MAY

01 AND 02
1. PM Modi launches country's 1st solar-powered e-boats in Varanasi
i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the country's first solar powered
e-boats at the Assi Ghat in the river Ganga, Varanasi.
ii. The initiative is aimed at reducing pollution and keeping the Ganga river
clean.
iii. With the help of this e-boats, the boatmen will be able to save rs. 500 a day
without spending on diesel.
2. Prime Minister launched Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana at Ballia
i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala
Yojana (PMUY) at Ballia, Uttar Pradesh. It will benefit the poor, especially the
women.
ii. The scheme aims to provide cooking gas connections to five crore belowpoverty-line beneficiaries over the next three years.
iii. PM Ujjwala Yojana will provide 5 crore LPG connections to BPL Families
and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved 8000 crore
rupees for the next 3 years starting from financial year 2016-17.
3. EPFO launches One Employee-One EPF Account drive
i. Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has launched a special drive
'One Employee-One EPF' to encourage EPF members to consolidate their
multiple accounts.
ii. The drive has been launched by Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya in New
Delhi.
iii. The initiative of launching the Mission consolidation One Member One EPF
Account is a step towards encouraging EPF members to access enhanced IT
enabled services through Universal Account Number that are linked with
Aadhaar.
4. Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam & Odia now classical languages of
India
i. All four Southern languages - Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Odia
are now the classical languages of India.
ii. Earlier, Sanskrit alone had this status. Demands have come to grant the
classical status to Marathi as well.

iii. Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma gave this information in the Lok Sabha. He
elaborated that any language to have a classical status must have high antiquity
going back to 1500 to 2000 years. Ancient texts and literature are also
considered a valuable heritage. The literary traditions must be original and not
borrowed from another speech community, he added.
5. India and New Zealand sign agreement for direct Air Service
i. India and New Zealand has signed a bilateral air services agreement that
would facilitate the operation of direct flights between two countries.
ii. The deal was signed in the presence of the President Pranab Mukherjee, who
was on a three-day state visit to New Zealand and the New Zealand Prime
Minister John Key.
iii. Now as per the agreement, New Zealand airlines can operate flights to seven
select Indian cities while Indian airlines can fly to any point in New Zealand
along with intermediate points in Australia, Singapore, Bangkok and Hong
Kong.
6. NABARD partners Germany for food security initiative
i. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has
entered into collaboration with German government for a special programme on
'Soil Protection and Rehabilitation for Food Security'.
ii. The programme is part of the German government's recently introduced
special initiative 'One World, No Hunger' initiative.
iii. India is the only country in Asia chosen for this initiative. As part of the
collaboration, NABARD is anchoring two major programmes soil
conservation and rehabilitation of degraded land programme in Maharashtra and
Madhya Pradesh. It is also conducting innovation of watershed development
and climate change adaptation programmes in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana,
Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
7. Paytm ties up with Wipro for payments bank
i. Paytm, India's largest mobile payments has partnered with the Wipro ltd, a IT
services major, to implement technology infrastructure for its upcoming
Payment bank business.
ii. As per this deal, Wipro will provide the core banking solution like the antimoney laundering solution and regulatory reporting solution for Paytm.
iii. This deal can into existent as Paytm is expected to roll out the payments
bank later this year.

8. Airtel and GBI announce partnership for West Asia

i. Airtel, the enterprise arm of Bharti Airtel and networking player GBI has
announced the partnership to increase its direct reach in West Asian countries.
ii. Till now, the Airtel Business only offers enterprise services to its clients in
the Middle East.
iii. But after this partnership, the company can extend its network and further
enhance the benefits for their customers and partners.
9. Wipro inaugurates Saudi's 1st all-women IT park
i. IT services company Wipro has inaugurated Saudi Arabia's first all women
business and technology park (WBP) at the Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman
University in Riyadh.
ii. The WBP is a joint venture between Wipro and the university, with oil firm
Saudi Aramco acting as the strategic adviser.
iii. The initiative is expected to create nearly 21,000 jobs by 2025.
10. Reliance Defence gets 15 new defence licences
i. Anil Ambani-led Reliance Defence has received 15 new industrial licences to
manufacture a range of defence equipment.
ii. The total number of licences is the highest held by a private firm in India.
ii. Reliance Defence had last week collaborated with three Ukrainian firms
including two state-owned firms for their range of military equipment.
11. J&K Govt signs MoU to set up IIT in Jammu
i. The Jammu and Kashmir government has signed an MoU with the Indian
Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi for setting up an IIT in Jammu.
ii. About 625 acres of land has been approved at Jagti in Nagrota for the IIT,
while regular classes will commence from the current session at a temporary
campus.

