2015-04-30

National:

1. The Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime (GUJCOC) Bill, 2015 was passed by the Gujarat Assembly. The bill is a re-worked version of the Gujarat Control of Organised Crime Bill (GUJCOC), 2003, which was earlier rejected twice by the President. It was rejected in 2004 and 2008 by the then Presidents APJ Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil respectively.

2. The term MPGO (Multi-Parametric Geophysical Observatory) was in news as the Union Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Dr. Harsh Vardhan inaugurated Port Blair Magnetic Observatory (PBMO) at Shoal Bay No. 8 in Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The observatory is a part of the network of 14 MPGOs which has been set up by the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG) under Union Ministry of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences. The purpose of the observatories is to monitor seismic and co-seismic signals by using multi techniques.

3.  Union Ministry of Finance allocated 1500 crore rupees to Andhra Pradesh for the construction of necessary infrastructure in the new capital. Out of the 1500 crore rupees sanctioned 1000 crore rupees are meant for essential amenities and 500 crore rupees for administrative buildings.

4. World Justice Project (WJP) released the Open Government Index 2015. Out of the 102 countries assessed in the 2015 Index, Sweden topped the list in terms of openness in the government. It is followed by New Zealand and Norway at second and third place respectively. Cambodia, Iran, Myanmar, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe are positioned last in the Index.

India has been placed at the 37th position in the 2015 Index. India scored 0.54 with 27th rank, 0.50 with 66th rank, 0.58 with 43rd rank and 0.65 with 39th rank among the surveyed countries in terms of publicised laws and government data, right to information, complaint mechanisms and civic participation respectively.

5. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) proposed three policy initiatives to enhance security of women in the country under the Nirbhaya Fund. The initiatives are: Central Victim Compensation Fund (CVCF), Investigative Units on Crime Against Women (IUCAW) and an initiative to prevent and monitor obscene online content.

6. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its approval for the Approach and Key Components of e-Kranti: National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) 2.0. “e-Kranti” is an important pillar of the Digital India programme and the programme has been envisaged by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY).

7. Virbhadra Singh, the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh launched part one of e-Vidhan Mobile app. The app could be accessed by all the members 45 minutes before the question hours on android and tablets having information about the day business. With this launch, Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha became the first state assembly in the country to launch e-Vidhan Mobile app. This e-Vidhan system will help the state to save about 8 crore rupees per annum that is spent on the paper.

8. Former Union Minister and veteran Congress Party leader Paty Ripple Kyndiah died on 26 March 2015 due to cardiac arrest. He was 87. He had served as the Union Minister for Tribal Affairs and Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) in 2004 under the UPA-I government led by Manmohan Singh. He retired from active politics in 2009 prior to the Lok Sabha polls.

9. The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (DAC) under the Union Ministry of Agriculture approved the creation of Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS). The purpose of the scheme is to provide interest free advances towards working capital to the government agencies which are involved in procurement and distribution of perishable agri-horticultural commodities. The hassle-free flow of funds will enable the agencies to regulate volatile prices of commodities in an effective manner.

10. Andhra Pradesh Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu approved that Amaravati will be the new capital city of the state. The capital will come up at Tullur in Vijayawada-Guntur region of the state.

11. Odisha Government launched a cheap meal scheme Aahar for providing subsidised food to urban poor. The scheme was launched by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on the occasion of State’s Foundation Day, that is, Utkala Diwas. In the first phase, the scheme was launched in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Sambalpur and Rourkela.

12. Renowned Hindi poet Kailash Vajpeyi died on 1st April 2015 due to cardiac arrest in a private hospital of Saket in New Delhi. He was 79.

13. India launched a massive air and sea operation called Operation Raahat to evacuate over 4000 Indian nationals from Yemen. The operation will involve total of five ships and four aircrafts.

14. Rajasthan Government opened women milk bank Jeevan Dhara in Jaipur. It was inaugurated by Health Minister Rajendra Rathore. The move is aimed at curbing the high infant mortality rate of Rajasthan. The state Government launched the bank in collaboration with Norwegian government and JK Lon Hospital. The bank would store milk from donating lactating mothers that can be used for feeding infants who are deprived of it.

15. Vice President of India Hamid Ansari released a book titled Aatank Ke Saaye Men written by Garima Sanjay. She is a professional author & documentary filmmaker by profession.

16. Punjab Government has launched ‘Padho Punjab- Khedo Punjab Mission’ i.e. Learn Punjab- Play Punjab Mission. It is a special mission launched to provide school students a separate period in the curriculum for playing along with studies. The purpose of the mission is to encourage more youngsters towards sports to produce quality players for the country. This will also inculcate the sportsmanship spirit and competitiveness amongst them.

17. India’s largest trapdoor spider has been found in Dang district of Gujarat. The 3 cm long spider was documented by researchers from MS University’s (MSU) Department of Zoology. The spider which belongs to the genus (class) ‘Idiops’ was also reported for the first time in Gujarat. Trapdoor spider is known to grow to the size of 1.5 cm.

18. Sunita Tomar, the face of India’s anti-tobacco campaign, died on 1 April 2015 at her native village in Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh. She was 28. In 2014, she shot a 30-second video titled Sunita highlighting the devastating effect of smokeless tobacco. In the video she shared her experience, which later was used by the government for its anti-tobacco drive to warn people against consumption of smokeless gutkha and pan masalas.

19. Union Government launched Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles (FAME) – India Scheme. The scheme was launched with an aim to boost sales of eco-friendly vehicles in the country. It is a part of the National Mission for Electric Mobility.

