Competition Booster April 2015 Rs 1,000 minimum pension under eps to continue

58.NASA engineers have developed the first full-scale, 3-D printed copper rocket engine part – a combustion chamber liner that operates at extreme temperatures and pressures.

59.Indian-American Vivek Murthy Takes Oath As US Surgeon General

Indian-American Vivek Murthy was today administered the oath for the top post of US Surgeon General by Vice President Joe Biden at a ceremonial ceremony here, becoming the youngest-ever in charge of the country’s public health.37-year-old Vivek Hallegere Murthy is now the highest ranking Indian-American in the Obama Administration.

Attended by eminent Indian-Americans, who flew in the military bastion from across the country to attend the Commissioning and Change of Command Ceremony, Murthy took the oath on the holy Gita.
As the US Surgeon General, Murthy carries the rank of Vice Admiral.

The Health Secretary Sylvia Burwell also participated in the event.

60.Rural Internet Users to Surge to 28 Crore by 2018: Report

The share of rural internet users will increase nearly fivefold to touch 28 crore by 2018, signalling higher online purchasers going forward from rural India, says a research report.

By 2018, the country will have “as many as 55 crore internet users, of which 28 crore would be from smaller towns and cities, expanding at close to 40 per cent a year from six crore in 2014,” forecasts a report on digital consumption by Boston Consulting Group (BCG).The report said that the shift will open up significant growth opportunities for marketers and service providers keeping in mind the dynamics of rural markets in India.

Around 70 per cent of rural users access the internet from their mobile handsets, the report said.

61.Zomato extends the service, ties up with Uber to arrange the cab as well

Now driving down to a restaurant becomes all the more easy for Zomato users.Global restaurant search and discovery app Zomato has partnered with the San Francisco-based hail-a-taxi app, Uber, to bring in more users onto their respective platforms across the globe.

In a statement here today Zomato said the partnership has been rolled out to Zomato users in 27 cities across 13 countries — India, Australia, Canada, the UK, South Africa, Indonesia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Turkey, UAE, and the US.

62.RBI Revises Priority Sector Norms, Includes More Categories
The Reserve Bank today revised priority sector lending norms, asking banks to give 8 per cent of the total credit to small and marginal farmers.
It also widened the definition of priority sector by including medium enterprises, social infrastructure and renewable energy while retaining the lending target to the sector at 40 per cent.
Changes have however been made in certain sub-categories by fixing lending targets. Also, the distinction between direct and indirect agriculture has been dispensed with and loans to food and agro processing units will form part of agriculture.
Eight per cent of total bank credit prescribed for small and marginal farmers within the agriculture segment has to be achieved in a phased manner — 7 per cent by March 2016 and 8 per cent by March 2017, RBI said.
Overall target for agriculture has been kept unchanged at 18 per cent.
For micro enterprises, 7 per cent lending by March 2016 and 7.5 per cent by March 2017 has been prescribed.
However, there will be no change in the 10 per cent loan target for weaker sections.
Existing categories in priority sector include agriculture, micro and small enterprises, export credit, education and housing loan.
RBI said foreign banks with less than 20 branches will have to move to total priority sector target of 40 per cent, on par with other banks by 2019-20.
RBI said overdrafts extended by banks for up to Rs 5,000 in case of PMJDY accounts would be considered as priority sector lending (PSL).
It would however qualify only if borrowers’ household annual income does not exceed Rs 1 lakh for rural areas and Rs 1.60 lakh for non-rural areas.
RBI further said that bank loans of up to Rs 10 lakh extended to individuals for educational purposes, including vocational courses, will be eligible for PSL.
Limits for housing loans and MFI loans qualifying under PSL have also been revised.

63.Google India tops Randstad survey for ‘Most Attractive Employer’

Google India has bagged the Randstad Award 2015 for Most Attractive Employer in India, while Sony India has been adjudged the runner-up.

The sector-specific special recognition awards this year were awarded to Tata Steel (manufacturing), P&G (FMCG), and Honda India (Automobile). The 5th edition of the Randstad Awards event will be held in Delhi later today.

In line with the Randstad Award philosophy, Microsoft India has been inducted into the Hall of Fame category this year for winning the coveted Randstad Award title for four consecutive years.
The Randstad Award is hosted each year to encourage best practices for talent attraction and to identify the best ‘Employer Brand’ in the country based on the perceived attractiveness of a company. Globally, this research covered 23 countries, capturing the views of over 225,000 respondents (8,500 in India).

64.UST Global, an information technology solutions and services company, has signed a $30 million deal with the Madhya Pradesh government to digitise its urban local bodies. Under the seven-year deal, the company will digitise the State’s 377 urban local bodies.

