June Month Refresher Dose:

1.Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum & Natural Gas Sh. Dharmendra Pradhan launched Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana for the State of Uttarakhand in Srinagar, Pauri District on 09.06.2016.Dubai based Emaar MGF’s Executive Vice Chairman & Managing Director Shravan Gupta has resigned from the post after the two joint venture partners Emaar Properties and India’s MGF Development had decided to part ways and restructure the company’s business.

2.The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has recognized the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) led by Rao Inderjit Singh as the president.

3.Sikkim became the first state in India to have an open government data portal linked ‘sikkim.data.gov.in’.

4.The Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi will inaugurate the two day Annual Conference of Senior Tax Administrators of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) & Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC) on 16th June morning in the plenary Hall of Vigyan Bhavan in national capital.

5.Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum & Natural Gas Sh. Dharmendra Pradhan launched Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana for the State of Uttarakhand in Srinagar, Pauri District on 09.06.2016.

6.The Minister of Road Transport & Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari launched the report “Road Accidents in India 2015” in New Delhi. Road accidents have emerged as a major public health problem globally, and more so in India where almost 5 lakh accidents occurred last year, killing 1,46000 people and leaving thrice the number injured.

7.The World Day against Child Labour is being observed annually across world on 12 June to bring awareness against child labour.

8.Senior-most Judge of the Manipur High Court Justice Rakesh Ranjan Prasad has assumed charge of the Chief Justice of the High Court.

9.China has successfully launched its 23rd BeiDou Navigation Satellite to support its global navigation and positioning network.

10.The country’s industrial production shrank 0.8 % in April this year, dragged down by a poor performance of the manufacturing and capital goods sectors.

11.Microsoft is buying the professional networking website LinkedIn for just over $26 bn.

12.Singer Rod Stewart has received a knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, for his services to music and charity.

13.“Hamilton”, the hit musical, which led with record-breaking 16 nominations, won a total of 11 awards including Best Musical, Best Original Score for mastermind Lin-Manuel Miranda and Best Leading Actor in a Musical for Leslie Odom Jr. at the Tony Awards here.

14.Tata Power has acquired the renewable energy (RE) subsidiary of Delhi-based Welspun Energy. It is estimated to be a Rs 9,900-crore deal.

15.Amazon followed by Flipkart and Snapdeal were the most preferred e-commerce websites among sellers, with highest top of the mind recall, a recent study has revealed.

16.Union Finance minister Mr. Arun Jaitley has met finance ministers of 22 states and representatives and seven others in Kolkata to iron out differences over the new regime that will create one national market under the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

17.The Reserve Bank of India has issued guidelines called Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets.

18.Ranu Langthasa has been unanimously appointed as the chairperson of the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC) in Assam.

19.Scientist G Kalyanakrishnan has taken charge as Chief Executive of Hydrabad based Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC).

20.Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai has resigned after the acceptance of the resignation by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for this on health grounds.

21.Norway has become the first country in the world to prohibit deforestation.

22.Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton from Great Britain has won 2016 Canada Grand Prix title of Formula One.

23.The Union cabinet gave its in-principle nod for State Bank of India (SBI)’s proposal to gobble up its five associate banks as well as Bharatiya Mahila Bank.

24.45 day fishing ban in the western coastal zone of Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu will come into force today.

25.Lt. Governor of Puducherry Kiran Bedi has launched a mobile Application for helping senior citizens in distress.

26.Isreal has been elected to chair a UN committee for the first time in the world body’s 71 years history.

27.A small regional Florida bank, Stonegate Bank has made history by issuing the first credit card that can be used in Cuba.

28.Renowned Hindi novelist and critique Mudraraksha (82-year) has passed away due to old age related causes in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

29.President Pranab Mukherjee has been presented National Order of the Republic of Ivory Coast, the highest civilian award of the West African country.

30.The Indian men’s 4x400m relay team has created a new national record clocking 3:02.17 at the International Sprint and Relay Teams Cup at Erzurum, Turkey.

31.Mahendra Singh Dhoni has became the first Indian wicket keeper and fourth in the world to complete 350 dismissals in One-Day International (ODI) cricket.