20. Union Government issued Guidelines for utilization of the Nirbhaya Fund with a corpus of 3000 crore rupees. The fund has been approved by the Union Finance Ministry. The Nirbhaya Fund was set up by Union Government under which various departments can seek money from the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) for schemes to improve safety and security of women in the country.

21. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a National Air Quality Index (NAQI) to tackle the menace of air pollution. This National Air Quality Index will provide information on the quality of air in 10 major cities in the country on a real-time basis. The ten cities where the quality of air can be monitored are Delhi, Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, Varanasi, Faridabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Bangalore and Ahmedabad. Later the index will be extended to 22 State capitals and 44 other cities with a population exceeding one million.

22. Malli Mastan Babu, one of the top mountaineers of India, died on 4 April 2015. His dead body was recovered from Andes Mountains in South America, between Argentina and Chile, after he went missing on 24th March 2015. He was 40. He went missing during his attempt to scale the Cerro Tres Cruces Sur Mountain, the second highest peak of Chile at 6749 meter. Babu hailed from Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh and was the fastest seven summiteers in the world. That is, he was the fastest in world and the first Indian mountaineer to climb the seven summits of the world in record 172 days in 2006.

23. The Union Government extended the deadline for implementation of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) deadline by six months in the states.

24. Kochi arachnologists discovered rare spiders in Western Ghats. Researchers at Division of Arachnology record the sighting of a huntsman and jumping spider in Western Ghats. The huntsman spider was sighted at Ponmudi, while the researchers found the jumping spider at the Malayattoor and Bhoothathankettu reserve forest. Huntsman spiders are known for their speed and mode of hunting.

25. Union Minister of Commerce & Industry unveiled Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2015-2020. The policy was unveiled by Minister of State for Ministry of Commerce & Industry Nirmala Sitharaman at Vigyan Bhawan, Delhi.

26. Union Government formally launched the ‘Give It Up’ movement in Karnataka. It was launched by Union Minister of State (MoS) for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradan. The movement appeals to the rich people to voluntarily give up their subsidy amount given on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders.

27. 88th Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan (All India Marathi Sahitya Sammelan) began in Ghumaan village inGurdaspur district of Punjab. It was inaugurated by Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari along with the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

28. India is going to host the 5th meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Health Ministers in New Delhi. The 5th meeting will start on 9 April 2015 and is being held in pursuance of decisions taken by the SAARC Summit of Heads of States held at Kathmandu in November 2014.

29. A three party MoU was signed between Union Ministry of Textiles, Maharashtra government and National Textile Corporation for transfer of land for construction of the memorial forDr. Babasaheb Ambedkar memorial in Mumbai. The MoU was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union textile minister Santosh Gangwar in New Delhi.

30. President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to re-promulgate the Land Acquisition Ordinance as per Article 123 of Constitution. Earlier, in this regard Union Cabinet had made a recommendation to President as present Land Acquisition Ordinance promulgated in December 2014 is going to lapse on 5 April. The new ordinance includes 9 amendments that were part of Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015.

31. Dena Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India to provide insurance cover to all Aadhaar-linked savings account holders of the bank in the age group of 18 to 50 years. The insurance cover will be provided under the Prime Minister’s Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJBY) scheme.

32. Piplantri Village of southern Rajasthan’s Rajsamand district was in news in second week of March 2015. This village not only embraces daughters but also created a tradition of planting 111 trees every time on the birth of a girl child. The village came into news, at the time when documentary India’s Daughters created national debate. The documentary portrayed violence against women like rape and abuse in India. The tradition was started by village’s former sarpanch Shyam Sundar Paliwal in 2006. He started the initiative in the memory of his daughter Kiran, who died a few years ago.

33. The Supreme Court (SC) of India asked the Union Government to re-examine the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 and make it more stringent at least in cases pertaining to heinous crimes like rape and murder.

34. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to deepen partnership between Indian companies and the bank in those countries where the bank has operations.

35. Scientists from four research institutions in Kerala discovered a rare species of plant named Oldenlandia dineshi from Palakkad region of Western Ghats. The plant species named Oldenlandia dineshi is a shrub with long linear tapering leaves and dark blue flower. The flowering period is from July to September and fruiting from September to October. The species has been named in honour of TK Dinesh Kumar, former Professor of Botany, University College, Thiruvananthapuram.

36. Major Indian Steel Companies signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Union Ministry of Steel for setting up of Steel Research and Technology Mission of India (SRTMI) in New Delhi. The primary objective of SRTMI is to promote collaborative Research and Development (R&D) programmes between the ministry and steel industries in priority areas of national importance in the steel sector.

37. The Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI) slapped Rs. 570 crore excise duty fine against confectionery giant Cadbury India Limited. The fine was slapped for allegedly evading excise duty by fraudulently taking exemption for one of its unopened production units in Himachal Pradesh.

38. First indigenously-built Scorpene Submarine was undocked at the Mazagaon Dockyard Limited (MDL) in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The undocked submarine was named Kalvari and is expected to be commissioned into Indian Navy by September 2016. The submarine is part of the Indian Navy’s ambitious submarine programme- Project 75. This programme is undertaken in collaboration France to build fleet of six such submarines. Remaining 5 Submarines will delivered by the MDL to the Indian Navy by 2020 and will form core of the navy’s submarine arm for the next two decades.

39. A three party MoU was signed between Union Ministry of Textiles, Maharashtra government and National Textile Corporation for transfer of land for construction of the memorial for Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar memorial at Indu Mills, Mumbai. The MoU was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union textile minister Santosh Gangwar in New Delhi.