12 Bitcoin creator confirms identity as Australian Craig Wright

i. Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright has reportedly confirmed that he created
digital payment system bitcoins and provided technical proof for his claims.
ii. The creator of bitcoin had earlier developed it under the pseudonym 'Satoshi
Nakamoto'.

iii. Bitcoins is a virtual currency system in which users exchange bitcoins for
transactions and 'mine' bitcoins by sharing their computing power.
13. Ajay Mittal takes charge as I&B Secretary
i. 1982 batch IAS officer of Himachal Pradesh Cadre Ajay Mittal took charge as
the Information and Broadcasting Secretary.
ii. Mr Mittal succeeded Sunil Arora who retired on Saturday.
iii. Prior to his appointment, Mr Mittal was serving as Additional Chief
Secretary for Transport, Social Justice and Empowerment Department in
Himachal Pradesh.

14. Nico Rosberg has won Russian Grand Prix

i. The Formula One championship leader Nico Rosberg has won the Russian
Grand Prix in Sochi.
ii. It's his fourth-straight win of this season.
iii. His Mercedes teammate, Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen has
finished at 2nd and 3rd respectively in the race.
15. Vijender Singh records 5th consecutive victory in Professional Boxing
i. Star Indian pugilist Vijender Singh recorded his 5th consecutive victory in
Professional Boxing.
ii. He defeated Frenchman Matiouze Royer at London's Copper Box Arena via
knock-out.
iii. Royer was Vijender's most experienced rival till date, with 44 bouts,
including 14 wins, under his belt before the match. Vijender, whose last four
wins were all knock-outs or technical knock-outs, was declared the winner in
the fifth round of the six-round super middleweight contest.
MAY03
1. World Press Freedom Day celebrated today
i. The World Press Freedom Day (3rd May) was observed across the world with
the theme Access to Information and Fundamental Freedoms - This Is Your
Right!

ii. The day proclaimed by the United Nations in 1993, is celebrated on May 3
every year.
iii. The main aim of day is to draw focus on the freedom of information,
protecting journalism from censorship, and ensuring safety for journalists.
2. Parliament passes Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill, 2016
i. Parliament has passed Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation)
Amendment Bill, 2016.
ii. The bill will allow transfer of captive mines from one allotted to another
without auction.
iii. The Bill also allow for merger and acquisition of companies with captive
mining leases.

3. Govt launches MICE initiative for up gradation of tourism sector

i. Union government has launched an initiative named MICE which is based on
meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions for the up gradation of
tourism sector in India.
ii. As per this initiative, Tourism Ministry allocated funds to the States and
Union Territories administrations to develop tourism-related infrastructure.
iii. Earlier Tourism Ministry has launched 'Swadesh Darshan' scheme to develop
time-bound tourist circuits in the country.
4. Indian Railways sign MoU with Haryana and Punjab to plant trees
alongside railway track
i. The Union Ministry of Railways and Forest Department of Haryana & Punjab
have inked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for plantation of trees
alongside Railway Track on Railway Land Boundary.
ii. The MoU paves way for planting around 5 lakh trees alongside Railway
Track on Railway Land Boundary prior to Monsoon Season.
iii. With this Indian Railways can contribute substantially towards the Green
India Mission.
5. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister launched Chandranna Bima Yojana
i. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has inaugurated an
insurance scheme 'Chandranna Bima Yojana' for the working class people.
ii. The total investment is around rs. 132 Crore for the implementation of this
scheme.