32.Just Dial, UTI Asset Management Company and IRCTC are among the firms that have made it to the Fortune Next 500 list of Indian companies, which has been topped by Dynamatic Technologies.

33.India's largest public sector lender State Bank of India BSE 0.02 % (SBI) has created a dedicated IT innovations and startup fund and have set aside Rs 200 crore for investment in promising startups.

34.Moody's Investors Service has revised to negative from stable the outlook on the Ba3 corporate family rating and senior unsecured rating of Tata Power, days after the company said it will buy Welspun Renewable Energy at an enterprise value of Rs 9,249 crore.

35.India ranks fourth in terms of number of servers hacked as per a Kaspersky Lab report.

36.Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Anjan Dutta passed away at the AIIMS hospital in New Delhi following cardiac failure.

37.Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani has launched Vidyanjali, a school volunteer programme in New Delhi.

38.Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has flagged off India's first timetabled freight train, named ‘Cargo Express’, from Delhi to Bengaluru.

39.Canadian poet, novelist and environmental activist Margaret Atwood was awarded the 2016 PEN Pinter Prize.

40.Pune-based diabetes specialist Shashank S Shah was conferred with the Vivian Fonseca Scholar Award 2016. He was selected for his research titled Gastric Bypass vs.

41.Karnataka Bank Ltd has bagged CFBP (Council for Fair Business Practices) Jamnalal Bajaj award for fair business practices.

42.The Rio 2016 organising committee revealed the official slogan for the first Olympic and Paralympic Games in South America – “A new world” – while also unveiling the medals, 52 days from the start of the quadrennial extravaganza.

43.Senior IAS officer Supriya Sahu has been appointed as Director General of Doordarshan.

44.Senior legal service officer Suresh Chandra has been appointed as Union Law Secretary.

45.The Union Cabinet has approved a Rs 2,070-crore highways project in Punjab under its hybrid annuity mode to ensure faster movement of traffic between Chandigarh and Ludhiana.

46.Sunil Bharti Mittal, founder chairman of Bharti Enterprises has been elected as the head of International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), based in Paris, France.

47.Union Minister of State for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal has launched ‘URJA’- Urban Jyoti Abhiyaan Mobile app on the side-lines of ongoing two day Conference of Power Ministers at Cansaulim in South Goa.

48.Prime Minister of Thailand, Prayuth Chan-ocha, arrived in New Delhi for a three-day visit aimed at reviewing bilateral relations. Prayuth is visiting the country on an invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is accompanied by his deputy, five senior ministers and a 46 -member business delegation.  It is Prayuth's first visit to India. Former Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra had visited India in January 2012, when she was invited as chief guest for India's Republic Day celebrations.

49.Indian-origin diplomat Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir was on 17 June 2016 nominated as the next American Ambassador to Malaysia by US President Barack Obama. He will replace Joseph Y Yun, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service.

50.History was created as the first three women fighter pilots of the Indian Air Force proudly brandished their stripes and wings, at the Combined Graduation Parade at Air Force Academy, Dundigal on the outskirts of the twin city. The vanguards of the IAF roared into the sky and smeared the sky with tricolor as India joined the select few nations in the world that have women fighter pilots in their Air Forces when Flying Officer Avani Chaturvedi, Flying Officer Bhawana Kanth and Flying Officer Mohana Singh were conferred with the President’s Commission.

51.India muffed three tries in the title-deciding shootout to settle for a silver medal in the 36th Hero Champions Trophy as they lost the final 1-3 against World Champions Australia.

52.Former BJP MP Chetan Chauhan, who had played Test cricket for India, has been appointed as the Chairman of the prestigious National Institute of Fashion Technology, prompting sharp reaction from the Aam Aadmi Party.

53.Kerala Tourism has won four awards at ‘FilmAT’ which is one of the biggest international film festivals dedicated to tourism, art and ecology in Poland. ‘Responsible Tourism’ initiative started by Kerala Tourism has won three awards under categories of the Best Promotional Social Campaign, Protection of Nature, and Eco-Food categories respectively.

54.The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) will soon launch an E-Nivaran portal for speedy redressal of taxpayers’ grievances. The portal will be launched for Delhi on a pilot basis within two-three weeks.

