Important Current Affairs of April 1 to 4, 2016

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF APRIL 1 TO 4, 2016

• Saudi Arabia and the United States have imposed joint sanctions targeting the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
• The announcement marks the second time that the United States and Saudi officials have coordinated their actions to disrupt the finances of Islamist militant groups in Southeast Asia.
• Myanmar Parliament's Upper House On April 1, 2016 passed a bill that seeks to give National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi similar powers to that of a Prime Minister. 
• The bill, that still needs to be cleared by the Lower House, makes a specific reference to the 70-year-old Nobel laureate. 
• Domestic bank DCB Bank from April 2016 started first-of-its-kind Aadhaar-based ATM usage facility wherein a customer can transact using his biometric details instead of the PIN.
• World’s first ‘White Tiger Safari’ was inaugurated in Madhya Pradesh on 3 April 2016.
• World’s first while tiger safari was opened at Mukundpur in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh on 3 April 2016. This unique safari is spread over 1,000 hectare area.
• North Korea has officially announced that it is blocking Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and some other South Korean and "sex and adult" websites. 
• Note : Facebook and Twitter have been informally blocked in the nation for months, and North Koreans can access the government-sanctioned intranet.
• Prevention of Blindness Week 2016 is being celebrated from Friday (1st of April) to the Thursday (7th of April).
• This campaign is planned by the Government of India for increasing the awareness towards the blind people.
• Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced plans to set up a 'Department of Happiness' to infuse "positivity" into the lives of people. 
• He said the department will organise yoga, cultural and meditation programmes. 
• Note : He got this inspiration from Bhutan which gave the world the concept of Happiness Index way back in 1970s.
• The Supreme Court  On April 1, 2016 ordered the continuation of the ban on registration of diesel vehicles above 2000 cc in NCR. 
• The court set the next hearing for April 2. 
• The court also indicated that it may impose environment cess on luxury diesel vehicles if the ban is lifted. 
• All tobacco products produced from April 1 will have 85% pictorial warnings on the packaging space, as a central notification comes into effect On April 1, 2016. 
• Note : A Parliamentary committee had earlier suggested 50% warning on both the sides. 
• The ban on countrymade liquor in Bihar will take effect On April 1, 2016 after the state's liquor law was amended recently. 
• However, Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) will continue to be available only in state-owned shops within urban limits. 
• Note : Under the new law, manufacturers and suppliers can be sentenced to death if consumption of illicit liquor causes death or injury.
• Maharashtra tied up with the Tata Trusts to link all government colleges and medical colleges with the latter's national cancer grid. 
• Note : Maharashtra is India's first state to join the initiative. 
• The national cancer grid links all existing and proposed cancer care centres to create a uniform line of treatment for cancer patients across India.
• Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal announced that the 1,260 km of roadsmaintained by the Public Works Department (PWD) will be vacuum cleaned from On April 1, 2016 as he launched the 'Greening Delhi' initiative. 
• Note : Around 120 acres of roadside areas will get pollution-absorbing plants and trees under the initiative, aimed at curbing air pollution in the national capital.
• Peoples Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti will be sworn in as thefirst woman Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir on April 4th. 
• This comes after a two-month long deadlock on government formation after the death of CM Sayeed.
• According to research firm IHS, India has become the world’s fourth-largest spender on defence, following a 13.1% increase in its 2016-17 defence budget. 
• India's fastest train, the Gatimaan Express, is scheduled to hit the tracks on April 5. 
• The train will run between Delhi and Agra at a maximum speed of 160 km/h. 
• As earlier planned to run from New Delhi and reach Agra in around 90 minutes, the train will now begin from Hazrat Nizamuddin and reach Agra in 100 minutes.
• Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar On April 1, 2016 announced that , Two more regiments of the short-range supersonic missile BrahMos will be inducted into the Army within 15 days.
• The missiles have been developed by India's DRDO and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyenia under the BrahMos Aerospace. 
• They can fly as low as 10 metres above the ground and hit the surface targets.
