Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Facts in News March 1 March 15 PDF
Facts in News March 1 March 15 PDF
forumias.com /portal/facts-in-news-march-1-march-15/
4/4/2016
Dear Friends,
We have come up with this new initiative Facts in News ( FIN ) that will summarise the events, people, bills,
summits etc. basically facts that have been in news.
This compilation will help aspirants quickly revise current affairs from the period which we have covered.
It is best for people who quickly want to refresh what they have read from news paper/ current affairs magazines / 9
PM brief etc in one single consolidated post.
Disclaimer : The below compilation consists of facts. We have tried our best to include the most relevant facts only,
and not include the less important or less relevant facts. We apologise if we have missed out on anything or over
included something. Please feel free to write to us if you have any suggestions on how we can improve.
1/19
Aadhar Bill 2016
Called Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies and
Services
Passed by Lok Sabha as Money Bill
Rajya Sabha recommended ammendment in Aadhar Bill, but it was
not accepted as Rajya Sabha does not have a say in case of Money
Bill.
Lodha committee
Supreme court appointed committee
Headed by former justice R M Lodha after IPL spot fixing scam to
look into the functioning of BCCI
It brings down the age for trying a minor as an adult for serious
crime from 18 to 16 years
By Government of Karnataka
2/19
Ethics Committee of Rajya Sabha
Will investigate into the issue of Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Mallyas
conduct who left country after defaulting on loans
It is a ten membered Committee, headed by Dr. Karan Singh
Green tax
Commercial Vehicles entering Delhi have to pay tax
3/19
Housing for All scheme
Financial assistance of 1.3 lakhs will be provided to homeless
families for construction of pucca houses
Beneficiaries will be entitled to 90 days of unskilled labour under
Mgnrega
Target to build 2.95 crore houses is 2022- Indias 75th year of
independence
Cost of unit shared between Central and state govt. Is 60:40 in plain
regions and 90:10 in the north east and the hilly regions
OCI cards
Overseas citizen of India and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) cards
were merged last year
No visa will be required to enter India, OCI cards will be enough, but
passport is necessary.
OCI cards will be equipped with high security which cannot be
tampered
Farmer suicides
25,000 crore allocated to agricultural sector in Maharashtra
Farmers distress and suicides caused the Govt of Maharashtra to
take this step.
Controversy about this event is there because some experts believe that it
will damage the topography of the area and thus has environmental concern.
Raisina Dialogue
Hosted by ministry of External Affairs in Delhi
4/19
India Maldives: Security
India Maldives finalising pact to fight cross border terrorism + citizens joining
terror organisations such as ISIS
Sundarbans Maithri
Exercise drill between India and Bangladesh.
Aims to bring more synergy in border management
First ever joint exercise in the riverine borders of sundarbans.
SAARC :
Ministerial Meeting held on March 17 in Nepal
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is an economic and geo-
political grouping of 8 countries of South Asia or Indian Subcontinent.
It has India + 7 neighbours =
Pak+Nepal+SL+Bhutan+Afghanistan+Bangladesh+Maldives
SAARC nations comprise 3% of the worlds area and contain 21% of global
population
Happening Haryana:
Global Investors Summit, 2 day summit in Gurgaon to attract foreign investment by Govt of Haryana
2016
World Humanitarian
Summit To be held in Istanbul in May.
Asias largest Tulip Garden This has been opened up for Tourists; It is in Srinagar ; It is located on foothills of
Zabarwan Range
5/19
BRICS 2016
8th summit, Venue : Goa, India, Theme:Building responsive, inclusive and
collective solutions for the grouping
7th summit: Ufa, Russia, 2015
A biennial exhibition
National awards 2016 Special jury award: Kalki Koechlin for her role in Margarita with a Straw
FDI in Ecommerce
Govt allowed 100% FDI in Ecommerce retailing
E Commerce marketplace may provide services like warehousing,logistics,
order fulfilment,call centre, payment collection
Such entities will not exercise ownership of the inventory
eBiz
It is a government portal to improve ease of doing business in India.
It is governments portal on G2B = Government to Business
6/19
Freedom 251
It is a Smartphone priced at Rs.251. Came in news because it is the worlds
cheapest smartphone.
Anchor banks
Public sector banks that will lead consolidation process. Mainly it would be
done by large banks like SBI,Bank of Baroda,PNB,etc.
