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

“The name of the scheme [TVoA-ETA] is creating confusion among tourists, who are under the impression that the visa is being granted on arrival. However, in the present system, the pre-authorisation of visa has to be taken before travel,” so to avoid confusion, the MHA has changed the name. .

The government has issued 1.10 lakh visas under this new scheme

This scheme was launched on 27th November 2014.

This scheme will be extended to more countries and airports in a phased manner.

165.A three-month action plan has been formulated to combat pollution for the National Capital Region.

This plan covers 4 states. Those are,

Delhi , Haryana , Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Under this plan, civic agencies in Delhi and three neighboring states will enforce the ban onburning of waste, act against polluting vehicles, set up automatic identification of overloaded vehicles at borders, phase out coal-based units and adhere to upcoming norms on handling of construction waste.

This Task Force will take up all issues for expediting the work on interlinking of rivers in the Country.The Task Force will be chaired by B N Navalawala, Ex-Secretary of Ministry of Water Resources.

The two leaders announced that the Swaraj Abhiyan will be a fight for the rights of farmers, women and common man across the country through protests and rallies.

FDI inflows into services sector grew by about 47 per cent to $2.64 billion in April-January last fiscal.

Helped with the growth in FDI in important sector like services, overall foreign inflows in the country rose by 36 per cent to $25.52 billion during the ten months of 2014-15.

The other sectors where inflows have recorded growth are: telecom ($2.83 billion), automobile ($2.04 billion) and power ($612 million).

Government has raised the FDI cap in insurance sector to 49 per cent from 26 per cent. The policy was also relaxed in other sectors such as defence, railways and medical devices.

170.Retail inflation drops to 3-month low of 5.17% in March

Easing of food prices, mainly milk and vegetables, pulled down the March retail inflation to 3-month low of 5.17 per cent.

The retail inflation as measured by Consumer Price Index was 5.37 per cent in February, and 5.19 per cent in January. It was 8.25 per cent in March last year.

To calculate the CPI, price data are collected from selected towns by the field operations division of NSSO and from selected villages by the Department of Posts.

171.Haryana govt to give cabinet minister status to Baba Ramdev

The BJP government in Haryana has decided to give the status of cabinet minister to yoga guru Ramdev, who was earlier made the state’s brand ambassador to promote yoga and ayurveda.

The government’s decision was announced on Monday by education minister Ram Bilas Sharma, who said the state government would also honour Ramdev at a function at Indradhanush Auditorium in Panchkula on April 21.

Recently, government announced to make yoga compulsory in all schools and equip all sports stadiums in every district with a yoga centre. Municipal bodies and Huda would construct yoga practice halls in their areas of jurisdiction. Special coaching of physical education teachers in yoga will be organised.

172.Following consumer backlash, Flipkart pulls out of Airtel Zero

Following popular outrage against net neutrality violations to “internet apartheid”, eretailer Flipkart pulled out of the controversial Airtel Zero preferential access platform.

Flipkart was one of the partners in the Airtel Zero platform which allowed Airtel’s subscribers to access select websites and services for “zero data charges”, as long as owners of these websites/services paid Airtel.

Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said a six-member panel has been constituted by the telecom department to submit its recommendations regarding the same by early next month.

173. FM transmission of Vividh Bharati launched

The popular ‘Vividh Bharati’ services of All India Radio (AIR) will now be available to listeners in and around Delhi on mobile handsets with the launch of FM transmission of the channel.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley, who launched the FM transmission, also delivered a message to the listeners of the channel, saying Vividh Bharati services would reach people within a range of 60-65 km with much clarity at all times in all weather conditions.

Vividh Bharati offers a mix of film music, skits, short plays and interactive programmes. It is known to have the largest collection of film and non-film songs in the country.

Mobile applications of all channels that are livestreamed by AIR like Vividh Bharati, FM Gold, FM Rainbow, Urdu service and several regional channels, will also be made available.

174.First ever visit of North Korean Foreign Minister

In a significant diplomatic engagement, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met her North Korean counterpart Ri Su Yong.Mr. Ri is in India at the invitation of Ms. Swaraj. This is the first ever visit to India at the Foreign Minister level from Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

175. Russian President Putin is most influential person in the World: Time

Russian President Vladimir Putin has emerged the winner of this year’s Time 100 readers’ poll of most influential people in the world.

