AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS:
Martin Crowe Inducted
Into the International Cricket Councils Cricket Hall of Fame.
Former New
Zealand captain Martin Crowe has been
inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
He represented his country on ICC Cricket World Cup 1992.
Martin Crowe became the third New Zealander and 79th Cricketer to be inducted
into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
Other New Zealanders include Sir Richard Hadlee and Debbie
Hockley. The induction ceremony was organized during the innings break of the New
Zealand-Australia match in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 at Eden Park
Bollywood Actress
Rani Mukerji Awarded:
Famous Bollywood actress Rani Mukerji has been given the
national award by the National Institute of Gender Justice (NIGJ) for creating awareness
about the child trafficking.
She is the first personality from the Cinema industry to be
felicitated with this prestigious award.
The award was presented to Rani by Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury,
the chairperson NIGJ, in New Delhi .
Rani Mukherji, in her film Mardhaani, played a powerful role
of cop, who prevents crime against women, especially girl child trafficking.
Apart from acting, Rani Mukerji is actively involving herself in
humanitariancauses, also gives her voice against child trafficking and
exploitation of women.
TIME’S 30 MOST
INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET:
The Time Magazine has released a list of 30 most Influential
People on the Internet. They were selected onthe basis of social-media
followings, site traffic, and overall ability to drive news.
The Magazine has named Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
among the 30 influential people on the internet. Modi has around 38 million
total followers on Facebook and Twitter. Modi has been extensively using social
media in the last three years and this helps a lot in 2014 Lok Sabha Elections
too.
Namibian President
Hifikepunye Pohamba wins Mo Ibrahim prize for African leadership 2014
Hifikepunye Pohamba, outgoing Namibian President has won the
world’s most valuble individual Award Mo Ibrahim prize for African leadership
for year 2014. Hifikepunye Pohamba Pohamba was born in 1935 in Namibia and was
a former rebel who fought for his Country’s Indipendece.
He has served as Namibian President two terms.
The Mo Ibrahim prize for African leadership prize is given
each year to an elected leader who has governed well, raised living standards
and then left office. It is named after Mo Ibrahim, a British-Sudanese mobile communications
entrepreneur and philanthropist who had made billions of fortune from investing
in Africa .
It is the Most Valuable Individual Award and Carries
monetary award of 5 Million dollars and $ 200,000 a year for life. The
inaugural prize was awarded to Joaquim Chissano, former president of Mozambique .
Kerala Tourism Department
wins the Golden Gate Award:
Kerala Tourism Department wins the silver prize of Golden Gate award for its global multimedia campaign to
promote the backwaters of Kerala.
The award was presented at the Internationale
Tourismus-Borse
The ITB-Berlin is Concedered as the world’s largest tourism
trade fair.
Kerala Tourism Secretary G Kamala Vardhana Rao and Joint
Secretary in the Union Tourism Ministry Suman Billa have received the
prestigious award.
This is the second consecutive time that the campaign has
been recognized at ITB Berlin. In 2014, the Kerala Tourism had won the Gold
Prize in the print category. Goa Tourism has won the international award in the
Best wedding and Honeymoon Destination category. The award was given by Pacific Area Travel
writers Assosication.
TCS named Top
Employer in Europe for Third Consecutive Time:
An employers certification agency Top Employers Institute
has named Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as the top employer in Europe . The company is awarded for the third consecutive
year.
The award is given based on the nine core human resources
areas. TCS has been certified as the leading employer in eight European
countries. ie United Kingdom, Norway ,
Germany , Belgium , Sweden ,
Netherlands , Denmark , and Switzerland .
Veerappa Moily Chosen for Saraswati Samman Award:
Former congress Minister, Veerappa Moily has been chosen for
the prestigious Saraswati Samman 2014 for his literary work Ramayana
Mahanveshanam, which was released in 2007 and has been translated to English,
Telgu, and Hindi. The Saraswati Samman comprises a prize amount of 5 Lakh
Rupees and honour.
The Poem is divided into 5 volumes which Explored the Ramrajya from the modern view point.
Environment activist of India Rajendra Singh has been
conferred with Stockholm Water Prize to recognize his enormous efforts for
instilling life in the villages of Rajasthan through water. The award comprises
a a Cash Prize of 1,50,000 USD and it be Presented by Sweden ’s King Carl Gustav.
Three South Asian
women selected for International Women of Courage Award 2015
Three South Asian women have been selected for the
prestigious International Women of Courage Award for the year 2015 by the United States .
They are,
- Captain
Niloofar Rahmani from
- Nadia
Sharmeen- Journalist and Women’s rights activist from
- Tabassum
Adnan – Founder of Khwendo Jirga from
These women were selected for the award for their
demonstrating exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for peace,
justice, human rights and gender equality.
Fourth National
Photography Awards:
A total of 13 outstanding photojournalists were conferred
with the National Photography Awards, in NewDelhi. The Awards were presented by
the Secretary of Information and Broadcasting, Bimal Julka.
The awards were given in 5 categories namely
Life-Time Achievement Award
Amateur Photographer of the Year
Professional Photographer of the Year
Special Mention Category in Amateur Segments
Special Mention Category in Professional segments
The colorful ceremony was organized by the Photo Division
under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Renowned cinematographer,
Santosh Sivan and Chairman of the Jury Committee, Anil Risal Singh attended the
ceremony.
The theme for Professional Photographer category – Hamara Bharat Swachh Bharat
The theme for Amateur Category – Mother and Child.
THE AWARD WINNERS:
- Life-Time Achievement Award- Surendra R Patel.
- Best Professional Photographer of the Year- Swarup Duta.
- Best Amateur Photographer of the Year- Sasikumar.
Special Mention Award
in Professional Category:
- Jayesh Navinchandra Shah.
- Atul Vasant Ghag.
- Pravin Rawat.
- Arvind Kumar Jain.
- Umesh Nikam
Special Mention Award
in Amateur Category:
- Joydeep Mukherjee.
- Akhil Hardia.
- Nimai Chandra Ghosh.
- Mukesh J Thakkar.
- Tabeenah Anjum Qureshi
Lata Mangeshkar
conferred with Voice of the Century Award:
Lagendary Singer Lata Mangeshkar was on 20th
March 2015 Presented the Laadli Voice of
the Century award here during the sixth edition of the national Laadli
Media and Advertising Awards for Gender Sensitivity. The award, which was
handed over by Mr. Fadnavis, was accepted by Mr. Bhimani on her behalf.
Smriti Irani named as
Young Global Leader by WEF:
Union Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani has
been named as Young Global Leader from india by the World Economic Forum
{WEF}.
The WEF described
Irani as rose from sweeping floors in a fast food restuarent to become a top
Poltician in India .
The list comprising a total of 187 Young Global Leaders Across
the World.
There were 18 young global leaders in South Asia, out of
which 11 were from India .
Other than Smriti Irani, the Indians, who are named in the
list are,
- Gaurav
Gogoi – MP and son of
- Aditya Ghosh – IndiGo President.
- Ashish Goyal – Portfolio Manager at Bluecrest Capital.
- Kiran Kumar Grandhi – GMR Group.
- Krithi Karanth – Centre for Wildlife Studies.
- Neha
Kirpal – Founder and Director of
- Shalini Puchalapalli – CEO Lehar Foods (Pepsi).
- Shweta Punj – Associate Editor India Today Group/Co-Founder at Whypoll.
- Prashant Sarin – Bain and Company.
- Ameera Shah – Managing Director and CEO Metropolis Healthcare.
Every year, the World Economic Forum releases a list of
outstanding young leaders, who are aged below 40 years, from around the world.
Minoti Apte named as
Woman of the Year 2015 in New South
Wales
Indian pancreatic cancer researcher in Australia ,
Minoti Apte has been named as New South Wales (NSW) Woman of the year 2015 for
her enormous contributions to medical research, tertiary education and the Indian
community. She received the award from NSW Premier Mike Baird and Minister for
Women Pru Goward.
No Indian University
Not a single Indian
University
According to the 2015 list, Harvard ranks First, followed by
University of Cambridge
and university of
Oxford UK has the second Highest number. Japan ’s University of Tokyo
1. Harvard university in US
2. Cambridge university in UK
3. University of Oxford in UK
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
5. Stanford
University
6. University of California ,Berkeley
in US
7. Princeton university in
US
8. Yale
University
9. California Institute of Technology in US
10. Colombia Institute of Technology in US
Times Higher Education World reputation Ranking Employ the
world’s largest Academic opinion survey to provide the definitive list of Top
100 most powerful universities brands.
Bharati Kher conferred with France
Artist Bharti Kher of India on 23 March 2015 was
conferred with the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters. She was awarded for her contribution in
contemporary art landscape.
Kher’s artworks span several mediums like painting,
sculpture and installation. The artist is renowned for her remarkable experimentation
with bindis that have over time come to be recognised as her signature style.
Veteran poet Gopaldas
Neeraj conferred with National Kavi Pradeep Samman Award:
Noted Hindi poet Gopaldas Neeraj has received the first
National Kavi Pradeep Samman at a function held in Bhopal . He was presented the award on 24th
March 2015. He was presented the award by Madhya Pradesh Culture Minister
Surendra Patwa at a function held in Bhopal ,
Madhya Pradesh.
This award carries a cash prize of Rs two lakh, a shawl and
a citation. On the occasion, Neeraj mesmerised the audience by reciting some of
his select poems. The award has been instituted by the Madhya Pradesh
government in the memory of Kavi Pradeep.
62nd National Film
Awards: An Overview:
The 62nd National Film Awards were announced at
the National Media Centre, New Delhi .
The awards were announced by the jury chairpersons directors Bharathiraja,
Kamal Swaroop and Govind Kumar. The National Awards will be presented by
President Pranab Mukherjee on 3rd of May in Vigyan Bhawan (New Delhi ).
Complete list of winners:
- Best Hindi Film: Queen.
- Best Bengali Film: Nirbashito.
- Best Tamil Film: Kuttram Kadithal.
- Best Marathi Film: Killa.
- Best Kannada Film: Harivu.
- Best Konkani Film: Nachom – IA Kumpasar.
- Best Malayalam Film: Ain.
- Best Assamese Film: Othello.
- Best Odiya Film: Aadim Vichar.
- Best
Punjabi Film:
- Best Telugu Film: Chandamama Kathalu.
- Best Rabha Film: Orong.
- Best Haryanvi Film: Pagdi The Honour.
- Best Music Direction.
- Songs – Haider (Hindi).
- Background Score – Nineteen Eighty Three (Malayalam).
- Best Choreography: Bismil for Haider.
- Special Mention Ain (Malayalam).
- Nachom – IA Kumpasar (Konkani).
- Killa (Marathi).
- Bhootnath Returns (Hindi).
- Best Educational Film: Komal & Behind the Glass Wall.
- Best
Exploration/Adventure: Film Life Force –
- Best Investigative Film: Phum Shang.
- Best Animation Film: Sound of Joy.
- Best Short Fiction Film: Mitraa.
- Best Film Critic: Tanul Thakur.
- Best Writing on Cinema: Silent Cinema: (1895-1930)- Pasupuleti.
- Purnachandra Rao.
- Best Writing on Cinema: G. Dhananjayan for Pride of Tamil Cinema.
- (Special Mention).
- Best Costume Designer: Dolly Ahluwalia for Haider.
- Best Female Playback Singer Uttara Unnikrishanan for song Azhagu in Saivam (Tamil).
- Best Male Playback Singer Sukhwinder Singh for song Bismil from Haider.
- Best Actress Kangana Ranaut for Queen.
- Best Supporting Actress: Baljinder Kaur for Pagdi The Honour (Haryanavi).
- Best Supporting Actor: Bobby Simhaa for Jigarthanda (Tamil).
- Best Actor: Vijay for Nanu Avanalla Avalu (Kannada).
- Best Direction: Srijit Mukherji for Chotushkone (Bengali).
- Best Film On Environment Conservation/ Preservation: Ottaal (Malayalam).
- Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Mary Kom.
- Indira Gandhi Award For Best Debut Film Of A Director: Asha Jaoar Majhe (Bengali).
- Best Feature Film: Court (Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati & English).
Akhil Sharma wins
Folio Prize for Fiction:
The Indian-American writer Akhil Sharma has been named
winner of the second Folio prize for fiction for a novel which took him 13 long
and painful years to complete, charting one emigrant family’s heart wrenching search
for the American dream. He won this prize for his second book, Family Life.
Writing it was a challenging task for him. Iam glad the book exits, ‘’I just
wish hadnot been the guy who wrote it,’’ He said. William Fiennes, who chaired the Judges,
praised the novel, currently a bestseller in the
US, as ‘’lucid, compassionate, quietly funny.’’
Stree Shakti Puraskar
2014:
President Pranab Mukherjee awarded Stree Shakti Puraskar
2014 to six illustrious women on International Women’s day for their
distinguished services for the upliftment of women.
The award was given in six categories named after eminent
women personalities in the Indian history.
They are Kannagi,
Rani Gaidinliu Zaliang,
Rani Ahilyabai Holkar,
Rani Lakshmibai,
Rani Rudramma Devi and
Mata Jijabai.
These women are famous for their personal courage and
integrity.
Awardees of Stree
Shakti Puraskar 2014:
Rani Gaidinliu Zeliang Award: Sister Mariola (Rajasthan).
Rani Lakshmibai Award: Seema Prakash (Madhya Pradesh).
Rani Rudramma Devi Award: Astha Sansthan- NGO (Rajasthan).
Mata Jijabai Award: Chandraprabha Bokey (Maharashtra ).
Kannagi Award: P. Bhanumati (Kerala). Devi Ahily
Amitav Ghosh
shortlisted for Man Booker International Prize:
Amitav Ghosh on 23rd March 2015 emerged as the
only Indian author among 10 finalists For this year’s Man Booker International
Prize for his contribution to English language writing.
About Amitav Ghosh:
Amitav Ghosh is a Bengali Indian author best known for his
work in English fiction. His First job was in Indian Express in New Delhi . Ghosh is the
author of The Circle of Reason (his 1986 debut novel) which won Prix Médicis
étranger. He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Indian government in 2007.
About Man Booker
International Prize:
It is an international literary award given every two years
to a living author of any nationality for a body of work published in English
or generally available in English translation.
The introduction of the International Prize was announced in
June 2004. This Prize is sponsored by the Man Group. The award is worth £60,000
and an author can only win once. The Narrow
Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan won the
2014 Man Booker International Prize.
On behalf of Bangladesh ’s
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Minister of State (MoS) for Foreign Affairs
Shahriar Alam received the award. Bangladesh isonly country in the
world where the Prime Minister, Parliament speaker, Leader of the Opposition,
Deputy
Leader of the house, and a major opposition leader are all
women. In the World Economic Forum report it has been placed among the top 10
countries in the world in reducing gender gap.
Balbir Singh Senior
awarded with Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award:
Veteran hockey player Balbir Singh Senior was awarded Major
Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award by Hockey India . The award comprises a trophy
along with a cheque of Rs 30 lakh was presented to Balbir Singh at the
inaugural Hockey India Annual Awards ceremony held at New Delhi .
In his hockey career, Balbir Singh Senior had represented
Indian team in three Olympics games including London Olympics (1948), Helsinki
Olympics (1952) and Melbourne Olympics (1956). In all three Olympics the team
had won the gold medal. He was captain of Indian team during Melbourne
Olympics.
His record of most goals (five) in an Olympic final in 1952
still remains unbeaten and he also figures in the list of 16 iconic Olympians
of all-time.
Nobel Laureate Sir
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan to head Royal Society in UK
India-born Nobel Prize Winner Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan
has been confirmed as the President elect of United Kingdom ’s highly esteemed
Royal Society. Venkatraman will assume the post on December 1, 2015.
He will be the first Indian-origin scientist to hold the
post. Ramakrishnan will replace Famous GeneticistSir Paul Nurse, who is also a
Nobel laureate.
Bollywood Actor
Shashi Kapoor chosen for Dada Saheb Phalke Award:
All time Charming Actor, Shashi Kapoor, has been chosen for
Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2014. The Gem of Bollywood Industry will be the 46th
winner of this highly celebrated award.
The Dada Saheb Phalke Award is the highest award in Indian
cinema. The award is presented every year at the National Film Awards ceremony
by the Directorate of Film Festivals. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award comprises a
Swarn Kamal (Golden Lotus), a cash prize of Rs.10 lakh and a shawl.
President Pranab
Mukherjee gives away Chakra Awards to Defence Personnel:
Pranab Mukherjee conferred one Kirti Chakra award and 11
Shaurya Chakra awards on armed forces personnel. Among these, 11 awardees three
were conferred posthumously for gallantry.
Kirti Chakra is
the second highest peace time gallantry award i.e. awarded for valour,
courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the field of battle.
Shaurya Chakra is
the third highest peacetime gallantry award i.e. awarded for valour, courageous
action or self-sacrifice while not engaged in direct action with the enemy.
The Award Winners:
Kirti Chakra
* Captain Jaidev of Parachute Regiment.
