19th March 2015

>>The Lok Sabha on 18 March 2015 passed the Warehousing Corporations (Amendment) Bill, 2015.

The Bill seeks to amend the Warehousing Corporations Act, 1962.

Key facts

• Statement of Objects and Reasons of the bill states that the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) has been awarded a Mini-Ratna Public Sector Enterprise (PSE) status by the Department of Public Enterprises.
• 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 one of criteria of status states that enterprise should not have financial support and it must be independent of any budgetary support or guarantee by the government.
• The proposed amendment in the bill omits certain sections relating to the government’s responsibility of being a guarantor to the CWC.
• It should be noted that, the Central and state warehousing corporations are established under the Warehousing Corporations Act, 1962 for the purpose of warehousing agricultural produce and other commodities.

>>Election Commission has announced that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and ballot papers will carry photographs of candidates from 1 May 2015.

• This move of EC seeks to avoid voters being misled by several namesakes in the election fray. In this regard EC has issued an order to all political parties and State Chief Electoral Officers for implementation.
• EC also has modified the relevant provisions of law under the Conduct of Election Rules giving effect to the photo ballot papers and EVMs.
• Henceforth, the photo of candidate will appear between the name and election symbol on the ballot sheet and EVM.  While for designing the new photo ballot papers, the EC has specified election candidates to supply stamp size recent photograph with specification of 2.5 cm width and 2 cm height.

>>Nobel Laureate Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan has been confirmed as President Elect of the Royal Society. 

• His appointment was confirmed by the society’s council met on 19 March 2015 and will assume the charge on 1 December 2015.
•  He will succeed eminent geneticist Sir Paul Nurse who had taken on the role in 2010 and will step down after the customary 5-year term.

About Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan

• Famously known as Venki. He was born in Chidambaram in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu.
• He holds B.Sc. degree in physics from Baroda University and Ph.D. from Ohio University, United States.
• In 2003, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.
• Ramakrishnan was knighted for services to Molecular Biology in 2012.
• Awards-In 2009, Ramakrishnan was awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering the precise structure of ribosomes i.e. the molecular machines that manufacture proteins inside all living cells. He shared this Prize with Tom Steitz and Ada Yonath.

Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine(2007) and Padma Vibhushan (2010).

About Royal Society

•  It is a self-governing fellowship society of the world’s most distinguished scientists drawn from all areas of science, medicine and engineering.
• Established: 1660.
• Purpose: To support excellence in science, and to encourage its use for the benefit of humanity. The position President of the Royal Society is most important in British science and existed since 1660. The President of society is a key advocate for science in the UK and the world.

>> National Green Tribunal today announced a fine of Rs 5,000 on individuals spotted littering or throwing waste on the platforms and tracks.

• A bench, headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar, passed a slew of directions to Railways and other authorities for maintaining cleanliness on railway tracks.
• The Tribunal directed the Railways and the municipal corporations to place dustbins after identifying exact locations for collection of garbage in 46 slum clusters here adjoining railway tracks

>>Union Ministry of Railways has constituted ‘Kaya kulp’ Council,an innovation council for Indian Railways. 

• The council was constituted by Union Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu in order to fulfill the promise made in the Railway Budget Speech.
• Noted industrialist Ratan Tata will head a new innovative council of Indian Railways, called 'Kaya Kalp', formed to turn around the ailing state-run rail network.

• Apart from Tata Group's Chairman Emeritus, the Kaya Kalp council will also have two railway union leaders Shiv Gopal Mishra and M Raghuvaiah.

Key facts

• Purpose of the Council-To recommend innovative methods and processes for the improvement, betterment and transformation of the Indian Railways.
• The council will act as a standing body and will interact with all stakeholders and other interested parties.
• Members-The Council initially will have following members
• Shiv Gopal Mishra,General Secretary of All Indian Railwaymen’s Federation (AIRF).
• Raghavaiah,General Secretary of  National Federation of Indian Railwaymen (NFIR).