iii. Under the scheme, 5 Crore workers would be covered under the scheme, 5
Lakh would be paid if the Insurer worker met with an accidental fatal and 5
Lakh for Permanent disability and Rs. 3 Lakh for Partial disability.
6. ADMM Plus Exercise on Maritime Security and Counter Terrorism
begins in Brunei
i. The ADMM-Plus (ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus) Exercise on
Maritime Security and Counter Terrorism (Ex MS & CT) has started in Brunei.
ii. The nine day exercise seeks to strengthen the strong bilateral ties and
extensive maritime interactions between India and ASEAN countries.
iii. ADMM Plus Ex MS & CT is a multinational naval exercise conducted under
the aegis of ADMM Plus consortium. It aims at enhancing mutual
understanding with respect to maritime security issues and streamlining drills on
counter-terrorism operations at sea.
7. Google acquires start-up by Indian-origin businessman
i. An American multinational technology company, Google has acquired a
business technology start-up 'Synergyse' founded by an Indian-origin
entrepreneur as part of its plans to scale training offerings for Google Apps to its
customers and customers' users.
ii. The Toronto-based Synergyse is founded by Varun Malhotra in the year 2013.
It aims to teach users how to use Google Apps.
iii. Synergyse will help users get up to speed quickly including when new
features are rolled out. Till now Google did not disclose the financial details of
the deal.
8. BHEL commissions 600 MW thermal power plant in MP
i. State-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has announced the
commissioning of a 600 MW coal-based thermal power plant in Madhya
Pradesh.
ii. The unit has been commissioned at the 1x600 MW Jhabua Thermal Power
Project (TPP) located in Seoni district in Madhya Pradesh.
iii. The project has been developed by Jhabua Power Ltd (JPL), a subsidiary of
Avantha Power & Infrastructure Ltd (APIL). This is the second project of APIL
commissioned by BHEL after the 1x600 MW Avantha Bhandar TPP at Raigarh
in Chhattisgarh.
9. Indian American Sikh woman elected to key Republican position

i. An Indian American Sikh woman from California, Harmeet Kaur Dhillon has
been elected to an important position in the Republican party at the US national
level.
ii. She was born in Chandigarh, India but raised in rural North Carolina after her
Sikh parents moved to the US.
iii. She was elected as the newest national committee woman of the Republican
National Committee. She was the first woman elected to this position of vice
chair of the California Republican Party.
10. Three Indian Scientists elected as Fellows of The Royal Society
i. Three eminent Indian Born scientists listed in the fifty scientists elected as
Fellows of the Royal Society, a premier scientific academy of the U.K and the
Commonwealth.
ii. Their names had appeared on the list of 50 new fellows and 10 new Foreign
Members announced by the Royal Society.
iii. They are- Physicist Sriram Ramaswamy, Director of TIFR Centre for
Interdisciplinary Sciences, Hyderabad, 2nd - Biochemist Ramanujan Hegde,
MRC Laboratory of Microbiology, U.K. and 3rd - Applied mathematician
Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan, Harvard University.
11. Kishore Biyani appointed MD of Bharti Retail
i. Future Groups Chief Executive Kishore Biyani has been appointed managing
director of Bharti Retail as part of the reconstitution of the board following their
merger pact announced last year.
ii. Rakesh Biyani, who is also a director at Future Group, has also been
appointed as Joint Managing Director of Bharti Retail, which will be later
renamed as Future Retail Ltd and listed on stock exchanges.
12. Rohit Sharma Signs as Brand Ambassador for Hublot Watches
i. Rohit Sharma became the Brand Ambassador of world famous Swiss luxury
watch maker Hublot. The Mumbai batsman is the second cricketer who have
been assigned for the role.
ii. Earlier renowned cricketer after former Australian captain Michael Clarke
have been associated with the brand.
iii. The Swiss Watch company observed a lot of common between the Brand
and Rohit Sharma as he combines traditional batting technique with
entertainment.
13. Sachin Tendulkar to be India's goodwill ambassador at Rio Olympics

i. Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar has agreed to become India's Olympic

goodwill ambassador, alongwith actor Salman Khan and Shooter Abhinav
Bindra.
ii. AR Rahman was also approached by Indian Olympic Association to become
goodwill ambassadors of Indian contingent for 2016 Rio Olympics.
iii. This comes after superstar Salman Khan's appointment as goodwill
ambassador created furore, with top athletes like Milkha Singh and Yogeshwar
Dutt criticizing the move.
14. Virat Kohli nominated for Khel Ratna and Ajinkya Rahane for Arjuna
Award
i. BCCI has nominated Indian Test captain Virat Kohli for the prestigious Rajiv
Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and his teammate Ajinkya Rahane for Arjuna Award.
These nominations by BCCI have come after a gap of four years.
ii. Other sports bodies and associations are also in the process of sending their
nominations. Sports persons nominated for the Khel Ratna Award so far are
Incheon Asian Games gold medallist shooter Jitu Rai, squash star Dipika
Pallikal, athlete Tintu Luka and ace golfer Anirban Lahiri. For Arjuna Awards,
Athletes Lalita Babar and OP Jaisha, shooters PN Prakash and Apurvi Chandela,
and archer Laxmirani Majhi have been nominated.
iii. The Khel Ratna award carries a cash prize of Rs 7.5 lakh along with a
citation while the Arjuna Award will carries a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh and a
citation.
15. Leicester City's Jamie Vardy named FWA Footballer of the Year 2016
i. Leicester City striker forward Jamie Vardy was named 2015-16 Footballer of
the Year by the Football Writers Association (FWA).
ii. He will be honoured with the prestigious FWA accolade, which has been
running since 1948, at a gala dinner in London on 12 May 2016.
iii. With this he joined the likes of Bobby Moore, George Best, Eric Cantona,
Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo among its past winners. Vardy, who
topped the vote among FWA members, scored 22 goals in 34 Premier League
appearances this season.

