Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicle Agreement

Union Cabinet meet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has
approved the signing of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN)
Motor Vehicle Agreement.

**The agreement which is similar to the SAARC Motor Vehicle Agreement
(MVA) seeks to regulate the vehicular traffic of passenger, personal
and cargo amongst BBIN countries.

**The agreement will be signed on 15th June 2015 at the Transport
Minister's meeting in Thimpu, Bhutan.

Key Facts

**BBIN agreement aims to promote safe, environmentally sound and
economical efficient road transport in the sub-region of BBIN.

**It also seeks to help each member country to create an institutional
mechanism for regional integration.

**BBIN agreement will benefit member nations for mutual cross border
movement of passenger and goods for overall economic development of
the region. For implementation of this agreement each signatory member
will bear its own costs.

Background

**During the 18th SAARC Summit held in Kathmandu, Nepal SAARC MVA was
not able to signed due to reservations of Pakistan.

**However, the SAARC declaration at the 18th Summit had encouraged
Member States to initiate regional and sub-regional measures to
enhance connectivity.

**In line with this declaration, BBIN Motor Vehicle Agreement was
pursued among four SAARC members.

**Draft of this agreement was finalized in February 2015 in the
meeting of Secretaries of Transport of the BBIN countries which was
organized by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highway (MoRTH).

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aircraft carrier INS Vikrant

India's first indigenously-built largest aircraft carrier INS Vikrant
was successfully undocked at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) in Cochin
district of Kerala.

The ship will undergo a series of fitment and trial processes along
with series of static and dynamic trials before inducting it into the
Indian Navy in end-2018. With successful completion of construction of
INS Vikrant India joins elite group of four nations in the world viz
United States, Russia, United Kingdom and France that are capable of
designing and constructing aircraft carriers.

The carrier was officially launched in August 2013 after its first
phase of construction was completed. It was first left its dry dock
in December 2011. Facts about INS Vikrant It name Vikrant, means
"courageous" in Sanskrit or "bold" in Hindi, The carrier has a length
of over 260 metres and breadth of 60 metres.

It weighs around 40,000 tonne. It has two take-off runways and a
landing strip with three arrester wires having short-take off but
arrested recovery (STOBAR) system. On completion it will carry up to
36 fixed-wing jets, including MiG-29 K and indigenous Light Combat
Aircraft (LCA) Tejas. It will additionally carry ten helicopters such
as Kamov Ka-31s, Westland Sea Kings, or indigenously-built Dhruvs.

The basic design of the carrier is done by Indian Navy's Directorate
of Naval Design and was developed into detailed design by the design
team of CSL. After induction into Indian Navy its primary role will
only be to defend the naval fleet and will be positioned in the Indian
Ocean region where the world's commercial and economic interests
conflate.

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Director of CSIR

Dr. Srivari Chandrasekhar was appointed Director of CSIR-Indian
Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) a premier research institute
of Union Government based in Hyderabad, Telangana.

He was named appointed to the top post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
who is ex-officio Chairman of Council of Scientific and Industrial
Research (CSIR) functioning under Union Ministry of Science and
Technology. Dr. Chandrasekhar had joined IICT as a Junior Research
Fellow in 1986.

He was promoted to the level of Chief Scientist in 2010. Since 2010 he
is leading Natural Products Chemistry, one of the largest groups at
the IICT.

He has made significant contributions in diverse areas of organic
chemistry with a special emphasis total synthesis of biologically
active natural products, on chiral chemistry and pharmaceutical
products.

Dr. Chandrasekhar He also has developed technologies for synthesis of
latest anti-tumor and abortive drug mesoprostol, anti-tuberculosis
drug bedaquiline and drug for treatment of schizophrenia asenapine
etc. Apart from above contributions, he also has more than 250
publications with 5,000 citations to his credit.

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Mahendra Singh Dhoni

भारतीय वनडे क्रिकेट टीम के कप्तान महेंद्र सिंह धोनी फोर्ब्स मैगजीन की
दुनिया के सबसे अमीर 100 खिलाड़ियों की सूची में शामिल अकेले भारतीय हैं
जबकि अमेरिकी मुक्केबाज फ्लायड मेवेदर शीर्ष पर हैं और इस सूची में
गोल्फर टाइगर वुड्स, टेनिस स्टार रोजर फेडरर और फुटबालर क्रिस्टियानो
रोनाल्डो के भी नाम हैं ।

Cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni is among Forbes magazine's 100
highest-paid athletes in the world, the only Indian sportsman on the
list that has been topped again by American boxer Floyd Mayweather and
includes golfer Tiger Woods, tennis star Roger Federer and Portuguese
soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo.