40. The Supreme Court (SC) of India said that divorced Muslim women are entitled to seek maintenance from their ex-husbands. They are entitled for maintenance under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) which provides the same relief to wives, children and parents.

41. The Chestnut-breasted Partridge (Arborophila mandellii) was photographed by a Bengaluru-based wildlife photographerGururaj Moorchingin the first week of April 2015. The bird was spotted in West Kamang district of

42. Arunachal Pradesh. The click was the first-ever photograph of the bird endemic to the Eastern Himalayas whose scientific name was given by an Italian naturalist and is classified as hill patridge.

43. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recommended the establishment of Integrated Emergency Communication and Response System (IECRS) in the country. This system can be accessed through a single emergency number112 from a landline or mobile phone/device for all emergency phone-calls across the country. The recommendation with respect to setting up of IECRS was made in exercise of its power conferred under section 11 (1)(a)(ii) and (vii) of the TRAI Act, 1997 which empowers TRAI to make recommendations, either suo motu or on a request from the licensor.

44. Grey Hypocolius (Hypocolius ampelinus), a rare bird, was sighted by two Mumbai-based professionals and keen amateur birders. The bird was photographed on 26 February 2015 by Kunal Munsiff and Nosherwan Sethna at the Narara Marine National Park near Jamnagar in Gujarat. The findings were published by Bombay Natural History Society (BHNS) after Munsiff and Sethna submitted their findings to the BHNS.

45. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Ltd. (MUDRA) Bank to fund the small entrepreneurs. The Bank was launched under the ambitious Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). The bank will provide credit of up to 10 lakh rupees to small entrepreneurs and act as a regulator for Micro-Finance Institutions (MFIs).

46. The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change proposed a colour-coded system to re-classify industries based on pollution potential.

Proposed colour-coded scheme:
• Red Category: Industrial sectors with a score of 60 and more.
• Orange Category: Industrial sectors with a score between 30 to 59.
• Green Category: Industrial sectors with a score between 15 to 29.

Industrial sectors scoring below 15 will be considered as white as they are environment friendly.

47. The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry formed an expert committee under the chairmanship of Ajay Shankar to suggest simplified compliance for establishing new industries. He is a former Secretary to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

48. Mayilsamy Annadurai was appointed as Director of ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC), Bengaluru. He took over as Director, ISAC from Dr SK Shivakumar who superannuated on 31 March 2015.

49. TheParalympic Committee of India (PCI) suspended its president Rajesh Tomar. He was charged with gross mismanagement of the 15th National Para-Athletics championship for differently-abled sports persons. The 15th National Para-Athletics championship was held from 22 March to 24 March 2015 in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.

50. The Union Cabinet approved amendments to the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2013. The bill protects the interests of millions of consumers and curbs malpractices in the real estate sector. The decision was taken at the Cabinet meet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

51. National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned all the diesel vehicles, heavy or light, over 10 years old from plying on Delhi roads. It asked the governments and concerned agencies to ensure within 20 hours that all entry points have units to check pollution levels, weight and age of vehicle. The ruling was given by a bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar.

52. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved strengthening and widening of three sections connecting the two temple towns of Varanasi and Madurai.

CCEA approved four laning of
• Sultanpur-Varanasi section of National Highway-56 in Uttar Pradesh
• Varanasi to Ghazipur, Gorakhpur and Nepal section of NH- 29 in Uttar Pradesh.
• Madurai-Ramanathapuram section of NH- 49 in Tamil Nadu.

53. Sumit Mazumder was elected as the President of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the year 2015-16. He succeeded Ajay Shriram. He is the Chairman and Managing Director of the TIL Limited, India’s largest manufacturer of material handling equipment.

54. Noted singer EM Hanifa whose voice transcended religious lines died on 8th April 2015 at Chennai. He was 97. He is survived by two sons and four daughters.

55. 20th Law Commission headed by Justice (retd) Ajit Prakash Shahsubmitted the Report No 256 titled Eliminating Discrimination against Persons Affected by Leprosy to the Union Ministry of Law and Justice.

56. The two-day State Environment and Forest Ministers’ Conference concluded at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on 7th April 2015. The conference started on 6th April 2015. The two-day conference, which was participated by 30 ministers from different state looked upon a wide range of issues like waste to wealth, ease of doing business,

57. TSR Subramanian committee recommendations, forest, wildlife, pollution-related issues, biodiversity and climate change.

58. Supreme Court (SC) of India quashed the Kottayam collector’s notification of 1990 banning the performance of the drama in the district. The verdict was delivered by a SC Bench headed byJustice Ranjan Gogoi. Jesus Christ Superstar is a 1970 rock musical album for which music was provided by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical album started as a rock opera concept before its first staging in the United States (US) in 1971.

59. The Union Cabinet gave its approval to release an additional installment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to Central Government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners at the rate of six percent increase over the existing rate of 107%. With this decision, Central Government employees as well as pensioners are entitled for DA or DR at the rate of 113 percent of the basic pay with effect from 1 January 2015.

60. Former Air Chief Marshal of IAF Hrushikesh Moolgavkar

61. Jnanapith awardee Tamil writer Jayakanthan died.

62.  Lt. General (retd) Hanut Singh, the recipient of the Mahavir Chakra and hero of 1971 Indo-Pak war, died on 11 April 2015 in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. He was 82. Singh, who was famous as Sant General died, while meditating.

63. Union Home Ministry notified amendments to the Governors (Allowances and Privileges) Rules, 1987 and named these rules as Governors (Allowances and Privileges) Amendment Rules, 2015.