MAY04
1. Lok Sabha passes Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2015
i. The Lok Sabha passed the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2015 for
the establishment of funds under the public accounts of Centre and each State
towards compensatory afforestation.
ii. It also provides for additional afforestation and penal compensatory
afforestation to regulate collected funds. The bill seeks to establish the National
Compensatory Afforestation Fund under the Public Account of India and a
State Compensatory Afforestation Fund under the Public Account of each state.
iii. The payments into the funds include compensatory afforestation, net present
value of forest (NPV), and any project specific payments.
2. Financial inequality highest in India, China: IMF
i. According to IMF, Financial inequality is highest in India and China among
Asia Pacific countries despite the two being among the fastest growing
economies.
ii. China and India have grown rapidly and reduced poverty sharply, however,
this impressive economic performance has been accompanied by increasing
levels of inequality.
iii. On India, the report said inter provincial inequality is lower in India than in
China, and rising inequality in India has been found to be primarily an urban
phenomenon. The two countries have introduced a number of policies to tackle
the rising inequality.
3. 63rd National Film Awards ceremony was held in New Delhi
i. The 63rd National Film Awards ceremony was held in New Delhi. During the
ceremony, the Directorate of Film Festivals of India presents its annual
National Film Awards to honour the best films of 2015 in the Indian cinema.
The awards were announced on 28 March 2016.
ii. Actors Amitabh Bachchan and Kangana Ranaut received National Awards for
their roles in 'Piku' and 'Tanu Weds Manu Returns' respectively at the 63rd
National Film Awards ceremony.
iii. Meanwhile, veteran actor Manoj Kumar was conferred with the Dadasaheb
Phalke Award at the ceremony. The awards were presented to the actors by
President Pranab Mukherjee.
4. Piyush Goyal unveil portal on payment to contract workers
i. Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal has introduce a new portal for
Contract Labour Payment Management System.

ii. According to officials, the portal provides access to all contract workers,
through a Workers Identification Number (WIN), to view their personal details
and payment status. Contract workers can also register their grievance through
this portal.
iii. The Web portal is created for monitoring compliance of labour payment and
other benefits to contract workers under the Contract Labour (Regulation &
Abolition) Act, 1970. It is an integrated framework for all subsidiaries of CIL.
The Central Mine Planning and Development Institute (CMPDI), the
consultancy arm of CIL, will maintain the portal.
5. Commerce Ministry launches web-based dashboard for export, import
data
i. Commerce Ministry has launched a web-based dashboard to provide an easy
access to detailed trade data of the country.
ii. The dashboard will provide an accurate perspective to the general public on
the facts around the trade performance in India.
iii. The dashboard will provide a graphical collection of export and import from
India. This will enable small and upcoming businessmen to foray into global
trade based on reliable information directly accessible through government
sources.
6. India to hold festival in Egypt to mark Tagore's birth anniversary
i. To mark the 155th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, India will
organize a cultural festival in Egypt next week. It will build the connections
between the people of the two countries who share strong cultural bonds.
ii. The festival will be host from 8 May to 12th May by the Embassy of India in
Cairo and Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture.
iii. The Indian embassy has held several programmes on Tagore as part of a
build up to the festival, which will be organised in cooperation with Egyptian
Ministry of Culture, Supreme Council of Culture, Cairo Opera House, National
Library and Museum of Modern
Art.
7. World's smallest engine powered by light created
i. The world's smallest engine has been created at Cambridge University by UK
based researchers. The engine is fueled by lasers and gold and a few billionths
of a metre in size, which uses lights to power the engine.
ii. The engine will help to develop nano-machines that can navigate in water,
sense the environment around them or even enter living cells to fight disease.