Shaurya Chakra
(Posthumously)
Subedar Prakash Chand
Lieutenant Commander Manoranjan Kumar
Major Abhijai of Corps of Engineers.
Shaurya Chakra
Major Mukul Sharma
Commander Gosavi Kaustubh Vijaykumar
Major R Vamshi Krishnan
Rifleman Manga Ram
Wing Commander Huvey Upadhyaya
Major Abhishek Kumar
Major Satnam Singh
Naik Ansaigra Basumatary.
The performance
assessment was based on a model developed by KPMG considering various financial
parameters such as:
Productivity,
Efficiency
Efficacy
Profitability
Corporate social responsibility
Name of PSUs that
were selected:
Awards and Name of the Company
1. Maharatna of the year – Manufacturing. National Thermal
power corporationLimited (NTPC).
2. Most Efficient Maharatna – Manufacturing. Bharat Heavy
electrical Limited (BHEL)
3. Fastest Growing Navaratna of the year –Non Manufacturing.
Rural electrification CorporationLimited(REC).
4. Best General Insurance Company of the year. New India
Assurance Company
5. Outstanding Performance in Mega Project Implementation. Steel
Authority of India
(SAIL).
6. Highest Wealth Creator among listed PSUs. National
Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd. (NBCC)
7. Navratna of the year – Non-Manufacturing. Power Finance Corporation
Limited(PFC)
8. Outstanding performer in Retail Banking Canara Bank
9. Most Consistent Performer of the year- General Insurance.United
India Insurance Company.
10. Maharatna of the year – Non-Manufacturing.Oil and
Natural gas Corporation Limited (ONGC)
11. Biggest e-commerce portal in India-Indian Railway
Catering and Tourism
Corporation (IRCTC).
12. Most Efficient Miniratna of the year- Non-Manufacturing.
Container Corporation Of India Limited(CONCOR)
13. Most Efficient Public Sector Bank Bank of Baroda
14. Most Efficient Navratna –Non- Manufacturing.National
Mineral Development
Corporation (NMDC).
15. Fastest Growing Maharatna – Non-Manufacturing COAL INDIA
Government of India
Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Minister of Communications &
IT, has presented the 2014 Web Ratna awards at a ceremony held at Stein
Auditorium, India Habitat Centre, New
Delhi . The objective of this award is to promote and
uphold the use of World Wide Web (WWW) for enhancing the efficiency as well as
the transparency of Government Mechanism and encouraging its speedy transition
towards Digital India.
The awards were given for 6 categories, which include
Citizen Centric Service, Open Data Champion, Outstanding Content, Innovative
Use of Technology, Comprehensive Web Presence –Ministry and Comprehensive Web Presense
–Ministry and Comprehensive Web Presense – State/ UT.
List of Award and
Awardees:
Citizen Centric
Service Category:
- Platinum Award: Passport Seva Project.
- Gold
Award: National Safai Karamchari Finance Devlopment Corporation.
- Silver
Award: National Institute of Open
Schooling.
Open Data Champion
category:
- Platinum Award: Office of Register General and Census Commissioner.
- Gold
Award: Planning Commission and Union Ministrey of Statistics and Program
Implementation.
- Silver
Award: Union Ministry of Water Resources.
Outstanding Content
category:
- Platinum Award: Ministry of External Affairs.
- Gold Award: Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Kerala Tourism.
- Silver
Award: Ministry of Development of
Innovative Use of
Technology category:
- Platinum
Award: MKisan- Government of
- Gold
Award: Madhya Pradash Commercial
Tax Department and Department of Commercial Tax, TamilNadu.
Silver Award: E-
Sahakar, an Online Co-operative Society Process Management System of Maharastra
Government.
Comprehensive Web
presence category:
- Platinum
Award:
- Gold Award: TamilNadu.
Silver Award: Uttarakhand.
Former PM Atal Bihari
Vajpayee conferred with Bharat Ratna:
Honorable President Pranab Mukherjee has presented India 's highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna to former
Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at his residence in Lutyen's Delhi . The event was attended
by Vice President Hamid Ansari, former President APJ Abdul Kalam, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, senior leader LK Advani, Home Minister Rajnath Singh
along with some close family members.
The event was completely kept away from the media.
Gandhi Peace Prize
2014 won by ISRO:
Indian space agency, Indian Space Research Organization has
been selected for the prestigious Gandhi Peace Prize 2014. The grand award was
chosen for ISRO by the jury under the chairmanship of the PM Shri Narendra
Modi.
The year 2014 was the most successful year for ISRO. The
agency successfully launched Mangalyaan or Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) and at a
very low cost of 450 crore rupees. The successful launch makes India the First
Asian Country to enter the Martian Sphere of Influence. The Contribution of ISRO for the Nation’s
Development is very high.
The agency provides satellite based education, health care
and connectivity to
community activities for sustainable economic development.
Abel Prize 2015
jointly won by Nash and Nirenberg:
American Mathematician Dr. John Forbes Nash and Canada-born
American Louis Nirenberg have been named as joint winners of the 2015 Abel
Prize, which is considered as the Nobel Prize in Mathematics.
The Abel Prize is awarded by the Norwegian Academy
The press release states that ‘’Nash and Nirenberg are
recognized for striking and seminal contributions to the theory of nonlinear
portial differential equations and its applications to geometric analysis”.
Nash was conferred with Nobel Prize in economics in 1994 for
his work in game theory.
The 2001 film “A Beautiful Mind” was based on Nash’s life
and his role was portrayed by actor Russell Crowe.
The Mathematical giants will accept the prize from King
Harald V of Norway during a
ceremony in Oslo
on May 19.
Adoor Gopalakrishnan
honoured with Bishwaratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika International Solidarity Award:
Acclaimed filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan on 29 March 2015
was honoured with Bishwaratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika International Solidarity
Award.
He was presented the award by Assam
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi at the function held at Guwahati , Assam
The Award is a biennial award instituted in 2013 and named
in the memory of the cultural doyen Dr.Bhupen Hazarika. The award carries a
memento, citation, collection of books and cheque of 5 lakh rupees.
The award was instituted by the Asam Sahitya Sabha and
sponsored by the Numaligarh Refinery Limited(NRL).
Aditi Arya Crowned
Femina Miss India 2015:
Aditi Arya from Gurgaon, the industrial and financial
capital at the NCR(NationalCapital Region), Delhi was crowned the Femina Miss India 2015.
The 52 nd edition of the event was held at Yash Raj Studios, Mumbai, on March
28th 2015.
The outgoing Miss India 2014 Koyal Rana conferred the crown
to Aditi Arya. Aafreen Rachel Vaz and Vartika Singh followed her as the first
and second runner-ups. It was contested by 21 contestants in the final audition
round.
Femina Miss India contest is conducted in India annually, as a national beauty pageant to
conclude the representatives of India
for the International pageant events like Miss World, Miss International and
Miss Continental. Miss India
is to represent India
for the International beauty pageant Miss World 2015.
The first and second runner-ups will represent Miss
International 2015 and Miss Continental 2015 respectively. Thereby the Femina
Miss India 2015 concluded with the Indian representatives for all the
International Beauty pageants which are as follows
Aditi Arya - Represents India for Miss World 2015
Aafreen Rachel Vaz - Represents India for Miss International 2015
Vartika Singh - Represents India for Miss Continental 2015
Madan Mohan Malviya
conferred with Bharat Ratna
Veteran freedom fighter and educationist Madan Mohan Malviya
was conferred with Bharat Ratna (posthumously), highest civilian award of the
country. His family members received the award from President Pranab Mukherjee
at the glittering function held at Durbar hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi .
ACTS AND BILLS:
Motor Vehicles
(Amendment) Bill, 2015
Lok Sabha unanimously passed the Motor Vehicles (Amendment)
Bill, 2015 to amend Motor Vehicles Act,1988, to help e-rickshaw ply in Delhi .
Here are key
highlights below:
Date of passing: 3rd March 2015 by voice note.
The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2015 introduced by
Minister of State for Road Transport.
This bill seeks to amend the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988and
replace the ordinance promulgated in
this regard in January.
The bill defines e-rickshaw and e-carts as special purpose
battery powered vehicles with power up to 4000 watts.
If the bill will passes at Rajya Sabha, it will going to
benefit 1 lakh e- rickshaw owners and drivers in the capital. Road transport
Minister Nitish Gadkari said while ensuring the livelihood of one lakh
e-rickshaw drivers, government will not compromise with the safety.
The driver of the vehicle will be owner and no one else
will get the license.
An earlier Bill to regularize e-rickshaws was passed by
the Lok Sabha in the Winter Session but as it was stuck in the Rajya Sabha, the
government issued the ordinance. The earlier bill was withdrawn.
The new rules provide that e-rickshaw will be allowed to
carry four passengers and 40 kg. luggage whilee-carts would transport goods up
to 310 kg.
The bill empowers Union Government to make the rules
specifications, conditions and manner for issuing driving license.
Citizenship
(Amendment) Bill, 2015:
Lok Sabha passed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2015to amend
Citizenship Act, 1955. The bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on 27th February
2015. The bill, if enacted will be considered to come into effect on 6th
January 2015. Here are key highlights below:
Date of passing: 2nd March 2015 by voice note
It allows the Union Government to relax the requirement of
12 months stay or service if special circumstances exist in cases related to
citizenship by registration and naturalization. Relaxation up to 30 daysmay be
permitted by the government.
It provides additional grounds for registering an Overseas
Citizen of India (OCI) card such as:
o Minor children whose parent(s) are Indian citizens,
o spouse of an Indian citizen or OCI/ PIO cardholder
subjected to certain conditions,
o great-grandchild of a person who is a citizen of another
country ,but meets one of several conditions of Citizenship Act, 1955
A new provision is introduced, allowing the union
government to register a person as an OCI cardholdereven if he does not satisfy
any of the listed qualifications.
It merges PIO and OCI cardholders.
It allows the union government to cancel the OCI card
where it is obtained by the spouse of an Indian citizen or Overseas Citizen of
India cardholder,
o if the marriage is dissolved by a court, or
o The spouse enters into another marriage.
o It also says the government may shift a PIO cardholder,
who enjoys fewer benefits, to be OCI cardholders from a specified date.
In the Lok Sabha, the new bill, the Right to Fair
Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and
Resettlement (Amendment) Bill 2015 was passed by Voice note after incorporating
nine amendments moved by governments. Arguing that Land Aquisition bill should
not be sent in standing committee, the congress walked out of Lok sabha.
Key Highlights of
Bill are stated below:
1. Date of Passing: 10th March 2015 by Voice note.
2. The bill was passed by incorporating Nine amendments.
3. Important Amendments are:
Land Acquisition only for industrial corridors set up by
Government.Ordinance did not clarify the inclusion of projects by private
players.
Land acquired for industrial corridor cannot exceed 1 km
on either side of designated rail line or road.
Compulsory employment for one member of affected farm
laborer’s family in the project coming up on land.
Court can take cognizance of offence by government
employee
Ordinance had sought govt sanction for prosecution;now it
would be easy to pull up an official below the rank of Joint Secretary.
Local redressal of complaints on Compensation.
Social infrastructure projects not exempt from consent
clause and social impact assessment.
No acquisition for schools and hospitals by private
persons.
Redressal of grievances at district level and prescribe
that state determine the acquisition is for bare minimum.
The opposition moved 52 amendments which were either
nullified or were not pressed by members. Later Congress, SP, TMC left and
others walked out to let the bill passed by voice note. The Akali Dal has
insisted to restore the “Consent clause” be restored and the Shiv
Sena remain stuck not to vote for the bill.
Insurance Laws
(Amendment) Bill, 2015 gets Rajya Sabha Nod:
Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2015 gets final a nod from
Upper House on 12th March 2015. Seven Years after it was first introduced by
UPA, with the help of Congress. A bill seeking to raise Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI) cap in insurance sector from 26% to 49% was approved by Rajya Sabha.
Key Highlights of The
Bill:
The insurance laws (Amendment) Bill 2015 will replace the
ordinance promulgated by government last year.
The bill was passed on 12th March 2015 by Voice note.
It was first introduced in 2008.
The bill makes IRDA ( Insurance Regulatory Development Authority),
the sole operator to impose penalty, impose a ceiling on expense management or
fix a remuneration etc..on insurance sector.
The FDI limit has been increased to 49% which may lead to
inflow of $8 to $10 billion in insurance sector.
It will also help in penetrating the insurance sector.
The bill was passed through voice note after a 3 hours
debate which saw the left clashing with treasury bench. the left parties, which
has opposed the bill insisted that amendment they have moved be put to electronic
voting.
Despite their opposition to bill, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan
Samaj Party and Janata Dal
(United) walked out and making it convenient to pass the
bill.
Mines and Minerals
(Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015:
This bill amends the Mines and Minerals (Development and
Regulation) Act, 1957
Key highlights of
bill:
Date of passing: 3rd March 2015
The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 24 February
2015.
It replaces an ordinance promulgated in January.
It was passed even it was protested by members from TMC,
BJD, and RSP.
Legislation, steel and mines minister Narendra Singh Tomar
said that bill once enacted will increase the
o Transparency
o End discretion
o Increase production
o Benefit the local population.
The bill encourages spending of fixed percentage of
revenue generated from mining on the
o development of local areas
o abolition of discretionary power enjoyed by governments,
which in turn will decrease corruption
Addition of a new 4th Schedule in to parent Act in order
to include bauxite, iron ore, limestone and manganese ore as notified minerals.
It allows the union government to increase the area limits
for mining, instead of providing additional leases.
It creates a new category of mining license named, the
prospecting license-cum-mining lease, which is a two stage-concession for the
purpose of undertaking prospecting operations (exploring or proving mineral
deposits) followed by mining operations.
It changes the lease period for all minerals other than;
o Coal
o Lignite and
o Atomic minerals.
o Mining leases for minerals shall be granted for a period
of 50 years.
On expiry of the lease, the leases shall be put up for
auction, instead of being renewed.
The tenure of the mineral concession has been increased
from the existing 30 years to 50 years.
It specifies that any lease granted before the
commencement of the Bill, shall be extended
o up to 31 March 2030 for minerals used for captive purpose
and up to 31 March 2020 for minerals
used for other than captive purpose or
o Till the completion of renewal period or
o for a period of 50 years from the date of grant of such
lease,
Whichever is later.
It states that union government shall prescribe the terms
and conditions and procedure for auction for the selection of bidders.
For mining leases, the government may reserve particular
mines for a specific end use and allow only eligible end users to participate
in the auction.
It states that the holder of a mining lease or prospecting
license-cum-mining lease may transfer the lease to any eligible person, with
the approval of the state government and as specified by the Union government.
The DMF (District Mineral Foundation) is to be established
by the state government and NMET(National Mineral Exploration Trust) shall be
established by the union government for regional and detailed mine exploration.
There is separate provision for contribution to the DMF
not exceeding 1/3rd of the royalty rate in the respective minerals.
This sector forms over two percent of total GDP.
This will also deters illegal miners as there are jail
terms as well as special court and illegal mining bill has a penalty of Rs 5
lakh per hectare instead of Rs 25000 earlier.
The Coal Mines
(Special Provisions) Bill, 2015:
Lok Sabha on 4th march 2015, Wednesday, passed theCoal Mines
(special provisions) Bill, 2015 to allow eauction of coal blocks after supreme
court cancelled their allocation leading to uncertainty in coal sector amid by
some oppositions.
key highlights:
Date of Passing: 4th March 2015 by voice note.
Date of introduction of bill: December 10, 2014 by the
Minister of Coal, Piyush Goyal.
Some of the amendments were voted out, while some of the
amendment were disapproved by voice note CPI[M] member Badruddoza Khan’s
amendment were voted out.
It seeks to amend the Coal Mines (Nationalization) Act,
1973 and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.
The Bills main objective is to enable private companies
to mine coal for sale in the open market.
The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2015, would
replace two ordinances issued by the government
o the first on October 21 last year and
o Second in December, after the apex court cancelled the
allocation of 204 blocks
Categories of mines: The Bill creates three categories of
mines:
Schedule I
(i) All the 204 coal mines cancelled by the Supreme Court in
August 2014,
(ii) Any land acquired by the prior allottee in or around
the coal mines, and
(iii) Mine infrastructure.
Schedule II
(i) 42 Schedule I mines that are currently under production
or about to start production
Schedule III
Mines includes the 32 Schedule I mines that have been
earmarked for a specified end-use.
A prior allottee shall not be eligible to participate in
the auction process
if he has not paid the additional levy imposed by the
Supreme Court, or
If he is convicted of an offence related to coal block
allocation and sentenced to imprisonment for more than three years.
Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal said that this bill
would ensure “ transparent and Honest “ process of auctioning of coal blocks. He warned that if the Bill is not passed, then
there could be a crisis in the coal sector with the closure of these mines.
e-auction has ensured open bidding and no monopoly in the
process.
Adequate safeguards have been put in place to ensure the
end-use restrictions and stop hoarding.
The Bill provides for allocation of coal mines and vesting
of the right, title and interest in and over the land and mine infrastructure
together with mining leases to successful bidders and allottees through atransparent
bidding process.