He edged out rapper-singer CL (of the South Korean girl-group 2NE1) to claim the number one spot with 6.95 per cent of the votes in the final tally. Pop stars Lady Gaga (2.6 per cent), Rihanna (1.9 per cent) and Taylor Swift (1.8 per cent) rounded out the top five.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal named also included in the list of 100 most influential people in the world.Narendra Modi however garnered just 0.6 per cent of the votes cast, with only 34 per cent of the people voting in his favour and 66 per cent against. Kejriwal got 0.5 per cent, with 71 per cent voters saying he should not be in the list.

Other winners of the online poll include US presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, the Dalai Lama, Harry Potter actress Emma Watson, Nobel peace prize winner Malala Yousafzai, Pope Francis, Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
176.NASA named Asteroid 316201 after Malala Yousafzai

US space agency NASA has named Asteroid 316201 after Malala Yousafzai, the winner of 2014 Nobel Peace Prize.The asteroid is situated in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The asteroid orbits the sun every five-and-a-half years.

177.Allan Donald stepped down as South Africa bowling coach

Former fast bowler Allan Donald stepped down as South Africa’s bowling coach after four years with the team.He said, it it was the right time to move on following last month’s World Cup, where South Africa lost in the semi-finals.

He joined as bowling coach under former head coach Gary Kirsten in 2011

178.Taiwan won’t be an AIIB founder-member

Taiwan won’t be among the charter members of the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, apparently because of a dispute over what name the island should use in the institution. Taiwan is among more than 40 countries applying for membership in the new bank.

179.Russia lifts ban on missile delivery to Iran

President Vladimir Putin opened the way for Russia’s delivery of a sophisticated air defence missile system to Iran, a move that would significantly bolster the Islamic republic’s military capability.Russia signed the $800 million contract to sell Iran the S-300 missile system in 2007, but suspended their delivery three years later.

180.India’s GDP growth rate to reach 8% by 2017: World Bank

The World Bank has predicted a GDP growth rate of 8 per cent for India by 2017 and said that a strong expansion in the country, coupled with favourable oil prices, would accelerate the economic growth in South Asia. In India, GDP growth is expected to accelerate to 7.5 per cent in fiscal year 2015/16. It could reach 8 per cent in FY 2017/18, on the back of significant acceleration of investment growth to 12 per cent during FY 2016-FY 2018

181.New urban development mission to replace JNNURM

Government is preparing to replace one of its predecessor UPA’s flagship programmes soon after the prime minister returns from his overseas trip. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) will make way for a new mission aimed at upgrading infrastructure in cities. The new mission has received the nod from the expenditure finance committee (EFC) and the Cabinet note has been circulated.

182.SEBI Issues Procedures for Tendering and Settlement of Shares

SEBI issued procedures for the tendering and settlement of shares via stock exchanges for takeovers, buybacks and delisting of entities
The procedures have been issued for the facilitation of tendering of shares by shareholders and settlement of the same through the mechanism of the stock exchange

124th Birth Anniversary of B. R. Ambedkar Celebrated

The 124th birth anniversary of B. R. Ambedkar was celebrated by India

Google also created a doodle in his honour

He was conferred the Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1990

PM Gifts Madhubani Painting to Lord Mayor of Hannover

PM Narendra Modi gifted a Madhubani painting depicting various stages of life to Stefan Schostock, Lord Mayor of Hannover

The painting has been created by national award winning artist Baua Devi

PM Narendra Modi Opens World’s Largest Industrial Fair

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Hanover Messe, which is the largest industrial fair in the world, alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel

India is a partner country of this year’s fair with 400 industry representatives from this nation amidst 6500 exhibitors from 70 countries worldwide

World’s First Ever Selfie Museum is In Manila

The Art in Island located in Philippine’s capital Manila employs 3D replicas of paintings and encourages visitors to take selfies with the paintings.It is the planet’s first ever selfie museum

SC Issues Notice to Centre Against Land Ordinance

The apex court has agreed on the basis of a PIL to examine whether the President’s power to re-promulgate an ordinance on the grounds that it is a subversion of the legislative process is constitutionally sound

SC issued notice to the Centre on the question of validity of land acquisition ordinance signed on April 3, 2015 by the Indian President

Government Mandates Bar Coding of Mono Cartons of Drugs

Government of India has mandated the bar coding of mono cartons of drugs shipped from the country from the month of July

This is to ensure that reputation of Indian drugs is not compromised by medicines manufactured in an illicit manner in other nations

Seema Modi Quits as India Head of H. J. Heinz

Seema Modi has quit as the head of the Indian unit of H.J. Heinz.She was the first woman MD of Heinz India in 2012

Godrej Nature’s Basket Joins Hands with Amazon

Godrej Nature’s Basket, food retail unit of the Godrej Group has partnered with Amazon for selling products through the platform of the e-commerce firm

Snapdeal CFO Quits

The Chief Financial Officer of Snapdeal, Aakash Moondhra has resigned and could be starting his own venture or going back to investing sector.

