Current Affairs for the year of 2025 - 2024

National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited (NBCC) in the last week of May 2016 announced that it will soon launch a project aimed at cleaning River Ganga in Bihar. In December 2015, the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation hired NBCC to carry out the feasibility...

Guinea Bissau President Jose Mario Vaz on 26 May 2016 issued a presidential decree naming Baciro Dja as Prime Minister of the country. Dja succeeds Carlos Correia, who was sacked earlier in May 2016. His removal threatened to deepen political turmoil in the tiny West African nation. Effects of Presidential...

Australia on 18 June 2016 won Hero Hockey Champions Trophy 2016 at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in London. It defeated India 1-0 in a shoot-out. The game finished with the score locked at 0-0 but later Australia scored a goal in the shoot-out reducing the score to 1-0 and won the final match...

India and Oman on 22 May 2016 signed 4 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs)/agreements in Muscat. They were signed during the visit of Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to Oman. Details related to MoUs/Agreements • MOU on Defence Cooperation between the Ministry of Defense of Sultanate of...

The cyclonic storm ROANU that emerged in the west central Bay of Bengal was in news. It came into news after India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its prediction said that the Cyclone is likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by 20 May 2016 night and will hit Andhra coast. At present, ROANU...

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 20 May 2016 tightened the norms for investing in Participatory Notes (P-Notes). The norms have been tightened with a view to check money laundering. As per the norms • It has been mandatory for P-Notes users to follow the provisions...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 7 June 2016 approved 1.5 billion US dollar loan to Sri Lanka. IMF has already transferred 168 million US dollars as the first Instalment with immediate effect to support the country’s economy. The Executive Board of the IMF accepted this 36-month extended...

Odisha Governor Dr SC Jamir on 23 May 2016 promulgated Odisha Official Language (Amendment) Ordinance, 2016. The Ordinance empowers the state government to formulate laws to implement the Odisha Official Language Act 1954. This will facilitate use of Odia language in transaction of official businesses...

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women on 15 June 2016 appointed Anne Hathaway as global Goodwill Ambassador. The Academy Award-winning actor will advocate for the adoption and implementation of policies worldwide to bring change at both government and corporate levels....

Union Government has decided to reduce the number of Maoist-affected districts by about a fifth. As per reports, about 20 out of 106 districts described as being Maoist-affected and part of the Red Corridor may soon no longer be part of the list. Dropping of these districts from the list will result...

Asia’s largest technology trade show COMPUTEX was started in Taipei on 31 May 2016. It is attracting more than 1600 companies from 30 countries to showcase their latest products. This became the biggest trade show with the highest number of nations participating in last five years. COMPUTEX will...

NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope and its extended K2 mission allowed astronomers to discover the youngest fully formed exoplanet, K2-33b. The WM Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea, Hawaii also helped in discovery of this new found planet. Exoplanets are planets that orbit stars beyond our sun. The finding...

Shahid Rasool, a communication technology specialist, on 7 June 2016 took charge as the Director of the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA). Rasool will guide CEMCA in its mission to ensure effective utilisation of educational media resources for distance education. He was earlier...

Chinese supercomputer Sunway TaihuLight with 93 petaflop/second speed was on 20 June 2016 declared as the world’s fastest supercomputer. It was revealed in the TOP500 list of supercomputers released at the International Supercomputing Conference (ISC) in Frankfurt, Germany. The list further revealed...

Anant Maheshwari was on 1 August 2016 named as the President of Microsoft India by the parent company Microsoft Inc. Maheshwari will succeed Bhaskar Pramanik, who retires in March 2017. Maheshwari, who will join Microsoft India on 1 September 2016, will take over operations of the company on 1 January...

Odisha government on 26 July 2016 announced 60 lakh rupees cash special incentive for six sportswomen of the state who have qualified for the Rio Olympics. The six sportspersons are sprinters Dutee Chand and Srabani Nanda and four hockey players Deep Grace Ekka, Namita Toppo, Lilima Minz and Sunita...

The Indian Boxing Council (IBC) was granted affiliation by the Commonwealth Boxing Council (CBC) on 2 June 2016. The affiliation was unanimously endorsed by CBC. IBC is a licensing body for professional boxers in India which has Vijender Singh among others on its roster. The IBC so far conducted two...

Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Chairperson (CPN-MC) Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' on 4 August 2016 was elected the 39th Prime Minister of Nepal. Dahal was the sole claimant to the post of Prime Minister, when he filed his candidacy at the Parliament Secretariat on 2 August 2016. Dahal was elected...

Mohun Bagan on 21 May 2016 clinched the Federation Cup title for the 14th time. In the final played at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati, Bagan defated Aizwal FC 5-0. Bagan won this tournament after a gap of 8 years (in 2008), when it defeated Dempo 1-0. The first half of the match went...

World Blood Donors Day (WBDD) 2016 was observed on 14 June 2016. The theme of the 2016 World Blood Donor Day campaign is Blood connects us all. The theme highlights the common bond that all people share in their blood. The slogan for 2016 WBDD is Share life, give blood. The slogan focuses on voluntary...

Distinguished Hindi writer, activist, thinker and cultural personality Mudrarakshasa passed away on 13 June 2016 following a prolonged illness in Lucknow. He was 82. About Mudrarakshasa: • Born in Behta near Lucknow in 1931, He graduated from Lucknow University and was then employed as Assistant...

Indian para athlete Amit Kumar Saroha clinched gold medal in men's club throw (F-51) at the 2016 French Open Athletics Championship in Paris. The event was held on 23 May and 24 May 2016. Saroha’s effort of 26.58 meter broke the Asian record which he had himself set at 2015 World Championships...

Scientists of Iceland found a technique to capture and store the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) in deep underground by turning it into rock. The technique will provide a safer, faster way to sequester CO2 and limit global warming. And it was identified it as a potentially significant way to combat...

Aditi Krishnakumar, an Indian woman author in Singapore, in fourth week of May 2016 won the 'Scholastic Asian Book Award'. She was awarded for her 32000-word manuscript "Codex: The Lost Treasure of the Indus". She won the 10000 Singapore dollar award for her manuscript that carried contemporary feel...

Gregory Rabassa, prominent literary translator, passed away on 14 June 2016 in Branford, Connecticut following a brief illness. He was 94. Rabassa is known for his translations of several well-known Latin American writers, including Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Mario Vargas Llosa, Julio Cortazar, Octavio...

Rajya Sabha on 1 August 2016 passed the Dentists (Amendment) Bill, 2016 with voice Vote. The Bill seeks to amend the Dentists Act, 1948. It also seeks to replace the Dentists (Amendment) Ordinance, 2016 and states that its provisions will come in to force from 24 May 2016. Lok Sabha passed the bill...

N Ramachandran, the president of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) was awarded the prestigious Olympic Order by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 1 June 2016. He was honoured for his outstanding services to the Olympic movement. Earlier to him, former IOA president, the late BS Adityan was...

The research by analysing the fossil record of microscopic aquatic creatures called planktonic foraminifera, whose fossil remains resemble miniaturised popcorn and date back millions of years, provided the first statistical evidence that environmental variations can alter species richness. According...

The Union Cabinet on 1 June 2016 approved setting up of the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) as a Public Limited Company under the Department of Posts, with 100% Government of India (GOI) equity. These banks will be established at an expense of 800 crore rupees and rolled out in the entire country in...

The Strategic Forces Command (SFC), which forms part of the National Command Authority (NCA), was on 30 July 2016 added to the Second Schedule of the Right to Information Act (RTI), 2005. In this regard, Union Government issued a notification mentioning SFC has been brought under sub-section (2) of...