Mahila e-Haat
Is an e-portal for women entrepreneurs
Pulse production
Pulse output has increased by 2.61% in the last four decades and is stable
around 18 million tonnes since 2010.
Pulses has surpassed the production of rice, wheat and cereals together
In 2013-2014, pulse production touched all time high 19.78 million tonnes.
Indian institute of Pulses Research is developing transgenic pigeonpea
and chickpea for resistance against Gram Pod Borer, it will help pulse
output further.
Phamb
A portal to authenticate the pashmina genuineness
Phamb is originally an unprocessed wool extracted from chiru
Corex
Cough syrup made by Pfizer;
Among 335 drugs Banned by Ministry of Health on March 10
CCI(Competition
Commission of India) Is a statutory body responsible for enforcing the competition act 2002
7/19
NABARD(National Bank for
Agriculture and Rural Looks after the development of the cottage and other rural industries.
Development)
In news because it has issued tax free bonds
Safeguard duty
a trade remedy recognised by the World Trade Organisation
temporary measure to counter the adverse impact caused to the domestic
industry due to a sudden and unforeseen surge in (low-priced) imports of the
item
Cabotage rules
Cabotage is transportation of good and people along the coast
Transhipment is offloading from one ship to another for domestic or abroad
Govt. has eased cabotage rules to encourage transhipment
This will enable foreign vessels bring goods at any of the Indian ports which
are meant to be shipped to other destinations
Cairn UK Tax Department has asked for Rs. 10,000 crore tax + 18,800 Interest.
MESSENGER
NASAs MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and
Ranging) spacecraft, the first space mission designed to orbit Mercury.
In the news because large amounts of carbon found which causes the planet to be
darker
IRNSS-1F
Sixth satellite of ISRO for independent navigational system put into orbit.
The satellite was put in space by PSLV-C32 rocket
IRNSS is designed to provide accurate position information service to users in
India.
Ideonella sakaiensis
201-F6 A bacterium which biodegrades PET(polyethylene terephthalate) identified by
Japanese researchers.
The bacterium degrades PET using two enzymes in sequence
PET is a menace in the world known as polluting plastic because it does not
decompose or degrades
8/19
Dornier-228 aircraft
Hindustan Aeronautics ltd. will now manufacture the aircraft for Civil purposes
HAl has previously manufactured Do-228s under the licence from a Swiss OEM,
RUAG, which are now being used in Air force, Navy and the Coast Guard. (OEM-
original equipment manufacture)
Magnetic chips
Magnetic chips to enhance energy efficiency of computers
High computing power with less requirement of energy.
Exomars 2016
A probe to identify presence of methane on the planet Mars.
Methane is produced by microbes called methanogens that became extinct or still
surviving
Launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on March 14, 2016
AWACS(Airborne
Early warning and It is advanced radar mounted on an aircraft to give 360 degree coverage to detect
control system) incoming aircraft and missiles at long ranges.
Zika Virus
Got its name from Zika forest Uganda
Transmitted by mosquitos
El -Nino
Heating of water in central eastern region of the equatorial pacific with average rise
in temperature of 0.5 degrees celsius
Meteorologists say 2016 will be normal monsoon (89cms of rainfall)
2015 was fourth time that El-Nino conditions were there in 100 years for more than
successive 2 years
Microbeads
Small plastic pieces measuring less than 1mm in size made of PE,PP, PET, PMMA
and nylon
National Green Tribunal wants to ban these microplastics which are now packed in
cosmetic products as exfoliating agents
Water pollution increases, they are non biodegradable, ingested by marine
organisms, fish and marine mammals
9/19
Antimicrobial Resistance of a microbe to an antimicrobial medication that used to be effective in treating
resistance (AMR) or preventing an infection caused by that microbe.
Blood test to test TB A set of 16 genes used as biomarkers to check if the individual has TB or not
infection
Environment
Sri Venkateswara
National Park Tirupati wildlife division has made an action action plan to tackle forest fire and
tackling smuggling of RED SANDERS.
The national park is part of a biosphere reserve, Seshachalam Hills, declared in
2010.
Sri Venkateswara National Park is located in Cuddapah and Chittoor district of
Andhra Pradesh)
There are 103 National parks currently and 18 Biosphere reserves.
