March-2-2015

.         The citizenship bill 2015 ,a bill to amend theCitizenship act one of the six items on which govt had issued ordinaces,was today passed by LOKSABHA.

    

 This bill seeks to remove disparity between persons of Indian origin cardholders and overseas citizens of Indian cardholders.

·         Arun singh(currently ambassador to France)is appointed as TOP ENVOY TO THE US.He ,will be replacing  S JAISHANKAR who was appointed as FOREIGN SECRETARY ,JANUARY this year.

In place of Mr.singh ,Mohan kumar is appointed as Indian Ambassador to the FRANCE.

·         63^rd ALL INDIA POLICE WRESTLING CLUSTER  started in Delhi

·         Jagmohan Dalmiya unanimously elected as President of BCCI

Defence Acquisition Council approved buying of 38 Pilatus trainer aircraft for Indian Air Force:

Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on 28 February 2015 approved buying of 38 more Pilatus trainer aircraft from Switzerland at a cost of 1500 crore rupees. These trainer aircraft will train Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter pilots.

Besides, DAC appointed Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) as the lead agency to build 12 Mine Counter Measure Vessel (MCMV) for the Navy. The decision was taken by DAC meeting chaired by Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.

MCMV project is aimed at building specialized vessels for the Indian Navy as per Make in India Initiative. GSL will build the ships under transfer of technology with the foreign vendor in a deal worth about 32000 crore rupees.

DAC also gave approval for buying one C-130J medium transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF) at a cost of 530 crore rupees. This aircraft will replace a C-130 J which crashed in 2014 near Gwalior.

Other deals cleared include 21 low level light weight radars for the Air Force and a repeat order of rockets for the Indian Army.

DAC is the apex body for clearing defence procurement proposals forwarded by the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Air Force.

Avalanches hit Panjshir Valley of northern Afghanistan

  Panjshir Valley of northern Afghanistan on 1 March 2015 was hit by avalanches. The avalanches 40m (130ft) high hit the region, cutting off access to remote villages.

Earlier in second and third week of February 2015, the area was devastated by avalanches and flooding in which at least 286 people have died. These recent environmental devastation is believed to be worst in past 30 years.

In light of the incident, Afghanistan government had declared three day mourning for the victims.

 

China launched Silk Road Infrastructure project in Northwest Province of Gansu

 

China on 28 February 2015 launched a massive Silk Road Infrastructure project worth 79.8 billion US dollars in the northwest province of Gansu. The project was launched as a part of China’s ambitious Silk Route plan. 

This project will facilitate exchange of trade and tourism between China and central Asian Countries. Gansu province does not share its borders with any central Asian countries but it will be an important part of the Silk Road Economic Belt.

On its completion, the project will add more than 60000 kilometres of road network including 4070 km expressways. It will be a six-year Silk Road development project.

 

Rafael Nadal of Spain won the Argentina Tennis Open

  In the summit clash, Nadal defeated Juan Monaco of Argentina in straight sets 6-4, 6-1 in Buenos Aires. This was the 65th career title for Nadal. As a result, Nadal moved onto fifth place in the Open era all-time list led by Jimmy Connors of the US who had won 109 titles.

Also, this was Nadal’s 46th career clay-court title, thus, he equalled the record of Guillermo Vilas of Monaco who played during 1970s and 1980s.

This win enabled Nadal to move up to third position in the world rankings overtaking Britain's Andy Murray, who is now placed fifth, with Japan's Kei Nishikori on fourth position.

·         Ola today  acquired TAXIFORSURE for $200 mill in cash and equity deal,signaling consolidation in $11 bill taxi industry.