Main Highlights:

• The Governors can leave the State for a private visit to a foreign country or within India only after receiving the due approval of the President except in emergent or extraordinary circumstances.

• The requests for permission to travel outside the State will have to be sent to President Secretariat anywhere between two weeks (for domestic visit) and six weeks (for foreign visit) before the date of travel.

• It bars Governors to stay in their respective states for at least 292 days in a year.

• The Governor cannot undertake such visits even under any emergent or extraordinary circumstance. In such cases, the governors will have to provide details of the circumstances and compelling reasons why it was not possible to obtain prior permission.

• The intimation to the President Secretariat in emergency circumstances shall be given as soon as the programme is finalised.

• It also says that the duration of visits in extraordinary circumstances cannot exceed 20 percent of the days in calendar years.

• The Governors shall also obtain clearance under the Foreign Contributions Regulations Act (FCRA clearance) and Political clearance before undertaking any official foreign visit.

• The Governors shall endorse the copies of communications to President Secretariat related to visit outside their State to the Prinicipal Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the Home Minister.

• The rules also say that frequency of visit to the home State shall also be avoided or limited.

64. The National Food Security Act would be implemented from July 1, 2015 in Jharkhand.

65. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) imposed ban on all construction activities in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) that do not follow the guidelines provided by the then Union Ministry of Environment and Forest in 2010. The directive was delivered by a bench headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar, NGT chairman, in order to check growing menace of air pollution in Delhi-NCR.

66. The President of India Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the first ever Songs and Dances of Northeast event in New Delhi. The purpose of the event is to showcase the various facets of Northeast to people living outside Northeast.

Key features of Songs and Dances of Northeast

• It denotes a series of events planned by the North-Eastern Council (NEC) and Union Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER) with an aim to attract investors and visitors to the region.

• A series of events will be held by rotation in different parts of the country in the coming months.

• Each event will be held in collaboration with one of the eight States of the region.

• The present event was organised in collaboration with Meghalaya.

The theme of events in this series will be determined on the basis of the characteristics of whichever State is hosting the event and the city in which it is being held.

• The necessary financial resources will be provided by the NEC.

67. The Supreme Court (SC) of India directed all the private hospitals in the country to provide for full and free medical treatment to acid attack victims. The verdict was delivered by a social justice bench of the court comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and UU Lalit in the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) Laxmi vs Union of India filed under the Article 32 of the Indian Constitution. The recent order is in addition to its earlier orders aimed at providing justice, relief and rehabilitation to acid attack victims.

Earlier orders of the SC are

• Amendment of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) by inserting a special section to deal with issues related to acid attacks. In effect, the Union Government inserted the Section 357C into the IPC in February 2013.

• Fixing 3 lakh rupees as minimum compensation to the acid attack victims.

• Imposing complete ban on over-the-counter sale of acid.

The verdict assumes significance in the back drop of 309 cases reported in 2014 as against 66 and 85 cases reported in 2013 and 2012 respectively.

68. India was designated to chair the ninth meeting of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) council to be held for two days starting from 10th June 2015. The scheduled meeting will be held in Abu Dhabi, the capital of United Arab Emirates.

About IRENA

• IRENA was established on 26th January 2009 as an intergovernmental organization to supports countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future.

• It serves as the principal platform for international cooperation, a centre of excellence, and a repository of policy, technology, resource and financial knowledge on renewable energy.

• It has 140 members including India, which is a founder-member of the organization.

• IRENA has two main governing structures-IRENA Assembly and IRENA Council.

• The IRENA Assembly takes decisions at the macro level and gives overall policy direction to IRENA.

• The IRENA Council is the main Governing Body of the Agency, which is responsible for implementing decisions of the Assembly.

• The Director-General of IRENA is Adnan Z. Amin, a national of Kenya.

69. Surface-to-Surface nuclear-capable Dhanush ballistic missile was successfully test-fired from a naval ship off the Odisha coast. The missile is a naval variant of India’s indigenously-developed Prithvi missile. The missile was fired from an Offshore Patrolling Vessel (OPV) of Indian Navy by the Strategic Force Command (SFC).

70. The state legislature of Oklahoma passed a bill that allows use of nitrogen gas (nitrogen-induced hypoxia) as a method of execution. The bill was passed by the legislature without a single dissenting vote. The bill now awaits the signature of the governor’s signature to become a law. With Governor’s nod, Oklahoma will become the first state in the United States that will allow use of nitrogen for execution.

71. The Union Government rejected the Odisha Government proposal to grant mining license to South Korean steel major Posco which needed mining license for its proposed 12 billion US dollar mega steel plant at Paradip in Odisha.

72.  A painting titled Tree of Life was gifted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to French President Francois Hollande during his visit to France from 9th April to 12th April 2015. The painting reflects traditional societal respect for nature in India and tree as a divine gift central to human life is a recurring element in Indian artistic practice. The Tree of Life, with multiple roots and branches like a banyan tree, is a motif for a tree’s benevolence, fruit, seeds, shelter, healing, procreation and regeneration faculties that sustain life and clean the environment. The painting is the work of Bhaskar Mahapatra, an Odisha artist and the art form is pigments on silk which he has been practicing for last thirty years along with rest of his family. He works from his home in the heritage crafts village of Raghurajpur. Bhaskar Mahapatra, who has been honoured by Lalit Kala Akademi, is inspired by his training and expertise in palm leaf painting and pattachitra.

73. India and France signed 20 Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) and Agreements to give new impetus to bilateral co-operation between the two nations. The two nations signed agreements covering the fields of Defence and Nuclear Energy, Space, Economic relations, Railways, Energy, Tourism, Science and Technology, Skill Development and Ayurveda. The MoUs and Agreements were signed during visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to France between 9 April and 12 April 2015.