(Red Sanders is another name for red sandalwood, the tree is valued for its rich red colour
wood, the wood is not aromatic)
Biosphere reserves 20 names added to the UNESCOs Biosphere Reserve List at a meeting in Lima
10/19
New Shark and Ray
species found 13 species Sharks and Rays have been found in Indian waters
They have been bar coded,
DNA barcoding was successfully used for accurate identification of chondrichthyans
which included the chimaeras, sharks, rays, and skates in the Indian waters
Recently, the government had imposed a ban on the export of shark fins
Borneo is third largest island and is shared between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei
Sumatran rhino is
Smallest rhino
Only asian rhino with 2 horns
Covered with long hair
Sports
Asia Cup
India won Asia Cup defeating Bangladesh;India has won Asia Cup for record 6th Time
Asia cup started in 1983 ; It is a mens One day International and Twenty20 International
tournament in Cricket
Ottapondal
Ottapondal is a rowing competition , held in Canoli Canal in Kozhikode
Aim to attract official attention to the condition of the canal (Canoli Canal)
Morarji Desai
120th Birth Anniversary celebrated on 29th February
First Non Congress Prime Minister of India
First Prime Minister to resign from office.
11/19
P K Thungon
Former Union Minister, and former Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh
Sentenced to prison by a CBI Court for corruption
Justice H L Dattu
Formerly Chief Justice of India
Appointed Chairman of National Human Right Commission.
Famous for ruling bail is the rule and jail is an exception in 2G Spectrum
case
He replaced K G Balakrishnan who retired in 2015
C V Wigneswaran
Chief Minister of Sri Lankas Northern Province
Asked India recently to ensure that spirit of the 13th Amendment is retained
in new Constitution
13th Amendment to Sri Lankas Constitution refers to federal features
13th Amendment was the outcome of 1987 India Sri Lanka Accord
R K Pachauri
TERI(The energy and resource institute) executive vice chairman
Charge sheeted in sexual harassment case.
John Varghese
Appointed as the principal of St Stephens college
Irom sharmila
Manipur rights activist who is on indefinite strike for last 15 years demanding
the repeal of Armed force special power act(AFSPA) in Manipur
P A Sangma
Former speaker of Lok Sabha, and former CM of Meghalaya, died recently
Kalabhavan Mani
Malayalam film actor and singer died recently
Started career as mimicry artist
Harsha Chawda
Indias First test tube baby, born in 1986
In news because she is now a mother herself and has given birth to a baby
boy
Ray Tomlinson
US software programmer who invented Email, died recently
12/19
Sher Bahadur Deuba
Elected as the new President of Nepal succeeding late Premier Sushil
koirala
He was Prime Minister 3 times earlier
M.S. Subbulakshmi
A carnatic music legend who performed at UN General Assembly hall in
1966
Golden jubilee of the concert on March 26 will be performed by M.Ss great
grand daughters.
Helen Clarke
Is the Chief of United Nations Development Program(UNDP).
In news as she said that marital rape should be made criminal offense.
Rajat Gupta
Indian born Goldman Sachs director released after completing his two year
term in prison.
He was imprisoned for insider trading
Babak Zanjani
Billionaire from Iran. Has been sentenced to death for corruption
George Martin
Known as the Fifth beatle is a legendary British music producer
He helped turn Beatles into best selling band in history, died at age of 90
Htin Kyaw First elected President of Myanmar in five decades ; Belongs to Suu Kyis National
League for Democracy ( NLD ) , who won Elections in November 2015
Resigned because of a scam in Bangladesh Central Bank ; Governor did not inform
the government ; Loss due to scam = 80 million USD
13/19
Ustad Ali Ahmed Hussain
Khan Eminent Shehnai player, dies at 77 due to kidney related problems
Sangeet Natak Academy award in 2009 for contribution to Hindustani
instrumental music
Banga bhushan award by West Bengal government in 2012
Hinda Bharwad
Animal rights activist committed suicide
He wanted that cow be declared the national animal
Shreehari Aney
Maharashtras Advocate General, resigned from the post after sharp
disapproval from the opposition
He demanded separate statehood for Marathwada in Maharashtra
Pandit Shambhu Nath Sitar player Father of Indian Classical music died
Sopori
Father of well known Santoor maestro Bhajan Sopori
Command over classical and Sufiana music shown in instrumental and vocal
performances
14/19
Muttrupulliya
Is a Sri Lankan docu-drama portrays life of Tamil ethnic population in Sri Lanka after the
war
It was banned by CBFC, Chennai Appellate Tribunal has revoked the ban
Peter rabbit
It became the first character from childrens literature to appear on British coinage.