iii. The engine is powered by laser light and named the ANT ( actuating nanotransducer ). The microscopic ANT engine, which cannot be seen by the human
eye, is believed to be up to a hundred times more powerful than any other
engine known to man if you take its force to weight ratio into account.
8. NSE to launch new exchange for MSME
i. NSE, the national stock exchange is all set to launch a new trade receivable
and credit exchange platform for micro, small and medium enterprises
(MSMEs).
ii. This new exchange will help MSMEs to file their bill against large
companies, which can be accepted electronically and auctioned so that these
small enterprises are paid immediately.
iii. The new exchange platform will be a joint venture of NSE and Small
Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and could be the first
specialized exchange for micro SMEs. The platform would be known as 'Trades
Exchange' as it' will be based on the Trade Receivables Discounting System
(TReDS). The new platform will be operational by the end of this year.
9. Three Earth-like planets discovered orbiting dwarf star
i. An international team of scientists have discovered a trio of Earth-like
exoplanets using the TRAPPIST telescope at ESOs La Silla Observatory.
ii. These planets were found orbiting an ultra-cool dwarf star just 40 light-years
from Earth and are likely comparable in size and temperature to Earth and
Venus.
iii. Scientists have named the ultra-cool dwarf star 2MASS J23062928-0502285
(also known as TRAPPIST-1). It is located in the constellation of Aquarius (The
Water Carrier). TRAPPIST-1 is about one eighth the size of the Sun (barely
larger than Jupiter) and significantly cooler. The three planets were found to
orbit very close to their host dwarf star. Two of the exoplanets have
orbital periods of about 2.4 days and 1.5 days respectively. The third planet has
a less well-determined orbital period in the range 4.5 to 73 days.
10.Jindal Brothers Sign Rs 6,500 Crore Power Deal
i. JSW Energy Ltd, led by Mr. Sajjan Jindal has agreed to buy a 1,000 MW
power plant of Jindal Steel and Power Ltds (JSPL), which is located in
Chhattisgarh.
ii. The total value of the deal is rs. 6,500 crore. After the acquisition, JSW
Energy will have a total power generation capacity of 5,531 megawatts.

iii. The transaction is scheduled to be completed by June 30, 2018. JSW Energy
is a part of JSW Group. Presently, Jindal Steel's net debt at the end of 2015
stood at rs.46,000 crore, seven times its current market valuation.
11. Uber ties up with Alipay globally
i. Uber, the online cab service provider has announced its global partnership
with the third party payment platform, Alipay.
ii. With the help of this partnership, Uber will be able to provide its service in
more than 400 cities globally.
iii. Alipays collaboration with Uber reflects a step forward of Ant Financials
global strategy and it also extends to the Alipays strategic global partners like
Paytm in India. As currently, Uber riders in India can avail the facility through
Paytm platform. Its aims to bring better experiences for its users globally.
12. Ferrari names Fiat Chrysler's chief as its CEO
i. Italian sports car manufacturer Ferrari has appointed its Chairman Sergio
Marchionne as the new CEO with "immediate effect".
ii. Marchionne replaced 69-year-old Amedeo Felisa, who retired from his post
when the carmaker's board of directors met to discuss the first-quarter results.
13. Sameer Chadha appointed as Partner and CEO of KPMG India
i. Sameer Chadha was on 3 May 2016 appointed as the partner and Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) of KPMG's offshore arm in India.
ii. Chadha joined KPMG Global Services (KGS) from Barclays Shared
Services, where he was the Chief Executive Officer.
iii. Chadha has 25 years of experience with leading organisations across the
financial services and consumer goods sectors. KPMG India Pvt Ltd offers
financial advisory services, business advisory services, tax and regulatory
services and risk advisory services.
14. Progeria-affected teen Nihal dies at 15
i. Nihal Bitla, who was suffering from the rare genetic condition progeria, died
in a hospital in Telangana at the age of 15 years.
ii. The disease aged him eight times faster than normal children thus shortening
his life span.
iii. Nihal was the face of the Progeria Research Foundations campaign, which
was working to detect undiagnosed children living in India.

15. Mark Selby won World Snooker Championship

i. England's world number one Mark Selby on 2 May 2016 won World
Championship title of Snooker. In the final match played in Sheffield, Selby
from Leicester defeated Chinas Ding Junhui 18-14.
ii. With this win, Selby also ended Dings chance of being the first Asian player
to win the world title. This was Selbys second trophy of the year, earlier he had
won minor Gdynia Open event in Poland.
iii. This was Selbys second World Snooker title, the first was won against
Ronnie O'Sullivan in 2014.