>>Developing country India will host the 7th Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) in 2016 .

• This announced by Home Minister of India Rajnath Singh at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held in Sendai, Japan(recently held in 2015).
• India will be hosted in second time of Disaster Risk Reduction in 2016 and India had hosted the first time AMCDRR in 2007.
• During 23 June to 26 June 2014, The 6th Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction was held in Thailand.
• In 2015, it was the final regional inter-governmental meeting in Asia before the completion of the Hyogo Framework for Action and the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.
•  Earlier held in Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) – First AMCDRR held in China in 2005

          Second AMCDRR held in India in 2007

          Third AMCDRR held in Malaysia in 2008

           Fourth AMCDRR held in Republic of Korea in 2010

         Fifth Asia Ministerial conference held in Indonesia in 2012

>>The Minister of State for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, YS Chowdary has launched Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) AcE Fund on March 19, 2015.

• The BIRAC AcE Fund has been launched under the Make India Programme  with theme "Accelerating Innovations: India the Next Biotech Global Hub." This fund initiated  accelerate the growth of entrepreneurs in the Biotechnology sector in India.
• It should be noted that the fund will be operated by BIRAC, which is a Public Sector Undertaking under the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology.
• The fund was launched on the third foundation day of BIRAC in New Delhi on March 19, 2015. 

About Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council:

• Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council was established on March 20, 2012 as a Section 25, Not for Profit Company.
• It is mandated to foster and promote innovation research in biotech industries specially start-ups and Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
• Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council has more than 100 young entrepreneurs, nearly 250 companies and start-ups and 15 incubators supported as an important part of the Innovation ecosystem of the country.

>>Sohail Aman was appointed as Chief of Pakistan Air Force (PAF). His appointment was approved by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and was promoted to the rank of Air Chief Marshal.

• He will succeed Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt who retires from the service. Prior to this appointment, Sohail Aman was serving as Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (operations) at Air Headquarters in Islamabad

>>International Conference on  Counter Terrorism begins in Jaipur

• Inaugurated by:Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
• This conference is a global platform for imminent scholars,strategic thinkers, field experts and policy makers engaged in counter terrorism activities from various governametn agencies,think tanks , academic and research institutions from all over the world.

>>A MoU was signed between the Inland Waterways Authority of India(IWAI) and the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India(DFCCIL) at Delhi today for creation of logistic hubs with rail connectivity at Varanasi and places on National Waterways.

• The MoU was signed in the presence of Minister of Shipping and Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari and Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu.

>>First National   Photography & videography Workshop began at New Delhi.

• It was organized and Inaugurated by Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting,Col(Retd) Rajyavardhan Rathore.     

>>IMF chief Christine Lagarde’s China visit begins today.

 During this visit she will meet top Chinese leadership and senior officials.

18th March 2015

>>Union Cabinet has cleared the black money bill to curb the menace of black money in the country provisions of the bill.

•  The proposed bill gives powers to tax authorities to track and deal with illegal wealth stashed abroad.
• Under the provisions of the new Bill, the offences related to black money will be non-compoundable and the offenders will not be permitted to approach the Settlement Commission.
•  The bill also has provision of punishment to deal with the black money cases. It proposes penalty at the rate of 300 per cent of taxes to be levied on the concealed income and assets, in addition to 10 years rigorous imprisonment.
• Union Cabinet also gave its nod for signing of an agreement with the US on the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The agreement will enable India to acquire information on big foreign transactions and indirectly curb black money stashing.

>>Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to collaborate with other space agencies on inter-planetary explorations.

• It was announced by Minister of State (MoS) in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh in the Lok Sabha.

• Presently ISRO is having talks with space agencies of the United States of America, Russia and France to collaborate for inter-planetary explorations.

• From this collaboration, India will acquire the knowledge to minimize the cost of launching complex missions and enhance the technological capabilities in spacecraft design. 

• While, the expertise gained through such collaborations will help India improve its capabilities of earth observation and satellite communication.