It was created by Beatrix Potter
Flamenco
India A collaborative theatrical show between India and Spain
To mark the 60 years of diplomatic ties
Show will be hosted at Delhi
Places in News
Kondane Caves
Recently 40 rock paintings discovered in Kondane caves in Raigarh district in
Maharashtra.
It also features Buddhist architecture such as Chaitya(prayer hall) and monastery.
It will provide all weather road connectivity between Srinagar and Leh-Ladakh
region.
Kamarajar Port
One of few ports in south which has the capacity to handle 1.5 million tonnes of
LPG Gas.
It will get in more cargo because of government initiative of providing LPG
connection to BPL(below Poverty Line) family
Chennai
Recently Indias First Rail Auto Hub took place here.
Bar Coding on Railway tickets introduced by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu
15/19
Bombay House
First in heritage building in India to get platinum rating by Indian Green Building
Council(IGBC)
Based on site & facility management,water efficiency, energy efficiency, health
and comfort and innovation
It is a TATA groups headquarters
Patratu, Jharkhand
In news because Jharkhand government is setting up a film city there
Patratu is in Ramgarh District
Chandrakhani Pass
In the news because eight students were rescued who were stuck in a cave for
three days due to snowfall and bad weather.
Located in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh.
Connects via trekking route between Naggar and Malana.
Kullu valley lies between Lower Himalayan, Pir Panjal and the Great Himalayan
range.
Noyyalai Nokki
An initiative by Noyyal River Restoration Federation to clean the river. It Means
Towards Noyyal ,
Noyyal originates from the Western Ghats and passes through four districts of
Tamil Nadu before joining in the Cauvery river
IG International Airport
Won the SKYTRAX award Best airport staff in Asia and Central Asia
At a ceremony in Cologne, Germany
Chitradurga
DRDO to open a Aeronautical Test Range(ATR)
Chitradurga is near Bengaluru
Multi agency mega complex will also house facilities of BARC, ISRO, IISc
Palakkad Gap
Ecosystem A 45 Kms gap in the western ghats between Coimbatore in TN and Palakkad in
Kerala
Facing environmental destruction due to mining and deforestation
Initiatives by Kerala Biodiversity Board have resulted nothing
Brussels attack
34 killed at Zaventem airport by attack claimed by Islamic State
16/19
Miscellaneous
Concept One
Worlds first electric supercar ;
Created by Croatias inventor Mate Rimac
Kumki
A name for trained elephants in Kerala
Kumkis are used this time of a year to scare away other wild mammals who come near
human settlements
Satnam
community Found in Chhattisgarh state of India.
Satnam means truth, the teachings and philosophy are similar to Hinduism and
Buddhism.
Satnams believe in the name of the god and do not worship idols.
CAR 21G
Abbreviation of Civil Aviation Requirement required from the Directorate General of
Civil Aviation for the manufacturing of aircrafts for civil uses.
Pivot to Asia
US policy to increase its influence in Asia mainly to counter China
Boko Haram
Terrorist organization of Nigeria
In news because its violence has caused food crisis and the organization itself is fearing
the heat of it.
All women
operated and Longest by Air india
supported flight
From New Delhi to San Francisco
ICGS Arnwesh
commissioned Fast vehicle vessel of Indian coast guard flagged off from Vishakhapatnam
It main armament comprises 40/60 bofors gun
17/19
Rajasthans first RajNET a wide area network connecting state capital with all the panchayats
IT day
Built as a multi mode connectivity network
Theme:promotion of IT startups
Iron Fist Exercise of Indian Air Force. First held in 2013; Again being held in 2016
Tobacco New regulations require that 85% of the front and back cover of cigarette packets should have
Pictorial anti cancer warnings; Parliamentary Panel is now asking that it should be 50% only as it will be
Warnings too harsh on tobacco industry
Oscars
Best Picture
Spotlight
Direction
The Revenant, Alejandro G. Irritu
Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio,The Revenant
Actress
Brie Larson,Room
Supporting Actor
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Supporting Actress
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Copyright @ForumIAS.com
18/19