55.Sugar shares fell sharply by up to 10% after the government imposed 20% customs duty on sugar exports. Recently, Government has imposed 20% customs duty on sugar exports to boost domestic supply. The duty has been imposed to restrict exports following sharp rise in global prices.

56.In order to cope with water scarcity in Agricultural Sector, Ministry of State for the Ministry of Science & Technology framed the “Water4crops” project.

57.Britain's Andy Murray dismantled Milos Raonic's huge serve to become the first man to win the Queen's Club title five times.

58.After winning pole position the previous day, Nico Rosberg followed the achievement by taking fastest lap of the race, and held the lead from start to finish Sunday afternoon to win the inaugural European Grand Prix for Mercedes on the street circuit in Baku, Azerbaijan.

59.The Indian mixed recurve team of Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das on 19 June 2016 won silver at the Archery World Cup in Antalya, Turkey.

60.Six Central Universities will have full fledged Yoga departments from academic session 2016-17 and the number would be raised to 20 within one year.

61.Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will lead the Second International Day of Yoga celebrations in the country and across the globe by participating in a mass Yoga demonstration of Common Yoga Protocol at the Capitol Complex in Chandigarh on the morning of 21st of June.

62.The Union Government has eased foreign direct investment (FDI) norms for nine sectors to give impetus to job creation and ease of doing business in the country.

63.The Punjab government has launched a special fund “Mukh Mantri Punjab Hepatitis C Relief Fund” to provide free treatment for patients affected by Hepatitis C.

64.Kannada film ‘Thithi‘ has won the best film award and best script writers award at the Asia New Talent Awards in the 19th Shanghai International Film Festival.

65.Renowned politician-turned-educationalist and founder of Jeppiaar Educational Trust Jeppiaar Pangiraj (85-year) has passed away due to brief illness at Chennai.

66.World’s oldest skydiver, Aida Gemanque (106-year) has become the oldest Olympic torch bearer on 18 June 2016 when she carried the flame in the Amazonian city of Macapa, aged .

67.International Cricket Council has suspended Sri Lanka’s fast bowler Shaminda Eranga from bowling.

68.Axis Bank has launched India’s first internationally-listed certified green bond to finance climate change solutions around the world at London Stock Exchange. The proceeds of the bond will be invested by Axis Bank in green energy, transportation and infrastructure projects.

69.State Bank of India (SBI) and Spain’s CaixaBank have inked pact to provide loans to Indo-Spanish joint ventures and local enterprises.As per the agreement, they will expand banks’ guarantee transaction businesses by jointly providing credit to Indian-Spanish joint ventures and Indian local enterprises.

70.Microsoft is buying the professional networking website LinkedIn for just over $26 bn.

71.Senior IAS officer (1980-batch) Haryana cadre Ashok Lavasa has been designated as the Finance Secretary by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) headed by PM Narendra Modi.

72.Union Government has notified a panel, headed by a former Delhi High Court judge, for revision of fares for Delhi Metro which will submit its report within three months.

73.Government approved extending retirement age of doctors of Central Health Services to 65 years.

74.Former Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi has been appointed as a member of UPSC.

75.Prominent Kannada writer, poet, D JavareGowda popularly known as ‘De Ja Go‘(101-years) passed away due to cardiac arrest at a hospital in Mysuru.

76.The government’s ambitious Mission Indradhanush programme, which provides immunisation against seven life threatening diseases is all set to be re-christened as four new vaccines have been added into it.

77.Former LokSabha MP from Odisha and senior BJP leader RudraMadhab Ray has passed away at a hospital in Bhubaneswar. He was suffering from Kidney related problems from past couple of month. He was 80 year old.

78.England captain Alastair Cook has become the youngest ever batsman to cross 10,000 runs in Test cricket and also become the 12th man to join the elite 10,000-run club in Test cricket.

79.Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the first ever National Disaster Management Plan prepared in the country.

80.Switzerland has inaugurated the world’s longest and deepest rail tunnel Gotthard Base Tunnel, running under the Swiss Alps.

81.Asia’s largest technology trade show COMPUTEX kicked off in Taipei.