• The Reserve Bank of India was established on this day (1st April) in the year 1935, during the British Rule in accordance with the provisions of theReserve Bank of India Act, 1934. 
• It is India's central banking institution, which controls the monetary policy of the Indian rupee. 
• The RBI was also the central banks for Burma until April 1947 and Pakistan until June 1948.
• The Department of Industrial Promotion and Policy has launched a ‘Startup India’ web portal and mobile app. 
• The platform will act as a single window for startups to register themselves within 24 hours, avail government incentives and receive information about incubation facilities and tax benefits. 
• It will also let startups receive notifications from different departments and funding agencies.
• According to a Finance Ministry report, India's total external debt stood at $480.2 billion at December-end. 
• While the government (sovereign) external debt stood at $90.7 billion, non-government debt amounted to $389.5 billion. 
• Note : US dollar denominated debt accounted for 57.6% of the total external debt, followed by Indian rupee (28.7%), Japanese Yen (4.1%) and Euro (2.3%).
• According to data released by the Controller General of Accounts, India's fiscal deficit in April-February stood at ₹5.73 lakh crore, 107.1% of the full-year target. 
• In comparison, the figure was 117.5% in the previous fiscal. 
• Note : The deficit figure tends to exceed the budgeted target nearer to the end of fiscal year, but gets adjusted against tax inflows in March.
• In a first, researchers in the US have revealed the structure of the Zika virus, providing aid to the development of treatments to combat the disease. 
• The discovery could help in designing vaccines and developing better diagnostic tests for the virus. 
• According to the report, the virus is represented by a spherical structure resembling that of the Dengue virus.
• Iraqi-British Architect Zaha Hadid (65) passed away. 
• The Time magazine named her as one of the 100 most influential thinkers in 2010. 
• Hadid, who had a neo-futuristic architectural style, was the first woman recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, which is widely regarded as the Nobel Prize for architecture.
• World Autism Awareness Day was observed on 2nd April 2016
• It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly resolution "62/139.
• This day was adopted on 18 December 2007, it was proposed by Qatar, and supported by all UN member states.
• 2016 Theme : "Autism and the 2030 Agenda: Inclusion and Neurodiversity"
• Note : It is estimated that more than 80% of adults with autism are unemployed.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi reachedRiyadh (capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia) On April 2, 2016 on a 2-day visit to Saudi Arabia.
• Issues of strategic partnership, counter terrorism, energy and trade high on agenda.
• The World Health Organisation has confirmed a new case of Ebola in Liberia, three months after the country was declared free from transmissions. 
• Note : Liberia was first declared Ebola-free in May, but new cases emerged on two occasions. 
• India and Sri Lanka have signed an MOU to supply 150 boats and fishing equipment to the fishermen of Mullaitivu.
• Indian High Commissioner Y.K. Sinha and Secretary, Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development W.M.M.R. Adikari signed the MoU in the presence of Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Mahinda Amaraweera at the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development.
• Note : The Government of India will gift 150 boats and other fishing equipment to 300 beneficiaries in Mullaitivu.
• To strengthenand promote business ties with Australia, FICCI inked a MoU with AIBC.
• The agreement signed during the Invest in India in Melbourne Australia..
• The MoU strengthens the ongoing relationship between the two organisations to further promote, facilitate and grow the trade and investment relationship between Australia and India.
• FICCI  - Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry
• AIBC - Australia Indian Business Council 
• Varanasi's Municipal Corporation has tied up with the Airports Authority of India to introduce an automated waste collection system in the city. 
• In the first phase, the automated waste collection drive will be launched in 14 wards of the city for three years. 
• Note : The daily waste generated in the overpopulated holy city is around 650 metric tonnes.
• The Delhi Government On April 2, 2016 extended till May 31 its Power Amnesty Scheme, wherein consumers from 'jhuggi jhopri' clusters are charged ₹250 monthly for the period they have not paid their dues. 
• About 68,000 cases have reportedly been settled under the ‘Bijli Bill Vivad Samadhan Scheme’, which addresses grievances pertaining to electricity theft. 