74. Thane (Mumbai), Maharashtra was named as the National Earth Hour Capital 2015. It was named so after it emerged as winner among the three finalists from India viz., Thane, Rajkot and Pune, in the Earth Hour City Challenge (EHCC) 2015 conducted by World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

75. Gujarat government has launched Industrial Tourism Package to promote its development by showcasing its major industrial installations which have earned global acclaim for state. It is a first of its kind initiative India, offered by Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd (TCGL) in collaboration with Ahmedabad based Akshar Travels Pvt Ltd.

The tour package is called as Industrial Tour of Gujarat will cover some of the major industrial attractions of the state. It includes Tata Nano plant in Sanand, Amul Dairy in Anand, Alang ship breaking yard in Bhavnagar and Pipavav port near Amreli. It will also include Mrbi-based ceramic industry, Tata Chemicals factory in Mithapur, Asia’s biggest Ajanta clock factory, Reliance Refinery in Jamnagar. The package will also take tourists to salt pans near Okha and Kadi in Mehsana, which has the highest number of cotton gins in Asia.

76.  A statue of Mahatma Gandhi here has been defaced by a group of people who threw buckets of white paint on it amid racist taunts. The incident occurred yesterday when the group came in a car at about noon and threw buckets of white paint on the statue and surrounding plaques detailing Gandhi’s history in South Africa.

77. India’s first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) became operational at Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City in Gandhinagar district of Gujarat. It became operational after Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley unveiled the rules and regulations for this global financial hub.

78. Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) commissioned 600 MW unit of a thermal power project for the Dainik Bhaskar Power Limited (DBPL) at Dhabra in Janjgir Champa district of Chhattisgarh. The commissioned unit is the second unit of DBPL’s 2 × 600 MW power project. The first 600 MW Unit was commissioned in 2014. With this commissioning of second unit, BHEL’s cumulative installed capacity has increased at 11,400MW in Chhattisgarh and accounts for 68 per cent share of the total installed capacity in the state.

79. Union Government has brought into force the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, 2014 along with the 99th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2014. In this regard, notification to effect from 13th April 2015 was issued by the Union Law Ministry.

Composition of NJAC:

• As per Article 124A, NJAC is a 6 member constitutional body.

• Consisting of Chairman- Chief Justice of India (CJI).

• Members- Two senior most Judges of the Supreme Court, the Union Minister of Law and Justice and two eminent persons.

• Two eminent persons will be nominated by committee led by Prime Minister of India, the CJI, and the Leader of the Opposition in the House of the People.

As per 124B, functions of NJAC are:

• Recommend persons for appointment as CJI, Judges of SC, Chief Justices and other Judges of High Courts.

• Recommend transfer of Chief Justices and other Judges HCs from one HC to another HC.

80. Mobile commerce platform Paytm inked memorandum of understanding (MoU) with National Centre for Trade Information (NCTI) to promote Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). As per MoU, Paytm will offer a virtual marketplace platform for NCTI members and will extend its services and enable them to sell online.

81. Haryana government decided to give status equivalent to state Cabinet Minister to yoga guru Ramdev. Earlier in January 2015, state government had appointed him as its brand ambassador to promote yoga and ayurveda.

82. India was elected to four important United Nations (UN) agencies. These agencies are United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Program (WFP), Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) and the Governing Council of UN-Habitat.

83. The fourth Lighthouse Museum of India will be opened at Kannur, Kerala to promote lighthouse tourism. The other three lighthouses museums have been set up at Alappuzha in Kerala and Chennai and Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu.

84. Union Government plans to push for Green Bonds to meet its target to install 100 gigawatts (GW) of solar power and 60000MW of wind power by 2022 for which it needs 200 billion US dollars. Green Bonds or Climate Bonds are fixed-income financial instruments (bonds) linked to climate change solutions. These bonds are either dollar or rupee denominated and are relatively a new asset class.

85. World Economic Forum (WEF) released a report titled Urban Development Recommendations for India under the Future of Urban Development and Services (FUDS) Initiative. The report has been written in collaboration with Accenture. The report highlights the importance of wider private-sector participation to bridge the urban infrastructure and services funding gap of 110 billion US dollars, which is widening due to India’s rapid urban population growth.

86. India-Germany Joint Statement was released with an aim to upgrade and further strengthen the Strategic Partnership between the two countries. The Joint Statement was released after the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Hannover and Berlin. PM Narendra Modi is on a three-day visit to Germany. As part of the statement, the two nations agreed to take proactive steps to advance collaboration in the areas of manufacturing, skill development, urban development, environment, railways, cleaning of rivers, language and science & technology.

87. Meenakshi Madan Rai sworn in as the first lady judge of the Sikkim High Court. Her oath of the office was administered by the Governor Srinivas Patil at Ashirwad Hall at Raj Bhavan in Gangtok.

88. Justice AR Dave of the Supreme Court of India (SC) recused himself from five-judge Constitutional bench that was to hear a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, 2014. The act replaces the two-decade-old collegium system of judicial appointments with the NJAC.

89. Renowned film director and actor of Assam Bidyut Chakraborty died on 15th April 2015 in a private nursing home in Guwahati after brief illness. He was 55.

90. Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) decided to rename Tourist Visa on Arrival-Electronic Travel Authorization (TVoA-ETA) scheme as e-Tourist Visa (eTV) scheme. MHA decided to change the name of the scheme after it observed that the name of the scheme (TVoA-ETA) created confusion among tourists and also it had received requests of name change from some Indian embassies.