Noted German Author Passes Away

Guenter Grass, a Nobel literature prize winner and author of world famous work The Tin Drum, died at the age of 87

The German Nobel prize winner was born in Danzig and served in the German military during WW2

ONGC, OIL and BPCL to Invest in Mozambique

State operated ONGC, OIL and BPCL will be investing USD 6 billion over the next 4 years for development of a giant gas field off the coast of Mozambique and convert fuel into LNG for export to nations such as India

Curiosity Finds Evidence of Salty Water on Mars

Scientists have found indirect evidence to support the existence of transient liquid water/very salty water on Mars

Indian Shooter Wins Bronze Medal

Indian shooting champion Jitu Rai won the Bronze medal in the 10 m Air Pistol Men’s Final at the International Shooting Sport Federation Rifle/Pistol World Cup in South Korea’s Changwon

Russia Lifts Ban on Iran

Russia lifted a ban on supplying Iran with sophisticated S-300 air defence missile systems following the framework for a nuclear deal with the West

12 Gram Panchayats Set to Adopt Participatory Waste Management Scheme in Kozhikode

In the first scheme of its kind, people in 12 gram panchayats are set to establish a participatory waste management scheme making them zero waste generating areas

The scheme is being funded by Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) and supported by Niravu Vengeri

Centre Appoints Panel on Net Neutrality

Amidst a fierce debate on equal internet access to all, government has established an expert panel to examine the issue of net neutrality and report in a month’s time

NJAC Act Brought into Effect Through Government Notification

Government brought into force the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act through a notification for appointing members to higher judiciary

This is two days before the apex court’s Constitution Bench hears petitions challenging the NJAC Act

The notification also brings into effect the Constitutional Amendment Act/99th Amendment Act to provide constitutional status to a new body issued by Department of Justice in the Law Ministry

‘Green’ sub station to power Faridabad metro corridor

The upcoming Badarpur-Faridabad corridor of Delhi Metro would be powered by a Green Sub-station as the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has constructed a host of eco-friendly features at Faridabad including its first ever ‘green’ electrical Receiving Sub Station (RSS).

Tsunami-hit school becomes Tamil Nadu’s first smart school

A Panchayat Union Middle School at Keechankuppam village in Nagapattinam district, which was ravaged by the tsunami on December 26,2004, has become Tamil Nadu’s first government school to get a ‘smart class’ with internet facility.
Solar-powered internet drone completes first test flight
A Portuguese startup that aims to use solar-powered drones to provide wireless internet access to offline areas of the world claims to have successfully completed its maiden test flight.The company Quarkson plans to use the SkyOrbiter drones that will stay airborne for weeks, months or even years at a time and will fly at altitudes of up to 22,000 metres.

International Hindi Centre to be set up in United States

With a view to promote Hindi as a world language, plans are underway to establish a ‘Hindi Centre’ near New York that will serve as an academic and cultural hub and facilitate exchange programmes between Indian and American universities.

India may be third biggest economy by 2030: Report

RBI warns against fake app

L&T inks MoU with AREVA

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has announced signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with AREVA of France for co-operation to maximise localisation of the EPR nuclear power plant to be built at Jaitapur, Maharashtra. The MoU with AREVA represents a major step forward for L&T in the field of pressurized water reactor technology.
GVK Power arm’s first 82.50 MW unit goes on stream

The 330MW (4 x 82.50 MW) Alaknanda Hydro Power Company Ltd., a step-down subsidiary, successfully synchronised its first unit with the grid on April 10 and is generating at full load, GVK Power and Infrastructure Ltd. Said.

1.The Haryana government today decided to give “status equivalent to Cabinet Minister” toRamdev, who has been appointed as the state’s brand ambassador to promote yoga and ayurveda.