65.IOC President Thomas Bach named ambassador of HeForShe by UN Women
Thomas Bach, the president of International Olympic Committee (IOC), was on 22 April 2015 named as ambassador of HeForShe campaign by UN Women.
HeForShe is a solidarity campaign for gender equality established by United Nations (UN) Women
The campaign was launched by the UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson in September 2014. HeForShe encourages men and boys to join in on the fight for women’s rights and gender equality all over the glove. Their goal is to enlist one billion men and boys to become advocates for women’s rights worldwide.
Hundres of thousands of men have voiced their commitment to gender equality, since the campaign’s launch, and gave their full support for the program.

66. 1.Cabinet clears amendment in Juvenile Justice Act.This amendment lowers the age of Juveniles from 18 to 16 years for heinous crimes.

The proposal will empower Juvenile Justice Board to decide on whether a juvenile above 16 years involved in heinous crimes such as rape is to be sent to a observation home or tried in a regular court.

However, according to the bill, in no case the juvenile involved in a heinous crime will be sentenced to death or life imprisonment either when tried under the provisions of JJ Act or under the provisions of IPC.The proposed amendments also included facilitating faster adoption of children and setting up foster care homes.

67.International news channel Al Jazeera was today forced to go off air in India for five days as the government penalized it for repeatedly showing wrong maps of India.

68.The Indian Railways launched “utsonmobile”, a mobile application for paperless unreserved tickets.Developed by Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), ‘utsonmobile’ — the paperless unreserved ticketing feature in mobile application aims to eliminate the need for printing of unreserved tickets.

69.Two Indians, Rahul Pandita and Zeena Johar are among 16 scholars selected for the 2015 Yale World Fellows in the US for their exemplary mid-career work.Rahul is an Indian conflict reporter and Zeena is an health care founder.

Note : The global Yale World Fellows network now includes 17 Indian Fellows, more than any other country since the programme was established in 2002.

70.Ministry of External Affairs, India Sushma Swaraj is on 5-day visit to Jakarta.In this visit, she will attend the  60th anniversary of  Bandung Conference.

She will also attend the 10th anniversary celebrations of the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership. 

Bandung Conference : 

The Bandung Conference was the first global meeting of African and Asian states to promote cooperation along economic and cultural lines, and opposition to colonial and neocolonial politics.

The conference was hosted in Bandung, Indonesia by President Sukarno, in April 1955, and included delegates from 25 countries representing more than one-half of the world’s population.

Bandung spawned the Non-Aligned Movement, a vibrant coalition of countries that created a non-western set of alliances and politics, in opposition to the cold war politics of the U.S. and Soviet Union.

71.Make My Trip has made another move to expand its travel services, with the acquisition of a travel startup named Mygola today.

72.Yadav, Bhushan Expelled From AAP

Rebel leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav were expelled from Aam Aadmi Party.

Senior leaders Anand Kumar and Ajit Jha were also expelled by the national disciplinary action committee of AAP which found all 4 guilty of anti-party activities.

73.RBI allows Prepaid Instruments As Alternative to TFA

RBI Deputy Governor H. R. Khan has indicated greater need for collaboration between banks and commerce firms and prepaid instruments to avoid two factor authentication process for smaller payments

74.India Shifts Embassy From Sana’a to Dijbouti

India has shifted its embassy to Djibouti after a conclusion of the process to evacuate Indian nations from Yemen’s capital Sana’a

The Chardham yatra has commenced from Tuesday, 21st April 2015 with the opening of Himalayan shrines Gangotri and Yamunotri after a 6-month winter break.

76.Adani Power Ltd Completes Acquisition of Lanco Infratech Power Plant

Adani Power Ltd has completed the acquisition of Lanco Infratech’s Udupi Power Plant for INR 6300 crore

This is one of the largest takeovers in the thermal sector of India

77.Three new havens for tigers

In a move that comes soon after the tiger census in January showed an overall rise in numbers of the big cat, the Centre is set to form three new tiger reserves. In-principle approval has been accorded by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) for creation of reserves in Ratapani in Madhya Pradesh, Sunabeda in Odisha and Guru Ghasidas in Chhattisgarh.

78. Green tribunal’s thumbs up for waste-to-energy projects

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has permitted the States , including Karnataka, to use incinerator technology for producing Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF), commonly known as waste-to-energy. However, the Tribunal said no waste could be directly put into the incinerators or for power generation, except the specifically permitted. Only those wastes that are found unrecyclable after segregation should be put into the incinerators. Also, the tribunal emphasised that it was not putting any absolute restriction on RDF being used as power generation fuel, but first effort should be made for composting of wet waste. The States are free to use RDF for generating fuel with due care and caution by framing necessary guidelines. Meanwhile, the Central Pollution Control Board and the Ministry of Environment and Forests were directed to prescribe specific guidelines for emissions from incinerators.

