Current Affairs for the year of 2024 - 2023

Renowned Pink Panther star Burt Kwouk passed away on 24 May 2016. He was 85. He is survived by his wife Caroline Tebbs and a son. He was best known for playing Inspector Clouseau's manservant Cato in the Pink Panther films. About Burt Kwouk • Born in Warrington, Cheshire in 1930, Kwouk was raised...

Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal on 16 June 2016 launched the URJA Mobile application. The URJA, which stands for Urban Jyoti Abhiyaan, was launched on the on the side-lines of Conference of Power Ministers at Cansaulim in South Goa. Key features...

Sandeep Kumar was on 8 August 2016 appointed as the Transport Commissioner of Delhi. He succeeded Sanjay Kumar, who was appointed as the commissioner a few months ago. Sandeep will take on the role of the Commissioner as an additional charge. He is also the Managing Director of Delhi Khadi and Village...

The President Pranab Mukherjee on 31 May 2016 appointed Bhim Sain Bassi, IPS (Retd) as a member of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). He will hold the constitutional post till February 2021, from the day when he enters the office. About BS Bassi • He is an officer of Indian Police Service...

The Rio 2016 organising committee on 14 June 2016 revealed the official slogan, A New World, for the first Olympic and Paralympic Games in South America. The slogan was unveiled by Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), at a special ceremony held at Olympic Park in Barra...

India and South Korea on 18 June 2016 launched a special initiative, Korea Plus. The initiative aims at promoting and facilitating Korean Investments in India. The platform was launched by the Commerce & Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Joo Hyunghwan, the Minister of Trade, Industry & Energy,...

Nikesh Arora on 21 June 2016 resigned as the Representative Director, President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of SoftBank Group (SBG), a Japanese company. Simultaneously, he will also step down from the Chairmanship at Yahoo Japan, a company in which SoftBank has a 36.4 percent stake, as well as...

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on 22 June 2016 launched a record 20 satellites in a single mission from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. With this launch of 20 satellites, ISRO also managed to break its previous record of placing 10 satellites into orbit in a...

The United Nations Public Service Day was celebrated by the United Nations (UN) on 23 June 2016.The day was celebrated to mark the invaluable contributions of public servants and administrators to build a better world for all. The 2016 United Nations Public Service Day was celebrated at the United Nations...

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...

Mohun Bagan on 15 June 2016 announced that it will honour country’s only Dronacharya football coach Syed Nayeemuddin with the Mohun Bagan Ratna. Nayeemuddin was chosen for the prestigious award for his overall contribution to the club and the country both as a player and as a coach. Who is Syed...

Veteran communist leader KC Mathew died on 24 May 2016 at a private hospital in Kochi. He was 92. He was the prime accused in the attack on the Edappally police station in February 1950, which resulted in a witch-hunt of the communists by the police. He was born in North Paravur in 1924 and graduated...

Prominent Malayalam script writer TA Rasaq passed away on 15 August 2016 in Kochi following a brief illness. He was 58. He had worked for more than thirty films in Malayalam beginning from 1991. About TA Rasaq • He was born in Thurakkal near Kondotty town in Malappuram in April 1958. • He...

In order to promote the partnership in the Maritime Field, India and US made the successful first round of discussion under the Maritime Security Dialogue. First round of Discussion: Discover the scope of maritime cooperation under the framework of this maritime dialogue at the bilateral and multilateral...

Online legal documentation startup LegalDesk.com on 3 August 2016 launched the electronic signing feature eSignDesk that allows people to sign documents digitally from remote places. With over a billion Aadhaar cardholders and about 25 million transactions taking place every quarter, digital signatures...

Sri Lanka seam bowler Nuwan Kulasekara announced his retirement from Tests with immediate effect on 1 June 2015. He continues his career in limited over cricket. The 33-year old seamer played 21 Test matches for Sri Lanka and picked up 48 wickets since his debut in April 2005. He played his last Test...

Canadian poet, novelist and environmental activist Margaret Atwood on 16 June 2016 was awarded the 2016 PEN Pinter Prize. Atwood will receive her award at a public event at the British Library on 13 October 2016. Atwood was chosen by judges Vicky Featherstone, Zia Haider Rahman, Peter Stothard, Antonia...

Telangana government on 10 June 2016 decided to set up of a Pharma City on 12500 acres of land in Rangareddy and Mahbubnagar districts of the state. Telangana has traditionally been the bulk drugs capital of India with almost one-third of the total production in value terms. The state government intends...

The Delhi Government on 6 June 2016 announced implementation of its solar policy. The policy aims at making the national capital a solar city with installation of 1 GW solar power capacity by 2020. This target is proposed to double it to 2 GW during further next five years. The policy has been prepared...

Book titled Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover Up authored by Rana Ayyub was released in May 2016. The book is an account of an eight-month long undercover investigation by journalist Rana Ayyub, who posed herself as Maithili Tyagi, a filmmaker from the American Film Institute Conservatory to investigate...

The research, published in the journal Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa in May 2016, highlighted that the bone tools were used for hunting, and even as poison arrow tips in eastern Africa over 13000 years ago. These bone artefacts were discovered in the Kuumbi Cave in Zanzibar. About Kuumbi...

Jal Marg Vikas is a project on the river Ganga that is being developed between Allahabad and Haldia to cover a distance of 1620 kilometers. The project is being implemented with technical and investment support from World Bank and would be completed over a period of six years at an estimated cost of...

The USA Women’s Senior National Team on 12 June 2016 won gold at the FINA Women Water Polo World League Super Final. The team defeated Spain 13-9 in the championship match in Shanghai, China. The victory marks the United States’ third straight FINA World League Super Final title and 10th...

Microsoft Asia on 7 June 2016 launched its Malware Infection Index 2016 (MII2016). The index identifies the key malware threats and ranks markets in Asia Pacific. The index MII2016, revealed Pakistan as the location with the highest malware encounters followed by Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nepal and Vietnam...

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on 31 July 2016 flagged off maiden broad-gauge train service between Agartala and Delhi, ‘Tripura Sundari Express’. The ‘Tripura Sundari Express’ will run weekly between Agartala and Anand Vihar in Delhi. It will have commercial stoppages at 16...

National Green Tribunal (NGT) on 23 May 2016 banned use of light and heavy diesel vehicles, which are more than 10 years old, in six major cities. The cities where these vehicles can’t ply on the roads include Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kollam, Thrissur, Kozhikode and Kannur. In its first sitting,...

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on 18 June 2016 launched the fund titled Mukh Mantri Punjab Hepatitis C Relief Fund to provide free treatment for patients affected by Hepatitis C. With this initiative, Punjab became the first Indian state to provide free treatment to confirmed cases of Hepatitis...

Renowned Qawwal Amjad Sabri, who was known for More Haji Piya, was shot dead by unidentified motorcycle-borne gunmen in Karachi, Pakistan on 22 June 2016. Sabri, 45, was killed while travelling with an associate in a car in Karachi's Liquatabad area. Popularly known as Rock Star of Qawwali due to his...

A book titled India Rising: Fresh Hope, New Fears by Ravi Velloor chronicles India's journey in the decade before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rise. The book was released in April 2016 by Singapore Emeritus Senior Minister (ESM) Goh Chok Tong. The book captures the significant events of the years...

The Union Cabinet on 22 June 2016 approved a Special Package for employment generation and promotion of exports in Textile and Apparel sector. The package includes a slew of measures which are labour friendly and would promote employment generation, economies of scale and boost exports. The following...