In the present scheme of things, tourists presumed that the Visa was granted on their arrival; however, the pre-authorization of Visa to foreigners was given prior to travel. The new name eTV scheme was chosen after the committee constituted for the purpose conducted a contest on mygov.in and selected e-Tourist Visa (eTV) as the appropriate new name. The committee comprised of officers from Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs and Bureau of Immigration (BoI).

About Electronic Travel Authorization (TVoA-ETA):

The Union Government launched Tourist Visa on Arrival enabled by Electronic Travel Authorization (TVoA-ETA) on 27th November 2014. The scheme was launched for 44 countries at nine airports to facilitate short duration international travellers. Under the scheme, pre-authorisation of Visa to foreigners was given prior to travel, under which a foreign tourist was required to apply for a visa online. The visa authorities were supposed to process the application and send an electronic travel authorization, or simply e-visa, via e-mail to the applicant within 72-hours.

91. The 45-day long annual fishing ban in the territorial waters of Eastern Coastal Zone of the country including Andaman & Nicobar Islands was enforced on 15th April 2015. The ban will help to safeguard fish in their breeding season and increase the fish catch. During this period of ban, the fishermen with mechanized boats are barred from venturing out into the sea for fishing till mid-night of 31st May 2015. With imposition of this ban, the fisheries authorities have stopped issuing tokens for fishing.

92. Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation constituted a Task Force on Interlinking of Rivers (ILR). It will look into the issues relating to Interlinking of Rivers in the country. The task force will be chaired by ex-UPSC member and advisor to the Gujarat Chief Minister BN Navalawala and constitutes of experts and senior officials.

93. Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley inaugurated the Vividh Bharati Service of Delhi on FM Mode in a function held at premises of New Broadcasting House of All India Radio (AIR). The service will be available on 100.1 Megahertz frequency.

94. Ri Su Yong, the Foreign Minister of North Korea, visited India. He was on a three-day visit to India and this was the first-ever visit of a foreign minister of North Korea to India. He visited India on an invitation of Sushma Swaraj, the Minister of External Affairs of India.

95. Indian Railways is on track to take the e-auction route for the first time for redevelopment of stations through public-private partnership (PPP).

96. The government is set to give a major push to the e-tourist visa scheme by extending it to 31 more countries and allowing foreign tourists to avail of the facility at seven more airports by 15th of June. Among the countries that will benefit from the latest extension are the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Malaysia, Tanzania and Argentina.

97. India and Belarus agreed to enhance their bilateral ties especially in the field of trade and economy. The agreement was reached during the meeting of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Vladimir Makei with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi. He also met with President Pranab Mukherjee.

98. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and Russian company INTMA signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to set up a gas-based power project in Kazakhstan. According to the MoU, the two parties will endeavour to assist each other in the implementation of the deal.

99. Canada has agreed to supply 3,000 metric tonnes of uranium to India under a $254 million five-year deal to power Indian atomic reactors. The agreement for uranium supply was signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper after comprehensive talks in Ottawa, Canada.

100. India and Canada signed a nuclear agreement on supply of uranium to India. The agreement was signed between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. PM Modi is on a three-day official visit to Canada, which is the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister in 42 years.

101. The Delhi Government launched the third phase of the Mass Deworming Programme. The third phase aims to cover over 3.7 million children from 3032 schools and 11500 anganwadis as part of this statewide campaign.

102. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted a miniature painting titled Guru Nanak Dev to Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper. Modi was on an official visit to Canada from 14 April to 16 April 2015. The painting is the work of Virendra Bannu, a Jaipur-based artist, who is the seventh generation artist in his family.

103. A new species of Gecko, a type of lizard usually found in warm climates was spotted by researchers from the Osmania University in Hyderabad. It was spotted at the ruins of the World Heritage Site of Hampi in Karnataka. The gecko was named as Cnemaspis adii after a young herpetology researcher from Hyderabad, Aditya Srinivasulu.

104. Nasim Zaidi assumed the charge as Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India. He succeeded Hari Shankar Brahma.

105. Communist Party of India (Marxist) CPI (M) unanimously elected Sitaram Yechury as the general secretary of the party. He is the fifth general secretary of the party. He succeeded Prakash Karat, who was the General Secretary of the party from 2005 to April 2015.

106. India and South Korea held high level defence talks in Seoul. The talks were held on the sidelines of four day visit of Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to South Korea. The meeting was held with South Korean Defence Minister Han Min-koo at the Ministry of Defence of Korea in Seoul.

107. The world’s largest kidney weighing 2.75 kgs was removed by Indian surgeons in the 3 hour surgery. The operation was done by the Surgeons of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRM), Delhi.

108. Indian Railways launched E-Samiksha, an online monitoring mechanism. E-Samiksha aims at monitoring implementation of various ongoing projects of Indian Railways on real-time basis including Rail Budget proposals. It was launched by Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in New Delhi.

109. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) accorded final approval to Rajaji National Park, Uttarakhand as India’s 48th Tiger Reserve. With this notification, Uttarakhand got its second tiger reserve after the Corbett Tiger Reserve.

110. 12 Indian pilgrims died and 37 more injured after a bus accident in Kathmandu, Nepal. The bus with Indian number plate was carrying around 45 pilgrims from Gujarat on a visit to the Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu.

111. Tamil Nadu Government cancelled allotment of land for Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Private Limited (HCCBPL) in the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Limited (SIPCOT) Industrial Growth Centre in Perundurai. SIPCOT Managing Director R. Selvaraj issued the cancellation order of 71.34 acres allotted to HCCBPL for non-compliance of terms and conditions of allotment order / lease deed.

