Leicester City crowned English Premier League Champion

Leicester City FC was crowned champions of the of English Premier League title for 2015-16 season without playing as nearest challenger Tottenham Hotspur FC.

•  They were crowned after its nearest challenger Tottenham Hotspur FC had 2-2 draw with Chelsea FC.
•  The draw placed Tottenham at second position and was not able to surpass Leicester City FC’s seven point lead at the top of the table. 
• This is the first time in the Leicester City FC’s 132-year history it became the champion of the England. 

Leicester City Football Club :

• It is also known as the Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester.
• They play in the Premier League, having been promoted as champions of the Football League Championship in 2013–14, signalling a return to the top flight of English football after a decade away.

Former J&K Minister Romesh Sharma passes away

Former Jammu and Kashmir Minister and senior Congress leader Romesh Sharma passed away after a prolonged illness in New Delhi.

•  By profession Mr. Sharma was an Ayurvedic doctor. He was 65.
• He had joined politics in 2000 and won the state Assembly elections in 2002 from Nowshera Constituency.
•  He had served as MoS (Minister of State) Commerce and Industries in late Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed’s led PDP-Congress government in 2002.
•  Later he had served as MoS PHE and Flood Irrigation Control in CM Ghulam Nabi Azad led government till 2008

India’s first Scorpene class submarine INS Kalvari undergoes first sea trial

INS Kalvari, Indian Navy’s first indigenous Scorpene-class stealth submarine, has recently launched for the first sea trial in the Mumbai naval dockyard.

•  It is a diesel-electric attack submarine which is built under the strategic Project 75 by Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in collaboration with French naval defence and energy company DCNS.

 About INS Kalvari :

• INS Kalvari is also known as Tiger Shark (or S50).
•  It is expected to be commissioned into Indian Navy by September 2016.
•  It has superior stealth capability and is designed to operate in all theatres including the tropics.
•  It is built using special steel that can withstand high yield stress that can withstand high hydrostatic force and enabling to dive deeper.
• The submarine, over the next few months, will undergo a barrage of sea, surface, diving, weapons, noise trials, etc testing her to the extremes of its intended operating envelop.
• She will be later commissioned into the Indian Navy, giving a major boost to the 'Make In India' initiative of the government.

Union Government launches Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana

The Union Government launched Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) for providing free of cost LPG (cooking gas) connections to women from BPL Households.

•  It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Maldepur Morh, Ballia in Uttar Pradesh.
•  The tagline for the scheme is Swachh Indhan, Behtar Jeevan. 

About Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana :

•  Under PMUY, each of the beneficiaries will receive monetary support of about 1,600 rupees to get a connection of cooking gas.
•  It includes administrative cost, pressure regulator booklet and safety hose The scheme seeks to empower women and protect their health by shifting them from traditional cooking based on unclean cooking fuels or on fossil fuels to clean cooking gas.
•  It is being implemented by Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
•  It is for the first time this ministry is implementing a welfare scheme. 
• The identification of eligible BPL families will be made in consultation with the State Governments and the Union Territories.
•  It will be implemented over three years’ time frame namely in the FY 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19.

Nico Rosberg wins 2016 Russian Grand Prix

German Formula One Driver Nico Rosberg from Mercedes team has won 2016 Russian Grand Prix held at the Sochi Autodrom in Sochi, Russia.

•  It was Rosberg’s fourth consecutive win in the 2016 season and overall eighteenth championship title of F1 in his career. 
• Russian Grand Prix was the fourth race of the 2016 season of Formula One in which total 11 teams had participated .

Formula One :

• Formula One (also Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of single-seat auto racing that is sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). 
• The FIA Formula One World Championship has been the premier form of racing since the inaugural season in 1950, although other Formula One races were regularly held until 1983. 
• The "formula", designated in the name, refers to a set of rules, to which all participants' cars must conform.

CBEC launches mobile application for baggage rules information

The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has launched mobile app “Indian Customs- Guide to Travellers” for dissemination of information about Customs Baggage Rules, 2016. 

• The application has been launched to inform traders, exporters and importers about Customs Baggage Rules, 2016. 

About the Rule :

•  It has been developed by Bengaluru Customs and is available on Android Play store, Apple Store and Windows Store. 
• The app serves as a useful tool for quick and effective dissemination of information about baggage rules and entitlements. 
• It is user friendly and serves to clarify doubts and concern of International passengers and also ensure better compliance. 
• The CBEC is the nodal national agency under the aegis of Union Finance Ministry responsible for administering customs, central excise, service tax and narcotics in India.

 Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) :

• The Central Board of Excise and Custom is the nodal national agency responsible for administering Customs, Central Excise, Service Tax & Narcotics in India.

Maharashtra has launched Adi Praman app for caste validity certificate

Maharashtra Government has launched Adi Praman, a web-based application for state’s tribal population to get the caste validity certificates online.

• It was launched along with portal named etribalvalidity.mahaonline@gov.in by Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao. 
• The application is first of its kind for any state in India. 

About Adi Praman  :

• The tribal people from the state can obtain caste validity certificates online using this application.
•  The validity certificate will be bar-coded with a unique identification number and enable authorities to directly verify the status of validity certificate using the unique barcode number.
•  The web portal will show the real-time status of the applications through email and text messages. 
• The applicants will also be informed on the status of their application through SMS alert and Email. 
• The app will make the entire process of securing caste validity certificate easy, fast and transparent and would effectively curb the menace of bogus certificates.
•  It will also help the state government to achieve the goal of inclusion as envisioned under the Digital India programme.