>>"The MoEF today withdrew the suspension of Environment Clearances. The mining industry will resume operations immediately now”.

• The suspension of 72 out of the total 89 approved mining leases in the coastal state had been lifted, said Parsekar, adding that the remaining ones were within the one-kilometre radius of wildlife sanctuaries.

• The environmental clearances of mines had been suspended by the then Environment Minister Jayanti Natarajan in September 2012 for alleged violation of rules.

>> France, Germany and Italy have agreed to join the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

• In addition, Australia, a key US ally in the Asia Pacific region, is set to decide on joining the international bank next week.South Korea, Switzerland and Luxembourg were also considering joining the AIIB.
• The moves from the countries come as a severe blow to the Obama administration that was working hard to keep them out of the institution.
• Britain has earlier announced its intention to become a founding member of the AIIB – a Chinese-led initiative that is expected to rival the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank in the Asian region.
• In October 2014, representatives of 21 Asian nations convened in Beijing to inaugurate the AIIB, which is focused on providing funding to infrastructure projects within Asia. The bank was initially capitalised with $50bn (£31bn, €39.5bn), half of which was funded by China.
• Britain is the first major Western country to apply to become an AIIB member. It will meet other founding members in March to discuss governance and accountability arrangements.

>>India will hold one of the biggest global yoga meets in china to celebrate the UN’s first International Day of Yoga.

• Over 10000 yoga enthusiasts are expected to take part in the meet being organized in Dujiangyan in Chengdu,china’s Sichuan province from 17^th June to 21^st June 2015.
• China was one of the 170 countries voted for the UN yoga Day proposed by PM Narendra Modi in 2014.

>> Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani was named Young Global Leader (YGL) from India by the World economic Forum(WEF).

• In the list of 187 YGLs for 2015 from across the world .Irani is accompanied by 10 other Indians,including Gaurav Gogoi.an MP and son of Assam CM Tarun Gogoi.

>>India’s indigenously developed Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile, Astra, was successfully launched from a Sukhoi-30 fighter aircraft.

• “The missile was successfully tested to hit a simulated target at the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, in Odisha today”.
• The all-weather, state-of-the-art missile developed by Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) can engage and destroy enemy aircraft at supersonic speed. 
• The 3.8 metre long Astra is the smallest of the DRDO-developed missiles and can be launched from different altitudes. 
• It can reach up to 110 km when fired from an altitude of 15 km, 44 km when launched from an altitude of 8 km and 21 km when fired from sea level.
• The last trial of Astra was conducted from a naval range in Western sector on May 4, 2014, and it was also successful.

17th March 2015

>> Haryana Government has passed Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Bill, 2015 that bans cow slaughter.  It was unanimously passed in budget session of state with voice vote.

Key provisions of Bill

• Objective- the Bill seeks to conserve and develop indigenous breeds of cows in the State. It also seeks to establish institutions for the purpose of sheltering and taking care of infirm, injured, stray and uneconomic cows.
• Cow slaughter Banned- Cow slaughter is completely banned in the state and anyone found guilty would be liable for imprisonment for 3 to 10 years, along with fines from Rs. 30 thousand to Rs. 1 lakh. While, the killing of a cow in an accident or for self-defence will not be considered slaughter.
• Ban on sale of beef– It is completely banned in the state. Violation of the ban will entail person 3 to 5 years of rigorous imprisonment with fine of up to Rs. 50 thousand. 

>> 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.

>> India and Kyrgyzstan on 17 March 2015 signed MoU to strengthen bilateral cooperation on textile and clothing.

• The MoU seeks to strengthen bilateral cooperation between both nations in the three fields including Textiles and Clothing, Silk and Sericulture and Fashion.

The MoU also aims to

• Development of trade and economic & investment relations.
• Collaboration in techno-commercial and joint trade missions.
• Investment cooperation.
• Mutual assistance in R&D.
• Technical collaboration in the field of product development and manufacturing, testing and certification. 