82.The New Development Bank of the BRICS countries is set to issue its first yuan-denominated bonds with plans to release more bonds in local currencies including in Indian Rupee.

83.The Income Declaration Scheme will open today and will remain in force till 30th of September.

84.The Odisha government has decided to create 500 more gram panchayats in addition to the existing 6,234 ahead of the panchayat elections due in February next year.

85.Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal has launched a mobile app “DVAT M SEWA” through which city traders can register themselves with the VAT department of Delhi government.

86.The Uttar Pradesh Government has approved the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of Varanasi Metro rail project.

87.One of the best comedians of Bollywood movies Razak Khan passed away due to cardiac arrest in Bandra, Mumbai.

88.Sri Lanka seamer Nuwan Kulasekara has announced his retirement from Tests to focus on limited-overs cricket.

89.Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has agreed to a request of Kerala government to use his name in a campaign against drug and liquor abuse in the state.

90.The Union Cabinet has given its approval for setting up the India Post Payments Bank as a Public Limited Company under the Department of Posts.

91.The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its approval for a new 51 km broad gauge line from Mau to Tarighat, aiming to provide an alternative and convenient route between New Delhi and Howrah.

92.The government constituted the National Company Law Tribunal and its appellate body, implementing most of the provisions of new Companies Act and helping implementation of the Bankruptcy Code.

93.The Union Government and World Bank have signed a US 9.2 million dollar grant agreement for the Efficient and Sustainable City Bus Service Project.

94.Country’s largest private sector lender ICICI Bank has cut its marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR) by 0.05 per cent, to take it at par with the rates offered by SBI and HDFC Bank.

95.The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has launched a mobile application for telecom subscribers to register their complaints against pesky calls and SMSes to tighten the noose on telemarketers.

96.First time, one of the teams competing in the Olympic Games will be made up of refugees who hail from different countries they no longer call home.

97.Mr. NK Chari has been appointed Managing Director of the State Bank of Mysore (SBM) with an immediate effect.

98.Senior IPS officer (1968-bach) of Jammu and Kashmir cadre Navin Agarwal has been appointed as Director General (DG)/ Chief Executive Officer (CEP) of National Anti-Doping Agency.

99.Odisha became the first state in the country to give transgender people social welfare benefits – such as a housing, pension and food grains.

100.Tamil actor and director Balu Anand (62-year)died following a massive heart attack at his house in Kalampalayam.

101.India and Tunisia have signed two MoUs for co-operation in Information Technology and promotion of traditional handicrafts.

102.A Qatar-based Indian banker Dr. R Seetharaman has been awarded with the 2016 ‘Green Economy Visionary award’.

103.Asia’s largest annual security forum Shangri-La Dialogue has been inaugurated in Singapore to talk about security issues in the Asia-Pacific region.

104.Argentina (1st) and Belgium (2nd) continue to hold on to the top two spots in the latest FIFA rankings, with Colombia rounding up the top three.

105.Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani today jointly inaugurated a landmark dam, a Rs 1,700 crore showpiece infrastructure project by India in strategically important Herat province, reflecting India's strong commitment to reconstruction of the war-ravaged country.

106.Moto2 rider Luis Salom died after crashing during practice for the Catalunya Grand Prix on Friday. He was 24. The death of the Spanish rider was announced at a news conference a few hours after the incident at a fast turn on the Barcelona track.

107.Leander Paes completed a ‘Career Slam’ in mixed doubles with Swiss partner Martina Hingis with a hard-fought win over compatriot Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig, on Friday. The unseeded Indo-Swiss pair eked out a 4-6 6-4 10-8 win over the second seeds in the summit clash that lasted one hour and 28 minutes.

108.Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar laid the foundation stone of Jai Jawan Awas Yojna in Bahadurgarh city Haryana. Khattar was accompanied by Army Chief General Dalbir Singh and Western Army Commander Lieutenant General K.J. Singh.

109.American boxing icon Muhammad Ali (74-years) passed away after 32-year battle with Parkinson’s disease in Phoenix, Arizona. He was former three times world heavyweight boxing champion (1964, 1974 and 1978). He is one of the most recognized sports figures of the past 100 years, crowned “Sportsman of the Century” by Sports Illustrated and “ Sports Personality of the Century” by the BBC.

