IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF APRIL 16th, 2017

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF APRIL 16th, 2017

•       In order to spread awareness about the Sikh identity and culture, 'Turban Day' was organised at New York's Times Square by the non-profit group The Sikhs of New York. 
•     Note : The New York authorities had earlier declared April 15, 2017 as 'Turban Day'.
•      A Russian legislative committee for security has recommended a bill to the Parliament
•    banning all people who work for Russian Interior Ministry, including all police, from traveling abroad for recreational and personal reasons. 
•     The bill, which was initially drafted in late 2015, also forbids Russian citizens from entering police service if they have residence permits issued by foreign countries.
•     North Korea On 15th April, 2017 held a military parade to mark the 105th birth anniversary of its founding President Kim Il-sung and displayed its submarine-based ballistic missiles for the first time among other new types of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
•     It also warned the US of toughest counteraction against its "military hysteria" as it deployed a navy strike group towards the region.
•     The Telangana Cabinet On 15th April, 2017 cleared Telangana State Reservation Bill 2017 that provides 12% reservation to Muslims and 10% reservation to Scheduled Tribes, depending on their population in the state. 
•     Note : The existing reservation for Muslims is 4% and for Scheduled Tribes is 6%.
•     The Supreme Court collegium has cleared over 48 names for theappointment of judges in high courts. 
•     The collegium has reportedly recommended 14 names for Bombay High Court, 9 for Punjab and Haryana High Court, 6 each for high courts of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Patna. 
•     4 and 3 names have been cleared for Delhi and Jammu and Kashmirrespectively.
•     To rectify the poor gender balance, the Joint Admissions Board of the IITs has approved additional seats for women candidates from 2018. 
•     The "supernumerary" seats would be hiked every year until the enrolment of females touched 20%.
•     Juvenile Justice Board On 15th April, 2017 ordered the Delhi government to issue a notification to ban the sale of whiteners, thinners and vulcanised solutions to children below the age of 18 years to check drug abuse. 
•     The board further asked the government to assign one de-addiction centre per district, observing that the existing centres in the national capital region are overcrowded.
•      Spanish clothing brand Zara's Co-founder Amancio Ortega has surpassed
• Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos to become the world's second-richest personwith a net worth of $77.5 billion. 
•     Bezos is now the world's third-richest person with a net worth of $76 billion.
•     Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu On 15th April, 2017 flagged off the trial run of the new 'vistadome' railway coaches between Visakhapatnam and Araku. 
•     The new coaches are equipped with a glass roof which can be made transparent to enjoy outside view.
•      Gurmehar Kaur, a Delhi University student, who was allegedly threatened for protesting against ABVP on social media, has been felicitated with Punjabi Icon award.
•   Mahavir Singh Phogat, father of wrestler Geeta Phogat was awardedFICCI's gender parity award for his contribution in harnessing his daughters' talent.
•    The Ministry of Earth Sciences On 15th April, 2017 announced that 31 new seismological observatories would be set up in India by the year-end to boost earthquake information gathering capability. 
•     The goal is to reduce the time taken to give details of an earthquake from 5 to 3-4 minutes, the ministry added. 
•     Note : The National Seismological Network currently comprises 84 laboratories across the country.
•     March 2017 was the second warmest March in 137 years of record-keeping, according to a monthly analysis of global temperatures by NASA. 
•      Note : March 2016 was the hottest on record, being 0.15ºC warmer than this year's March, according to the report.  
•      A deep depression in Bay of Bengal has intensified into a tropical cyclone namedMaarutha. 
•      This cyclone is expected to hit Myanmar on 17 April 2017 and bring heavy rains in parts of that country. 
•     Important Note : Tropical Cyclone Maarutha is the first named storm of 2017 Northern Hemisphere tropical cyclone season.
•     The US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has announced that it along with the US Air Force successfully field-tested a modernised gravity nuclear bomb B61-12 on March 14 at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada. 
•     The test was intended to evaluate the weapon's "non-nuclear functions" and the aircraft's capability to deliver the weapon, NNSA said.
•     The world's oldest person Emma Morano (117) has died in her home in Verbania, a town on Lake Maggiore in northern Italy. 
•       Emma Morano was born on November 29th, 1899. 
•       She was also believed to have been the last surviving person in the world who was born in the 1800s.
•     Actor Clifton James (96) who was famous for his role as Sheriff J W Pepper in JamesBond films, passed away.
•    Indian shuttler Sai Praneeth defeated 24-year-old compatriot Kidambi Srikanth to lift his maiden Super Series title at the Singapore Open On 15th April, 2017. 
•     Note : India became only the fourth nation in badminton to have two of their shuttlers playing in a Super Series final.
•     Phullela Gopichand's daughter, Gayatri Gopichand, won the Under-15 women's singles title and the Under-15 women's doubles title alongside partner Samiya Farouqui at the Pembangunan Jaya Raya International Junior Grand Prix tournament in Jakarta.