>> Indian researcher Minoti Apate has been named as New South Wales (NSW) Woman of the year 2015.

• Apate was named for the award for her contributions to the field of medical research, Indian community and the tertiary education.
• She is currently leading pre-clinical studies that are primed to suggest new treatments for pancreatic cancer - the fifth leading cause of all cancer deaths in Australia

• Dr Apte, Professor of Medicine at the South Western Sydney Clinical School of the University of New South Wales, last year, was awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for her services to medical research, tertiary education and the Indian Community.
• she is director of the Pancreatic Research Group and is an acknowledged world-leader in alcohol-induced pancreatic injury and pancreatic cancer.
• She investigates pancreatic cancer at a cellular level to find out how and why the cancer is so aggressive and spreads so quickly.

• Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly cancers with a five-year survival rate of just 6 per cent.
• She was the first in the world to develop a method to isolate pancreatic stellate cells, a technique which provided a much needed research tool for studying the path that pancreatic fibrosis (scarring of the pancreas) takes..

>> Ashu Suyash has been appointed as Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited (CRISIL).

• She will succeed Roopa Kudva, who had been the MD & CEO at Crisil since 2007. Suyash’s appointment was confirmed by the Board of Directors of the Company and will assume charge from 1st June 2015.

>> Parliament has passed Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders Amendment Bill, 2015.

• The bill was first passed in Rajya Sabha on February 24, 2015 and later in Lok Sabha on March 17, 2015. It was unanimously passed by a voice vote in both the houses.
• The bill seeks to modify the list of Scheduled Castes in three states- Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha and one Union Territory- Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

Key Amendments

• The Bill amends the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 and the Constitution (Dadra and Nagar Haveli) Scheduled Castes Order, 1962. The Bill adds the following communities to the list of Scheduled Castes:

 Haryana: Kabirpanthi, Julaha.

Karnataka: Bhovi, od, odde, Vaddar, Waddar.

 Odisha: Dhoba, Dhobi, Dom, Dombo, Duria Dom, Katia, Kela, Nalua Kela, Khadala and Turi.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli: Chamar.

The bill was introduced in Parliament as per the provisions of Article 341 of the Constitution. Article 341 empowers Parliament to include or exclude castes from the list of Scheduled Castes in the notification. It also empowers the President to specify castes which will be deemed as Scheduled Castes through a notification.

>> Supreme Court (SC) has rejected the notification issued by Union Government to include Jats in the Central list of Other Backward Classes (OBC) for the benefit of reservation.

• The Supreme Court (SC) held that Union Government took this decision by overlooking the findings of the National Commission for Backward Classes(NCBC).
• In its report NCBC had stated that Jats do not deserve to be included in the Central list of OBC as they don’t form a socio-economic backward class.
• Inclusion of a politically organised class like Jat would adversely impact the welfare of the other backward classes. 
• Though the Union Government has powers under the Constitutional scheme to provide reservation to a particular class but it cannot provide reservation on the basis of a decade-old-finding about the backwardness of a caste. SC gave this decision on Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the OBC Reservation Raksha Samiti which had challenged Union Governments notification of including Jats in the Central list of OBC.

>> Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on 16 March 2015 released Trends in International Arms Transfers 2014 report.

According to it, India is the world's largest importer of weapons and military equipment, accounting for 15 percent of global imports, with Russia being its majority supplier.

India: The largest importer of arms

• India was the largest importer of major arms in 2010–14, accounting for 15 percent of the global total. Between 2005–2009 and 2010–14 imports increased by 140 percent.

• In 2010–14 India’s imports were three times larger than those of its regional rivals China and Pakistan.

• This contrasts with 2005–2009 when India’s imports were 23 percent below China’s and just over double those of Pakistan.

• India has so far failed to produce competitive indigenous-designed weapons and remains dependent on imports.