Yoga would be made a compulsory subject in Haryana’s schools for which ‘yogshalas’ will be constructed in all the towns and about 6,500 villages of the state under the guidance of Ramdev.

Haryana’s Health and Sports Minister : Anil Vij

2.Government’s think tank NITI Aayog today announced that it will soon come out with an integrated policy to help meet massive demand for energy including solar, wind, gas and coal.

The move is aimed at boosting power generation in the country from various sources like solar, wind, gas, coal etc to meet the growing demand.

Important Note : The government has set an ambitious target of generating 1,75,000 MW from renewable sources by 2022, including 1,00,000 MW solar power.

NITI Aayog Chairman : Narendra Modi

Vice Chairman : Arvind Panagariya

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) : Sindhushree Khullar

3.Over four months after the President granted assent to the two Bills, the NDA Government today finally notified the Ninety-Ninth Constitutional (Amendment) Act and the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, thus ending the over two-decade-old collegium system of appointing judges of Supreme Court and high courts.

Under the new law, a six-member panel – National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC)– headed by the Chief Justice of India will select judges of the apex court and state high courts.

Along with the Head, this panel includes two senior-most Supreme Court judges, Union Minister of Law and Justice and two “eminent persons” nominated by a committee comprising the Prime Minister, CJI and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha or leader of the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha.

184.Lt. Gen H. Singh, a hero of the Indo-Pak war in 1971 died while meditating in Dehradun

He commanded the 17 Horse/ Poona Horse regiment in the Indo Pak war and he had been honoured with a Maha Vir Chakra and a Param Vishisht Seva Medal

He retired from the Army in the year 1991

185.Airbus Plans to Make in India

Well known company Airbus is increasing Indian outsourcing to USD 2 billion

It is also eager to manufacture in India as part of the Make in India programme.

186.Government Receives INR 32,300 Crore From Telecom Players

Government of India has received total upfront cash amounting to INR 32,300 crore from telecom players for spectrum sold in March and an outstanding due of INR 28,835.34 crore

Telecom major Bharti Airtel paid INR 11,374.7 crore with upfront amount due of INR 7832.20 crore for Rajasthan and Northeast Circle.

Other telecom players paid the minimum amount due from them.

187.SEBI Moves US Court In Sahara Case

The high profile SEBI Sahara case saw a new twist when the capital market regulatory authority approached a US court in Indianapolis with a USD 12 billion claim on proceeds of corporate jet sold by a Sahara Group firm.

188.First Village Secretariat Established in Haryana’s Jind District

CM Manohar Lal Khattar inaugurated the first village secretariat of the state in Habibatpur village, Jind

Each village in Haryana will soon have its special secretariat.

1.New Wage Pact for Jute Industry Drops Productivity Linked Wage Clause

A fresh tripartite wage pact for the jute industry has left aside the productivity linked wage clause introduced in the year 2002 to enhance efficiency in the industry

The 3 year agreement will come into force from April 2015.

189.Info Edge India Invests in Zomato

Internet firm Info Edge India has made an investment of INR 155 crore in online restaurant guide business Tomato

Info Edge’s proportionate share of Zomato’s recent fund raise is of USD 50 million.

3.SpiceJet’s Chief Commercial Officer Steps Down

The Chief Commercial Officer Kaneswaran Avili stepped down from this post. He is the first senior executive to leave following the transfer to new promoter Ajay Singh

4.Sahoo Committee Recommends Removing Limit on Corporate ECBs

Committee headed by former SEBI Member M.S. Sahoo has recommended India should remove limits on external commercial borrowings of corporates

This committee was in favour of removal of end-use restrictions and made the recommendation that each borrower should hedge part of their borrowing.

The limit for Indian companies to raise funds through ECB is USD 750 million in a fiscal carrying segments such as hotel and software.

189.Ocean Acidification Triggered the Biggest Extinction on Earth

Ocean acidification has triggered the biggest extinction of all time on earth wiping 90% of the marine species and 75% of the animals on land around 250 million years ago

Scientists have found oceans absorbed vast amounts of CO2 from volcanic eruptions changing.the chemical composition with tragic results for life on the planet

190.UNESCO Report Says India Reduced “Out of School” Children by More than 90%

Making considerable progress, India has lowered the number of “out of school” children by over 90%

It has also attained universal primary education according to the UNESCO global education report entitled Education for All 2005-2015.