1) Which former Indian cricketer was elected as member of prestigious Laureus Sports Academy on 15 April 2015? - Sachin Tendulkar Note: He was elected along with retired Chinese professional basketball player Yao Ming. 2) Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on 14 April 2015 decided to rename Tourist Visa on ArrivalElectronic Travel Authorization (TVoA-ETA) scheme as? - e-Tourist Visa (eTV) scheme 3) Union Government on 13 April 2015 notified the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, 2014 by the ____the constitutional Amendment? - 99th Note: With this, the existing Collegium system of appointing judges of higher judiciary such as Supreme Court and High Courts comes to an end. 4) Which country won the 2015 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup men’s hockey tournament? - New Zealand Note: In the final clash played at the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh, Malaysia, New Zealand defeated World Champions Australia 3-1. 5) India’s first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) became operational on 11 April 2015 at? GIFT City in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. 6) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 17 April 2015 returned to India after his three-nation visit. Name the countries which he visited? - France, Germany and Canada 7) Time Magazine on 16 April 2015 released a list of 100 most influential people in the world. Who has topped the list? - American rapper and singer Kanye Omari West Note: The list includes four Indian-origin persons viz. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chanda Kochhar, Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and Vikram Patel, co-founder of the NGO Sangath. 8) Name the ancient Indian sculpture which was presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on 16 April 2015? - Parrot Lady 9) Who was recently named as the Laureus World Sportsman of the year 2015? - Novak Djokovic, the Serbian tennis player Note: Genzebe Dibaba, the Ethiopian sprinter was named Sportswoman of the Year. 10) Who was on 15 April 2015 appointed as the next Ambassador of India to France? - Dr. Mohan Kumar 11) Who was sworn in as the first lady judge of the Sikkim High Court on 15 April 2015? - Meenakshi Madan Rai 12) The 5th meeting of SAARC Health Ministers was held on 8 April 2015 at? - New Delhi 13) Name the Nobel laureate German novelist who died on 13 April 2015? - Gunter Grass Note: He was a novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature. 14) World Heritage Day was observed across the world on? - 18 April 15) Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to Canada was the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Canada in ___ years? - 42 years 16) Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and Russian company INTMA on 15 April 2015 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to set up a gas-based power project in which country? – Kazakhstan 17) Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation on 14 April 2015 constituted a Task Force on Interlinking of Rivers (ILR). The task force will be chaired by? - BN Navalawala 18) Who was on 11 April 2015 re-elected as the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) for a four-year term? - Brijbhushan Sharan Singh 19) Apurvi Chandela and Jitu Rai recently won Bronze medal in the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Rifle/Pistol World Cup. Where was the event held? - Changwon, South Korea 20) Who won the 2015 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix title? - Lewis Hamilton Prepared by: www.currentaffairs4examz.com 21) Who became the first woman bus driver of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) on 17 April 2015? - Vankadarath Saritha 22) Pakistan and which country on 16 April 2015 agreed to hold first-ever joint military exercises as a part of their enhanced defence cooperation? – Russia 23) Name the former Prime Minister of Nepal, who died on 15 April 2015? - Surya Bahadur Thapa 24) Who has resigned as the bowling coach of South Africa Cricket team on 14 April 2015? - Allan Donald 25) Name the Indian tennis player who on 11 April 2015 won the Uzbekistan F1 Futures Men’s singles title? - Yuki Bhambri 26) Name the Foreign Minister of North Korea who visited India from 12 April to 14 April 2015, which was also the first-ever visit of a foreign minister of North Korea to India? - Ri Su Yong 27) Name the painting which was gifted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to French President Francois Hollande during his visit to France from 9 April to 12 April 2015? - Tree of Life 28) The fourth Lighthouse Museum of India will be opened at which place as announced recently? Kannur, Kerala 29) Name the Union Information and Broadcasting Minister who on 14 April 2015 inaugurated the Vividh Bharati Service of Delhi on FM Mode in New Delhi? - Arun Jaitley 30) Supreme Court of India (SC) on 17 April 2015 appointed whom to head the team probing the Indian Premiere League (IPL) scandal? - Vivek Priyadarshi Note: He is at present a Superintendent of Police in CBI. 31) World Haemophilia Day was observed globally on 17 April 2015 with theme? - Building a family of support 32) Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) on 16 April 2015 successfully commissioned the fourth 600 MW thermal unit at which place? - Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh. 33) The Surface-to-Surface Agni III ballistic missile was successfully test-fired on 16 April 2015 from? Wheelar Isalnd off the Odisha coast in the Bay of Bengal. 