दुनिया के सबसे रईस खिलाड़ियों की सूची में धोनी 23वें स्थान पर हैं ।
पिछले साल उनकी रैंकिंग 22वीं थी ।

Dhoni has been ranked 23rd on the Forbes list of The World's
Highest-Paid Athletes 2015, dropping a notch from his ranking of 22
last year.

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Current Affairs Questions and Answers

Current Affairs Questions and Answers

Q1. According to the Times Higher Education Asia University Ranking
2015, which university/institute has topped the list?

A. Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
B. University of Tokyo
C. National University of Singapore
D. University of Hong Kong

ANSWER: B. University of Tokyo

Q2. According to the Times Higher Education Asia University Ranking
2015, how many Indian universities/institutes have secured a position
in the top 100 list?

A. One
B. Five
C. Nine
D. Fifteen

ANSWER: C. Nine

Q3. Name the Sri Lankan cricketer who has become a deputy minister in
Sri Lankan government?

A. Sanath Jayasuriya
B. Arvind De Silva
C. Mahela Jayawardhane
D. Arjun Ranatunga

ANSWER: A. Sanath Jayasuriya

Q4. Which state government has decided on 10th June'15 to link 164
services with online system to provide hassle free and transparent
services to people?

A. Delhi
B. Punjab
C. Jammu & Kashmir
D. Haryana

ANSWER: D. Haryana

Q5. According to World Bank sources, the top five countries with the
biggest investment commitments in 2014 are __________.

A. Japan, Russia, Indonesia, China and India
B. Brazil, Turkey, Peru, Colombia and India
C. Brazil, Turkey, China, Canada and India.
D. China, United States, Peru, Colombia and India

ANSWER: B. Brazil, Turkey, Peru, Colombia and India

Q6. What percent of gross domestic product, Current Account Deficit
(CAD) shrinks in the January-March quarter of 2014-15?

A. 0.1%
B. 1.2%
C. 0.2%
D. 2.3%

ANSWER: C. 0.2%

Q7. In June 2015, World Health Organisation has declared India free of
which infection?

A. Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus
B. HIV/AIDS
C. Polio
D. Hepatitis A

ANSWER: A. Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus

Q8. Which company got contract for the construction and operation of
the proposed Vizhinjam container trans-shipment port on PPP model in
Kerala on 10th June'15?

A. Reliance
B. Tata Constructions
C. Adani Ports
D. L & T

ANSWER: C. Adani Ports

Q9. On 10th June'15, the Cabinet has approved signing of the
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicle Agreement for
the Regulation of ________.

A. Cargo Vehicular Traffic
B. Passenger and Cargo Vehicular Traffic
C. Army Operations and Cargo Vehicular Traffic
D. Passenger, Personal and Cargo Vehicular Traffic

ANSWER: D. Passenger, Personal and Cargo Vehicular Traffic

Q10. With which bank Kochi Metro ties up to make significant revenues
from ticket sales?

A. SBI Bank
B. Axis Bank
C. ICIC Bank
D. HDFC Bank

ANSWER: B. Axis Bank

Q11. Who has been appointed as the new Law Minister of Delhi
Government after the removal of Jitendra Tomar over fake degree
allegations?

A. Kapil Mishra
B. Kumar Vishwas
C. Anand Kumar
D. Gopal Rai

ANSWER: A. Kapil Mishra

Q12. Which organisation has been awarded with the Space Pioneer Award
for the year 2015 during the 34th Annual International Space
Development Conference held at Toronto?