112. Haryana assembly Speaker Kanwar Pal inaugurated the excavation work on the Rs 50-crore Saraswati Revival Project at Rolaheri village in Yamunanagar district of Haryana.

113. Indian Railways launched online monitoring mechanism E-Samiksha to monitor rail projects. It aims at monitoring implementation of various ongoing projects of Indian Railways on real-time basis including Rail Budget proposals.

114. The President of India Pranab Mukherjee released a Postage Stamp commemorating the 200 years of the Orthodox Theological Seminary or Old Seminary, Kottayam in Kerala. The Orthodox Theological Seminary known as Old Seminary or Cottayam Syrian College is run by the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, the St. Thomas Christians.

115. The Railway Ministry launched a mobile application named utsonmobile, for paperless unreserved tickets. This mobile application aims to eliminate the need for printing of unreserved tickets. The application was launched as a pilot project in New Delhi by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and will cover 15 stations between Egmore and Tambram suburban sections in Chennai of the Southern Railway. Later, the service will be extended to in suburban section in all metros of the country in phases.

116. The President of India Pranab Mukherjee released a Postage Stamp commemorating the 200 years of the Orthodox Theological Seminary or Old Seminary, Kottayam in Kerala. The Orthodox Theological Seminary known as Old Seminary or Cottayam Syrian College is run by the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, the St. Thomas Christians.

117. Union Cabinet has approved lowering of age of juveniles from eighteen to sixteen years for heinous crimes. Decision in this regard was taken by Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The cabinet also approved to introduce Amendment to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2014.

118. Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) received an ISO 9001:2008 certification from the British Standards Institute (BSI).

119. Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar constituted a high level committee to consider demand of hike in pay for fixed pay teachers. The four member committee headed by Chief Secretary Anjani Kumar Singh has been asked to submit its report to the government in one month time.

120. Cyclonic storm struck the north-eastern border districts of Bihar. The storm with a wind speed of more than 150 kmph hit several districts of the state namely Purnia, Madhepura, Madhubani, Katihar, Sitamarhi, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Bhagalpur and Supaul.

121. The Union Cabinet gave its approval for signing of a shipping agreement between India and Jordan. The agreement aims at strengthening cooperation and providing sustained mutual assistance on merchant shipping and other related maritime matters. The nod was given in a Cabinet meet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi after recognizing the significant mutual benefit which can be derived from cooperation in area of shipping between the two countries.

122. Union Cabinet approved the introduction of The Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts and Commercial Courts Bill, 2015 in the current session of Parliament. The bill aimed at setting up exclusive commercial divisions in courts was approved by the union cabinet chaired by the PM Narendra Modi. The bill will provide a mechanism to ensure speedy disposal of high value commercial disputes.

123. Indian-American Vivek Murthy took oath as the 19th US Surgeon General. The oath was administered by Vice President Joe Biden at a ceremony in the US. He took the oath on the Gita. Vivek Muthy became the youngest-ever in-charge of the country’s public health. As the US Surgeon General, Murthy carries the rank of Vice Admiral.

124. The fourteenth edition of Indo-French Naval Exercise named VARUNA-15 commenced on 23rd April 2015 off the coast of Goa. The 10-day long joint naval exercise will end on 2nd May 2015. It is aimed at further deriving mutual benefit from the experiences of the two navies and strengthening the bilateral ties between India and France.

125. Union Government rolled out an online system for submission of the Long Term Visa (LTV) applications by the eligible Pakistani nationals and for its processing by various agencies. The Union Home Ministry took the decision to address the difficulty of the minority communities in Pakistan who come to India with the intention to settle permanently. The applications can be submitted online through hyperlink indianfrro.gov.in/frro

126. Two Indian nationals in Singapore were hailed as heroes and commended for saving a dangling toddler stuck between the rails on a parapet of a second floor apartment block. S. Shammugun Nathan (35) and P. Muthukumar (24) were both lauded by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) for their bravery act.

127. India launched a relief and rescue operation named Operation Maitri in earthquake hit Nepal. The operation will involve two dozen military aircraft and choppers along with bus services through road route.

128. Andhra Pradesh Government constituted an eight-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the Chittoor firing case in which 20 people were killed in Seshachalam forest area of Chittoor district.

129. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s Healthcare Portal at the SAAARC Trade Mart in the Global Exhibition on Services, in ITPO, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

130. The World Happiness Report 2015 was released. The report was published by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) an initiative under the United Nations. The report was topped by Switzerland followed by Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Canada. The World Happiness Report examined 158 countries and is aimed at influencing government policy. Togo, Burundi, Benin and Rwanda, with civil-war wracked Syria, were least happy.

131. Pathai Ananthasubramanian Murali resigned as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Executive Director (ED) of Bengaluru-based United Spirits Limited. Murali also resigned from the boards of all subsidiaries. United Spirits is the largest alcoholic beverage company of India.

132. Union Minister for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal flagged off three NTPC Mobile Science Labs (MSL) for revolutionizing education in rural India. MSL is a vehicle fitted with LCD TV carrying working Science Models which emphasizes curiosity based learning for children in rural India. It is an initiative to make hands-on learning accessible amongst underprivileged children.

133. Prime Minister Narendra Modi conferred the 50th Jnanpith Award on eminent Marathi literateur Bhalchandra Nemade in Parliament House Complex, New Delhi. Nemade received the country’s highest literary award for his outstanding contribution towards Indian literature.

134. Union Government cancelled the licences of around 9000 NGOs for violation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 2010. These foreign funded NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) failed to file annual returns for the years 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12.