Dipendra Hooda said all states have put money for
development of coal mines over decades and if it is now generating some money
then they should get the share of the profits.
The e-Auction proceeds from the first lot of mines are
over 1 Lakh crore and Auctioning of second auction is in process.
The central government shall appoint a nominated authority
who will be an officer of the rank of a joint secretary in the government
Prior allottees shall be compensated for land and mine
infrastructure. For the purpose of such compensation, land shall be valued as
per the registered sales deed together with 12% simple interest from the date
of purchase or acquisition, till the date of the execution of the vesting
order. Mine infrastructure shall be valued as per the audited balance sheet of
the previous financial year. Prior allottees shall not be entitled to
compensation till the additional levy has been paid.
Parliament passes
bill to add some communities in SC list:
Parliament passed a Bill to include certain communities in
Scheduled Castes category in the states of Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha and Dadra
and Nagar Haveli. The Lok Sabha passed the Constitution (Scheduled Castes)
Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2015, by a voice vote. The Bill was cleared by the
Rajya Sabha on February 24′ 2015.
The Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawar
Chand Gehlot said the Union Government is well aware of the problems being
faced by the Scheduled Castes (SC) in the country and is completely ready to
consider proposals received from states regarding the inclusion of any
community in this category.
The Union Government had set up a Rs 200 crore Venture
Capital fund to provide soft loan to SC people starting their own business.
As per the bill, the
newly added communities are:
Kabirpanthi and Julaha – Haryana,
Bhovi, od, odde, Vaddar, Waddar – Karnatka
Dhoba, Dhobi, Dom, Dombo, Duria Dom, Katia, Kela, Nalua
Kela, Khadala and Turi – Odisha
Chamar – Dadra and Nagar Haveli
Lok Sabha passes
Warehousing Corporations (Amendment) Bill, 2015
Lok Sabha passes
Warehousing Corporations (Amendment) Bill, 2015 on 18th March 2015.
The Warehousing corporations {Amendment} Bill, 2015 seeks to
do away with the Center’s responsibility of being a financial guarantor to
Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC). The bill was passed by Lok Sabha with
Customer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan ruling out any move to privatize the
Mini-Ratna Company.
The bill was brought by previous UPA government in Lok Sabha
and cleared by Parliamentary Standing Committee. However, it lapsed with the
dissolution of 15th Lok Sabha.
Key Highlights of the
bill:
Date of Passing: 18th March 2015.
The Bill seeks to amend the Warehousing Corporations Act,
1962.
The bill put to end the Central Government’s responsibility
of being a financial guarantor to the
CWC in order to follow the criteria to be a Mini-Ratna enterprise status.
The government has also not given any guarantee besides
the payment of minimum guaranteed dividendas required under some provisions of
the act.
The bill seeks to withdraw the guarantee of the government
and absolves it of its responsibility of being the guarantor,
” The warehousing Corporation [ amendment ] bill has a
limited space and was necessitated by a legal requirement which said the
government will not be a guarantor for a “grade one” Mini- ratna company like CWC”,
Paswan said.
Union Cabinet
Approves Black Money Bill:
The Union Cabinet on 17th March 2015 cleared a stringent law
proposed in the budget to curb black money. The Black Money bill would be
introduced in the Parliament in the current session. The Union Cabinet also
approved signing of a crucial accord with the US
on exchange of financial information which will supplement India ’s own
efforts to tackle the menace of black money.
Points to Remember:
Black Money bill makes concealing foreign assets and
income from tax authorities a crime punishable with a 10-year jail term and
300% fine on the tax evaded.
Bill empowers the government to notify a window when people
with undisclosed foreign funds can come clean.
The duration of this window along with the tax rate and
penalty will be notified once Parliament clears the bill.
The bill also provides for prosecution and penalty of
individuals, banks or institutions for abatement if they help anyone create or
hide foreign assets.
The bill would be complemented by other legislation and
measures, including a new Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Bill that is in the
process of being finalized
The Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of
Tax) Bill cleared by cabinet also enables enforcement agencies to attach and
confiscate these assets under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The new bill announced by finance minister Arun Jaitley in
his budget speech — requires people to declare foreign assets and income,
including the date of opening their foreign bank accounts.
Union cabinet clears
33% quota for women in Delhi
Union Cabinet on 20th March 2015 clears 33% quota for women
in Delhi and other six Union Territories
Supreme Court strikes
down section 66A of Information Technology act
In a verdict related to the freedom of speech on the
Internet, the Supreme Court on 24th March 2015 scrapped Section 66A of the
Information Technology Act, terming it as unconstitutional.
The supreme court said that section 66A is vague and
violative of the fundamental right to freedom of speech.
Justices J Chelameswar and Rohinton F Nariman passing the
judgement said that 66A the court cannot go by the government’s assurances that
the section will not be misused as that cannot be properly implemented because
governments come and go but section 66A will exist forever.
INDIAN AFFAIRS
Election Commission
of India
The Election Commission of India has launched NERPAP –
National Electoral Roll Purification and Authentication Programme, all over
India with the objective of bringing a totally error free and authenticated
electoral roll.
The NERPAP programme include linking of Electors Photo
Identity Card (EPIC) data with Aadhar data for the purpose of authentication
and also on improving image quality of electors along with sorting issues like corrections
of errors/mistakes etc.
Citizens who are
eligible to vote can feed their respective Aadhar number via,
SMS
email
Mobile Application
National Voters Service Portal
By making a call at 1950 to state call centres
By submitting the details of Aadhar number and EPIC number
in a hard copy
Akilesh Yadav has
flagged off Varanasi – Kathmandu
Bus Service
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akilesh Yadav has flagged off
the “Indo-Nepal friendship” bus service that will link Kashi and Kathmandu directly with two buses. The Varanasi to Kathmandu Bus service is called
the “Bharat-Nepal Maitri Bus Seva” {India-Nepal Friendship Bus Service). The Varanasi to Kathmandu AC bus will depart Varanasi
at 10.30 p.m. and reach Kathmandu at 10.30
a.m.the next day through Azamgarh,
INDIAN RAILWAY
LAUNCHED “GO INDIA
Indian Railways has launched a smart card scheme called “Go
India”on a pilot basis on two sectors – New Delhi-Mumbai and New Delhi-Howrah.
The card currently enables the railway passengers to pay for reserved and
unreserved tickets that can be used at ticket counters. The scheme was
announced by Minister of State for Railways Shri Manoj Sinha.
The smart card can be
used for issuing tickets at:
Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS)
Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters
Automatic Ticket Vending Machines (ATVMs)
For the first time, a passenger should pay a minimum amount
of Rs.70 to get a card. He will get Rs.20 balance. Then he can recharge the
card for a minimum of Rs.20 or in multiple of Rs.50 upto Rs. 5000. The Maximum
limit on Go-India smart card is Ten thousand rupees.
The smart card has a validity of life time. If the card is
kept unused for 6 months, it will be temporarily deactivated which can be
activated again by paying Rs.50. The main objective of this scheme is to reduce
the transaction time at the booking counters for the convenience of passengers.
BBC Telecasts the Documentary
on Nirbhaya – India
The UK
based British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has released the controversial
documentary – India ’s
Daughter, which is about the 16th December Delhi gang-rape despite Government’s
ban. The film was due to be aired on international Women’s day but was brought
forward.
The Central Government has refused to allow it to be
released in India
because it objected to the filmmakers releasing it without their approval. The
interview created uproar in Parliament. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has
asked the media not to broadcast the documentary.
The Delhi
court has also stopped the media from publishing, broadcasting, telecasting or
uploading the controversial interview on the internet. The Union Home Ministry
had asked BBC not to broadcast the documentary anywhere. The BBC said that it
would not telecast the documentary in India . But the interview was
released in UK
on the night of March 4.
The Documentary has revealed the name of the victim ie
Jyoti Singh.
The Documentary was Directed by Leslee Udwin.
The video went viral immediately after the release on
YouTube and the Indian Government has demanded YouTube to delete that video.
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi to visit Seychelles, Mauritius, and Sri Lanka
In a move to strengthen the relationship between India and other countries, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi is to begin a three nation visit to Seychelles ,
Mauritius and Sri Lanka
from March 10th.
Modi will have bilateral discussions with Seychelles President James Alexis Michel to Strengthen
India ’s
maritime ties and enhance development cooperation.
On March 11-12th, the PM will have extensive meetings with
Mauritius Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth to enhance the special and unique
relations between the two countries.
On March 13-14th, the Prime Minister will have meetings with
the newly elected Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and other senior
leaders.
Indian Monuments and
Sites Nominated for UNESCO Heritage sites:
Ministry of states for culture and tourism Dr.Mahesh Sharma
on 4th March, Wednesday informed the Rajya sabha that the list contains 46
monuments and sites. On his written reply to Rajya Sabha, Dr.Sharma told the
house that the list had been sent in April 2014. In 2014 there were only 32
monuments and sites which were included in UNESCO, Catalogue of World Heritage
Sites.
Health Ministry
Launched 3-day Campaign for Better Women’s Health:
The Union Health Ministry has launched a three-day (March 8
to March 10) nationwide campaign for ensuring better health for women on International
Women’s Day(March 8). Under the program, special health check-up camps will be
held at all district hospitals, sub-district hospitals, and community health centers.
The hospitals will screen and carry out necessary
investigations and if needed, will also provide treatment free of cost. All
women aged 40-60 years will be screened for breast cancer and between 30-60 years
for cervical cancer. Antenatal and postnatal care services will also be
provided and Mother and Child Protection cards will be issued to the women.
ISIS DEMOLISHES
ANCIENT HATRA SITE IN IRAQ
Islamic State Militants have demolished the 2000 year old
ancient city of Hatra in Northern
Iraq .
United Nations has condemned this as an act of Barbarism.
Hatra is situated 110 km south of Mosul ,
the largest city under ISIS control. Few days
back the militants released a video of smashing statues and carvings in the
City’s museum, home to priceless Assyrian and Hellenistic artefacts dating back
3,0000 years.
The remains of theAssyrian city of Nimrud was bulldozed by the militants.
Archaeologists have compared the assault on Iraq ’s Cultural History to the
Taliban’s destruction of theBamyan Buddhas in 2001.
NPCI has linked 15
Crore Bank Account with Aadhar Number:
National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) said thatit has
linked 15 crore bank accounts with Aadhaar number, the unique identification
number to the citizens of India .
National Payment
Corporation of India
NPCI is the nodal agency for all retail payment systems
under the Jan Dhan scheme. It has achieved a milestone by successfully linking
15 crores bank Accounts with Aadhar Number.
NPCI was incorporated in 2008 under the companies ACT 1956
as Section 25 Company.
First India-Nepal
Friendship Motor Rally completes at India
The first India-Nepal Friendship Motor Rallywas concluded at
lawns of India Gate. The rally was flagged off at Puri, Odisha on February 27.
A total of twenty four teams and about 90 riders were
participated from both the countries. They covered a distance of 3060 Km during
the ten-day rally.
The objective of the rally is to strengthen bilateral
relations between India and Nepal and also to
spread the message of road safety. The rally covered religious places related
to Hinduism and Buddhism in the two countries.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj congratulated the
organizers for spreading the message of road safety via the motor rally.
Union Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways
and Shipping, Shri Pon Radhakrishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport
& Highways, Shri Vijay Chhibber,
Charged affairs of Nepal
in India ,
Shri Krishna Prasad Dhakal were present on the occasion.
GOVERNMENT TO CLOSE
DOWN THE FIVE SICK PUBLIC SECTOR UNDERTAKINGS:
The Union Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete said that
Government has decided to close the 5 sick Public Sector Undertakings that
include HMT and its three units, and Hindustan Shipyard.
He also added that the employees, who are working in these
PSUs will be provided with good VRS package.
Government has listed a total of 65 sick PSUs in India . The
Minister did not name any other PSUs which are slated to be closed down. Air India and MTNL
were declared as sick PSUs, after they incurred huge losses worth 50% or more
of their average net worth during four preceding years.
COAL SCAM : CBI COURT
SUMMONS FORMER PRIME MINISTER MANMOHAN SINGH:
The CBI court has summoned the former Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh over accusations of criminal conspiracy and corruption in the
illegal allocation of a coal field.
Special CBI judge
– Bharat Parasharsummoned five other accused in the coal scam. They are Kumar
Mangalam Birla, Hindalco, P C Parakh, B Shubhendu Amitabh, and D Bhattacharya.
Union Government
Launches Pharma Jan Samadhan Scheme to address consumer’s Grievances:
Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Ananth
Kumarlaunched Pharma Jan Samadhan Scheme, which is a web enabled system created
by National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), for redressal of
Consumer’s Grivances relating to Pricing and availability of medicines.
This system is speedy and effective with respect to
addressing the consumers Complaints. It would definitely serve as a powerful
e-governance tool for protection of consumers interest through the implementation
of the Drugs (Price Control) Order 2013. In case of any complaints, NPPA will
initiate action within 48 hrs of its receipt.
The scheme would also prevent black-marketing, artificial
medicines and illegal drug practices.
The Minister has also released Compendium of Ceiling Prices
of Essential Medicines 2015 prepared by NPPA.
The newly elected Delhi
government has decided to enforce ban on the storage, sale, and purchase of all
kinds of raw chewable tobacco products such asgutkha, khaini and zarda in the
National Capital.
The Health Minister Satyendra Jain has taken a serious
initiative for banning all kind of raw chewable products in the National
Capital and he has also finalized the proposal.
In Delhi ,
gutka is being supplied to retailers from neighboring states like Uttar Pradesh
and Haryana. The last day of every month has been declared as a Dry Day for
Tobacco by the Delhi
government.
THE LAW COMMISSION OF
INDIA
The Law Commission of India on 12th 2015 submitted its
report on Electoral Reforms to the Union Ministry of Law and Justice, proposing
wide ranging reforms
Following is the
summary of the report:
1. Election Finance
The Law Commission has mentioned wide ranging reforms on the
issue of
Candidate expenditure limits
Disclosure obligations of individual candidates
Political parties
Penalties on political parties
Examining the issue of state funding of elections.
2. Regulation of
Political Parties and Inner Party Democracy
The Commission recommend the requirement of accompanying
memorandum/ rules/ regulations with the party’s application. This accompanying
Document,by whatever name it is called,should also contain a specific provision
stating that the party would shun violence for political gains, and would avoid
discrimination or distinction based on race, caste, creed, language or place of
residence.
A new Chapter IVC should be inserted dealing with the “
Regulation of Poltical party’s” and incorporating the Commissions previous
recommandations in it’s 170 th Report with certain modifications.
Thus, sections 29J to
29Q will deal with:-
o internal democracy,
o party Constitutions,
o party organisation,
o internal elections,
o candidate selection,
o voting procedures,
o the ECI’s power to de-register a party in certain cases of
non-compliance.
Another section, section 29R should be inserted, providing
for the de-registration of a political party for failure to contest
Parliamentary or State elections for ten consecutive years.
3. Proportional
Representation:
The Law Commission recommends that the findings of the
170th Law Commission Report on the proportional system may be examined by the
Government to determine whether its proposals can be made workable in India at
present.
4. Anti Defection Law
in India
The Law Commission recommends a suitable amendment to the
Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, which shall have the effect of vesting the
power to decide on questions of disqualification on the ground of defection
with the President or the Governor, as the case may be, (instead of the Speaker
or the Chairman), who shall act on the advice of the ECI.
This would help preserve the integrity of the Nation.
5. Strengthening the
office of the Election Commission of India
The ECI should be strengthened by first, giving equal
constitutional protection to all members of the Commission in matters of
Removability;
Making the appointment process of the Election
Commissioners
The CEC consultative
Creating a permanent, independent Secretariat for the ECI.
6. Paid News and
Political Advertisements:
In order to curb the practice of disguised political
advertisement.
o Disclosure provisions should be made mandatory for all
forms of media.
o The purpose of disclosure is two fold.
First, to help the public identify the nature of the
content (paid content or editorial content).
To keep the track of transactions between the candidates
and the media.
Thus, a new section 127C should be inserted in the RPA to
deal with the non-disclosure of interests in political advertising. The ECI can
regulate the specifics of the disclosure required.
7. Opinion Polls:
The regulation of opinion polls is necessary to ensure
that
o the credentials of the organisations conducting the poll
is made known to the public
o the public has a chance to assess the validity of the
methods used in conducting the opinion poll
o the public is made adequately aware that opinion polls are
in the nature of forecasts or predictions,and as such are liable to error.
Consequently, new sections 126C and 126D should be inserted
in the RPA.
8. Compulsory Voting:
The Law Commission does not recommend the introduction of
compulsory voting in India and in fact,believes it to be highly undesirable for
a variety of reasons described above such as being undemocratic, illegitimate,
expensive, unable to improve quality political participation and awareness, and
difficult to implement.
9. Election Petitions:
The introduction of one or more “election benches” in each
High Court, designated so by the Chief Justice of the particular High Court,
exercising jurisdiction over all election disputes under the RPA.
A single Judge shall ordinarily exercise such jurisdiction,
although the Chief Justice can assign more judges, if they so desire.