34) Which state has recently decided to accord status of Cabinet Minister to Yoga guru Baba Ramdev? – Haryana 35) Sania Mirza along with whom won WTA Family Circle Cup women's doubles event? - Martina Hingis 36) Bidyut Chakraborty who died on 15 April 2015 was a? - renowned film director and actor of Assam 37) Which India-origin was honoured with the White House Champions of Change award on 16 April 2015? - Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s Indian-origin CEO 38) Name the United Nations (UN) peace envoy to Yemen who resigned on 16 April 2015? - Jamal Benomar 39) NASA has recently re-named which Asteroid after Malala Yousafzai, the winner of 2014 Nobel Peace Prize? - Asteroid 316201 40) Global Rating Agency Moody's on 17 April 2015 forecasted that Indian economy will grow at ___ percent in 2015? - 7.5 % 1) Who was on 9 April 2015 appointed as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC)? - Dr. Nasim Zaidi Note: He will assume the charge of office of the CEC with effect from 19 April 2015 when the incumbent Harishankar Brahma retires. He will have tenure up to July 2017 when he attains the age of 65. 2) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 April 2015 launched the MUDRA Bank to fund the small entrepreneurs. MUDRA stands for? - Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Ltd. 3) Name the former Australian cricket captain and legendary commentator who died in Sydney on 10 April 2015? - Richie Benaud 4) Which Indian city was named as the National Earth Hour Capital 2015 on 9 April 2015? - Thane in Mumbai, Maharashtra 5) Surface-to-Surface nuclear-capable Dhanush ballistic missile was successfully test-fired on 9 April 2015 from a naval ship at? - Odisha coast Note: Dhanush ballistic missile is a naval variant of India’s indigenously-developed Prithvi missile. 6) Who was elected as the President of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the year 2015-16 on 7 April 2015? - Sumit Mazumder Note: He is the Chairman and Managing Director of the TIL Limited, India’s largest manufacturer of material handling equipment. 7) Who was appointed as Director of ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC), Bengaluru on 1 April 2015? Mayilsamy Annadurai 8) World Health Day (WHD) 2015 was observed globally on 7 April 2015. What was the theme for the day in 2015? - From farm to plate, make food safe. 9) Who was re-appointed as the chairman of the Indian Premier League's (IPL) Governing Council by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on 6 April 2015? - Rajeev Shukla 10) Name the winners of 2015 Miami Open Men’s and women’s singles titles respectively? - Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams 11) Who was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) on 10 April 2015? - Arun Kumar Jha 12) Which city was awarded the title of Global Earth hour Capital 2015, after it won the Earth Hour City Challenge (EHCC) of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) on 9 April 2015? - Seoul, South Korea 13) Under which Yojana MUDRA Bank was set up? - Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana. Note: Read More about Mudra Bank from here--> http://goo.gl/qWcqc8 14) Dena Bank on 6 April 2015 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with which Insurance company to provide insurance cover to all Aadhaar-linked savings account holders of the bank in the age group of 18 to 50 years? - Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) 15) Who was sworn-in as the 16th Governor of Mizoram on 4 April 2015? - Keshari Nath Tripathi 16) Union Cabinet on 7 April 2015 gave its approval to release an additional installment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to Central Government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners at the rate of ____ percent? - six percent Note: With this DA or DR will be 113 percent of the basic pay with effect from 1 January 2015. 17) Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), the retirement fund body, on 9 April 2015 suspended the ___rupees minimum monthly pension scheme from April 2015? - 1000 rupees Note: This was suspended as there was no direction from the Union Government to continue this scheme beyond 31 March 2015. 