1. Indian Patent Office approves patent for hepatitis C drug Sovaldi
a) Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademark approved the patent of an American pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences for the blockbuster Hepatitis C drug Sofosbuvir (brand name Sovaldi) in India.
b) Priced at $1000 a pill in the US, the drug was rejected by the patent authority stating that the formulation has only a minor change compared to the previous version of the drug.
c) Gilead, in a statement, welcomed the move, but said it will have no impact on availability of the compound, which is already licensed to 11 generic manufacturers in India for distribution in 101 developing countries.
d) Patents assure the recovery of investments in research (by the drug manufacturer) during the patent term and the profits can be used for development of new medicines.
2. Argentina adopts Europe’s Social Fridge scheme
a) Argentina recently adopted Europe’s Social Fridge Scheme, which came in light during the economic crisis in Europe.
b) It refers to the practice of leaving food in outdoor “social fridges” for those who need it. The fridges are placed on the sidewalk outside restaurants.
c) Argentina is currently facing a huge inflation of about 40%. Due to this, about 1.4 million citizens of the country have already fallen below the poverty line in the last few months.
d) Around 1,40,000 people have lost their jobs due to a recent uplift in foreign trade and currency restrictions, rise in utility prices, etc. Presently, around 57 social fridges operate throughout the country to feed the needy and poor people.
3. Malaria vaccine PfSPZ can provide protection for over a year
a) An new experimental vaccine known as the PfSPZ Vaccine, which was developed and produced by Sanaria Inc., of Rockville, Maryland, induced an immune response that could last between five months to one year.
b) Clinical evaluation of the vaccine was carried out at the University of Maryland where volunteers during Phase I trial were exposed to a malaria causing parasite – Plasmodium falciparum.
c) The PfSPZ Vaccine is composed of live, but weakened P falciparum sporozoites – the early developmental form of the parasite.
d) The vaccine was well tolerated among the participants with 55% people having protection against malaria for more than a year.
4. Indian Navy decommissions fighter planes Sea Harriers
a) Indian navy has decommissioned its fleet of Sea Harriers. These planes will be replaced by new generation MIG-29 K fighters.
b) Sea Harriers are naval Short-Vertical Take-Off and Landing Jet Fighters that are used for both reconnaissance and strike.They were inducted in Indian Navy in 1983 and have played a vital role in various naval operations since then.
c) Sea Harriers were designed and manufactured by British Aerospace. While in the service of Indian Navy, Sea Harriers operated from both INS Vikrant and INS Viraat aircraft carriers and participated in operations including Vijay and Parakram, among others.
5. World’s first holographic flexible smartphone HoloFlex unveiled
a) HoloFlex, world’s first holographic flexible smartphone, was recently launched by a group of researchers of Human Media lab at Queen’s University.
b) HoloFlex can render 3D images with motion parallax and stereoscopy to multiple simultaneous users without head tracking or glasses.
c) A 1920×1080 full high-definition Flexible Organic Light Emitting Diode touchscreen display is made available in this device. It produces 160 x 104 resolution image that allows users to inspect a 3D object from any angle simply by rotating the phone.
d) The phone has bend sensors which allows users to bend the phone as a means of moving objects along the z-axis of the display.
e) Images are rendered into 12-pixel wide circular blocks rendering the full view of the 3D object from a particular viewpoint.
6. Revathi Balakrishnan named 2016 Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year
a) Indian American elementary teacher Revathi Balakrishnan has been honoured as the 2016 Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year by US President Barack Obama.
b) She was acclaimed for her remarkable work in the field of education at Patsy Sommer Elementary School in Texas.
c) She is originally from Chennai and attributes her success to her love of teaching.
d) With this honour, she will represent Texas in the National Teacher of the Year competition.
7. SC strikes down TRAI’s call drop rule; telecos rejoice
a) The regulations imposed on telecom companies by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) were recently quashed by the Supreme Court. These regulations made it mandatory for telecom companies to compensate subscribers for call drops from January 2016.
b) TRAI had agreed reconsidering this regulation on telecom companies if they agreed to compensate call drops with equal number of free calls to consumers without pre-conditions. But, SC struck down this regulation calling it as arbitrary, unreasonable and non-transparent.
8. Bicycle highway between Taj & Lion safari approved
a) To encourage eco-tourism, the Uttar Pradesh government has approved the development of a 197-km long bicycle highway from Agra to the lion safari in Etawah.
b) The highway will avoid the Agra-Etawah main road, but will cover various historical and tourism centres like Raja Bhoj ki Haveli, Bateshwar Nath Temple, Mela Kothi Jarar, Naugava ka Quila and other rural areas to reach the lion safari.
c) Additionally, the state Cabinet has also approved construction of an international cricket stadium in Saifai and implementation of the Prime Minister Crop Insurance scheme from the 2016 Kharif season.
9. World’s oldest ground edge stone axe found in Australia
a) Australian scientists have recently discovered a piece of the world’s oldest stone axe in the remote Kimberley region of western Australia.
b) This fragment is of a size of a thumbnail and dates back to Stone age period of 45,000 to 49,000 years ago.
c) This handle attached axe might have been useful in making spears and chopping down or taking bark of the trees. The axe had been shaped from basalt and then polished by grinding it on another rock to make it smooth.