9. NOTA and the Right
to Reject:
The Law Commission currently rejects the extension of the
NOTA principle to introduce a right to reject the candidate and invalidate the
election in cases where a majority of the votes have been polled in favor of
the NOTA option.
This is premised on the fact that,
o the underlying premise of the Supreme Court’s decision in NOTA
was the importance of safeguarding the right to secrecy, this secrecy rationale
does not pre-empt the right to reject.
o good governance, the motivating factor behind the right to
reject, can be successfully achieved by bringing about changes in political
horizontal accountability, inner party democracy, and decimalization However,
the issue might be reconsidered again in the future.
10. The Right to
Recall:
The Law Commission is not in favour of introducing the
right to recall in any form because
o it can lead to an excess of democracy
o undermines the independence of the elected candidates
o ignores minority interests
o increases instability and chaos
o increases chances of misuse and abuse
o is difficult and expensive to implement in practice,
especially given that India
follows the first past the post system.
11. Totaliser for
Counting of Votes:
The Commission reiterates and endorses the ECI’s suggestion
for introducing a totaliser for the counting of votes recorded in electronic
voting machines to prevent the harassment of voters in areas where voting
trends in each polling station can be determined.
Prior to the introduction of EVMs, ballot papers could be
mixed under Rule 59A of the Election Rules, although this was not permitted for
EVMs. Using a totaliser would increase the secrecy of votes during counting,
thus preventing the disclosure of voting patterns and countering fears of
intimidation and victimisation.
Thus, similar to the existing Rule 59A, the Commission
proposes to amend Rule 66A to empower the ECI to decide when, and in which
constituency and polling booths, to employ a totaliser, after taking into
consideration various factors and the overall context of the elections.
12. Restriction on
Government Sponsored Advertisements:
The Commission recommends regulating and restricting
government sponsored advertisements six months prior to the date of expiry of
the House/Assembly to
o maintain the purity of elections
o prevent the use of public money for partisan interests
of,inter alia
o highlighting the government’s achievements
o ensure that the ruling party or candidate does not get an
undue advantage over another in the spirit of free and fair elections.
This can be achieved by inserting a new Chapter VIIB in
Part V of the RPA prohibiting State/Central government sponsored advertisements
in the print or electronic media or by way of banners and hoarders, six months
prior to date of expiry of the term of the Lok Sabha/Vidhan Sabha.
However, an exception has been carved out for advertisements
highlighting the governmet’s poverty alleviation programmes or any health
related schemes
13. Restriction on
the Number of Seats from which a Candidate May Contest:
The Commission recommends an amendment of section 33(7) of
the RPA, which permits a candidate to contest any election (parliamentary,
assembly, biennial council, or bye-elections) from up to two constituencies.
In view of the expenditure of time and effort; election
fatigue; and the harassment caused to the voters,section 33(7) should be
amended to permit candidates to stand from only one constituency.
14. Independent
Candidates:
The Law Commission recommends that independent candidates
be disbarred from contesting electionsbecause the current regime allows a
proliferation of independents, who are mostly dummy/non-serious candidates or
those who stand {with the same name} only to increase the voters confusion.
Thus, sections 4 and 5 of the RPA should be amended to
provide for only political parties registered with the ECI under section 11(4)
to contest Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha elections.
15. Preparation and
Use of Common Electoral Rolls:
The Law Commission endorses the ECI’s suggestions regarding
the introduction of:
o Common electoral rolls for Parliamentary
o Assembly and local body elections.
However, given that introducing common electoral rolls
will require an amendment in the State laws pertaining to the conduct of local
body elections, the Central Government should write to the various States in
this regard. We hope that the States will consider amending their laws based on
the suggestions of the ECI and the Law Commission.
New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI} Airport’sterminal
ID is all set to get India’s First body Scanner.United states Trade and
Development Agency (USTDA)will be giving a “millimeter” wave scanner to IGI
Airport which will be installed in coming weeks. It will be thentested by
Bureau of civil aviation security(BCAS) which will look on health and privacy
concern.
These scanner is used globally including US.
SC Scraps OBC quota
for Jats:
The Supreme Court on 17th March 2015 struck down the center
controversial decision to grant reservation to Jats Community in jobs and
educational institution terming it Negative and retrograde governance.
The Supreme Court has scrapped a year-old notification by
the then-ruling Congress party-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) granting
the status of a backward class to the Jat community.
This judgment will not have any bearing in the inclusion of
the community in OBC lists notified by states. Except Gujarat ,
Jats are included in the list of OBCs in all the states mentioned above.
NATIONAL
PHARMACEUTICAL PRICING AUTHORITY KEEPS A CHECK ON PRICES OF MEDICINES IN INDIA
Union Government brought 52 new drugs under National
Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) control to keep check on prices of
essential medicines. The decision was notified by NPPA on 11 December 2014.
In an attempt to empower consumers and save them from paying
more for medicines, the government is set to make it mandatory for chemists to
mention in the bill whether they are selling a price-controlled product or not.
Besides, the bill will also mention the price of the
medicine as capped by the government.
The majority of the new drugs involve basic painkillers,
antibiotics and medicines used for ailing skin disorders and cancer. The price
capping of the medicines was based on the average of the costs of all drugs with
over one per cent market share. With the move, the government ensures the
improvement of medicinal affordability.
AADHAR CARD IS NOT
MANDATORY: SUPREME COURT:
The Supreme Court of India has cleared all the doubts
regarding the validity of Aadhar card to avail of government subsidies.
The SC has confirmed that the Aadhar card is not compulsory,
and further, officials
who insist on them will be taken to task. This was headed
byJustice Jasti Chelameswar. The court further said that “No person should be
denied any benefits or “suffer” for not having the Aadhaar cards issued by
Unique Identification Authority of India.
VIVIDH BHARATI
SERVICE IN FM MODE WAS INAUGURATED IN MUMBAI:
Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting,
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has inaugurated the Vividh Bharati Service in FM
mode of All India Radio in Mumbai on March 17, 2015.
He was accompanied by
Actors Jackie Shroff and Vikram Gokhale. The Minister said that the All India
Radio’s FM service could cover the whole country in the next couple of years.
The Vividh Bharti Service continues to be available on short
and medium waves. The FM Vividh Bharti channel is available on Akashwani at 102.8
MHz. This service will serve around two crore people in and around Mumbai.
The Minister has added that at present 40% of India is
covered by the FM service and the government aspires to take the remaining 60%
in the next two-two and a half years. The officials conveyed that AIR is all
set to inaugurate the launch of Vividh Bharati service in FM mode in other
metros, which includes Delhi
and Chennai. The Vividh Bharati service is already available in the FM mode in
Kolkata.
ASTRA SUCCESSFULLY
TEST-FIRED FROM SUKHOI-30 MKI FIGHTER AIRCRAFT:
Astra is India ’s
Indegenously Devloped Beyond Visual Range(BVR) missile. It is an all-weather,
state-of-the-art missile developed by DRDO.
Astra is 3.8 meter long and it can engage and destroy enemy
aircraft at supersonic speed. It is the smallest of the DRDOdeveloped missiles
and can be launched from different altitudes.
The last trial of Astra was conducted from a naval range on
May 4, 2014, and it was also successful. It’s expected that Sukhoi Su-30MKI
fighter aircraft and Mirage-2000 fighters of the Indian Air Force will be armed
with Astra missiles.
Policy Portal
launched by IT Minsiter Ravi Shankar Prasad:
IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad launched Bharatniti.in, a
public policy portal that attempts to put into perspective policy matters using
an “ancient yet contempary” approach.
The launching ceremony was held on March 18 at the
Constitution Club, Rafi Marg, Delhi .
IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, National general Secretary of BJP Muralidhar
Rao, Chairman of National Book Trust Baldev Bhai Sharma, and Prasar Bharati
Chairman A Suriyaprakash were present on the occasion.
In the official website, Bharatniti.in describes itself as an
“endeavour, a platform to shape up the narrative of contemporary India
necessarily through what we believe are the intrinsic values soaked with
centuries of wisdom”.
The portal comprises featured opinion pieces and comments on
various topics such as economics, foreign affairs, governance, education,
religion and cultural, and any policy that has a direct inpact on today’s India .
Subject Experts, Leaders, scientists and senior journalists
will share their expertise for the benefit of the readers.
AMITABH BACHCHAN TO
LEAD INDIA
After Polio, the government has again roped Mr. Amitabh
Bachchan to be the brand ambassador of its campaign against Hepatitis B.
According to latest World Health Organistion (WHO) data, hepatitis B is responsible
for 1.4 million deaths every year globally, as compared to 1.5 million deaths
from AIDS and 1.2 million each from malaria and tuberculosis.
The health ministry has finalized talks with Bachchan and is
set to launch the campaign in April.
ISRO IS HAVING TALKS
WITH SPACE AGENCIES OF UNITED STATES ,
RUSSIA
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to
collaborate with other space agencies on interplanetary explorations. From this
collaboration, India
is likely to acquire the knowledge to minimize the cost of launching complex
missions and enhancing technological capabilities in spacecraft design.
Currently, ISRO is having talks with space agencies of the United States of America , Russia and France .
MUMBAI’S GIRBUAM
CHOWPATTY TO BE RENAMED AS SWARAJ BHOOMI:
The BJP government in Maharashtra
has decided to rename the area at Girgaum Chowpatty as “Swaraj Bhoomi” to honor
the veteran freedom fighter Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavishas accepted a proposal in
this regard by the Mumbai Municipal Corporation.
Since 2014, the Lokmanya Tilak Gaurav Samiti, an Independent
Organization was demanding to name the little garden adjoining Girgaum Chowpatty
as “Swaraj Bhoomi as he was cremated there.
Government of India
The Government of India launched a dedicated portal called “Grahak
Suveda Kendra” in Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Jaipur, Kolkata and Patna to
help consumers register their grievances against misleading advertisements
(like particular medicine will help increasing height of a person or help bald
person grow hair).
The portal was launched by Consumer Affairs Minister Ram
Vilas Paswan.
Grahak Suvidha Kendra:
The complaints registered on the portal will be taken up
by authorities in the state or the central government and appropriate action
would be taken on complaints.
Any consumer in any part of the country can register on
the portal and can lodge a complaint against misleading advertisements.
The portal will be linked to all state authorities.
The portal also enables consumers to be informed of the
action taken.
This will provide a host of services to consumers under
one roof.
The Kendras are being launched on a pilot basis in only 6
cities. Based on the performance of these pilot centres, this scheme will be
extended to other parts of the country.
Currently, the Central Government is running the “National
Consumer Helpline”.
The number is 1800-11- 4000. Consumers can lodge telephonic
complaints (24/7) regarding their grievances. It has also assisted 22 states to
set up and run state help lines in regional languages.
Rajyavardhan Singh
Rathore inaugurated a Workshop on Still Photography and Videography:
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore [MoS for Information and
Broadcasting] inaugurated the first national workshop on photography and
videography at New Delhi .
The Workshop was designed according to parameters of Government of India’s
“Skill India Initiative”.
More than 25 organisations from across the country have
participated in the day-long workshop.
According to Minister, the workshop is a good attempt to
sharpen the skills of government personnel associated with photography and
videography.
The day-long workshop was organised by the I&B ministry.
The Workshop has been designed to cover four sessions covering the twin themes
of Photography and Videography. Renowned Cinematographer Santosh Sivan and
Rajesh Bedi, the winner of Lifetime Achievement Award in the 3rd National
Photography Awards shared their experiences at the workshop.
Ratan Tata to head
Indian Railways Kaya Kalp Council:
Industrialist Ratan Tata will head “Kaya Kalp”, a new
innovative council of Indian Railways, which is formed to turn around the
ailing state-run rail network. The Kaya Kalp council will also have two railway
union leaders – Shiv Gopal Mishra and M Raghuvaiah.
The main purpose of the council is to recommend innovative
methods and processes for the improvement, betterment and transformation of
railways.
Officials from Railway ministry said former Comptroller and
Auditor General Vinod Rai is likely to join the Kaya Kalp council as a member.
While Presenting the Railway Budget (on Feb 26), the Railway
minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu announced about the innovation council
‘kayakalp’, which will play the main role in business re-Engineering and also
in introducing a spirit of innovation in Indian Railways.
Union Cabinet
approves Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana:
The Union Cabinet of India gave its approval to thePradhan
Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), which will be implemented by the Ministry
of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship through theNational Skill Development
Corporation (NSDC). The total fund allocated for PMKVY is Rs. 1500 Crores.
International
Conference on Counter Terrorism:
Health Minister launches
Media Campaign to educate public on Immunization:
The Union Government of India launched 15 day multi-media
campaign to educate the public about the importance of Immunization, ahead of
implementing the health programme “Mission Indradhanush” in April.
The ambitious mission aims to cover all children in India who are
either unvaccinated or are partially vaccinated against seven vaccine
preventable diseases by 2020. The diseases are tetanus, hepatitis B, diphtheria,
whooping cough, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis B, and Polio.
The campaign was launched by Union Health Minister JP Nadda
in New Delhi .
The mission Indra Dhanush will also provide vaccination against Japanese
Encephalitis and Haemophilus influenza Type B in selected districts. The purposeful
campaign involves advertisements, workshops, and other activities to reach out the
people and also to create awareness about the benefits of immunisation.
Andhra Pradesh to
name New Capital City
According to state government officials it is likely to
choose Amaravathi – a famous pilgrimage center for Hindus and Buddhists.
Points to Remember:
The actual site earmarked for the new capital is 22 miles
away Amaravathi town.
Nearly 33,000 acres of land has been procured by the state
government for the new capital,
The construction work will commence by the end of June and
be completed in the next three years.
A Singapore firm has been assigned the job of preparing a
design for the new city .
He said the foundation stone for the new capital would be
laid on an auspicious day.
Hyderabad
is the joint capital of both the states, but only for a period of 10 years
Phase I of the new capital city would comprise 31 villages
(including some hamlets) in three mandals viz., Mangalagiri, Thullur and
Tadepalle mandals.
Indian Railways
Launched Ru-Pay pre-paid debit card:
IRCTC launched the debit card service on 24th March 2015.
Railway passengers can now book their tickets,do shopping and pay service bills
using RuPay pre-paid cards.
Points to remember:
The service was launched by the Indian Railway Catering
and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) in collaboration with the Union Bank of India and the National Payment Corporation of India .
RuPay is India ’s
own card payment gateway network like Visa and Master card,and provides an alternative
system for banks to provide a debit card service.
A K Manocha said the card is a first-of-its-kind in the
market as both virtual as well as physical cards are being issued to customers
in two variants.
Cards can be made available from UBI offices or through
IRCTC online. Initially the service will be available for booking tickets and
later on shopping and bill payments will be added.
Rupay’s card holder will get free Rs 1 Lakh accident
insurance coverage as part of the benefits to customers.
One can have the card with a loading limit of Rs 10,000
with partial “Know Your Customer” {KYC} detail or Rs 50,000 loading limit with
full KYC.
The first five transactions per card every month done on
IRCTC for purchase of train tickets will be free and no transaction charges
will be levied to customers for six months only.
For every subsequent transaction post the free usage,
customer will be charged Rs 10 per transaction.
The transaction charge would be Rs 10 per ticket for
booking a ticket through the card on the IRCTC portal.
Government of India
The Government of India launched Twitter Samvad, a new
platform to facilitate direct communication between leaders and citizens. It is
launched in association with social networking service Twitter.
The Twitter Samvad is based on the platform provided
byZipDial, which is an Indian company recently acquired by Twitter,making this
the company’s first Indian Service Launched using indigenous technology.
Rishi Jaitly, Twitter’s Market Director for India and Southeast Asia ,
Said: “We are proud to have launched a service here service here that is for
the people and of the people. This can eventually give every political leader
and every government organization a mobile microphone to connect with each
Indian, whether in Imphal or in Diu or in Leh
or in Pudducherry”.
Ministry of Railways
constituted Ajay Shankar Committee to review PPP Cell functioning:
The Ministry of Railways appointed Ajay Shankar committee on
25 March 2015 to review the performance of the Public Private Partnership (PPP)
cell functioning under the Railway Board.
Points to Remember:
The Committee will recommend measures to make the cell
more effective, customer friendly and result oriented.
The Infrastructure Directorate of Railway Board will be
the Nodal Directorate for functioning of the Committee and Executive
Director/Traffic (PPP) Railway Board will be the Secretary to the Committee.
During the Rail budget speech in February 2015, Union
Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu had promised to revamp the existing PPP cell in
the Railways in order to make it more result oriented.
Government also had unveiled its plan to invest Rs.8.5
trillion in the railways in next 5 years.
By channelizing PPP, railways is seeking to improve its
freight business and investment in its infrastructure.
Union Cabinet
Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the National Super Computing Mission
Union Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)chaired by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved theNational Super Computing Mission on 25
March 2015.
Points to Remember:
National Super Computing Mission aims at bringing the High
Performance Computing (HPC)facilities within the reach of the scientific
community by indigenous super computing infrastructure.
The mission will be implemented at an estimated cost of
4500 crore rupees over a period of seven years.