• In 2010–14 Russia supplied 70 percent of India’s arms imports, the USA 12 percent and Israel 7 percent. The acquisitions from the USA are a break with the recent past.

• Prior to 2005–2009 India barely received any major weapons from the USA. However, there now appears to be an upward trend in arms imports from the USA. Imports in 2010–14 were 15 times higher than in 2005–2009 and included advanced weapons such as anti-submarine warfare aircraft. In 2014 additional deals with the USA were agreed, including for 22 combat helicopters.

About SIPRI

SIPRI is an independent international institute dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament. Established in 1966, SIPRI provides data, analysis and recommendations, based on open sources, to policymakers, researchers, media and the interested public.

16th March 2015

>>India Wins  Women’s Hockey World League Round two

• In the final match played at Major Dhyan Chan stadium in New Delhi, Indian women team defeated Poland team by score of 3-1 goals. Indian team was victorious with clean sweep i.e. winning all the six matches played over in this tournament.

        Rankings of teams

        India- 1st. Poland- 2nd. Malaysia- 3rd. Thailand- 4th. Russia- 5th.

>>Riva Ganguly Das ,currently Joint Secretary in the Minisgry,has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Romania.

>>Facebook has acquired the shopping search engine TheFind. With the acquisition, the social networking giant Facebook has signaled its future plans to move into the e-commerce.

  About TheFind

   Founded in 2006. It was co-founded by CEO Siva Kumar and CTO Shashikant Khandelwal both are    native Indians.


>>Wipro, India’s third-largest software services firm has appointed Abid Ali Neemuchwala as the Group President and Chief Operating Officer (COO). This appointment will be effective from 1 April 2015.

>>Services won the 69th edition of Santosh Trophy of football which is also called Senior National football championship.

• In the finals it defeated hosts Punjab 5-4 via tie-breaker played at Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana, Punjab. Earlier it had won the trophy in 1961, 2012 and in 2013.

About Santosh Trophy

• It is an annual Indian football tournament which is also called Senior National football championship started in 1941.
• The tournament named after late Maharaja Sir Manmatha Nath Roy Chowdhary of Santosh which is now in Bangladesh.

>>The Supreme Court (SC) on 15 March 2015 upheld the decision of Allahabad High Court (HC) that the development officers working in Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) are not workmen under the Section 2(s) of the Industrial Disputes Act (IDA), 1947.

>>Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley inaugurated the 5^th National Community Radio Sammelan at Delhi today.

     

>>The New Delhi Muncipal Council(NDMC) is planning to launch an all-women cab service named “shakti”  for  decreasing number of crimes against women in buses and taxis

  NDMC is also recruiting women drivers in all buses and taxis.

>>Supreme court confirmed that the Aadhar card is not mandatory to avail of Govt subsidies and offcials who insist on them will be taken to task.

>>IMF chief Christine Lagarde’s two-day visit began today.

• The Indian economy ,whose size is $2 trillion as of now,is poised to overtake the combined GDP of Japan and Germany in the next four years on the back of recent policy reforms and imporved  business confidence in the county.

March-15

>>Today is viswa Upabhokta Adhikar Diwas(World Consumer Rights Day)

• On March 15 1962 US president John F.Kennedy gave a speech on consumer rights which led to the creation of the Consumer Bill of Rights.
• Consumer rights activist Anwar Fazal later proposed the observance of a “World Consumer Rights Day” marking the date,and from March 15 ,1983 consumer organizations began observing  that date as an occasion to promote rights of consumers.

>> Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth lifted Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold at St. Jakobshalle, Basel. 

• First time some Indian male player has won this title, though Saina Nehwal has already won this title for two times in 2011 and 2012. 
• Kidambi Srikanth defeated Viktor Axelsen in finals. 

>>Noted Gandhian Narayan Desai passed away. He was 90 years old.

• He was best known for his rendition of Gandhi Katha i.e. stories on the Mahatma Gandhi's life.
• 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 are the few awards he was honoured with.