A. NASA
B. DRDO
C. ISRO
D. ESA

ANSWER: C. ISRO

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Number of Players in Sports

Number of Players in Sports
======================
Sports == Number of Players

==========================

Baseball == 9

Rugby football == 15

Polo == 4

Water Polo == 7

Kho Kho == 9

Kabaddi == 7

Hockey == 11

Football (Soccer) == 11

Cricket == 11

Netball == 7

Volleyball == 6

Badminton == 1 or 2 (Singles & Doubles respectively)

Tennis == 1 or 2 (Singles & Doubles respectively)

Table Tennis == 1 or 2 (Singles & Doubles respectively)

Basketball == 5

Gymnastic == Several individuals compete simultaneously

Billiards/Snooker == 1

Boxing == 1

Chess == 1

Bridge == 2

Croquet == 13 or 15

Golf == Several individuals compete simultaneously

Lacrosse == 12

Sports in India

Sports in India
============

The history of sports in India is very ancient and dates back to the
Vedic era. It is more likely that many of today's Olympic disciplines
are advanced versions of games of strength and speed that flourished
in ancient India. Chess, wrestling, polo, archery and hockey (possibly
a fall-out from polo) are some of the games believed to have
originated in India.

Following are the some of games played in India

Gilli-Danda: It is a sport played using one small stick called 'gilli'
and one long stick called 'danda' like cricket with ball being
replaced by Gilli. This games is generally played in villages of
Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana etc
states of India.

Kancha: It is played using marbles called 'kancha' in India in cities
as well as in villages also. The festival of 'Makar Sankranti' is
marked with competitions of this sport in various competitions.

Badminton: Badminton is a very popular sport in India. Badminton
is supposed to have originated in India 2000 years ago.

Bandy: India is having a Bandy team and Bandy Federation of
India takes care of it. It's headquarters are in Himachal Pradesh.
Bandy is generally played in northern India where there is
generally snow and ice.

Boxing: Boxing is not so populated game in India. During the 2008
Beijing Olympics, Vijender Kumar won a bronze medal in the
middleweight boxing category and Akhil Kumar and Jitender
Kumar qualified for the quarterfinals.

Cricket: Cricket is the most popular sport in India. India won the
1983 Cricket World Cup under Kapil Dev and finished as runner-
up in the 2003 World Cup under Sourav Ganguly.

Cycling: This history of cycling in India dates back to 1938. Cycling
Federation of India takes care of the sport.

Golf: Golf is an emerging sport in India. It is more popular in
wealthier classes than the middle class and poor class peoples in
India. There are numerous golf courses all over India. There is an
Golf Tour. India's men's golf team won silver at the 2006 Asian
Games.

Ice hockey: Ice hockey in India is mainly played in the Himalayan
region of Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir. In winter season the
game is extremely popular and there are more than 25 clubs and
villages that play the sport. However, due to shortage of artificial
freezing, the game is limited to cold winter months of December,
January and February which facilitate natural freezing of lakes and
ponds.

Kayaking: Indian flat kayakers are considered emerging
powerhouse in the Asian circuit. Aside from professional flat water
kayaking, there is very limited recreational kayaking. Indian
tourists consider kayaking a one-time activity and not a sport to be
pursued.

Kabaddi : Kabaddi sport basically originated in India. It is one of
the most popular sport in India played mostly in villages. India has
taken part in four Asian games Kabaddi and won gold in all four of
them.

Lawn tennis: Tennis is popular among Indian in urban areas.
However, India's fortunes in the Grand Slams singles have been
unimpressive although Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati have
won may Men's Doubles and Mixed Doubles Grand Slam titles.

Mountain biking : Mountain biking is getting popular in India also.
From the last four years, Himachal MTB has been organised
regularly by HASTPA, and NGO. It is attended by a number of
national and international participants, such as Indian Force,
Indian Air Army, ITBP and a number of young and energetic MTB
individual riders from cities like Bangalore, Pune, Chandigarh and
Delhi.

Ruby: Like other sports founded in England and introduced during
the British Raj such as cricket, rugby union has a long history in
India. The first recorded match was played on Christmas day
1872, at CFC in Calcutta. Although low in profile as compared to
cricket or field hockey, it is growing as some Indian sporting clubs
are beginning to embrace the game.

Throwball: Throwball is also gaining popularity in India as a
competitive sport and Indian authorities of the game was
instrumental in organizing Asian level and later, world level
association for the sport. The game is popularly played in schools,
clubs, colleges throughout Asian countries such as India, Korea,
Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Pakistan and Nepal.

Voolleyball: Volleyball is a sport played all over India, both in urban
as well as rural India. It is a popular recreation sport. Indian ranked
5th in Asia and 27th in the world. Currently, an important problem
for the sport is the lack of sponsors.