The mission will be jointly implemented by
o the Department of Science and Technology (DST)
o Department of Electronics and Information Technology
(DeitY) through the Centre for
Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC)
o The Indian Institute
of Science (IISc), Bangalore .
A vast super computing grid comprising of more than 70
High Performance Computing (HPC) facilities will be established in national
academic and Research and Development (R&D) Institutions across the county.
The grid will be connected with the computing
infrastructure set up under the National Knowledge Network (NKN).
Advanced HPC facilities will be developed using indigenous
resources to make the intended super computing grid operational.
The above two components are in tune with Digital India
and Make in India
initiatives of the Union government.
The mission also intends to develop applications of
national relevance by using these new facilities.
Spectrum Auction :
Idea emerges largest cross-spectrum bidder:
The government on 26th march 2015 announced the results of
the biggest auction of 2G and 3G air waves after Supreme Court lifted its ban.
On February 26, the apex court allowed the government to go ahead with the
auction of spectrum of bands 800, 900, 1800 and 2100 for all States from March
4.
However, it said the result of the auction should not be
finalised without its permission.
Points To Remember:
Idea Cellular,the country’s third largest operater,bid a
maximum of Rs.30,306.98 crore to buy spectrum in the 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and
2,100 MHz bands.
Airtel bid Rs.29,130.20 crore in the same bands.
Vodafone bid Rs.29,959.74 crore in the same bands.
Mukesh Ambani-run Reliance Jio and Anil Ambani-led
Reliance Communication bid bought spectrum in 800 MHz and 1800 MHz bands for
Rs.10,077.53 crore and Rs.4,299.13 crore, respectively.
Tata Teleservices will shell out Rs.7,851.33 crore for
radiowaves in 800 MHz and 1800 MHz.
Aircel will pay Rs.2,250 crore for spectrum in 1800 MHz
band.
Noway’s Telenor was the only company participant not to
win any spectrum.
First goods train
flagged off from Lumding to Silchar by Railway Minister:
The Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on 27 March 2015 flagged
off the first goods train from Lumding to Silchar in Assam .
Points to Remember:
Suresh prabhu, Railway Minister, flagged off first good
train on 27th March 2015.
He flagged off the train through video conferencing at a
function in New Delhi .
He announced a cash award for those involved in the
Lumding-Silchar gauge conversion project which will give result to better rail
connectivity in North Eastern states.
The gauge conversion of 210 kilometer Lumding-Silchar
section in Assam connects
Barak valley of Assam
the gauge was completed at a cost of 3500 crore rupees.
The broad gauge line comrpises of 21 tunnels (with the
longest of 3.23 kilometer length), 79 major bridges and 340 minor bridges, 28
stations and four halt stations.
Lumding is a town and a municipal board in Nagaon district
in Assam .
Silchar is the headquarters of Cachar district of Assam
and lies 343 kilometres south east of Guwahati.
Himachal Pradesh
assembly launches India ’s
first E-Vidhan Mobile apps:
Himachal Pradesh Government launched part one of E-Vidhan
Mobile apps, that will enable all 68 members of state assembly to get the
entire House business on their smartphones and tablets, laid in the house 45
minutes before the beginning of the daily proceedings.
With this Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha became the first
state assembly in the country to launch this app to facilitate smart working.
The Asian ministerial conference is set to endorse a
regional implementation plan of the new post-2015 framework for disaster risk
reduction. This will form a key element of the initial global effort to implement
the new framework.
Points to Remember:
Asian Ministerial Conference was announced on 17 March
2015.
Asian Ministerial Conference was announced by Home
Minister of India Rajnath at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk
Reduction held in Sendai , Japan
This will be the first AMCDRR to be hosted by India in the post-2015 framework for Disaster
Risk Reduction, though India
had hosted the Second AMCDRR in 2007.
The conference in 2016 will be held in collaboration with
the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).
The Sixth Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk
Reduction was held in Thailand
from 23 June to 26 June 2014.
According to the data Reveled by world steel association
(WSA), India has produced
14.56 million tonnes of steel in the first two months of year 2015 and beat the
United States
to become the World’s third-largest producing country.
Two interceptor
boats, FPV commissioned into Indian Coast Guard’s Eastern Fleet:
Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) named Anagh and Two Interceptor
Boats named C-430 and C-417 were Commissioned into Indian Coast Guard’s Eastern
Fleet. They were commissioned by
Lieutenant General Ajay Kumar Singh (retd), Lt Governor of Puducherry in a
traditional ceremony with full military honours in Chennai. These Commissioned ships will enhance Coast
Guard’s Capability in furthering its mandate of
maritime safety and security, environmental protection. It
will also enhance the coastal security capability and add more teeth to its
existing fleet on the Eastern Sea Board.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has been barred by the Delhi High
Court (HC) from making, marketing or selling its anti-diabetes medicines on the
ground that it had prima facie infringed the patent of US drug giant Merck Sharp and Dohme
(MSD).
Glenmark’s medicines, Zita and Zita-Met, cost 30 percent
less than MSD’s Januvia and Janumet, which is due to the customs duty paid by
the US firm, the court said adding no allegation has been made that MSD sells
its drugs at a relatively high price that hinders access to the drug.
A Bench of Justices S. Ravindra Bhat and Najmi Waziri, while
granting an interim injunction in favour of MSD, also said that the price
difference between the drugs of the two companies is not so startling as to compel
the court to infer that allowing Glenmark to sell the drug at depressed prices
would result in increased access.
Andhra Pradesh, University of Singapore
Andhra Pradesh government, National University of Singapore
(NUS) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) have signed MoU to work on
Ease of Doing Business in the state. It was signed for cooperation in relation
to “Master Plan on Ease of Doing Business in AndhraPradesh {MEDBAP}: Vision
2020”. The tripartite MoU will be
effective from April 1, 2015 and valid for three years i.e. upto March 31, 2018.
BJP become’s the
world’s Largest Political Party in the world:
The ruling BJP has become the largest political party in the
world in the past five months taking its membership to 8.80 crore.
Points to Remember:
The Communist Party of China was until now considered the
largest party with about 8.60 crore members.
The party hit the 8.80 crore mark on 29th March 2015. BJP
expects its membership to cross 10 crore by the end of the march.
Party president Amit Shah will announce the final figure at
the national executive to be held in Bangalore
on 3-4 April 2015. Enrollment through missed calls is a huge improvement.
The membership drive will officially come to an end on March
31 but there are chances that it may be extended in a few states like Maharashtra .
BANKING AND FINANCE:
IMF raises India
The new forecasts have taken into account a revised
methodology adopted by India earlier this year for calculating the GDP figures,
about which IMF said that the country has “improved the way it measures
economic out put”. Chief Adviser Arvind
Subramanian and RBI Governer Raghuram Rajan have termed new Methodology
“Puzzling”.
Both Arvind Subramanian and RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan have
been in IMF in the past. Last year IMF had forecasted a growth rate of 5.6%
percent for current fiscal and 6.4% for the next. IMF said that India has
become the fastest growing economy in the big emerging market and the growth
rate would further accelerate to 7.5%.
IAG to raise stake in
Indian joint venture with SBI to 49%:
Insurance Australia Group Ltd (IAG) has decided to raise its
stake in SBI General Insurance, a joint venture with the State Bank of India ,
from 26% to 49%. The IAG has made this decision within few days of Parliament
clearing the Insurance Bill. SBI General, a 74:26 joint venture between SBI and
IAG of Australia, began its operation in 2010. Now the SBI will dilute its
stake in SBI General Insurance from 76 percent to 51
percent.
Max Bupa, a health insurer, is a joint venture between Max
India (with 74% stake) and U.K.-based global healthcare group Bupa (26%). In
January, Bupa Insurance had said that it would raise stake to 49 per cent from
the current 26 per cent. This company also commenced its operations in 2010.
Some other Indian banks that have insurance joint ventures
with foreign partners may also look at diluting stake in the future, but not
immediately.
Reliance Industries
Limited is India
Reliance Industries Limited has become the India ’s largest company in terms of
asset with the assest worth Rs. 3.68 Lakh Crore. This offer is given by
corporate Affairs Minister, Arun Jaitely by a written reply to Rajyasabha. The
list is based on data from 4,15,886 companies which had filed their balance
sheets for the year 2013-14 till November 30, 2014.
”The total value of all the assets of the 4,15,886
companies amounts to Rs.117.08 lakh crore and the share of top ten companies in
the total value of assets was 15.3 percent
on March 31,2014,” Mr Jaitley said.
1. Reliance Industries Limited – Rs. 3.68 Lakh Crore
2. Indian Oil Corp – Rs. 2.52 lakh crore
3. Housing Development Finance Corp – Rs. 2.25 lakh crore
4. Power Finance Corp – Rs 1.94 lakh crore
5. National Thermal Power Corporation – Rs. 1.80 lakh crore
6. Rural Electrification Corp – Rs. 1.53 lakh crore
7. Power Grid Corp – Rs. 1.40 lakh crore
8. Life Insurance Corporation Housing Finance – Rs. 95,777
crore
9. Steel Authority of India – Rs. 91,962 crore
10. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limted – Rs. 89,333 crore
In the list of top 10 Corporate in terms of assets, Reliance
Industries Limited (RIL) and Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC) are the
only two firms from the private sector.
Reserve Bank of India
In a striking move, the Reserve Bank of India has eased the norms for home
loans for up to 10 lakh rupees by authorizing the banks to include stamp duty,
registration, and other documentation charges to the cost of a unit.
Usually these charges from around 15 per cent of the cost of
the house and place a huge burden on people. Right now, the banks do not
include stamp duty, registration and other documentation charges in the cost of
housing property.
The Reserve Bank India has also said that in case government
projects, banks may pay out the loans as per the payment stages prescribed by
authorities. The RBI has also notified that the payments sought from house
buyers are not linked to the stages of construction.
Reserve Bank of India
After a long gap of 20 years, one rupee notes are all set to
come back into circulation. The Reserve Bank of India said the notes to be issued
would be legal tender as provided in The Coinage Act 2011. The official
statement – “The ‘RBI will soon put in circulation currency notes in one rupee
denomination.
The notes will be printed by the Government of India.”
DETAILS:
- Dimensions – 9.7 by 6.3 cm.
- Made of – 100 per cent cotton rag content.
- Weight – 90 grams per sq meter.
- Thickness of 110 microns.
- Bear Ashoka Pillar symbol as Watermark
- Carry a hidden numeral in the center
- Hidden word Bharat (in Hindi) will be on the right hand side of the note.
- Colour – Pink Green
- Note carries the signature of Finance Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi.
- The currency note will contain words Bharat Sarkar and Government of India.
- Also carries the rupee symbol of 2015 with Sataymev Jayate words printed on it.
- The surrounding design will consist of the picture of Sagar Samart.
The printing of one rupee note was discontinued in November
1994. Printing Two Rupee and Five Rupee notes were stopped in 1995. Only coins
have been issued for this denominations and older notes are still in circulation.
RBI barred Macau and
Hong Kong citizens from buying property in India
The Reserve Bank of India
has barred Macau and Hong Kong, the two special administrative regions of China , from acquiring or transferring immovable
properties in India .
The countries which are previously barred from acquiring or
transferring immovable properties in India
without permission from the RBI under the Foreign Exchange Management
(Acquisition and Transfer of immovable property in India ) Regulations, 2000 are
Pakistan
Bangladesh
Sri
Lanka
Afghanistan
China
Iran
Nepal
Bhutan
HDFC Bank launched
mobile app Chillr to instantly transfer money to any person in India
HDFC Bank announced the launch of Chillr, a mobile app which
allows users to instantly transfer money to any contact in their phone book.
Chillr is a first of its kind application that is linked directly to the
Customer’s bank accout, so there is no need to worry about filling up a prepate
wallet.
Life Insurance
Corporation of India
The MoU was signed between Financial Commissioner (Railways)
Rajalakshmi Ravikumar and LIC Chairman SK Roy and it was witnessed by Union
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and the Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu.
LIC will invest in bonds issued by various railway entities
such as Indian Railways Finance Corporation.
There will be a 5 year moratorium in interest and loan
repayment. The rate will be linked to 10-year benchmark plus 10 basis points.
The bonds will have a tenor of 30 years and will be disbursed over the next five
years.
Insurance companies in India are mandated to invest the
total premium collected in a fiscal in different sectors. i.e.,
50% – Government-approved securities
35% – Equities and other instruments
15% – Infrastructure.
Swachh Bharat may add
1% extra service tax to 5-star Bills:
The government has identified five “high end services”,bills
in four and five star hotels for one which will attract additional service tax
to fund PM Modi’s “Swachh Bharat Campaign, leaving a big dent in your pocket.
The government is expected to notify an additional 1% levy
asagainst enabling provision of levying upto 2% cess over Service tax.
The government aims to raise 14,000 crores annually for the
Swachh Bharat kosh, which include 1% cess on the five services. Levy of 200
tonn on coal, Details on other four services are not available.
The move to impose additional service tax is expected to
fetch 2000 crore a year while coal is expected to generate around 6000 crore.
Reserve Bank of India
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reduced the repo rate by
25 basis points, from 7.75 percent to 7.5 percent. The reverse repo rate moved
down to 6.5 percent consequently. The cash-reserve ratio is kept unchanged at 4
percent. It is the II change in repo rate since January 2015.
The reasons behind this cut, according to RBI governor
Raghuram Rajan include better Fiscal Consolidation and less combined fiscal
deficit due to transfer of more funds to states from the center.
Bank shares are in a high demand after the announcement of
new repo rate.
Current Reserve Rates:
Bank rate - 8.5%
CRR - 4%
SLR - 21.5%
Repo rate - 7.5%
Reverse repo rate - 6.5%
Marginal Standingfacility rate – 8.5%.
Narendra Modi
Formalizes India’s Inflation Target with Reserve Bank of India
The Government of India and the Reserve Bank of India
have signed a monetary policy agreement that will fix a target for consumer price inflation of 4% for the 2016/17 fiscal
year.
As per the agreement, the RBI will aim to bring retail inflation below 6 percent by January
2016. This is the biggest change in the Monetary
Policy of India, since the 1991 Financial Reforms.
RBI signs $400
million currency swap pact with Sri
Lanka
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has signed a US $400 million
currency swap agreement with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka .
The currency swap agreement will allow central banks of both
nations to make withdrawals of US Dollar or Euro in multiple tranches up to a
maximum of USD 400 million or its equivalent.
The agreement will be valid for a period of three years and
further economic co-operation
between the two countries. It will also bring in more
financial stability in the region.
Union Government
approves 10 FDI proposals worth Rs.2857.83 crore:
Union Government has approved 10 Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI) proposals worth 2857.83 crore rupees. These FDI proposals were approved
by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).
Important Proposals:
- Air Works India {Engineering}Private Limited’s proposal to increase foreign equity investment at Rs. 40 crore.
- Ostro
Energy’s proposal to invest Rs. 1,400 crore over next four -five years in
wind energy assets in
- IPCA Laboratories’proposal for FII investment up to 35 percent i.e. Rs 900 crore.
- Reckitt
Benckiser (
- Syngene International’s proposal to inject 380 crore rupees through 10 per cent foreign equity participation into the company.
- Ambuja
Cements proposal for acquisition of 24 per cent shares in its holding
company Holcim (
SEBI sets norms to
govern international financial centres:
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) approved
guidelines to govern international financial services centres (IFSC). These
guidelines were approved by SEBI board meeting on 22 March 2015.
The news guidelines relax the norms for Stock exchanges and
clearing corporations to set up IFSC. It also relaxes norms and allows existing
exchanges to set up their subsidiaries in the IFSC.
GOI approves 17 Mega
Food Parks for food processing across the country:
Government of India has approved 17 mega food
parks for food processing across the country. It was announced by Union Cabinet
Minister of Food Processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal. Out of these 17 food parks, 7
parks have been allotted to state agencies whereas 10 to private players in 11
states.
The Mega
Food Park
It will be backed by an efficient supply chain, which
includes collection centres, central processing center (CPC) and cold chain
infrastructure.
IMPORTANT
APPOINTMENTS:
Mufti Mohammed Sayeed
sworn in as the CM of Jammu and
Kashmir
Mufti Mohammed Sayeed of People’s Democratic Party (PDP)
sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir for the second time. The PDP has collaborated with Bharatiya Janata
Party to form a new coalition government and ended the 49 days of Governer’s
rule in the state.
Nirmal Singh of BJP, sworn in as the new Deputy Chief
Minister of the state. Totally thirteen MLAs including Sayeed from the PDP and
Twelve MLAs from BJP and Peoples Conference combine were sworn-in as ministers.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar
Lal Khattar, Party Secretary Amit Shah and General Secretary Ram Madhav.
Jagmohan Dalmiya set
to come back as BCCI President:
Former International Cricket Council (ICC)President Jagmohan
Dalmiya is all set to come back as the Board for Control for Cricket India ’s
{BCCI} presedent. Dalmiya will be replacing N Srinivasan ,
in the board’s annual general meeting.
The path for Dalmiya was cleared after another former
president Sharad Pawar failed to get a proposer from East zone.