>>NASA’s Hubble Space 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.
• The finding was based on the results obtained after analyzing Ganymede’s magnetic field and aurorae created and controlled by it and its interaction with Jupiter’s magnetic field
• This ocean is 100 kms thick. 10 times deeper than Earth’s oceans. It is buried under a 150-kilometre crust of mostly ice.

About Ganymede:

 Ganymede is the largest moon in our solar system. It is also the only moon with its own magnetic field. The magnetic field causes aurorae, which are ribbons of glowing, hot electrified gas, in regions circling the north and south poles of the moon.

>>Researchers have found Endophytic alga belonging to Ulvella leptochaete species thriving in the Indian Ocean.

• This species of alga is originally inhabitant to the seas around the British Isles and the East China Sea.
• Researchers had collected samples of green seaweeds, Cladophora glomerata from Calicut, Kerala and red seaweeds, Laurentia obtusa from Mandapam, Tamil Nadu.

Advantages:

• It has a disease resistance.
• It contains anticancer compounds such as Taxol and can be used for treatment of many cancers including ovarian cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer and pancreatic cancer.

>>Powerful cyclone PAM  hit the south Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu. 

• The cyclone Pam is category five tropical storm and has brought destructive 270 kilometre-per-hour winds and torrential rain. The cyclone was followed by flooding, landslides, sea surges and very rough seas which has caused massive destruction in the small Pacific nation.
•  Cyclone Pam had caused damage to other Pacific islands including Kiribati and the Solomon Islands.
•  Vanuatu is located north east of Australia to south west of Hawaii Islands. It has population of 267,000 spread over 65 islands and about 47,000 people live in its capital Port Vila.

>>Union Government has merged Green India Mission (GIM) with the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) Scheme. 

• By merging GIM with MGNREGA Scheme government seeks to increase 10 million hectares of forest cover.
• Currently, green works such as water harvesting, afforestation and farm foresty are undertaken under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme implemented by Rural Development Ministry.
•  “To further synergise these efforts and to collectively address the climate change concerns, the government has come out with convergence guidelines after consulting both Environment and Rural Development Ministries,” a senior government official said.
• The convergence guidelines sets out the approach to be adopted to strengthen co-ordination at field-level for developing forest cover and improving forest-based livelihoods for about three million households.
• According to the guidelines issued by the Environment Ministry, all lands including village common lands, community lands, revenue wastelands, shifting cultivation areas, wetlands and private agricultural lands will be eligible for afforestation under this convergence.
• Under MGNREGA, forest works such as pre-plantation, pit digging, planting and watering, fencing, plant support and protection activities, weeding, mulching and manuring the plants among others can be undertaken for afforestation.

>> Pioneer of Israeli cinema, Lia van Leer passed away on 13 March 2015 in Jerusalem, Israel. She was 90. She was the founder of Israel Film Archive, Jerusalem Cinematheque, Haifa Cinematheque and the Jerusalem Film Festival.

>>Haryana Govt is going to introduce teaching of Bhagavad Gita in Schools across the state.

  It also going to introduce ‘cow slaughter protection bill’ in the ongoing budget session of the assembly.

March-14-2015

>>International Energy Agency (IEA) released the data on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. According to it, the global emissions of CO2 from energy sector stalled in the year 2014.

• As per the preliminary data released, global emissions of CO2 stood at 32.3 billion tonnes in 2014 which is same as in the year 2013. Further the data suggests that efforts to mitigate climate change may be having a more pronounced effect on emissions than had previously been thought.

>>The Mumbai High Court (HC) directed the Maharashtra government to set up a redressal mechanism for complaints filed by citizens against noise pollution levels.

• The direction given by the Mumbai HC is the latest in the series of rules and judgments pertaining to noise pollution given by various courts and the Union Government respectively.

• The court further said that organizers of the religious festivals do not have the right to take away the fundamental right of citizen to silence and to live in comfort and peace. Right to live peacefully is expressed in the Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed by Mahesh Bedekar.