10. England women’s cricket captain Charlotte Edwards retires
a) The only player to captain England in 200 internationals, Charlotte Edwards announced her retirement after a 20-year career.
b) She debuted in 1995 at the age of 16 and played as a top order batswoman.
c) She became the first female cricketer to score 2000 runs in T20 Internationals and first player (male or female) to have a record of 2500 runs in T20 Internationals. She also won the World T20, the World Cup and the Ashes five times for England.
d) Edwards will continue to play at the domestic level, including the upcoming Women’s Super League.
11. Underwater vigil system launched at Visakhapatnam
a) The Indian Navy has has launched an underwater vigil system at the Naval dockyard in Visakhapatnam. This system is known as integrated underwater harbour defence and surveillance system (IUHDSS) and mine warfare data centre.
b) Vice Admiral HCS Bisht, AVSM flag Officer Commanding-in Chief, Eastern Naval Command inaugurated this system.
c) This multi-sensor system will help the Navy to detect, identify, track and generating warnings for all types of surface and underwater threats to Visakhapatnam harbour.
d) The mine warfare data centre will help in collecting, analysing and classifying data collected by mine hunting ships of Indian Navy. The harbour defence system will function under the control of the Naval Officer-in-Charge (Andhra Pradesh), Commodore Sanjiv Issar.
12. Sanjay Mitra committee instituted to prepare policy for taxi operators
a) Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has formed a three-member committee headed by Union Road Transport Secretary Sanjay Mitra to frame policy regarding diesel cabs. Supreme Court has banned diesel-operated taxis in New Delhi.
b) As Supreme Court refused to increase the deadline (30 April) for conversion of diesel taxis into CNG ones, a large number of diesel taxi drivers lost their wage.
13. India to develop regional connectivity projects worth $5 billion in South Asia
a) India is looking to develop a regional connectivity project worth $5 billion in South Asia.
b) Cooperating with Bangladesh,Nepal and Bhutan India is planning to establish integrated Customs Ports (ICPs) and improved Land Customs Stations (LCS) at key border points with these three countries. This move will facilitate the movement of goods and people within the sub region.
c) India’s Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das made these announcements at the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) 2025 workshop.
d) India is also working on development of two priority road corridor projects. The first corridor among these will connect India with Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan through the “chicken neck” area of North Bengal, the second road corridor will establish India-Myanmar connectivity in Manipur.
14. Jamaat-e-Islami chief Nizami hanged for war crimes
a) Bangladesh government hanged Jamaat-e-Islami chief Motiur Rahman Nizami for the crimes he committed during the nation’s war of independence from Pakistan in 1971.
b) He was hanged for orchestrating the abduction and killings of Bengali intellectuals, who were fighting for freedom. He had also assisted Pakistani soldiers in mass killings, murders, rapes, and other heinous crimes in Santhia.
c) Other leaders of his party, namely Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, Mohammad Kamaruzzaman and Abdur Quader Molla have already been hanged by the Bangladesh government for their war crimes.
15. Madrid Masters Tennis Championship ends
a) Madrid Masters Tennis Championship was played on outdoor courts at the Park Manzanares in Madrid, Spain. Following is the list of players who bagged medals this year:
b) Men Singles: Novak Djokovic
c) Men’s Doubles: Jean Julien Rojer & Horia Tecau
d) Women Singles: Simona Halep
e) Women’s Doubles: Caroline Garcia & Kristina Mladenovic
16. Amazon launches online video service
a) A new service which allows users to upload videos and earn royalties has been started by online retailer giant Amazon.
b) The service is called ‘Amazon Video Direct’ using which individuals can rent or sell their videos, view free with ads or package them together and offer as an add-on subscription.
c) This move is to compete against Youtube’s ‘Youtube Red’, which is a free, ad-supported service. Users of Amazon’s Video Direct can make their videos available in United States, Germany, Austria, the United Kingdom and Japan.
17. NPPA fixes ceiling price of 54 drug formulations
a) Ceiling price of 54 drugs was fixed by drug pricing regulator National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA). These drugs are used for the treatment of cancer, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, bacterial infections & hypertension.
b) Prices of these drugs have been slashed upto 55% in order to make them affordable. These 54 drugs were part of the revised National List of Essential Medicines, 2015.
c) In urban regions, 75% of out-of-pocket expenditure is on medicines, whereas in rural India it is 80%. Thus, the move has been welcomed by many across India. Government has also started AMRIT (Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment) programme to provide cancer drugs to patients at a heavily discounted price. Similarly, the Department of Pharmaceuticals started Jan Aushadhi stores to sell these medicines at a cheaper prices.
18. Renowned cricket commentator Tony Cozier passes away
a) Tony Cozier, known as the Voice of West Indies, has passed away aged 75.
b) The West Indian cricket writer, commentator and journalist began writing on cricket as a teenager in 1958.
c) He was a member of the BBC’s Test Match Special commentary team and covered every Wisden Trophy series except one.