Arun Singh: New
Indian Ambassador to United
States of America
Arun Singh, “india ’s
Ambassador to France ,has
been named as the Indian Ambassador or United States . He will replace Jaishankar Subramanyam ,India
Indian Government has already sent an agreement to the
Government of United States, regarding Singh as its next Ambassador and was
awaiting a response from them.
However, according to the reports, the new shuffling will be
only done after Modi’s proposed visit to Paris
in April.
Baldev Sharma
Appointed as the Chairman of National Book Trust:
Human Resource and Development Minister Smriti Irani has
appointed the former editor of Panchajanya,Baldev Sharma as the new chairman of
National Book Trust. Panchajanya is one of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s {RSS}
publications.
The post was previously held by Sethumadhavan, who has a
very long literary career of nearly five decades. He authored more than 15
novels and 20 collections of short stories.
Obama re-nominates
Sunil Sabharwal as Alternate Executive Director of IMF:
United States President Barack Obama has re-nominated
Indian-American Investor Sunil Sabharwal as Alternate Executive Director at
theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF). He was previously nominated in April 2014
to the same position. Mr Sabharwal has been an independent investor in the
payments sector since 2006.
RM Vishaka appointed
as MD & CEO of IndiaFirst Life Insurance:
R M Vishakha has been appointed as theManaging Director and
Chief Executive Officer of IndiaFirst Life Insurance. She is the first woman to
lead the company. She has more than 25 years of experience in the financial
services industry including that of working with life and non-life insurers.
Previously Vishakha held the post of Chief Business Officer
at IndiaFirst Life. Vishaka has replaced Dr. P. Nandagopal as MD & CEO.
Kewal K Sharma
assumed charge as Chief Secretary of Delhi
Home Minister Rajnath Singh approved the appointment of
Kewal K Sharma as the Chief Secretary of Delhi .
Shri Kewal Sharma, a 1983 batch Senior IAS officer, was appointed as the Chief
secretary of Delhi
on 3rd March 2015. Sharma assumed charge as Chief Secretary on 9th March 2015.
Previously, he had been serving as the Chief Secretary of Goa . Sharma had rendered service in many parts of the
country, which includes Delhi , Goa, Lakshadweep,
Arunachal Pradesh, and Chandigarh .
He was posted in Delhi
as the principal secretary of PWD from 2011 to 2014 and has also been the
Commissioner (housing), DDA and the project Director of Dwarka sub-city.
Saif Ali Khan to
promote an India-centric tourist campaign for Britain
The National Tourism Agency of England,”Visit Britian”
signed Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan to promote an India-centric British
campaign. The actor was signed for the “Bollywood Campaign” on10th March 2015.
The promotional campaign is likely to include locations like London ,
Oxford ,Cardiff
which are popular with Indian tourists.
Mary Kom Appointed as
Ambassador for North East:
The Union Government has decided to appoint Olympic
medallist boxer MC Mary Kom as thebrand ambassador for north-east India to promote the region all over India
and also in other countries.
The official announcement has been made by the Minister of
State in the Ministry of Development of North East Region (DoNER) Jitendra
Singh while addressing the 10th North East Business Summit in New Delhi .
Central Government
appointed Nine Executive Directors in Public Sector Banks:
The Union Government of India has appointed a total of nine
Executive Directors in Public Sector Banks on 11th march 2015. The Appointments
Committee has approved the appointments of these Executive Directors. Reserve
Bank of India
Governor Raghuram Rajan headed a selection panel for these appointments.
LIST OF APPOINTMENTS:
1. Charan Singh – UCO Bank
2. K Venkata Rama Moorthy – Bank of Baroda
3. RP Marathe – Bank of India
4. Harideesh Kumar B – Canara Bank
5. NK Sahoo – Allahabad Bank
6. Pawan Kumar Bajaj – Indian Overseas Bank
7. Ravi Shankar Pandey –
Syndicate Bank
8. Kishore Piraji Kharat – Union Bank of India
9. RC Lodha – Central Bank of India
Ashu Suyash Appointed
as the new MD & CEO of CRISIL:
Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited(CRisiL)
has appointed Ashu Suyash, a mutual fund industry veteran, as it’s new Managing
Director and Chief Excecutive Officer.
She will be replacing Roopa Kudva from 1st of June.
At present Suyash is the CEO of Larsen & Toubro Investment
Management. She had also worked with the Citigroup. Suyash has more than 26
years experience in the Indian financial services industry.
Abid Ali Neemuchwala
appointed as the Group President and Chief Operating Officer of Wipro:
Wipro has appointed a Chief Operating Officer (COO), former
TCS BPO head Abid Ali Neelmuchwala. Abid Ali Neelmuchwala, 48, will be group
president and COO with effect from April 1, 2015.
As Wipro COO Neemuchwala will head most service lines, he
will head business operations, geographies comprising continental Europe,
Africa and Latinm America ,
and Startegic Engagements.
Ruth Porat appointed
as Chief Financial Officer of Google Inc:
Google Inc appointed Ruth Porat as it’s New Chief Financial
Officer (CFO). She replaced Patrick Pichette who announced his retirement on 10
March 2015.
She will report to Google CEO and Co-Founder Larry Page.
Currently Ruth Porat is working as Chief Financial Officer at Morgan Stanley,
an American multinational financial services corporation.
Google’s shares rose by 2.5% after Porat’s appointment released
that Google will be paying more than $70 million a year, putting her among the
highest-paid CFOs in the World.
Vikas Swarup to
succeed Syed Akbaruddin as MEA spokesman:
Senior diplomat Vikas Swarup has been appointed as
Spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry.
Swarup was a 1986 IFS-batch officer currently holding the
charge of Joint Secretary (United Nations-Political) in the External Affairs
Ministry. Swarup will succeed Syed Akbaruddin, who has been promoted as Additional
Secretary in the External Affairs Ministry.
It should be noted that Vikas Swarup is the author of
world-wide acclaimed novel “Q & A” which was made into Slumdog Millionaire”.
The novel “Q& A” has been translated into 43 languages. “Swarup is expected
to take over the position from April 18th, after PM Modi Ji returns from his
nine-day trip to Europe and Canada
beginning April 9th.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS:
Microsoft’s Paul Allen
Discovered Japan
US multi-billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allenhas
discovered the famous War ship of World War II – Japan’s Musashi and it’s sister
ship Yamato in Sibuyan Sea, a seabed of Philippines.
Musashi was sunk by American forces during the war, 70 years
ago. It is one of the largest battleships in history.
Musashi was designed to take on multiple enemy ships
simultaneously. It was launched in November 1940.
Musashi weighed 73,000 tonnes fully laden and carried a crew
of 2,500. It could reach speeds of up to 27 knots.
The thing which created fear in enemies about Musashi was
it’s armament,which included the largestcalibre guns ever fitted to a warship.
A 18.1 inch cannon was mounted in three triple turrets, each
capable
of firing up to two 1,460 kg armour-piercing shells a minute
over a range of 26 miles.
Forbes Billionaire
list 2015:
The Forbes world Billionaire list is the Annual s Wealthiest
people, compiled and published by an American Magazine called Forbes every year
inMarch since 1987. The Microsoft owner, Billgates is the richest person, a
title which he has been holding for 16 of the past 21 years.
In the 29th annual List of global billionaires, a record
1,826 billionaires were named with an aggregated net worth of $7.05 trillion
which is $6.4 trillion more than last year.
Below are the Top 5
Wealthiest persons ranked by Forbes:
Name Country Net
worth Age Source
1. Bill Gates U.S. $ 79.2 B 59 Microsoft
2. Carlos Slim Helu Mexico $77.1 B 75 telecom
3. Warren Buffett U.S. $72.7 B 84 Berkshire
Hathaway
4. Amancio Ortega Spain $64.5 B 78 Zara
5. Larry Ellison U.S. $ 54.3 B 70 Orcale
Boko Haram pledges
Allegiance to Islamic State
Shekau said“We announce our allegiance to the Caliph of the
Muslims … and will hear and obey in times of difficulty and prosperity, in
hardship and ease, and to endure being discriminated against, and not to dispute
about rule with those in power, except in case of evident infidelity regarding
that which there is a proof from Allah. We call on Muslims everywhere to pledge
allegiance to the caliph”.
WORLD’S FIRST SOLAR
POWERED AIRCRAFT ‘SOLAR IMPLUSE’TO VISIT INDIA
After landing in Ahmedabad, The solar powered Aircraft
founders and Pilots Andre Borschberg and Betrand Piccard are likely to stay in
city for 2 days and thereafter will leave for Varanasi .
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a Three-nation tour,
held talks with the President of Seychelles James Alix Michel. Modi is the
first Prime Minister to visit Seychelles
in the last 34 years.
Late premier Indira Gandhi had visited Seychelles in
1981. Foreign SecretarySubrahmanyam Jaishankar and National Security Adviser
(NSA) Ajit Doval were part of the Indian delegates, who take part in discussion
President James Alix Michel.
The leaders have
witnessed the signing of four agreements between India
and Seychelles
1. Cooperation in hydrography
2. Cooperation in renewable energy
3. Cooperation in infrastructure development
4. Cooperation in sale of navigation charts and electronic
navigational charts
The United States of America
has declared Venezuela
(officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ) a national security
threat. The US
has ordered sanctions against seven officials from the oil-rich country in the
worst bilateral diplomatic dispute since socialistPresident Nicolas Maduro took
office in 2013. US President Barack Obama signed and issued the executive
order, which senior administration officials said did not target Venezuela ’s
energy sector or broader economy.
“3RD WORLD CONFERENCE ON DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
(WCDRR) HAS BEEN PROPOSED TO TAKE
PLACE IN SENDAI ,
JAPAN
ABOUT THE THIRD UN
WORLD CONFERENCE
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution will
hold a meeting on disaster risk reduction this weekend (14-18 March), with
policymakers gathering in Japan .
The conference will open in the northeastern city of Sendai on Saturday (14th March 2015).
Ban, who will attend the gathering, has highlighted the rise
in extreme weather as global warming has accelerated over the past 10
years. ‘Disaster risk reduction is a
front-line defense against climate change and it is essential for sustainable
development, he said in New York
on Wednesday.
Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, who is on Three-Nations tour,
reached Mauritius
and signed five agreements with the Prime Minister of Mauritius Anerood
Jugnauth atPort Louis on 12th March 2015. India
also offered $500 million concessional Line of Credit to Mauritius for
key infrastructure projects.
The Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement between India and Mauritius
is being revised amid concerns that Mauritius
is being used for round-tripping of funds into India . Mauritius
has been one of the biggest sources ofForeign Direct Investment into India .
The agreements
include,
MoU between India
and Mauritius
in the field of Ocean Economy.
Programme for Cultural Cooperation between India and Mauritius for the year 2015-18.
Protocol between the Department of Agriculture and
Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture of Republic
of India and the Ministry of
Agro-Industry and Food Security of Mauritius for the importation of fresh
mangoes from India .
MoU for the Improvement in Sea and Air Transportation
Facilities at Agalega Island of Mauritius .
MoU on Cooperation in the field of Traditional System of
Medicine and Homeopathy.
UAE to host AFC Asian
Cup 2019:
The United
Arab Emirates won the bid on an unanimous
vote to host AFC Asian Cup 2019 on 9th March 2015. “The UAE won the right
unanimously,” AFC chief Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa Quoted.
Some key points to
remember:
The UAE bid
proposed to organise the tournament in three cities :
o Abu Dhabi ,
o Dubai
o Al-Ain all of which have stadiums that could host the games.
A new stadium in Dubai
with a capacity for 25,000 fans is also promised to be built for the tournament.
The AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Asian Cup 2019 will
be the 17th edition of the games.
It is the second time that UAE will hold the tournament
since 1996.
For the first time tournament will have the 24 teams as
against the 16 team format that had been used since 2004.
The announcement was made by the AFC Executive Committee
in a meeting at Manama , Bahrain
Four Important Pacts
signed between India and Sri Lanka
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on Three-Nations
tour reached Sri Lanka
on 13th of March 2015. He was received by Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe,
Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweeraand Port Minister Arjuna Ranatunga at Colombo Airport
In this historical
meeting, four pacts are signed between India
and Sri Lanka
Visa.
Customs.
Youth Development.
Building Rabindranath Tagore memorial in Sri Lanka .
PM Narendra Modi said “We believe that early and full
implementation of the 13th Amendment and going beyond it would contribute to
this process”.
Defence Pact Signed
between Japan and France
The agreement with France encourages mutual defence
cooperation by confirming that transferred technology and equipment will not be
provided to a third country without the permission of the country of origin.
The two countries have agreed to work toward concluding an
acquisition and cross-servicing agreement, which provides a framework for
logistic cooperation between armed forces. Japan
already has signed such agreement with the United
States and Australia .
Maldives Former President Mr Mohamed Nasheed was sentenced
to 13 years in prison after being found guilty of terrorism. Nasheed ordered
the arrest of a Chief judge when he was in power in 2012. He was Maldives first
democratically elected leader and he ended the autocratic 30-year rule of
Yameens halfbrother,
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. Countries including India and the United States have expressed
concern about Nasheed’s treatment and trial.
The verdict is likely to increase the political instability
in the world famous luxury tourist destination and appears likely to provoke
street violence. Maldives
is a string of more than 1,100 coral islands popular as a holiday paradise.
Modi flagged off the
first train from Thalaimannar to Madhu
Road North Sri Lanka :
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has flagged off a train service
from Thalaimannar to Madhu Road
in Northern Sri Lanka . Modi was accompanied by
the Sri Lankan President Maithiripala Sirisena. Modi also unveiled a plaque
inaugurating Talaimannar 1650 Pier Railway station.
The Madhu Road
to Talaimannar track is 63-km long and it is the last segment of the 265-km
Northern Railway Line Reconstruction Project, which is being executed by Indian
Railways Construction Company Ltd(IRCON).
This train service has fulfilled the long-cherished dream
lakhs of Tamil people, who wanted direct rail connectivity to Colombo .
Mahatama Gandhi’s statue
has been unveiled in London Parliament Square
A statue has been unveiled of Mahatma Gandhi in London ’s Parliament Square
on 14th March 2015. The Gandhi
Statue Memorial Trust raised more than £1m for the work which was described as
a “magnificent tribute.” The statue was
unveiled by Indian Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitly along with Shri Amithabh
Bacchan,in a ceremony which also involved Gandhi’s Grandson,Gopal Krishna
Gandhi.
Mahatama Gandhi ji was known for his use of non-violent
protest and undertook various hunger strikes to protest against the Oppression
of India’s poorest classes.
Prime Minister David Cameron said: “This statue is a magnificent tribute to one
of the most towering figures in the history of world politics and by putting
Mahatma Gandhi in this famous square we are giving him an eternal home in our
country.
They are Burraq and ‘Shahpar.’ The inclusion of these two
vehicles in the Pakistan Army and Airforce is seen as a historic event. Burraq
and Shahpar were the first surveillance drones, which are indigenously
developed.
Facebook acquires
shopping search engine TheFind.com:
Facebook has acquired the shopping search engine TheFind.
The acquisition aims to improve Facebook ads experience and lift its digital
advertising business. Soon the company will be merging with facebook in order
to make ads more better and relevant for consumer.
With the acquisition of TheFind, Facebook will be able to
add additional shopping tools to its service. The terms of the deal were not
disclosed and its unclear how Facebook will ultimately integrate TheFind’s technology
into its system.
It’s likely that the social network will leverage TheFind’s
recommendations system to better target ads on the site.
The Union Government of India and the Central
Asian Republic
of Kyrgyzstan
have signed a pact on cooperation in the textiles sector to strengthen
bilateral cooperation in three fields:
Textiles and clothing
Silk and Sericulture
Fashion
The MoU was witnessed by India ’s
Textiles MinisterSantosh Kumar Gangwar and the visiting Kyrgyzstan ’s Minister
of Energy and Industry Kubanychbek Turdubaevin New Delhi.
The Stockholm International Peace Reasearch Institute’s
report showed that China ’s
share of the global arms market rose by 143 per cent from 2010 to 2014, taking
its total share to five per cent.
The Worlod’s two largest exporters: the US accounts for 31 per cent of the share of
global exports, while Russia
holds 27 percent. China‘s 5 percent of the market remains small compared to the
combined 58 percent of exports from the US and Russia.
In his campaign, Netanyahu mainly focused issues related to
security. His opponents focosed on issues such as high cost of living and also
accused the Netanyahu for being out of touch with public. Netanyahu’s return to power for a fourth term
may spells trouble for Middle-East peace efforts and could further escalate
tensions with the United
States .
Netanyahu opposes the creation of a Palestinian state, which
is a key policy goal of the White House and the international community. He
also committed to expand the border in Jewish areas of east Jerusalem , which is claimed by the
Palestinians as their capital.
According to World Justice Project’s {WJP} report, India has been
ranked 37 out of 102
countries in Government Transparency Index. The index measures
the government’s openness based on the general public’s experiences and
insights. India ’s
overall score is 0.57/1 and it is followed by Brazil , which is at the 38th place.
