APRIL 2016 CURRENT AFFAIRS ( PART-3)

Essential IAS Prelims Books List

• The Group of 7 (G-7) countries’ foreign ministers has issued Hiroshima Declaration that calls for a world without nuclear weapons. G7 countries include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and US.
• The third phase of Union Health Ministry’s universal vaccination programme Mission Indradhanush began on 7 April, 2016. Under it, children will be vaccinated against seven preventable diseases. Mission Indradhanush depicts 7 colours of the rainbow which aims to cover all those children by 2020 who are either unvaccinated, or are partially vaccinated against 7 vaccine preventable diseases. The diseases include diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis B.
• Retired Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court Justice Permod Kohli was sworn in as the Chairman of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). He succeeded Justice Syed Rafat Alam and will have tenure of 5 years with effect from the date of assumption of charge of the post or till attaining the age of 68 years, whichever is earlier.
• The Union Government has approved country’s first Metrino Pod Project i.e. personal rapid transit (PRT) network for Gurgaon, Haryana. It will be completely private project. A PRT network is made up of small automated vehicles (dubbed as pod) running at close intervals on a guideway with docking stations for passengers to get on and get off. The pod can accommodate up to five people.
• The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development has launched the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) portal in New Delhi. It was launched by Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani as part of Union Government’s ambitious Digital India campaign.
• Pakistan and China have launched a joint bilateral air force exercise named Shaheen (Eagle) 5 in Pakistan. The first edition of Shaheen drill was held in Pakistan in March 2011.
• NASA’s Kepler spacecraft has gone into emergency mode some 75 million miles from Earth. Kepler spacecraft hunts for Earth-like planets orbiting other stars. It was launched in March 2009. Since its launch, the mission has been incredibly successful and has led to finding of more than 1,000 alien planets of which half are exoplanets to be ever discovered.
• Investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova of Azerbaijan has been chosen for the prestigious 2016 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.
• The World Bank has unveiled an ambitious Climate Change Action Plan to accelerate efforts to tackle climate change over the next five years i.e. by 2020. It seeks to help developing countries to deliver their targets set in the national climate plans submitted for the historic climate agreement reached at COP21 in Paris in December 2015.
• The first-ever North East-ASEAN Business Summit kicked off in Imphal, Manipur with the focus on road connectivity, trade and tourism. The Summit aims at attracting investment from both domestic and foreign firms to the North-Eastern states to increase productivity and generate employment in the region.

April 2016 Current Affairs ( PART-2)                      April 2016 Current Affairs ( PART-4)