2nd April

>>Dr Subadhra Devi Rai, an Indian-origin Singaporean nurse was named for the 2015 International Achievement Award by the Florence Nightingale International Foundation (FNIF) of the International Council of Nurses.

•     She was named for the award for her work in the healthcare sector of women and refugees and will receive the award on 21 June 2015 at a conference in Seoul.
•     With this 51-year-old Rai became the first Singaporean to get the prestigious biennial prize since its introduction in 1999.

>>Sunita Tomar, the face of India’s anti-tobacco campaign, died  at her native village in Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh. She was 28. 

• In 2014, she shot a 30-second video titled Sunita highlighting the devastating effect of smokeless tobacco. In the video she shared her experience, which later was used by the government for its anti-tobacco drive to warn people against consumption of smokeless gutkha and pan masalas.

>>Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit Pakistan next week ,in an attempt to strengthen the economic cooperation between the neighbouring countries.

>> RBI is celebrating it’s 80^th anniversary today.

•          Established:1^st April 1935  
•          First Governor of RBI:Sir Osborne Smith(1^st Apr 1935 to 30^th Jun         1937)
•          Present Governor of RBI:Raghuram Rajan

>>    Indian ace shuttler  Saina Nehwal officially confirmed as World No 1 by BWF(Badminton World Federation).

    

 >>Union Cabinet gave its approval for the amendment of the Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1973. Decision taken by Union Cabinet meeting chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    This act aims at improving the quality of homeopathy education in the country to provide better healthcare through the homeopathy system of medicine.

 Amendments:

•      Union Government’s permission is being made mandatory for all the homoeopathy colleges to undertake annual admissions.
•      Union Government can give permission for 5 years to homoeopathy colleges which conform to the prescribed standards as specified in the Act.

>>Andhra Pradesh government has approved Amaravathi as name of the new capital city of the state.

Facts about ancient Amaravathi:

•       Amaravathi is located on the banks of river Krishna. It was the capital seat of Satvahana rulers for 400 years who ruled 2nd century BCE to 3rd century CE.
•       The city derives its name from Lord Amareswara temple in the village. It is also known as ‘Dakshina Kashi’ (Kashi of the south).
•      It also has Buddhist significance. It is believed that Lord Buddha had visited the city. It is also believed that King Ashoka and famed Chinese traveller Hsuan Tsang have visited the city.

>> Mahaveer Jatyanthi is being celebrated across the country today.

>>Maharashtra Govt to construct 56 lakh  toilets in the state by 2019 under the cleanliness campaign of central govt.

•       Cleanliness ambassadors willb be appointed at village level to ensure rural sanitation and half of them will be women.
•       Sanitation parks will be set up at ‘tehsil’ level to enable gram panchayats to check various models of toilets and select any of them for building in their village.

>>Union Government  launched Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles (FAME) – India Scheme.

The scheme was launched with an aim to boost sales of eco-friendly vehicles in the country. It is a part of the National Mission for Electric Mobility.

Characteristic Features of FAME – India Scheme

•   Providing demand incentives to electric and hybrid vehicles from two wheelers to buses in range of 1800 rupees to 66 lakh rupees
•    Focus areas of the scheme will be technology development; demand creation; pilot projects; and charging infrastructure
•    Depending on technology, battery operated scooters and motorcycles will be eligible demand incentives ranging between 1800 rupees to 29000 rupees
•     In three-wheeler the incentives will range from 3300 rupees and 61000 rupees
•     In four-wheeler segment incentive ranges from 13000 rupees and 1.38 lakh rupees
•    In case of Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) incentive ranges from 17000 rupees to 1.87 lakh rupees
•    In case of buses the incentive ranges from 34 lakh rupees to 66 lakh rupees
•    The Department of Heavy Industries will be nodal department for the scheme.

National Electric Mobility Mission Plan

Union Government launched the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020 in 2013. NEMMP aims to achieve national fuel security by promoting hybrid and electric vehicles in the country. There is an ambitious target to achieve 6-7 million sales of hybrid and electric vehicles year on year from 2020 onwards.

>>Centre move to Supreme Court seeking review of apex court’s decision to scrap JAT quota.