Current Affairs of 23 April 2016

1. Mahindra became first Indian company to join EP100 campaign
1. Mahindra & Mahindra became the first Indian company to join a global energy campaign, EP100, led by an international non-profit group. The Climate Group. It will work with the world's most influential businesses in setting commitments to double their energy productivity.
2. Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra represented the corporate world at the high-level signing ceremony of the historic Paris climate change agreement at the United Nations on 22 April 2016.
3. Mahindra will be among the dignitaries, including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, French President François Hollande, President of the General Assembly Mogens Lykketoft and UN Messenger of Peace Oscar-winner Leonardo DiCaprio.

2. President nominates 6 eminent members to Rajya Sabha
1. President Pranab Mukherjee has nominated of six eminent members to Rajya Sabha as per the provisions of Article 80 of the Constitution.
These nominated members are
1. Mary Kom: Legendary boxer and Olympic bronze medallist. She belongs to the Sino-Tibetan speaking Kom tribe of Manipur. She is five-time World Amateur Boxing champion, and the only woman boxer to have won a medal in each one of the six world championships. In 2014, she became the first Indian woman boxer to get a gold medal in the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.
2. Narendra Jadhav: He is renowned economist and former member of the erstwhile National Advisory Council (2010-14) and Planning Commission (2009-14). He is also the former vice-chancellor of Pune University.
3. Suresh Gopi: He is Malayalam actor and had acted in over 200 films. He is a winner of the National Film Award and Filmfare Award.
4. Swapan Dasgupta: He is journalist by profession. He had worked at senior editorial positions in various publications including The Indian Express, India Today and The Times of India.
5. Subramanian Swamy: He is BJP leader and was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1977, 1980 and 1988, and to the Rajya Sabha in 1974 and 1998.
6. Navjot Singh Sidhu: He is cricketer-turned-politician and former two time member of Lok Sabha.

3. India signed Paris climate agreement along with other 174 nations at UN

1. Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on 22 April 2016 signed the historic Paris climate agreement along with other 174 nations at a high-level ceremony hosted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York.
2. The agreement will mark as a significant step that brings developing and developed nations together to combat global warming by working to cut down greenhouse gas emissions.
Special features of the Agreement
• At 175 nations, the signing ceremony for the climate agreement set the record for the most countries to sign an international agreement on one day while previous one set in 1982, when 119 countries signed the Law of the Sea Convention.
• The signing is the first step toward ensuring that the agreement comes into force as soon as possible.
• After the signing, countries must take the further national (or domestic) step of accepting or ratifying the agreement.
• The agreement will come into force 30 days after at least 55 Parties to the UNFCCC ratify the agreement which accounts at least 55 per cent of global emissions.

4. Bhupendra Kainthola appointed FTII Director

1. Indian Information Service (IIS) officer Bhupendra Kainthola has been appointed as Director of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). Kainthola will replace Prashant Pathrabe and shall have tenure of three years.
2. He is a 1989 batch IIS officer. Prior to this appointment he was serving as Director (News Room) with DD News since January 2015. He was responsible for ‘management of news operations and output’. Previously, he has worked with PIB, Directorate of Audio Visual Publicity (DAVP), Directorate of Film Festival (as Director, National Film Awards and Indian Panorama) and also with the Lok Sabha Television. Kainthola holds a Masters in International Relations from the University of Mumbai’.

5. Manoj Bajpayee to receive Dadasaheb Phalke award for 'Aligarh'
1. Acclaimed actor Manoj Bajpayee will be honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in the Best Actor category (Critics’ Choice) for his performance in Hansal Mehta’s biographical drama, “Aligarh”.
1. Mahindra became first Indian company to join EP100 campaign
1. Mahindra & Mahindra became the first Indian company to join a global energy campaign, EP100, led by an international non-profit group. The Climate Group. It will work with the world's most influential businesses in setting commitments to double their energy productivity.
2. Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra represented the corporate world at the high-level signing ceremony of the historic Paris climate change agreement at the United Nations on 22 April 2016.
3. Mahindra will be among the dignitaries, including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, French President François Hollande, President of the General Assembly Mogens Lykketoft and UN Messenger of Peace Oscar-winner Leonardo DiCaprio.

2. President nominates 6 eminent members to Rajya Sabha
1. President Pranab Mukherjee has nominated of six eminent members to Rajya Sabha as per the provisions of Article 80 of the Constitution.
These nominated members are
1. Mary Kom: Legendary boxer and Olympic bronze medallist. She belongs to the Sino-Tibetan speaking Kom tribe of Manipur. She is five-time World Amateur Boxing champion, and the only woman boxer to have won a medal in each one of the six world championships. In 2014, she became the first Indian woman boxer to get a gold medal in the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.
2. Narendra Jadhav: He is renowned economist and former member of the erstwhile National Advisory Council (2010-14) and Planning Commission (2009-14). He is also the former vice-chancellor of Pune University.
3. Suresh Gopi: He is Malayalam actor and had acted in over 200 films. He is a winner of the National Film Award and Filmfare Award.
4. Swapan Dasgupta: He is journalist by profession. He had worked at senior editorial positions in various publications including The Indian Express, India Today and The Times of India.
5. Subramanian Swamy: He is BJP leader and was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1977, 1980 and 1988, and to the Rajya Sabha in 1974 and 1998.
6. Navjot Singh Sidhu: He is cricketer-turned-politician and former two time member of Lok Sabha.

3. India signed Paris climate agreement along with other 174 nations at UN

1. Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on 22 April 2016 signed the historic Paris climate agreement along with other 174 nations at a high-level ceremony hosted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York.
2. The agreement will mark as a significant step that brings developing and developed nations together to combat global warming by working to cut down greenhouse gas emissions.
Special features of the Agreement
• At 175 nations, the signing ceremony for the climate agreement set the record for the most countries to sign an international agreement on one day while previous one set in 1982, when 119 countries signed the Law of the Sea Convention.
• The signing is the first step toward ensuring that the agreement comes into force as soon as possible.
• After the signing, countries must take the further national (or domestic) step of accepting or ratifying the agreement.
• The agreement will come into force 30 days after at least 55 Parties to the UNFCCC ratify the agreement which accounts at least 55 per cent of global emissions.

4. Bhupendra Kainthola appointed FTII Director

1. Indian Information Service (IIS) officer Bhupendra Kainthola has been appointed as Director of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). Kainthola will replace Prashant Pathrabe and shall have tenure of three years.
2. He is a 1989 batch IIS officer. Prior to this appointment he was serving as Director (News Room) with DD News since January 2015. He was responsible for ‘management of news operations and output’. Previously, he has worked with PIB, Directorate of Audio Visual Publicity (DAVP), Directorate of Film Festival (as Director, National Film Awards and Indian Panorama) and also with the Lok Sabha Television. Kainthola holds a Masters in International Relations from the University of Mumbai’.

5. Manoj Bajpayee to receive Dadasaheb Phalke award for 'Aligarh'
1. Acclaimed actor Manoj Bajpayee will be honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in the Best Actor category (Critics’ Choice) for his performance in Hansal Mehta’s biographical drama, “Aligarh”.