and magnesium components of water through ion exchange. 

4.Thus, it shows the same process that is used by common water purifiers. 

D.Novak Djokovic wins 2016 Miami Open Title

1.World Number One tennis player Novak Djokovic from Serbia has won the 2016 Miami Open Title in the men’s singles category. 

2.In the final match played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Centre at Crandon Park Florida, US, he defeated Kei Nishikori (Japan) by 6-3, 6-3 score. 

3.It was his third consecutive and overall sixth ATP Miami Open title, equalling Andre Agassi’s Miami record total. 

4.It was also his record 28th career ATP Masters title. Other category winners Women’s Singles Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) won the 2016 Miami Open Title in the women’s singles category. 

5.In the final match she defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) by 6–3, 6–2 score. It was her third Miami Open Title. 

6.Men’s Doubles French pair of Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut won the 2016 Miami Open Title in the men’s doubles category. 

7.In the final match they defeated pair of Raven Klaasen (South Africa) and Rajeev Ram (US) 5–7, 6–1. 

8.Women’s Doubles Bethanie Mattek-Sands (US) Lucie Šafářová (Czech Republic) won the 2016 Miami Open Title in the women’s doubles category. 

9.In the final match they defeated pair of Tímea Babos (Hungary) and Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhstan) by 6–3, 6–4 score.

2nd April 2016

A.Germany’s Development Bank KfW to provide loan assistance to metro system for Nagpur

1.Germany’s Development Bank KfW will provide loan assistance of 3750 crore rupees for the modern and sustainable metro system for Nagpur city. 

2.In this regard, a loan agreement was signed by Joint Secretary in Department of Economic Affairs S Selvaraj and Director General of KfW Roland Siller in New Delhi. 

3.The loan period is 20 years with a moratorium of 5 years and disbursal will be based on the progress of the project over three years. 

4.With this Nagpur metro project becomes first metro to be financed under the Indo-German partnership for clean, socially inclusive and climate friendly mobility for people in cities. 

5.The project is being executed by Nagpur Metro Rail Corporation Limited and its total costing is of 8,680 crore rupees.

B.Shiva Thapa wins Silver medal at Asian/Oceania Qualifying event in China

1.Ace Indian boxer Shiva Thapa has won the silver medal at the Asian/Oceania Qualifying Tournament held in Qian’an, China in the 56 Kilogram category final In the final match, he lost to Thailand’s Chatchai Butdee by 0-3 score who won the gold medal. 

2.By entering in the final match of this event, he had booked his ticket to 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics Games after beating Kazakhstan’s Kairat Yeraliyev in the semifinals. 

3.Shiva is a World Championship bronze-medallist in the Bantamweight category held in Doha in 2015. 

4.He also had participated in the 2012 London Olympics and was the youngest Indian boxer to qualify for the Olympics.

C.Flipkart acquires mobile payments firm PhonePe
1.India’s homegrown e-commerce giant Flipkart has acquired a Bengaluru-based mobile payments company PhonePe for an undisclosed sum. 

2.PhonePe has been co-founded by ex-Flipkart employees Sameer Nigam and Rahul Chari. 

3.After the acquisition, the mobile payments company will function as an independent business unit. 

Key facts 
1.PhonePe is building India’s a Unified Payments Interface (UPI) based product. It is expected to be launched in April 2016. 

2.The interface this mobile payments gateway will allow users to transact using their unique identification and mobile phone number or virtual payments address. 

3.This will be without sharing any other bank details and anyone with a bank account can perform instant transactions by using mobile phone. 

4.This payment gateway is in contrast to the present payments process, which involves entering numerous account/card details and multi-level interventions.

D.Haryana Assembly passes bills for mandatory educational criteria for urban local bodies elections

1.The Haryana Legislative Assembly has unanimously passed two bills to make minimum educational qualification criteria mandatory for the urban local bodies election (ULBs). 

2.These bills are 
(i) The Haryana Municipal (Amendment) Bill, 2016 
(ii) Haryana Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2016. 

3.These bill seeks to amend the amend Section 13 A of the Haryana Municipal Act, 1973 and Section 8 of the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994 respectively. 

Key features of the Haryana Municipal (Amendment) Bill, 2016 
1.Minimum educational qualification for a candidate contesting ULBs election in the general category would be Class X i.e. matriculation. 

2.Female candidate from open category and a male candidate from Scheduled Caste (SC) will be required to be at least 8th standard pass. 

3.Minimum educational qualification for SC women candidates will be 5th standard pass. 

4.Candidate should not be convicted or have charges framed against him in a criminal case by a court for an offence punishable with imprisonment for not less than 10 years. 

5.There should be no pending arrears of electricity bills against the candidate contesting the elections to ULBs.