79.Historian Christopher Bayly dead

Christopher Alan Bayly, an eminent historian and teacher, whose work on colonial and post-colonial India has made a lasting imprint on the way India’s past has been understood, died in Chicago of a heart attack. Much of Professor Bayly’s work was on 18th and 19th century India and on the transformation that colonialism wrought on pre-modern societies and structures. His early books — like The Local Roots of Indian Politics: Allahabad 1880-1920 (1975); and Indian Society and the Making of the British Empire (1988) — soon became essential reading for history syllabi in undergraduate and post-graduate courses.

80.Morsy sentenced to jail for 20 years

An Egyptian court sentenced ousted President Mohamed Morsy to 20 years in prison for abuses against protesters but acquitted the Islamist leader of charges carrying a possible death penalty. Morsy was convicted of ordering the arrest and torture of demonstrators involved in clashes in 2012 when he was President.

81Chennai to host Global Mobile App Summit

The first edition of Global Mobile App Summit & Awards (GMASA) to be held at Chennai in May 2015. Coinciding with the summit, GMASA will also hold the ‘Make-in-India Student App Fest’ to enable students showcase their talents so that they can get connected with the angel investors, private equity funds and venture capitalists

82.Desisa wins Boston Marathon

83.SEBI Bars Reena Bansal From Markets For One More Year

Sebi today said Reena Bansal, wife of a former sub-broker with ICICI Securities, will continued to be barred from the capital market for one more year for her involvement in defrauding investors through illicit dealings in shares of many blue-chip companies.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), through an interim order in April 2011, had banned Reena, wife of the late Rajeev Bansal, from the securities market till further orders.

Now, Bansal will be barred from the securities for one more year as she has already undergone the debarment for four years.

A preliminary probe by Sebi had found that Bansal had acted as an unregistered sub-broker and dealt in shares of various firms such as the State Bank of India, Reliance Power, Unitech, Ranbaxy, Tata Steel, United Breweries and Infosys Technologies for her clients.

84.Union Finance Ministry retained interest rate for GPF at 8.7 percent for 2015-16

Union Finance Ministry retained the rate of interest for General Provident Fund (GPF) and other related schemes at 8.7 per cent for 2015-16. The notification was issued by the Finance Ministry on 21 April 2015.

The 8.7 per cent interest will apply on Provident Funds of central government employees, railways and defence forces. The rate of interest will be effective from 1 April 2015.

The interest rate for GPF is in line with the interest rate fixed for Public Provident Fund (PPF) at 8.7 per cent for 2015-16. The Government had raised the interest rates for other small saving schemes.

The interest rate for senior citizens savings scheme was hiked from 9.2 per cent to 9.3 per cent and the interest rate for Sukanya Samriddhi Account, the special deposit scheme for girl child has been hiked from 9.1 per cent to 9.2 per cent.The interest earning for Kisan Vikas Patra has been retained at 8.7 per cent.

85.Govt Allocates Rs 775 Crore to Combat Cyber Security Threats

Government has initiated action to create a national level mechanism to counter cyber security threats with a financial outlay of Rs 775 crore to be spent over a period of five years, Parliament was informed today.

“The government has initiated action to create a national level mechanism to generate necessary situational scenario of existing and potential cyber security threats and enable timely information sharing for proactive and protective actions by individual entities,” Minister of Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

For this purpose, a financial outlay of Rs 775 crore over a period of five years has been projected, he added.

The Minister said the budget allocation for cyber security programme has steadily increased from Rs 36.06 crore during 2012-13 to Rs 85 crore during 2015-16.

This includes funds for measures and initiatives for tackling cyber crimes effectively, he added.

86.Indian Passport Ranked 48 Out Of 50 Most Powerful: Survey

The Indian passport has been ranked 48th in a list of 50 most powerful travel document in the world, according to a global survey topped by Sweden.

Germany-based Go Euro travel comparison website ranked the top 50 countries of the world based on their passport’s eligibility for visa-free entry, cost of application as well as number of hours worked to acquire the document.

India, which came towards the bottom of the ranking, offered visa-free entry to 52 countries and cost USD 24 and 87 hours of working time.

Sweden topped the chart with 174 visa-free countries, costing USD 43 and just one hour of working time.

Finland, Germany, the UK and US completed the top 5 with 174 visa-free countries all round.