The WJP Open
government index analyze four categories to measure government openness. They categories
and the score of India
Publicized laws and government data – 0.54
Right to information – 0.50
Civic participation – 0.65
Complaint mechanisms – 0.58
The top three rankers
in WJP Open Government Index 2015 are
Sweden
– First
New
Zealand – Second
Norway
– Third
The bottom three are
Myanmar
– 100th Rank
Uzbekistan
– 101st Rank
Zimbabwe
– 102nd Rank
Key Highlights:
One MoU will provide one on transfer of sentenced
prisoners as the two countries sought to inject a fresh momentum in their
bilateral ties.
The other five MoUs will provide for cooperation in areas
like information and communication technology, atmospheric and ocean sciences
and media.
The MoU in the field of information and communication
technology would provide
enhanced business opportunities for Indian IT industry in Qatar .
Another MoU was signed between Ministry of Earth Sciences
and Qatar Meteorological Department for cooperation in the field of atmospheric
and ocean sciences.
The pacts were signed after Emir of Qatar Tamim Bin Hamad
Al Thani held deep discussion with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during which
both the leaders discussed a lot of issues including enhancing cooperation in
energy sector and boosting trade and investment.
According to official figure, 96 Indians are currently
languishing in various jails in Qatar
which is home to around 600,000 Indians.
A separate MoU was inked Diplomatic Institute of Qatar’s
Foreign Ministry and Foreign Service Institute of External Affairs Ministry to
facilitate exchange of faculty members and experts.
The two sides also finalised a pact to encourage regular
exchange of radio and TV programmes and content between Prasar Bharati and
Qatar Media Cooperation.
Katsushi Inoue
appointed as President & CEO of Honda Cars India Ltd:
Katsushi Inoue was appointed as President & Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) of Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL).
He will assume charge on 1 April 2015 and succeed Hironori
Kanayama who is due to retire. Inoue was associated with Honda Motor Co for
past 29 years. In his last assignment he was serving as General Manager in
Marketing Planning office in Japan
headquarters.
Stephen Hawking joins
the Trademark Club:
Stephen Hawking, the theoretical physicist, has become the
latest - and most
Unexpected - celebrity to apply for a trademark of their
name. Brian Cox, a popular U.K.
physicist and TV presenter, Hawking applied for a trademark earlier this month,
through the UK ’s
Intellectual Property Office.
The two main reasons
given as to why Hawking wants this trademark,
To prevent any exploitation of his name on inappropriate
products
For charitable and educational purposes.
The trade is for ‘charitable purposes,’ which could enable Stephen
Hawking to set up his own foundation, dedicated to motor-neurone disease, which
Hawking was diagnosed with (ALS) in 1963.
If successful, Stephen Hawking can decide how his name is
used on goods, from postcards to educational books, according to the official
document.
OBITUARY:
Former Bihar Chief Minister Ram Sundar Das dies
Former Chief Minister of Bihar and senior JD(U) leaderRam
Sundar Das has passed away at the age of 95 in Patna due to age-related problems. Bihar
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has announced a state funeral for Ram Sundar Das.
Ram Sundar Das served as Bihar ’s Chief Minister
in 1979. In 2009 Lok Sabha Election, Das
had lost to Paswan.
Pioneer of Israeli
cinema Lia van Leer passes away
Lia van Leer, pioneer of Israeli cinema passed away in Jerusalem , Israel
Veteran Journalist
Vinod Mehta is Dead:
Veteran Journalist and former Editor of Outlook, Vinod
Mehta, passed away after a prolonged illness at the age of 73. He has died of
multiple-organ failure at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
Mehta was born inRawalpindi (now in Pakistan ) in 1942 and he was known
for his bold journalism.
Mr. Mehta was served as the editor of several publications
such as The Pioneer, The Sunday Observer, The Independent and The Indian Post.
He has authored a biography of Meena Kumari and Sanjay Gandhi. Mehta’s Lucknow
Boy: A memoir received varied comments from the critics and it was published in
2011.
Veteran singer Bombay
Veteran singer and music composer Bombay S. Kamal passed
away on 17 March 2015 in
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala at the age of 85. He was
suffering from respiratory ailments. In past six decades, he had active
presence in the field of music especially in Malayalam film music.
Former Russian Deputy
Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov Shot Dead:
Former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, has been
shot dead in Moscow .
He was a leading Russian Opposition Politician. He was shot four times while
crossing a bridge by an unidentified shooter from a car. Russian President
Vladimir Putin and US
President Barack Obama have condemned this brutal murder.
Boris Nemtsov
Nemtsov was a Russian Scientist and a Liberal Politician.
Played a major role in introducing Capitalism in Russian Economy. After Chernobyl disaster, he
organized a protest movement, which effectively stopped the construction of new
nuclear plant. Nemtsov was considered as a bridge between Russia and Ukraine .
Popular Fantasy
Author Sir Terry Pratchett passed away:
Fantasy author Sir Terry Pratchett has died aged at the age
of 66 due to Alzheimer’s disease in London ,
UK
The author was very famous for his Discworld fantasy series.
Terry penned more than 70 books during his career and completed his final book
during last summer.
Terry was born on April 28, 1948 in Beaconsfield , Buckinghamshire to David and
Eileen Pratchett. The Carpet People was his debut novel, which was Published in
1971. The color of Magic was Terry’s
First Discworld novel, which was published in 1983.
Sir Terry was knighted by the Queen in 2009. At the turn of
the century, Terry was Britain ’s
second most read author, surpassed only by JK Rowling. He was also awarded the
World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2010.
Veteran Sports
Journalist K Baskaran passed away:
Veteran Sports Journalist K Baskaran died at the age of 80
on March 11, 2015, after a prolonged illness in Mumbai. Baskaran will be
remembered as one of the top sports journalists of the country.
He has worked with the Free Press Journal
Indian Express, Newsday (defunct)
The Times of India .
Most part of his career spent at The Times of India where he
worked for some 25 years - before being superannuated. Shri K Baskaran has
reported on various sports. He has widely reported in Indian football for four
decades. He was also admired for his coverage in basketball.
Renowned
ornithologist K.S. Lavkumar Khachar passes away:
Renowned ornithologist and environmentalist K.S. Lavkumar
Khachar passed away in Rajkot , Gujarat .
He was 84. As environmentalist he had a long association with the environmental
conservation intuitions like Bombay Natural
History Society (BNHS) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) India .
Leonard Nimoy, famous
Star Trek Actor, dies aged 83:
Leonard Nimoy, who played the human-alien philosopher and
first officer Mr Spock in the Original Star Trek series, has died in Los Angeles . He was 83
years old and was suffering from end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease.
The Unites States President Barack Obama said “Long before
being nerdy was cool, there was Leonard Nimoy. I loved Spock.”
Bard of Maharashtra Shahir Krishnarao Sable passes away:
Bard and Marathi folk legend Krishnarao Ganpatrao Sable
passed away on 20 March 2015 in Mumbai,Maharashtra .
He was 92. He had brought Maharashtra’s
folk singing and theatre traditions to the centre stage and his songs enriched Maharashtra ’s Culture.
Founder of Modern Singapore
Lee Kuan Yew, the founder of modern Singapore , who was both feared for
his authoritarian tactics and admired worldwide for turning the city state into
one of the World’s richest nations while in power for 31 years, died on 23rd
march at the age of 91.
About Lee Kuan Yew
He was the First Prime minister of Singapore .
He has been described as the ‘founding father’ and
‘architect’ of modern Singapore .
He was one of the most influential political figures in Asia
Lee was admitted to Singapore general Hospital on February
5, 2015.
He was suffering from severe pneumonia and was later put
on life support.
Veteran Gandhian
Narayan Desai Passed Away:
Veteraian Gandhian Narayan Desai, an Indian Gandhian and
Author, Passed away on 15th March 2015 in Surat
at the age of 90. His demise is a great loss to the Nation. He will be
remembered for his lecture series on Gandhi Ji known as ‘Gandhi Katha’, which
he took to all over the world and received acclaim for it.
“Narayanbhai Desai will be remembered as a scholarly
personality who brought Gandhi ji closer to the masses. Sad to hear of his
demise. RIP”, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote in a condolence message on
Twitter.
Desai has several awards to his credit including the Sahitya
Akademi Award for Gujarati in 1993 and the Jamnalal Bajaj Award in 1999 and the
UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence in
1998. He was also associated with anti-nuclear activism.
Former CM of Mizoram
Brigadier (Retd) Thenphunga Sailo passes away:
Former Chief Minister (CM) of Mizoram Brigadier (Retd)
Thenphunga Sailo passed away in Aizawl,Mizoram. He was one of the prominent
voices against the human rights violation by the armed force’s in 1970s in the
insurgency - hit Mizo hills.
Famous Malayalam Poet
Yusuf Ali Kechery died:
Veteran poet and film personality Yusuf Ali Kechery passed
away at a private hospital on 21st March 2015 after along illness. He was
80. Since the beginning of this year, Yusuf
Ali Kechery’s health was deteriorating and was in the hospital for long. Chief
Minister Oommen Chandy described Kechery’s death as a loss for the state.
Yusuf Ali Kechery was a poet, film lyricist, film producer
and director from Kerala. He was one of the leading poets of the modern era
Malayalam poetry and has won numerous awards. He had served the post of
Assistant Secretary and Executive Member of the Kerala Sangeeta
Nataka Academy Kerala
Sathiya Academy
SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY:
Scientists found out
a Novel way to cure Alzheimer’s disease:
Reasearchers have found out a novel way to treate
Alzheimer’s disease. One of the biggest challenges in treating Alzheimer’s
disease is the blood-brain barrier. A Research Team led by Jurgen Gotz of
Queensland Brain Institute, Australia ,
was able to send a drug across the blood-brain barrier using a combination of microbubbles
and ultrasound waves. They tested the method on mice.
Alzheimer’s disease {AD} involves the formation of plaques
of beta - amyloid in the brain. In case of other parts, it can be treated
easily by sending drugs through the blood stream.
But when it comes to AD, this is not possible because of
blood-brain barrier, which is a group of closely packed cells that normally
protects the brain.
Dr. Hynynen had used a novel method to temporarily open the
blood-brain barrier by injecting microbubbles into the brain’s blood stream. These bubbles wiggle against the blood –
vessel walls temporarily dislodging the barrier when ultrasound waves excite
them. Thus the blood can then leak into the problematic area,helping in
treating Alzheimer’s.
Using Dr. Hynynen’s
strategy, Dr.Gotz and his team injected microscopic bubbles into mice with Alzheimer’s
It was found that the mise whose blood-brain barrier had been made permeable
showed marked improvement in memory. Several types of beta-amyloid tissue in the mice’s brains had reduced in
size.
WORLD’S FIRST
ELECTRIC SATELLITES SUCCESSFULLY LIFTED OFF BY SPACE X ROCKET:
World’s first electric satellites were successfully lifted
off by a Space Exploration (SpaceX) Technologies rocket from Cape Canaveral Air
Force station, United States .
The rocket was carrying Boeing’s two allelectric commercial satellites. The satellites
are owned by the French satellite provider Eutelsat and Asia
Broadcast Satellite {ABS}. Eutelsat’s satellite is part of
its 35- member commercial network. It will provide services like mobile,
internet, video and other communications services to expand its reach into the Americas .
While, ABS new satellite will serve its customers in Africa, Europe and the Middle East .
Prime Minister
launches Vaccine for Rotavirus – Rotavac:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the vaccine called
Rotavac, the first indigenously developed and manufactured Rotavirus vaccine.
The vaccine is developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech
and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT). It will be available for sale from
next week in India .
The vaccine development process has taken 15 years and
around 300 scientists have worked very hard for the successful completion of
the project. Foreign companies currently sell Rotavirus vaccines in India at
Rs.1,100 per dose. Bharat Biotech has proposed to sell Rotavac for just Rs.63
per dose to the GOI and other low income countries. The company has filed four
global patents around the technology of Rotavac
in more than 20 countries.
In India ,
every year, diarrhea caused by rotavirus causes up to 10 lakh hospitalizations
and kills around one lakh children under the age of 5 years. Globally this
virus causes 4.5 lakhs deaths per year.
People with Blood
group A are more vulnerable to Malaria:
Malaria, the dreadful mosquito-born infectious disease
infects more than 200 million people a year fatally. Malaria is transmitted by
an infected female Anopheles mosquito. The mosquito bite introduces the
parasites into a person’s blood,which travel inside the body and reaches
liver,wherever they mature and reproduce. A total of five species of Plasmodium
can infect humans. Of this 5, most deaths are caused by P. falciparum. The
other species P. vivax, P. ovale, and P. malariae generally cause a milder form
of malaria.
The species P. knowlesi rarely causes disease in humans.
Recently, in a research, it was found that, the protein
(RIFIN) produced by some strains of the malarial parasite can cause red blood
cells to form clumps. These clumps increases the severity of disease, especially
in people with Blood Group A. These clumps are formed due to sticking of one
cell to the other cell and also to the walls of blood vessels. They obstruct
the blood flow, damage the tissues, and leads to death.
In another research it was found that, the protein produced
by the strains of the malarial parasite bound weakly to the people with Blood
Group O. And it does not affect these people as serious as it affects people
with blood group A.
Union Government
gives nod to AWACS project:
Union Government gave its approval to build core strategic
project of next-generation Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS). The
decision was taken by Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Union Defence
Minister Manohar Parrikar. DAC gave its nod for two AWACS, which includes
buying two
Airbus A330s, worth 5,113 crore rupees. Airbus was the lone
bidder for the programme.
NASA’s Hubble
telescope spots ocean on Jupiter’s moon Ganymade:
NASA’s Hubble telescope has spotted ,massive saltwater ocean
under the icy crust of Jupiter’s largest
moon Ganymede. Scientists believe that this finding could potentially support
life. Hubble Space Telescope’s finding was published in the Journal of Geophysical
Research: Space Physics.
The finding was based on the results obtaining after
analyzing Ganymede’s magnetic field and aurorae created and controlled by it
and its interaction with Jupiter’s magnetic field. NASA’s Galileo mission also
had provided first evidence of ocean in Ganymede after measuring its magnetic
field in 2002.
ASTRONOMERS FROM THE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY
Astronomers from the University of Cambridge
These newly
discovered objects are,
a billion times dimmer than the Milky Way
a million times less massive.
Since they contain up to 99 percent dark matter and just one
percent observable matter, dwarf galaxies are ideal for testing whether
existing dark matter models are correct. Dark matter — which makes up 25 percent
of all matter and energy in our universe — is invisible, and only makes its
presence known through its gravitational pull.
The closest is about 95,000 light years away, while the most
distant is more than a million light years away.
NASA’s Dawn Space
probe reaches orbit around Drawf planet:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s {NASA} Dawn
space probe arrived at ceres on 6th March 2015 and become the first
spacecraft ever to circle a Dwarf planet, as well as the first to orbit two
bodies beyond the Earth-moon system. Previously Dawn studied the protoplanet
Vesta up close from July 2011 through September 2012. Dawn is still in move and
will be there for 6 more weeks.
NASA’s Curiosity Rover
discovers useful Nitrogen on Mars:
A team using the simple Analysis at Mars{SAM} instrument
suite aboard NASA’s Curiousity rover has made the first detection of nitrogen
on the surface of Mars from release during heating of Martian sediments.
The nitrogen was detected in the form of nitric oxide, and
could be released from the breakdown of nitrates during heating. Nitrates are a
class of molecules that contain nitrogen in a form that can be used by living
organisms.
The discovery adds to the evidence that ancient Mars was
habitable for life. Scientists believe that the detected nitrogen in the form
of nitric oxide could be released from the breakdown of nitrates during heating
of sediments from Mars. However, there is no evidence suggesting that the
discovered nitrogen molecules found by the rover was created by life on the red
planet.
It should be noted that Nitrogen is essential part for all
known forms of life as it used in the building basic blocks of larger molecules
like DNA and RNA that encode the genetic instructions for life. It is also
essential in proteins that is used to build structures like hair and nails in
living organisms.
Cipla launches
generic version of drug Sofosbuvir in India
Cipla Ltd on 25th March 2015 said it will introduce a
generic version of Gilead Science’s blockbuster Hepatitis C drug Sovaldi. The drug will be sold in India by Cipla’s
under the brand name ‘Hepcvir.’
The announcement follows a non-exclusive licensing agreement
between Cipla and Gilead in September. It is
estimated that 12-18 million people in India are infected by the virus.
Under the non-exclusive licensing agreement, Cipla is
allowed to set its own price for its version of the drug, and will pay a
royalty on sales to Gilead .
Sovaldi, whose generic name is Sofosbuvir, was introduced in
the US
in December. Cipla is one of the seven Indian pharmaceutical companies that
have been allowed by US-based Gilead Sciences to manufacture and market generic
of drug Sofosbuvir.
India’s Polar remotely Operated Vehicle {PROVe}, indigenously
built by National Institute of Ocean Technology, was operationalised for
research on 25th March 2015 in North Antarctica after 2 month of rigorous
research.