18) Which Union Ministry on 9 April 2015 suspended the registration of Greenpeace India Society (GIS) for 180 days for acting against public and economic interests of the country? - Union Ministry of Home Affairs Prepared by: www.currentaffairs4examz.com 19) Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on 7 April 2015 recommended the establishment of Integrated Emergency Communication and Response System (IECRS). It has recommended which number as a single emergency number? -112 20) Reserve Bank of India recently notified hike in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) limit in Insurance Sector to ___ percent from the existing 26 percent? – 49 21) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 6 April 2015 launched a ____ to tackle the menace of air pollution? - National Air Quality Index (NAQI) Note: The index will be extended to 22 State capitals and 44 other cities with a population exceeding one million. 22) Sania Mirza along with whom on 5 March 2015 won the Miami Open Tennis women's doubles title? - Martina Hingis of Switzerland 23) Name the former Air Chief Marshal of Indian Air Force (IAF) who died on 9 April 2015? - Hrushikesh Moolgavkar 24) India was elected to four important United Nations agencies on 8 April 2015 at the Coordination and Management Meeting (CMM) of UNECOSOC. Expand UNECOSOC? - United Nations Economic and Social Council 25) Name the Jnanapith award winning Tamil novelist who died in Chennai on 8 April 2015? – Jayakanthan 26) Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry on 8 April 2015 formed an expert committee under the chairmanship of whom to suggest simplified compliance for establishing new industries? - Ajay Shankar 27) Which Airport on 5 April 2015 won the prestigious Golden Peacock National Quality Award for the year 2015? - Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) 28) Which e-commerce company on 8 April 2015 acquired mobile recharge service FreeCharge in a cash and stock deal? - Snapdeal Note: With this acquisition, Snapdeal became the largest mobile commerce company in India. 29) Name the campaign to promote Kerala tourism launched on 8 April 2015 by Union Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge) Dr. Mahesh Sharma? - Visit Kerala 2015 30) Which team on 7 April 2015 won the 2014-15 Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy played at the KIIT Cricket Stadium, Bhubaneshwar? – Gujarat 31) India was designated on 10 April 2015 to chair the ninth meeting of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) council to be held for two days starting from 10 June 2015 at? - Abu Dhabi 32) Name the 15-year-old Indian-origin schoolboy in the United Kingdom, who was on 12 March 2015 awarded with the 500 pounds Institute of Physics (IOP) Prize? - Pratap Singh 33) Which Indian Grandmaster on 6 April 2015 won Bronze medal in the World Women’s chess championships held at Sochi, Russia? - Dronavalli Harika 34) Name one of the top mountaineers of India, who died on 4 April 2015? - Malli Mastan Babu 35) Spiders belonging to the Thomisidae family was recently named after which Indian state? – Telangana 36) Who was appointed as the seventh Prime Minister of Peru on 2 April 2015? - Pedro Cateriano Bellido 37) Hindi poet Gopaldas Neeraj and veteran Hindi litterateur Uday Pratap Singh were conferred Sahitya Shiromani Samman on 8 April 2015. This award is given by which state? - Uttar Pradesh 38) Which state in USA on 9 April 2015 passed a bill that allows use of nitrogen gas (nitrogen-induced hypoxia) as a method of execution? - Oklahoma Note: Oklahoma will also become the first state in the United States that will allow use of nitrogen for execution. 1) Who won the fbb Femina Miss India 2015 title on 28 March 2015? - Aditi Arya Note: She is from Delhi. The 52nd edition of the beauty contest held at Yash Raj Studio in Mumbai. The first runner-up was Aafreen Rachel Vaz of Mangaluru, Karnataka and the second runner-up was Vartika Singh of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. 2) Which country won the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015? - Australia Note: They defeated New Zealand by seven wickets in the final held at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Australia. 3) Andhra Pradesh Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on 1 April 2015 approved which city as the new capital of the state? - Amaravathi Note: The capital will come up at Tullur in Vijayawada-Guntur region of the state. The name of Amaravathi as state capital was finalised in view of its historical, spiritual and mythological significance. 4) Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 1 April 2015 sanctioned the scheme of amalgamation of ING Vysya Bank Ltd. with which bank? - Kotak Mahindra Bank Note: With this sanction, all branches of ING Vysya Bank will function as branches of Kotak Mahindra Bank with effect from 1 April 2015. 5) Who resigned from the post of President of International Cricket Council (ICC) on 1 April 2015? Mustafa Kamal 6) Who was conferred with Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award on 28 March 2015? Balbir Singh Senior Note: Balbir Singh Senior was a member of three Olympic gold medal winning Indian team. 7) Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS) 1-D satellite was launched successfully on 28 March 2015 by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) using? - Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C27 8) Name the freedom fighter and educationist who was on 30 March 2015 conferred the highest civilian award of the country Bharat Ratna (posthumously)? - Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya Note: His family members received the award from President Prabab Mukherjee at a function in the Ashoka hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. 