135. The Andhra Pradesh Government appointed Chadalavada Krishnamurthy as the Chairman of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) Board of Trustees, a body which administers Tirupati’s Lord Venkateswara temple.

136. Indian Army conducted a major exercise ‘Akraman-II’ in Rajasthan. The exercise was conducted by the Chetak Corps, a part of South Western Command based in Bhatinda, Punjab.

137. Government of Delhi gave its approval for setting up of a farmer compensation scheme named after Gajendra Singh. Gajendra Singh is the person who allegedly committed suicide during an AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) rally on 22nd April 2015 by hanging himself with a tree.

138. Novelist Siddhartha Gigoo has won 2500 pounds 2015 Commonwealth Short Story Prize in Asia region for his novel Umbrella Man.

139. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered a complete ban on burning of any kind of garbage, leaves, plastic waste and rubber in the open in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) to control air pollution. The order was given by a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar.

International:

1. Prime Minister of Peru Ana Jara was sacked after she lost the vote of confidence in Congress. Congress voted 72 to 42 to censure Jara, with two abstentions. The Peruvian Prime Minister was forced to step down over alleged domestic spying. This is the first time in half a century that the Congress of Peru deposed a Prime Minister. It was the first such vote since 1963, and only the third in the past century.

2. Myanmar Government and 16 ethnic rebel groups signed a draft nationwide cease-fire agreement. The draft is aimed at ending more than 65 years of civil unrest and armed conflict in the country. The agreement witnessed by Myanmar’s President U Thein Sein was signed between the Union Peace-making Working Committee and the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team at the Myanmar Peace Centre in Yangon.

3. China and Sri Lanka signed five agreements to deepen development partnership between the two countries. The agreements were signed in Beijing during the maiden visit of Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena to China after assuming the office in January 2015.

4. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Baghdad for talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and other top officials. He is also due to meet President Fuad Masum, Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and parliament speaker Salim al-Juburi.

5. Book titled “God’s Bankers: A History of Money and Power at the Vatican” authored by Gerald Posner was released on 3 February 2015.

6. Japan organised the world’s first Otaku Expo from 28 March 2015 to 29 March 2015 at Makuhari Messe Convention Center in Chiba Prefecture. The Expo was organized as a part of a special comic book fair held every five years, which attracts about half a million visitors. The term “Otaku” is commonly used in the country to refer to people obsessed with Japan’s unique take on comics and animation.

7. Former military ruler General Muhammadu Buhari won the Presidential election in Nigeria. He defeated incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan by more than two million votes. With this historic win, Buhari became the first opposition candidate in history of Nigeria to win a presidential election.

8. Recently released Country Threat Index (CTI) by US-based intelligence think tank- Intel Center has placed Pakistan eighth in the list of the most dangerous countries in the world as of March 2015. Iraq is on the top, followed by Syria, Nigeria, Somalia, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Pakistan, Ukraine & Egypt.

9. The global community pledged financial support of USD 3.8 billion to crisis hit Syria at the third International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria held in Kuwait city. The financial aid will help the United Nations (UN) organisations and partners to meet urgent needs of victims of Syria’s civil war and neighbouring countries. The UN-led conference was attended by representatives of 78 nations and 38 humanitarian organisations.

10. Misao Okawa, the World’s oldest person died in Japan at the age of 117 and 27 days. She was awarded the Guinness World Records title of oldest living person as well as the oldest living woman on 27 February 2013, a few days before her 115th birthday.

11. FM Global in the first week of April released Global Resilience Index 2015. The Index offers powerful insights to help business executives target their investments towards more reliable returns and to protect their customers from unforeseen disruption.

Keypoints to Remember:
a. Out of the 130 countries and regions assessed Norway topped the list in terms of business resilience & Venezuela was at the bottom of the list. India has been placed at the 119th position out of 130 countries.
b. In the Risk Quality factor, India is placed at the 109th position.
c. In the Supply Chain category, India is placed at 89th position.

12. Iran, the P5+1 and the European Union (EU) conceded on a framework agreement called as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) intended to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. The agreement was reached at Lausanne’s Beau-Rivage Palace hotel in Switzerland.

13. Al-Shabaab carried out a massacre killing 147 people in the Garissa University College situated in Garissa County in northeastern Kenya.

14. The President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain promulgated the General Elections 2013 Inquiry Commission Ordinance 2015 to inquire into the organization and conduct of the 2013 elections. The ordinance was promulgated on the demand of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) which alleged that the ruling party Pakistan Muslim league Nawaz (PML-N) was involved in rigging by printing fake ballot papers to win the elections.

15. Sri Lanka and Pakistan signed six agreements. The signing of the agreement was witnessed by the Pakistan Prime Minsiter Nawaz Sharif and Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena at the PM House in Islamabad. The six agreements pertained to advancing cooperation in disaster management, sports, shipping, socio-economic development, education and narcotics control.

16. Richie Benaudalso known as ‘Voice of Cricket’passed away.

17. China plans to build rail link between Tibet-Nepal through Mount Everest.

18. Asteroid 316201 was named as ‘316201 Malala’ after the youngest Nobel laureate and girls’ education campaigner Malala Yousafzai. The asteroid was named after her by Amy Mainzer, astronomer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, United States under the International Astronomical Union rules. In 2010, Mr. Mainzer had discovered the asteroid which was known as 316201. As a discoverer of the asteroid he had owned the rights to name it. Asteroid 316201 Malala is located in the Main Belt between Mars and Jupiter. It orbits around the Sun every

Show more