Daily Current Affairs on 21st March 2015

4^th National Photography Awards conferred on 13 eminent photojournalists

The fourth National Photography Awards were conferred on 13 eminent photojournalists in New Delhi on 20 March 2015.
The award were conferred by Secretary (Information & Broadcasting) Bimal Julka.
The awards were given in 5 categories including Life-Time Achievement Award, Amateur Photographer of the Year, Special Mention Category for both Amateur and Professional segments.
The theme for 4th edition Professional Photographer category was “Hamara Bharat Swachh Bharat” and for the Amateur Category was “Mother and Child”. The jury for this edition of awards was headed by well-known photographer Anil Risal Singh.

Following are the recipients of awards in various categories :-

Life-Time Achievement Award - Surendra R. Patel.
Professional Photographer of the Year - Swarup Duta.
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.

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.

Who was Krishnarao Ganpatrao Sable

He was popularly known as Shahir Sable and was born in a small village Pasarni, in the Wai taluka of Satara district, Maharashtra in 1923.
Shahir Sable was an accomplished singer, writer, playwright, performer, Loknatya (Folk Theater) producer-director.
He had penned the evergreen patriotic song ‘Garjaa Maharashtra Majha, Jai Jai Maharashtra Majha’
Shahir Sable was President of Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Natya Sammelan (1990) held in Mumbai and President of Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Shahir Parishad (1990), Mumbai.
Apart from folk singing he had actively participated in various freedom movements such as the ‘Quit India’ movement, Goa liberation struggle and Hyderabad ‘liberation’ and the Samyukta Maharashtra movement.
He was conferred with Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1984), Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar (1990), Padma Shri award (1998) for his dedication in the field of Arts.

Renault Nissan Automotive India appoints Colin Macdonald as Managing Director.

Colin Macdonald has been appointed as Managing Director (MD) of Renault Nissan Automotive India (RNAIPL). He will assume charge on 1 April 2015.
Macdonald will succeed Toshihiko Sano who has been appointed as Senior Vice President of Nissan’s key supplier, Calsonic Kansei in Japan.
Prior to this appointment Colin Macdonald was Deputy Managing Director of RNAIPL since January 2014. He had started his career at Nissan in 1991 at the Sunderland plant in United Kingdom.
RNAIPL is third biggest exporter of cars from India and the Renault-Nissan Alliance employs more than 15,000 people in India.

Union Cabinet has approved Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana

The Union Cabinet has approved the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) to provide skills training to youth across the country.
Decision in this regard was taken in the Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
The PMKVY Scheme will be implemented by the Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship through the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).
It will provide skills training to youth, including class 10 and 12 drop outs and aims to cover about 24 lakh people.
The skill training will involve soft skills, good work ethics, personal grooming, behavioral change for cleanliness etc.
The skill training will be undertaken on the basis of demand assessed on the basis of skill gap studies conducted by the NSDC for the period 2013-17.
The scheme will be implemented with an outlay fund of 1,500 crore rupees.
Of the total 1,500 crore rupees, about 1,120 crore rupees will be spent on skill training of 14 lakh youth.
150 crore rupees allocated for training of youth from the North-East region.

Rajendra Singh wins prestigious 2015 Stockholm Water Prize

Renowned water conservationist and environment activist Rajendra Singh has been conferred with 2015 Stockholm Water Prize.
He was awarded this prize for his innovative water restoration efforts and consistent attempts to improve the water security in villages in India.

Who Is Rajendra Singh

He is popularly known as Water Man of India. He started his career in 1980 as a National Service Volunteer and later joined NGO Tarun Bharat Sangh (TBS).
He had played important role in rejuvenating Arvari River after johads and check dams were constructed on it. It has helped Arvari River to become perennial river and was awarded ‘International River Prize’.
He was also member of National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) from 2009-12.
He was also awarded with Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 2001.

Renowned Malayalam poet Yusuf Ali Kechery passes away

Renowned Malayalam poet Yusuf Ali Kechery passed away on 21 March 2015 in Kochi, Kerala.
He was 81 and had been suffering from bronchial pneumonia.
Kechery was one of the leading poets of the modern era Malayalam poetry and was known for his mystic lyrics on Hindu gods.

Who was Yusuf Ali Kechery

He was born on 16 May 1934 in Kechery, Thrissur district of Kerala. Kechery had studied Sanskrit under well-known scholar K P Narayana Pisharody.
Kechery along with ONV Kurup and P Bhaskaran had dominated Malayalam films as a top-notch lyricist. His debut as lyricist was in 1971 with Malayalam film Sindooracheppu.
In his career he had penned hundreds of songs known for their mystic and romantic charm with a semi-classical touch.
Apart from being poet and lyricist, he was also film producer and director. His directorial debut was Maram (Tree) in 1973 and his first film as a producer was Sindooracheppu (1971).
Kechery also had served as assistant secretary of Kerala Sangaeetha Natak Academy and also served as the president of Kerala Sahitya Academy.
He was awarded a National Film Award for Best Lyricist for a Sanskrit song written for the Malayalam film Mazha (Rain) in 2000, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award(1985), Kerala State Film Award for Best Lyrics in year 1993, 1994 and 1998.

Martin Guptill hits highest score of 237 in Cricket World Cup

New Zealand’s Martin Guptill created a Cricket World Cup record by scoring highest score of 237 runs not out.
He achieved this feat in match against West Indies in the 2015 ICC World Cup quarter-final played at WestpacTrust Stadium, Wellington.
He scored 237 runs from 163 balls that included 11 sixes and 24 fours.
Martin Guptill also became the first New Zealand cricketer to score double century in One Day Internationals (ODIs).
His double ton also broke the previous record of West Indies Chris Gayle who had scored first double century in Cricket World Cup 2015. Chris Gayle had scored 215 runs from 147-balls in a match against Zimbabwe on 24 February 2015.
Guptill is 5th cricket player to score double century in ODI’s. Others are Indian cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Rohit Sharma (scored two double centuries) and West Indies Chris Gayle.