87.Blanket knitted to pay tribute to Mandela sets Guinness record

A 3,133 square metres blanket, knitted together by people of six countries including India to pay tributes to the legacy of South African anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela, today set a new Guinness World record.

Scores of volunteers worked through the night to join the hundreds of blankets knitted into a single one, covering the sprawling lawns of the Union Buildings, seat of the South African government.

88.Eminent historian Professor Christopher Alan Bayly died on 20 April 2015 in Chicago due to heart attack. His death was announced by the Centre for South Asian Studies at the University of Cambridge. He was 70.

89.Cricket South Africa launched Africa T20 Cup

Cricket South Africa (CSA) on 21 April 2015 announced a new tournament to be known as the Africa T20 Cup. The tournament was planned to promote the game and nurture young talent in the continent.

The tournament will be a World Cup-style competition, consisting of four pools of four teams each with the winners of each pool advancing to the semi-finals and eventually to the final.

90.Indian-Origin Engineer Shares Pulitzer Prize in the US

An Indian-origin software engineer in the US has shared this year’s Pulitzer Prize for graphics team of investigative journalism, in growing recognition of the importance of using IT tools in reporting.

Palani Kumanan, who is a software architect with Dow Jones that publishes the Wall Street Journal, was a part of the winning project’s graphics team.

He shared the prize along with members of the Journal’s graphics team Martin Burch, Chris Canipe, Madeline Farbman, Jon Keegan and Stuart Thompson.

91.Delhi Author Rana Dasgupta Shortlisted for Orwell Prize

Author Rana Dasgupta’s literary potrait of Delhi Capital is among six books shortlisted for the George Orwell Prize for political writing 2015.

92.Volvo names Scania chief Martin Lundstedt as new CEO

Sweden’s Volvo named the head of Volkswagen-owned Scania as its chief executive on Wednesday, replacing embattled Olof Persson who for nearly four years led a sweeping efficiency drive at the global truck maker.

The group, vying for global dominance with Germany’s Daimler and VW’s truck brands, also released better than expected quarterly earnings two days ahead of schedule and said it would seek an external partner for parts of its IT business.

93.IT Department awarded the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration

The Income Tax (IT) Department on 21 April 2015 was awarded the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration for easy tax compliance through quality service. The award was presented at a function at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on occasion of Civil Services Day.

The Prime Minister Award for excellence in public administration to the Income Tax Department demonstrates the commitment of the Department towards achieving Minimum Government and Maximum Governance in tax administration.

94. Indira, Rajiv names dropped from two Hindi awards

The BJP-led NDA government has dropped the names of former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi from two awards for propagating Hindi.

The ‘Indira Gandhi Rajbhasha Puraskar’ and ‘Rajiv Gandhi Rashtriya Gyan-Vigyan Maulik Pustak Lekhan Puraskar’, launched more than two decades ago, have given way for ‘Rajbhasha Kirti Puraskar’ and ‘Rajbhasha Gaurav Puraskar’.

The two awards have been discontinued by the Union Home Ministry, which instead launched two new schemes for doing outstanding work for promoting the progressive use of official language.

95.H.L.Dattu to head NJAC

The six-member NJAC headed by the Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu will be constituted by the center.
ii. National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) is a body responsible for the appointment and transfer of judges to the higher judiciary in India.

The Commission is established by amending the Constitution of India through the ninety-ninth constitution amendment vide the Constitution (Ninety-Ninth Amendment) Act, 2014 passed by the Lok Sabha on 13 August 2014 and by the Rajya Sabha on 14 August 2014.

96.Sesa Sterlite renamed as Vedanta Ltd

Metals and mining conglomerate Sesa Sterlite has changed its name to Vedanta Ltd to better align with its international identity — Vedanta Resources.

Sesa Sterlite is a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Plc, UK.

The company produces and processes oil and gas, zinc, lead, silver, copper, iron ore, aluminium and commercial power and is present in India, South Africa, Namibia, Ireland, Australia, Liberia and Sri Lanka.

Cairn India, Hindustan Zinc Ltd and BALCO are the subsidiaries of the company.

97. International Mother Earth Day observed

International Mother Earth Day was observed globally on 22 April 2015 with the theme It’s our turn to lead.

The theme highlights the need for change and seeks to inform the communities and leadership that action needs to be taken on climate by promoting a goal of environmental awareness through developing sustainable initiatives and galvanizing every human to pledge Acts of Green.

This is the 45th anniversary of the Earth’s Day, the year when the world leaders will pass a binding climate change treaty in Paris in December 2015.

The treaty will be adopted to make sure the future of Earth, our planet and the survival of life on it.