9) Name the Indian shuttlers won the women’s and men's singles titles of India Open Super Series Badminton title recently? - Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth 10) Name the Union Minister of Commerce & Industry who on 2 April 2015 unveiled the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2015-2020 at New Delhi? - Nirmala Sitharaman 11) Name the campaign launched on 27 March 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to exhort the better off sections of society to give away their LPG subsidy? - Give it Up campaign 12) Name the Poster girl of India's anti-tobacco campaign who died on 1 April 2015? - Sunita Tomar Note: In 2014, she shot a 30-second video titled Sunita highlighting the devastating effect of smokeless tobacco. 13) Who won the Presidential Election of Nigeria on 31 March 2015? - General Muhammadu Buhari 14) Michael Rudenko, a committee member of the Minor Planet Center on 1 April 2015 officially named a minor planet in the name of which Indian sports person? - Vishwanathan Anand. Note: The main-belt minor planet was discovered between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter by Kenzo Suzuki in Toyota in 1988. It remained unnamed since then and now it was named 4538 Vishyanand. 15) Name the scheme launched by Union Government on 1 April 2015 with an aim to boost sales of ecofriendly vehicles in the country? - Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles (FAME) Prepared by: www.currentaffairs4examz.com 16) Who was on 1 April 2015 conferred with the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for 2014-15? - Brendon McCullum Note: Sir Richard Hadlee Medal is the highest cricketing honour of New Zealand. 17) Insurance Australia Group Ltd (IAG) on 26 March 2015 announced that it will raise its stake in SBI General Insurance (SBIGI) from 26 percent to ___ percent? - 49 percent 18) Kyle Mills who on 31 March 2015 retired from all forms of International Cricket is from which country? - New Zealand 19) Union Government on 3 April 2015 extended the deadline for implementation of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) deadline by ____ months? - Six months 20) Who on 30 March 2015 appointed as the Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court (HC)? - Justice Sunil Kumar Sinha Note: He was appointed by the President Pranab Mukherjee in accordance with the Article 217 (1) of the Constitution of India. 21) Renowned poet Kailash Vajpeyi who died on 1 April 2015 is famous in which language? – Hindi 22) Name the massive air and sea operation recently launched by India to evacuate over 4000 Indians from Yemen? - Operation Raahat Note: In Yemen, military operation was launched by Saudi Arabia and 10 other countries against Houthi rebels. 23) Which e-commerce company recently acquired RupeePower to launch financial service? – Snapdeal 24) Which state on 31 March 2015 opened a women milk bank named Jeevan Dhara? – Rajasthan 25) Which state on 30 March 2015 launched part one of e-Vidhan Mobile app and thus becoming the first state assembly in the country to launch e-Vidhan Mobile app? - Himachal Pradesh 26) Name the 12-year-old Muslim girl who recently won the first position at the Shrimad Bhagwad Gita Champion League? - Mariyam Asif Siddiqui 27) Name the controversial anti-terrorism and organized crime bill passed by Gujarat Assembly recently? - Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime (GUJCOC) Bill 28) Who took over charge as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Southern Naval Command on 30 March 2015? - Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba 29) Name the Indian-origin Singaporean nurse who was on 2 April 2015 named for the 2015 International Achievement Award by the Florence Nightingale International Foundation (FNIF) of the International Council of Nurses? - Dr Subadhra Devi Rai 30) What is India's rank in the Global Resilience Index 2015 released by FM Global recently? - 119th among 130 countries Note: The 2015 FM Global Resilience Index has been topped by Norway. 31) Earth Hour 2015 was observed globally on 28 March 2015 from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm with tagline as? - Change Climate Change 32) What was India's rank in the Open Government Index 2015 Report released by World Justice Project (WJP) recently? - 37th 33) Daniel Vettori who on 30 March 2015 retired from all forms of International Cricket is from which country? - New Zealand 34) Which state government on 1 April 2015 launched a cheap meal scheme Aahar for providing subsidised food to urban poor? – Odisha 35) Michael Clarke, the Australian cricketer, on 29 March 2015 retired from which form of the cricket? One Day Internationals (ODI)