• Note : It has been extended several times previously.
• Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh was recently presented with the 'Maharashtrian of the Year' award by the state's CM Devendra Fadnavis. 
• Note : Earlier, Amitabh Bachchan and Dilip Kumar were honoured with the Marathi publication Lokmat's award.
• PEN America announced that it will confer the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award upon imprisoned Egyptian novelist and journalist Ahmed Naji.
• Indian television actress Pratyusha Banerjee (24) passed away.
• She was best known for her portrayal of Anandi in 'Balika Vadhu'.
• Veteran journalist and writer Babu Bharadwaj (68) passed away. 
• He had been a part of prominent print and television media in Kerala. 
• Note : Kalapangalkkoru Grihapadam, a novel penned by him, won theKerala Sahitya Akademi award in 2006.
• The Lucknow Metro will get a loan of €450 million (around ₹3,500 crore)from the European Investment Bank for its Phase-1A project. 
• An agreement in this regard was signed in Brussels on March 30 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 
• The 22.878-kilometer long Lucknow Metro Phase-1A project was approved at a cost of ₹6,928 crore last December.
• Germany's Development Bank is going to provide loan of Rs. 3,750crorefor Metro system in Nagpur city.  
• Air India has announced the launch of non-stop flights to Vienna from New Delhi. 
• A 256-seater Boeing 787-800 with 18 business class seats will now operate on the Delhi-Vienna-Delhi route thrice a week on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. 
• The service will replace the existing five weekly services to Vienna in codeshare with Austrian Airlines.
• Chief Secretary of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Anand Prakash, recently launched a semi-submarine ocean safari. Called the 'Coral Safari', the semi-submarine will take 100 passengers into the sea in a fully air-conditioned cabin. 
• A product of Heaven on Ocean Tourism Private Limited, the safari will let tourists explore the underwater corals and rare species of fishes around the islands.
• Vietnam's Parliament On April 2, 2016 swore in the Public Security (Police) Minister General Tran Dai Quang as the Communist country's President. 
• Quang is the only candidate put forward for the Presidency and he was backed by 460 of the 465 lawmakers in the Parliament. 
• Note : Vietnam is led by the coalition of the President, Prime Minister, and Communist Party Chief.
• Rajiv Gauba took over as Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Urban Development.
• Congress senior MLA J Geeta Reddy was appointed as the Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Telangana.
• Important Note : She will be the first woman legislator to be appointed for the post in India.
• Kallol Roy, an expert in nuclear reactor, appointed as the new Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Bhartiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd (BHAVINI), which is building 500 Mw prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam near Chennai.
• New Zealand all-rounder Grant Elliott has announced his retirement from one-day international cricket. 
• The 37-year-old hit a six from the penultimate ball against South Africa in the 2015 World Cup semi-final to lead Kiwis to their first finals appearance (This shot was voted as Zealand's sporting moment of 2015). 
• He scored 1,976 runs and took 39 wickets in 83 ODIs.
• West Indies created history by winning the men’s World Twenty20 title 2016 on 3 April 2016 and thus becoming the first team to win the tournament twice. It had win this prestigious tournament for the first time in 2012.
• West Indies had won the men’s T20 title for the first time in 2012 when it had defeated hosts Sri Lanka by 36 runs in the finals.

• It added another T20 title to its kitty on 3 April 2016 when powered by 4 consecutive sixes by Carlos Brathwaite off English bowler Ben Stokes, the Winidies went past England’s score of 155 runs with 2 balls to spare.
• West Indian chase was anchored by Marlon Samuels (85 n.o., 66b, 9×4, 2×6) after it was reduced to 11 runs for the loss of three important wickets early on in the innings. However Carlos Brathwaite’s onslaught put the match in Winides’ fold as he mocked the 19 runs required from the final six deliveries.
• India’s top-order batsman Virat Kohli was named as the men’s player of the tournament at the conclusion of the ICC World Twenty20 2016 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on 3 April.
• Kohli batted five innings in the tournament, scoring a total of 273 at an average of 136.50 with a strike-rate of just under 147.