110.HDFC Ergo General Insurance has acquired L&T General Insurance for Rs 551 crore, the first such consolidation in India’s crowded general insurance sector. HDFC Ergo is a joint venture between HDFC and Germany-based Ergo Insurance Group.

111.CR Sasikumar has taken over as Managing Director of State Bank of Travancore (SBT), one of the associate banks of State Bank of India. He has started his career as a probationary officer (PO) with SBI in 1978. Prior, he was Deputy Managing Director, Inspection & Management Audit, at SBI Corporate Centre in Hyderabad.

112.The Indian Boxing Council (IBC), a licensing body for professional boxers in the country which has Vijender Singh among others on its roster has been granted affiliation by the Commonwealth Boxing Council(CBC). Indian Boxing Council is a National Boxing Governing body that sanctions professional boxing matches and awards national and subordinate championship titles.

113.Renowned Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has won the gold medal in the people’s choice category at the World Sand Art Championship in Bulgaria. Pattnaik has won the prize for his sand sculpture titled ‘Drugs Kill Sports’ where he depicted cyclist Lance Armstrong and tennis player Maria Sharapova, who have faced charges of using drugs to enhance performance?.

114.World Environment Day (WED) was observed globally on 5 June 2016 with theme Zero tolerance for the illegal trade in wildlife. The day aims at inspiring more people to take action to prevent the growing strain on Earth’s natural systems from reaching the breaking point.

115.Eminent actor and theatre personality Sulabha Deshpande passed away 4 June 2016 in Mumbai. She was 79.

116.The Haryana Government on 3 June 2016 launched Asia's First Gyps Vulture Reintroduction Programme at Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre, Pinjore.

117.Asia’s largest annual security forum Shangri-La Dialogue was inaugurated in Singapore on 3 June 2016. It is the 15th Asia Security Summit to openly discuss and debate security matters in the Asia-Pacific region.

118.Senior IPS officer Navin Agarwal was on 3 June 2016 appointed as Director General (DG)/ Chief Executive Officer (CEP) of National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA).

119.Novak Djokovic joined the tennis greats on Sunday when he downed British second seed Andy Murray 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 to claim his maiden French Open title and hold all four Grand Slams at the same time.

120.Congress Legislature Party leader V Narayanasamy (69-year) sworn in as Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Puducherry.

121.Union Minister for Road Transport, Surface and shipping Nitin Gadkari has launched Setu Bhartam project from Palampur town in the Kangra District in Himachal Pradesh .

122.Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu has flagged off the inaugural run of the Tiger Trail Circuit Train from Delhi Safdarjung Station.

123.India’s first Mr. Universe Manohar Aich passes away. He was once a household name in Bengal after becoming India’s first Mr. Universe in 1952.

124.South Asian Games gold medalist Indian judoka Avtar Singh has qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games scheduled to be held in August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

125.Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with Amir Amanullah Khan Award, the highest civilian honour of Afghanistan.

126.Garbine Muguruza(22-year) of Spain has won the French Open Women’s Singles tennis title at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France.

127.Bollywood actress and producer Dia Mirza has been named the ambassador for Swachh Bharat Mission’s youth-based Swachh Saathi (student internship) programme.

128.Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan kept key policy rates unchanged.

129.The Delhi government has approved the first Solar Policy which aims at making the Capital an environment-friendly solar city.

130.Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has launched mobile application RajVayu for sharing information about air quality index of Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur.

131.According to International Hockey Federation Lucknow will host the junior men’s hockey World Cup from the 8th of December this year.

132.Delhi High Court dismissed the petition of two-time Olympic medalist wrestler Sushil Kumar seeking holding of selection trials to decide Indian representation in the 74 Kg freestyle category at the Rio Olympics.

133.Indian tennis star Rohan Bopanna officially returned to top-10 in the ATP ranking doubles chart, securing a direct entry into the men’s doubles event of the Rio Olympic Games.

134.Mirza Imtiyaz Judicial Commission constituted to probe Mathura violence. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has appointed a judicial commission to probe into the recent Mathura violence.