98. Kudermukh and Rajaji National Parks Declared as Tiger Reserves: Centre

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has accorded final approval to two national parks i.e. Kudermukh National Park in Karnataka and Rajaji National Park in Uttarkhand for being declared as tiger reserves.

In accordance to this approval, Rajaji National Park is declared as India’s 48th Tiger Reserve. With this notification, Uttarakhand got its second tiger reserve after the Corbett Tiger Reserve.

The notification was announced by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat while releasing logo of the Rajaji Tiger Reserve.

The Rajaji National Park that came into existence in 1983 is spread across three districts of Uttarakhand namely Haridwar, Dehradun and Pauri Garhwal in an area over 820 square km.

99.NASA 3D prints first copper rocket engine part

NASA engineers have developed the first full-scale, 3D printed copper rocket engine part – a combustion chamber liner that operates at extreme temperatures and pressures.

Numerous complex parts made of many different materials are assembled to make engines that provide the thrust that powers rockets.

100. Railway Launches App for Paperless Unreserved Tickets

Moving ahead in line with digital India, railways today launched mobile application for paperless unreserved tickets.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu introduced from here the mobile app for paperless unreserved ticketing for commuters in Egmore and Tambram suburban sections in Chennai under Southern Railway zone.

Developed by Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) “utsonmobile” – the paperless unreserved ticketing feature in mobile application aims to eliminate the need for printing of unreserved tickets.

Payment for the ticket is done through the “railway wallet” feature in the App. After booking the ticket, the passenger will get ticket confirmation screen, which will contain limited information about the ticket, they said.

On a pilot basis, the paperless ticketing system in unreserved segment will cover 15 stations in the suburban section of Southern Railway, officials said.

Railways plan to extend the paperless service in suburban section in all metros.

101.Reinsurance Group of America appointed former LIC Head Thomas Mathew as MD & CEO for India

Even as the regulator IRDA is busy finalising norms to allow global reinsurers to enter the country, international firms are putting in place their top teams, with the US-based RGA taking the lead by appointing former acting chairman of LIC, Thomas Mathew, as its India head.

Mathew joined RGA (Reinsurance Group of America) India as Managing Director and Chief Executive on March 30.

At present, Mathew is the non-executive chairman of the privately-promoted commodity bourse MCX-SX, and continues to hold the post.

102. Justice Khehar to Head the Constitution Bench

Setting at rest issues, the Supreme Court cleared the decks were for commencing the hearing on the validity of the new law on appointment of judges with a Constitution Bench rejecting demands for recusal of judges.

“Justice J S Khehar will not recuse himself from hearing,” Justice J Chelameswar said on behalf of the five-judge bench which overruled the objection on Justice Khehar heading the bench.

Justice Chelameswar said the reasons for the non-recusal of Justice Khehar will be delivered later.

103.Hubble Space Telescope marking 25th anniversary in orbit

One of NASA’s crowning glories, the Hubble Space Telescope, marks its 25th anniversary this week.
With 1 million-plus observations, including those of some of the farthest and oldest galaxies ever beheld by humanity, no man-made satellite has touched as many minds or hearts as Hubble.

NASA is celebrating Friday’s anniversary with ceremonies this week at the Smithsonian Institution and the Newseum in Washington.

A full decade in the making, Hubble rocketed into orbit on April 24, 1990, aboard space shuttle Discovery.

104.India Now Tops List of Countries With the Most Yale Fellows

Two Indians are among 16 scholars selected for the 2015 Yale World Fellows in the US for their exemplary mid-career work.

An Indian conflict reporter, Rahul Pandita and a healthcare founder, Zeena Johar were selected by the prestigious Ivy League university.

They were chosen from a pool of about 4,000 applicants for the New Haven, Connecticut-based university’s signature global leadership development initiative.

With the addition of Pandita and Johar, the global Yale World Fellows network now includes 17 Indian Fellows, more than any other country since the programme was established in 2002.

Pandita is mostly known for his reportage on Maoist insurgency in central and eastern India, and on the turmoil in Kashmir.

105. 1.The Urban Development Ministry‬ has issued Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to ensure cleanliness during and after public meetings and gatherings.Under the SOP, organizers have been made accountable for ensuring cleanliness.The Ministry has taken a serious note of spoiling of public places through littering of water bottles, left- over food items, packaging material and wrappers during public gatherings and meetings.

106.With an aim of monitoring implementation of various ongoing projects including Rail Budget proposals, The Indian Rrailways today launched E-Samiksha, an online monitoring mechanism.Designed by NIC, the software is currently being used by Cabinet Secretariat, PMO and other Ministries for monitoring progress implementation of various programmes and follow-up of meetings.

Highlights about E-Samiksha  :