>>Union Govt is contemplating to relax the criteria of disablility.

• Union minister for social justice and empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlot said that govt is mulling to reduce the parameter of body deformity percentage from 40 to 25 for disability certificate.

>>Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is on a visit to Japan to attend an international conference on disaster risk reduction.

>>Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the first train from Thalaimannar to Madhu Road in North Sri Lanka and also visited Anuradhapura shrine during three Island nation tour.

• The North-South Rail link was completely destroyed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) militants during the civil war in 1980s.

• ·    The rail project connects the Jaffna to capital Colombo and connects Thalaimannar to the main rail line.
• ·   The project has been implemented by Indian Railway Construction Company Limited (IRCON) International, a subsidiary of Indian Railways.

·         Indian Government had provided line of credit to this project as part of India’s bid to establish better connectivity between SAARC nations.

Anuradhapura facts:

• ·     Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered prayers at the sacred Bodhi tree in Anuradhapura shrine.
• ·    The sacred Bodhi tree at Anuradhapura shrine was planted as a sapling of the original Bodhi tree, under which Lord Gautam Buddha had achieved enlightenment.
• ·     It was planted 2000 years ago in Anuradhapura shrine which is considered as one of the most sacred places in Buddhism.

>>Pakistan successfully tested its first indigenously built all-weather armed drone named Burraq and a laser guided missile named Barq.

By successfully testing of Burraq, Pakistan became the 9th country in the World to develop an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) domestically.

About  Buraq:

• ·     Dveloped by a venture of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and the National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM).
• ·     Burraq has ability to fly in all types of weather conditions.
• ·    With Barq laser-guided missile mounted on it, Burraq can hit moving targets as well as stationary targets with pinpoint accuracy.

·                      UCAV Burraq was first flight tested in May 2009.

>>Union Government has selected legendary boxer and five-time world boxing champion MC Mary Kom as Brand Ambassador for the North East Region.

It was announced by Union Minister of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Jitendra Sing.

 About Mary Kom:

• ·    She belongs to Kom tribal community of the north-eastern state of Manipur.
• ·    Mary Kom is nicknamed Magnificent Mary. She is Five-time World Boxing champion,
• ·   She had won a bronze medal in 2012 London Olympics in the flyweight (51 kg) category and was only Indian woman boxer to qualify for this category.
• ·   She is also first Indian woman boxer to get a Gold Medal in the 2014 Asian Games held at Incheon, South Korea.

·         Awards- For her precious contribution to the sport of boxing (sports), she has been conferred with Padma Bhushan (2013), Padma Shree (2010) and Arjuna Award for Boxing (2003).

·         Autobiography- Unbreakable.

>>India’s Dr. Alka Beotra has been nominated as a member of the World Association of Anti-Doping Scientists’ (WAADS) executive board.

At present, Dr. Alka Beotra is Scientific Director of National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL).

>>Japan and France have signed an arms transfer agreement for military equipment, services and technology.

The defence pact seeks to boost cooperation and joint development between both countries in order to strengthen security ties.

>>Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed was sentenced to 13-year imprisonment by country’s criminal court under the anti-terrorism laws.

• He was charged under the island nation’s Anti-Terrorism Act, 1990 for his order to arrest a Criminal Court judge Abdulla Mohamed in 2012.  
• The case against Nasheed was based on the investigation report of the Human Rights Commission of Maldives into kidnapping of the Judge.

>> Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi bronze statue was unveiled at the Parliament Square in London. It was unveiled jointly by British Prime Minister David Cameron and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

M K Gandhi is the first Indian and the only person who had never held a public office to be honoured with a statue at the Parliament Square.

The statue is placed adjacent to the statues of iconic leaders like Britain’s former Prime Minister Winston Churchill and anti-apartheid icon and former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela.

>>National Dairy Research Institute have for the first time successfully cloned a female CALF (named after Apoorva),using cells from the urine of a buffalo.