135.A communication technology specialist Shahid Rasool has taken charge as the Director of the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA).

136.The Assam state capital Guwahati becomes the first city in the country to have its own city animal.

137.Axis Bank has launched India’s first internationally-listed certified green bond to finance climate change solutions around the world at London Stock Exchange. The proceeds of the bond will be invested by Axis Bank in green energy, transportation and infrastructure projects.

138.Union Government  has decided to introduce International Yoga Award Scheme with a view to promote yoga.

139.Rio Olympics-bound Tintu Luka (27-year) has won a silver medal in 800 metres in the Josef Odlozil Memorial Athletics Meet in Czech Republic.

140.The World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim has slashed its 2016 growth forecast by 0.5 per cent to 2.4 per cent.

141.Veteran journalist KK Katyal (88-year) has passed away after a brief illness in Delhi.

142.Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal has been re-elected to International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Board of Governors.

143.Eminent Indian-origin professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya has been awarded the prestigious Regius Professorship in Manufacturing by Queen Elizabeth II for his outstanding contribution in manufacturing.

144.India has been ranked 141 on the 2016 Global Peace Index (GPI), falling behind countries like Burundi, Serbia and Burkina Faso.

145.Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree awarding the Order of Friendship to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

146.The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that Thailand has become the first Asian country to eliminate mother-to-child HIV transmission.

147.Union Minister for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal has launched ‘Surya Mitra’ mobile app at the national workshop on rooftop solar power in New Delhi.

148.The Russian tennis sensation Maria Sharapova (29-year) has been banned for two years by the International Tennis Federation for using a prohibited drug.

149.Axis Bank has launched India’s first internationally-listed certified green bond to finance climate change solutions around the world at London Stock Exchange. The proceeds of the bond will be invested by Axis Bank in green energy, transportation and infrastructure projects.

150.Information and Broadcasting ministry has framed a New Print Media Advertisement Policy for Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) with the objective to promote transparency and accountability in issuing of advertisements in print media.First time the policy introduces a New Marking System for newspapers to incentive Newspapers who have better professional standing and get their circulation verified by ABC and RNI.

151.State Bank of India (SBI) and Spain’s CaixaBank have inked pact to provide loans to Indo-Spanish joint ventures and local enterprises.As per the agreement, they will expand banks’ guarantee transaction businesses by jointly providing credit to Indian-Spanish joint ventures and Indian local enterprises.

152.Former Kerala assembly speaker T S John (74-year) has passed away at a hospital at Chertala in Alapuzha.

153.In Bihar, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has flagged off Champaran Satyagrah Express train at a function in Motihari.The Minister also inaugurated Banmankhi – Purnea rail section and Pipraha Railway Station.

154.Madhya Pradesh, ruling BJP MLA Rajendra Dadu (62-years) died in a road accident.His vehicle suffered an accident on the Bhopal-Indore road in Sherpura vicinity on the outskirts of Sehore district.

155.The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) has announced the names proposed for the new elements, whose discovery helped complete the seventh row of the Periodic Table in December last year.

156.An Indian American author Mr. Akhil Sharma has won the prestigious 2016 International Dublin Literary Award for his novel ‘family life‘.The Award is organised and sponsored by Dublin City Council and at €100,000 is the world’s largest prize for a single novel published in English.

157.Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) has announced that its Chairman and Managing Director, Narendra Kumar Yadav has resigned.Now for the timing, Director (finance) P K Purwar has been given additional charge of the CMD’s post.

158.Tata Power Solar has bagged the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) award for rooftop solar power projects.The company has won the award in the Channel Partner/EPC contractor category at the National Excellence Awards 2016 instituted by MNRE for the first time.

159.Internet search engine Google and Tata Trusts’ joint initiative “Internet Saathi” has been launched in Kolkata, West Bengal.In the last ten months, the initiative has been active in villages across five states in India, namely Rajasthan, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

160.Axis Bank has launched India’s first internationally-listed certified green bond to finance climate change solutions around the world at London Stock Exchange. The proceeds of the bond will be invested by Axis Bank in green energy, transportation and infrastructure projects.