PROVe has been indigenously built by National Institute of
Ocean Technology (NIOT) under the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences. With the
help of PROVe, Monsoon prediction and reading of pattern will become easier in
the future.It will measure parameters like ocean currents, temperature and
salinity in the Arctic .
LEUKEMIA CELLS CAN BE
CONVERTED INTO IMMUNE CELLS:
Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine
have discovered a method that can change the dangerous leukemia cells in the
lab to mature into harmless immune cells called macrophages that may help fight
cancer.
Ravi Majeti of Stanford University and his team members
collected leukemia cells from a patient and they were keeping the cells alive
in a culture plate. They noted that some of the cancer cells in culture were changing
macrophages.
When the early B-cell mouse progenitor cells are exposed to
certain transcription factors, this change occurs.
Majeti and his team members hope that when the cancer cells
become macrophages they will not only be neutralized, but may actually assist
in fighting the cancer.
The researchers next step is to find a drug that is capable
of prompting the same reaction. If they found the drug successfully, it may
serve as the basis for a therapy for the leukemia.
ISRO successfully
launches fourth navigation satellite IRNSS 1D:
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has successfully
launched fourth navigation satellite Indian Regional Navigation Satellite
System (IRNSS)-1D. It was launched by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)
C-27 into the orbit from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota in Andhra
Pradesh.
The satellite is similar
to, and follows the IRNSS 1A, 1B and 1C which were launched
in April 2013, July 2014 and October 2014respectively. IRNSS-1D will be
launched into a sub Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (sub GTO). It weighs 1,425 kg
and carries a navigation payload and CDMA ranging payload in addition with a
laser retroreflector.
Applications of IRNSS
Terrestrial, Aerial and Marine Navigation.
Disaster Management.
Vehicle tracking and fleet management.
Integration with mobile phones.
Precise Timing.
Mapping and Geodetic data capture.
Terrestrial navigation aid for hikers and travellers.
Visual and voice navigation for drivers.
SPORTS:
The 2015 Dubai Tennis Championships is also called 2015
Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. This tournament was inaugurated in 1993.
The winners of 2015 Championship are,
Men’s Singles
Women’s Single’s
Men’s Dobules
Women’s Dobules
Spain’s star Tennis player Rafael Nadal has won the 2015
Argentina Open by defeating Juan Monaco of Argentina with a score of 6-4, 6-1.
It is Nadal’s 46 th title in clay and first title of 2015. Nadal, the World
Number 3 Player, is reffered as “The King of Clay.”
He has won a total
of,
14 Grand Slam singles titles
27 ATP World Tour Masters 1000
15 ATP World Tour 500
2008 Olympic gold medal in singles
This is Nadal’s 65 th title win and it makes him to move up to
the V position in the Open Era for the most titles. He now stands behind,
Jimmy Connors – 109 wins
Ivan Lendl – 94 wins
Roger Federer – 84 wins
John McEnroe – 77 wins
Kumar Sangakkara :
The Second Cricketer to Cross 14K ODI Runs:
Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara became the second
batsman to cross 14,000 runs in One Day International (ODI) cricket after the
legendary Sachin Tendulkar. Till now Sangakkara scored 14,065 runs in 402 ODIs
(Sachin Tendulkar – 18,426 runs – 463 ODIs). He became the first Sri Lankan
batsman to reach 14,000 runs in ODIs.
He is also the first batsman to score three consecutive
hundreds in World Cup matches. Sangakkara scored his 23rd ODI century against England in just
70 balls.
Sangakkara announced that he will retire from test cricket
by the end of August 2015 (After India-Sri Lanka 3 match test series). He has
already announced his retirement from ODIs and Twenty20 Internationals. He will
quit ODI cricket post the ongoing World Cup.
ALL ENGLAND BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIP: SAINA NEHWAL
LOSES TO CAROLINA
Olympic Broonze Medallist and India ’s
star player Saina Nehwal’s has lost to spain ’s Carolina Marin in the All England
Badminton Championship 21-16 14-21 7-21. Saina made a fantastic start, but
Marin bounced back very strongly and left Saina in dire Straits.
In the Men’s single Championship, Chen long of china
defeated Denmark ’s
Jan Jorgesen 25-21 21-17 21-15.
World Cup 2015: Kumar
Sangakkara slams Fourth Consecutive Ton:
Sri Lankan batsman Kumar Sangakkara slams his fourth
consecutive ton in the World Cup 2015 series and he also becomes the first
batsman to score 4 consecutive centuries in One Day Internationals. Sangakkara has
achieved this feat in a World Cup Pool A match against Scotland {124
runs}. Sanakkara’s Century spree in the World Cup 2015 includes,
105 – Bangladesh
117 – England
104 – Australia
Indian Women wins the
Hero Hockey World League Round 2:
Indian Women’s hocky Team won the prestigious Hero Hockey World
League Round 2 by defeating Poland
3-1 in a nail-biting final at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi . Indian star
Player Deepika was declared as the player of the match and Poland ’s skipper Marlena Rebacha
has accolade with the player of the tournament award. From Indian side, the
goals are scored by Vandana Katariya, Rani, and Ritu Rani. The lonely goal
scorer from Poland
was Oriana Walasek.
Services lifts the
2015 Santosh Trophy:
Services won the 69th Santosh Trophy Football title by
defeating Punjab 5-4 tie-breaker in a nail-biting match at Guru Nanak Stadium,
Ludhina, and Punjab . This is the fourth time
that Services lifting the trophy.
Previously the Services team had won in year 1961, 2012,
2013.
Kidambi Srikanth wins
Swiss Grand Prix Championship:
Kidambi Srikanth was the first Indian to win a Grand Prix
Gold title (Thailand )
in June 2013. Injuries slowed down Srikanth’s progress and the brain fever in
july,2014 almost killed him. His mental and physical strength as well as the
hard work rewarded him.
Lewis Hamilton wins
the Australian Grand Prix:
British Driver Lewis Hamilton completely dominated the
Australian Grand Prix by defeating his rival Nico Rosberg. It was the 34th
career victory for two-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and underlined the continued
dominance of Mercedes as he and Nico Rosberg pulled well clears of their
nearest challengers.
After the victory Lewis was congratulated Arnold
Schwarzenegger, who was in town for the Arnold Classic bodybuilding
competition.
Michael White wins
first ranking title at Indian Open:
Michael White defeated Ricky Walden 5-0 in the final of the
300,000 pounds Indian Open World ranking snooker tournament in just 57 minutes
in Mumbai.
Michael White is a Welsh professional snooker player from
Neatherlands. At the age of nine he became the youngest player to have made a
century break in competitive play and he was the world amateur champion by 14.
Currently he has won his first ranking event title at 2015 Indian Open.
Karnataka Defeated
Tamilnadu to Retain the Ranji Trophy:
Karnataka defended the Ranji Trophy by defeatingTamil Nadu
by an innings and 217 runs in the final match played at the Wankhede stadium in
Mumbai. With this victory, Karnataka clinched a total of eight Ranji titles.
The man of the match award was given to Karnataka’s Karun
Nair, who had scored 338 runs. In Last season, Karnataka defeated Mumbai in the
finals.
Saina Nehwal – First
Indian Woman to become World Number One:
she has been a top-10 player since 2009.
Two-year-old archer
Cherukuli Dalli Shivani enters her name into India
A two-year-old girl archery prodigy Cherukuli Dalli Shivani
from Vijaywada achieved a stunning feat by setting a new record and entering
her name into the India Book of Records.
Shivani is the sister of late Indian coach and international
archer Cherukuri Lenin who died in a road accident soon after 2010 Delhi
Commonwealth Games. She became the youngest Indian to shot 36 arrows each from
five metres and seven metres to score 388 points.
Shivani’s father,Cherukuri Satyanarayana,who runs the academy
in memory of his late son Lenin, said that her daughter will now attempt to
enter her name into the Guinness Book of World Records.
Reports said that Shivani was conceived through surrogacy
after the death of her brother Lenin. She was trained at the Volga Archery
Institute run by her father Ch Satyanarayana.
Title Winners of 2015
BNP Paribas Open:
The Indian Wells Masters is also known as BNP Paribas Open,
which is an annual tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California ,
United States .
The tournament is played on hard courts. The tournament was founded by Charlie
Pasarell and Raymond Moore in 1974. The
tournament is also called “Grand Slam of
the West”.
The Winners of 2015
BNP Paribas Open are,
Men’s singlesTitle
- With this win Novak Djokovic has won his fourth Indian Wells Open title and overall 50th tour-level title.
Women’s SinglesTitle
- It is
Halep’s third WTA titles in 2015 apart from Shenzhen open and
Men’s Doubles Title
Vasek Pospisil (Canada) and Jack Sock (US) pair defeated
Italian pair Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini 6–4, 6–7 (3), 10–7 score.
Women’s Double Title
- Sania
Mirza (
- It is Sania Mirza’s second title of the season 2015 and 24th overall.
FIFA 2022 World Cup
to be played in November/December in Quatar:
The International Federation of Football Association (FIFA)
World Cup 2022 will be held in Qatar
in the months of November and December. The finals of the game will be held on
December 18, 2022, which is also the country’s national day.
Important
Announcements from FIFA
The FIFA 2022 World cup will be played over for only 28
days instead of the traditional 32 days.
As summer temperature in Qatar exceeds 110 degrees, the FIFA
World Cup 2022 will be conducted during November/December.
The venues for some important matches in 2018 FIFA World
World Cup was announced.
The bidding process to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup will
kick off in 2015.
Newzeland’s Martin Guptill
becomes highest scorer in world cup history:
They had set the target of 183 runs to Australia after
losing all wickets in the 45th over. Australian team easily overhauled the
target in the 34th over with 7 wickets in hand.
Man of the Series Award – Mitchell Starc (Australia )
Most Runs – Martin Guptill (New Zealand )
Most Wickets – Mitchell Starc (22) and Trent Boult (22) (New Zealand )
Man of the Match – James Faulkner (Australia )
Men’s singles Title
Men’s Doubles title
Women’s Singles 2015
Title
Saina Nehwal defeated Thailand ’s
Ratchanok Intanon in the final match played at sirifort
Indoor Complex in New Delhi
in straight sets 21-16, 21-14.
Women’s Doubles Title
Number one ranked Japanese pair of Misaki Matsutomo and
Ayaka Takahashi has defeated Chinese pair Japanese pair by 21-19, 21-19 score.
Mixed Doubles Title
Second-ranked Chinese pair of Yixin Bao and Cheng Liu number
one ranked Danish pair of Christinna Pedersen and Joachim Fischer Nielsen by
score 21-19 21-19.
Australian cricketer
Michael Clarke retires from ODI cricket
Australian cricketer Michael Clarke has announced his
retirement from One Day Internationals (ODI) cricket format. However, he will
continue to represent Australia
in the Test matches. He made his last ODI appearance in the final World Cup
match against New Zealand .
In this match he was captain of team and had scored 74 runs which and helped Australia
win the 2015 World Cup by 7 wickets for fifth time.
Michael Clarke had started his ODI cricket career in 2003
and test career in 2004. In his ODI career, he had played 245 matches and had
scored 7981 runs. His highest score was 130 runs. He had bowled in 106 innings
and had taken 57 wickets.
He had started his international cricket career in 1996–97
at the age of 18. He was the youngest player to represent New Zeland in test
cricket. He was considered as
Newzeland’s most-capped test cricketer.
In his ODI career he had played 295 matches and scored 2253
runs in ODIs. He also had bowled in 277 ODI innings and took 305 wickets. In
his test career, Vettori has scored 4531 runs. His highest score was 140. In test
career, he had bowled in 187 innings and took 362 wickets.
Taylor, who stood in as captain for Zimbabwe's last World
Cup clash with Ireland, has scored 1,493 from his 23 Tests at an average of
34.72 since debuting against Sri Lanka as an 18-year-old in 2004.
Kumar Sangakkara and
Mahela Jayawardene retire from ODIs
Both the batsmen had revealed their retirement plans that
the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 will be their last match in Sri Lankan ODI
jersey. Jayawardene chose to retire from all forms of international cricket,
but would play franchise-based format, while Sangakkara chose to hang his boots
from the limited-overs format but will continue to play Tests for Sri Lanka .
IMPORTANT DAYS
March 01 2015:
Remembered Day:
Zero Discrimination Day
Purpose: To
create awareness to people from all corners of the world, about the evil
consequences of discrimination, to celebrate diversity, and to reject
discrimination.
Theme: Open Up,
Reach Out.
March 03 2015
Remembered Day: World
Wildlife Day
Purpose: To raise
awareness of the World’s flora and fauna.
Theme: “Wildlife
Crime is serious, let’s get serious about wildlife crime.
Remembered Day:
National Defence Day
March 04 2015
Remembered Day:
National Security Day (Rashtriya Suraksha Diwas)
Purpose: To
praise the work of security forces, who plays a major role in maintaining peace
and security of the people in India .
Remembered Day:
World Day of Fight Against Sexual Exploitation.
Purpose: To
create awareness against sexual exploitation, which overwhelmingly involves
women and Children.
March 08 2015
Remembered Day:
Wold Woes Da
Purpose: To
celebrate the achievements of women while calling for greater equality.
Theme: Empowering
Women, Empowering Humanity: Picture it!
March 10 2015
Remembered Day:
Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) Raising Day
Purpose: CISF is
a dedicated force which provides security to a wide range of critical
infrastructure assets of India .
March 12 2015
Remembered Day: World
Kidney Day
Purpose: To
create awareness among the people globally, about the importance of the kidneys
and also to reduce the frequency and impact of kidney disease and its
associated health issues.
Theme: Kidney
Health For All
March 13 2015
Remembered Day:
World Rotaract Day
Purpose: To
recognize the services offered by the Rotaractors through out the World.
March 14 2015
Remembered Day:
Pi Day
Purpose:
Students, mathematicians and math enthusiasts all around the world celebrate Pi
Day by participating in pi themed activities and contests that include making
and eating pies, converting numbers such as the time or one's age using pi, and
reciting the digits of pi.
March 15 2015
Remembered Day: World
Consumer Rights Day
Purpose: to
promote the basic rights of all the consumers, to demand that those rights are
respected and protected.
Theme: Helping
consumers choose healthy diets.
March 18 2015
Remembered Day: Ordnance
Factories day.
Purpose: The day
is celebrated by displaying the rifles, guns, artillery, ammunition..etc in
exhibitions all over India .
March 20 2015
Remembered Day:
International Day of Happiness
Theme: "Your
happiness is part of something bigger"
Remembered Day:
World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People
Purpose:
Celebrated and promoted by professionals making work for young audiences all
over the world.
Remembered Day: World
Sparrow Day
Purpose: To
create awareness of the house sparrows and other birds to the rapidly changing environments,
and of threats to their populations.
March 21 2015
Remembered Day:
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Purpose: Aims to remind
people of racial discrimination’s nagitive consequences. It also
people to remember their obligation and determination to
combat racial discrimination.
Theme:
"Learning from historical tragedies to combat racial discrimination
today".
Remembered Day:
World Poetry Day
Purpose: To
promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry throughout the
world.
Remembered Day: International
Day of Nowruz
Purpose: To
celebrates the start of the Persian spring festival March 21 ever year. It
occurs on or around the time of the March equinox.
Remembered Day:
World Down Syndrome Day
Purpose: To raise
public awareness and create a single global voice for advocating for the
rights, inclusion and well being of people with Down syndrome.
Remembered Day: International
Day of Forests
Purpose: To raise
awareness of the importance of all types of forests and of trees outside
forests.
Theme: ”Forests
and Climate Change.”
March 22 2015
Remembered Day:
World Water Day
Purpose: To
create awareness among the people about the importance of conservation of this
valuable finite resource for the future generations.
Theme: Water and
Sustainable Development
March 23 2015
Remembered Day:
World Meteorological Day
Purpose: To
support the all the countries by providing meteorological services related to
natural disasters,climate and water.
Theme: ”Climate Knowledge for climate action.”
March 24 2015
Remembered Day:
World Tuberculosis Day
Purpose: To
create awareness to the public about the dreadful tuberculosis (TB) and efforts
to eliminate the disease.
Theme: Reach,
Treat, Cure Everyone.
Remembered Day:
International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights
Violations and for the Dignity of Victims
Purpose: To
promote the importance of the right to truth and justice.
Remembered Day:
International Day for Achievers
March 25 2015
Remembered Day:
International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the
Transatlantic Slave Trade
Purpose: It
honors the lives of those who died as a result of slavery or experienced the
horrors of the transatlantic slave trade. It is also an occasion to raise
awareness about the dangers of racism and prejudice.
Theme: Women and
Slavery
Remembered Day:
International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members
Purpose: Date is
the anniversary of the abduction of Alec Collett, a journalist who died while
working for the UN.
March 27 2015
Remembered Day: World
Theatre Day
March 28 2015
Remembered Day:
Earth Hour [ 8.30PM to 9.30PM ]
Purpose: To
create awareness for global warming and Earth Hour is a global campaign with a
simple message to switch off non-essential lights for one hour.
No comments:
Post a Comment