Saina Nehwal creates history by becoming
first Indian woman player to become World No.1
1. Ace shuttler
Saina Nehwal on 28 March 2015 created history by becoming first Indian woman to
be ranked
number one in the world in Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings in Women’s
Singles category.
2. She achieved
this rare feat after Spain’s Carolina Marin’s lost her semi-final match to
Thailand’s Ratchanok
Intanon in the Indian Open Super Series.
Saina has
overtaken China’s Li Xuerui to become the highest ranked player in the world.
3. Saina Nehwal
is the second Indian badminton player to achieve this feat, after legendary
shuttler Prakash
Padukone. He had achieved the top rank in 1980 in Men’s Single Category.
ADB sanctioned 300 million US dollars
under SCRIP for road construction in NBNE region
1. SCRIP
(SASEC Road Connectivity Investment Program) was in news as a loan agreement of
300 million US dollars under the programme was signed between the Asian
Development Bank (ADB) and the Union Ministry of Finance on 26 March 2015.
2. Under
this multi-tranche programme, about 500 km of roads will be constructed in the
North Bengal-North East (NBNE) region.
3. ADB is providing 500 million US dollars
for the execution of the programme.
4. SRCIP
is a strategic initiative that aims to achieve regional integration among the
members of the South Asia Sub regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) group by improving
road connectivity within the North Bengal-North Eastern Region in India.
5. The
members of this group are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal.
Rajasthan passes bill on eligibility for
panchayat polls
1. Rajasthan
government on 27 March 2015 passed Rajasthan Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill,
2015 in state
assembly.
2. With this Rajasthan has become first Indian state to fix a minimum
educational qualification
for contesting elections to the Panchayati Raj Institutions.
3. The Bill
amends the Rajasthan Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 to add provisions related minimum
educational qualification
for Panchayati elections.
Provisions of the bill
1. Contestant
for Zila Parishad or Panchayat Samiti elections should have the minimum
qualification of secondary education
i.e. Class 10 from the state board or any approved institution or board.
2. Contestant
for the Sarpanch elections must have passed Class VIII from any school in case
of general category.
3. In case of the
scheduled area of Panchayat, the contestant should have passed Class 5 from a
school to become a
Sarpanch.
The
provision of mandatory functional toilet in the house of a contestant also added
in the parent act by amending section
19.
ISRO named for Gandhi Peace Prize 2014
1. Indian Space
Research Organisation (ISRO) has been selected for the Gandhi Peace Prize for
the year 2014.
2. It was
announced by the jury for the Prize which had met under the Chairmanship of the
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi.
3. ISRO was
chosen for the prestigious award for its contribution in Development through
space technology
and satellite-based services.
Former CM of Mizoram Brigadier (Retd)
Thenphunga Sailo passes away
1. Former
Chief Minister (CM) of Mizoram Brigadier (Retd) Thenphunga Sailo passed away on
27 March 2015 in Aizawl, Mizoram.
2. He was also one of the prominent voices against the human rights
violation by the armed forces’ in 1970s in the insurgency-hit Mizo hills.
About Thenphunga Sailo
1. Sailo
was born on 1 January 1922.
2. He
had joined the British Indian army in 1942 as a junior officer and had rose to
the rank of Brigadier in 1966.
3. He
had fought the Second World War for the British and was first Indian Army
officer from the Mizo community.
4. In
1975 he had started the People’s Conference Party (now Mizoram People’s
Conference).
5. In
1977, he became the second Chief Minister of Mizoram while state was Union
Territory and had served CM for two terms.
6. He
was awarded the prestigious military award AVSM during his service in the army.
In 1999, he was awarded the Padmashree for his contributions to Mizo society.
CNN IBN announced Indian of the Year
Award 2014
1. CNN-IBN
announced the Indian of the Year Award 2014 on 18 March 2015. The award
recognises the remarkable achievements and contributions of Indians who worked
tirelessly towards strengthening India’s foundation in 2014.
2. The
CNN-IBN Indian of the Year Award is presented annually to various Indians for
their work in their respective fields. The awards are presented in various
categories of Politics, Sports, Business, Entertainment, Public Service and
Global Indian.
List of the Winners of CNN-IBN Award 2014:
1. Narendra
Modi - Indian of the Year 2014
2. Arun
Jaitley - Indian of the Year 2014: Politics
3. Jitu
Rai - Indian of the Year 2014: Sports
4. N
Chandrasekaran - Indian of the Year 2014: Business
5. Chetan
Bhagat - Indian of the Year 2014: Entertainment
6. Tongam
Rina - Indian of the Year 2014: Public Service
7. Satya
Nadella - Indian of the Year 2014: Global Indian
8. K
Chandrasekhar Rao - Indian of the Year 2014: Popular Choice
9. P
Vijayan - Indian of the Year 2014: Popular Choice
10. Kangana
Ranaut - Indian of the Year 2014: Special Achievement
11. Pankaj
Advani - Indian of the Year 2014: Special Achievement
12. Kailash
Satyarthi - Indian of the Year 2014: Outstanding Achievement
13. Azim
Premji - Indian of the Year 2014: Outstanding Achievement
14. The
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) - Indian of the Year 2014: Lifetime
Achievement
PM launches "Give it up"
campaign for voluntarily giving up LPG subsidy
1. He
appealed to well-off sections of society to voluntarily give up LPG subsidy, so
that the benefit of the same could reach those who genuinely deserve it.
2. 2.8
lakh people from across the country had already given up LPG subsidy.
Vikas Swarup - author of 'Slumdog
Millionaire' - replaces Syed Akbaruddin as the newSpokesperson of the Ministry
of External Affairs
1. The
senior Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer is also a novelist and the famous
film 'Slumdog Millionaire' was based on one of his books.
2. Syed
Akbaruddin will be promoted as Additional Secretary and has been
appointed as 'Chief Coordinator' of the Indo-Africa Forum Summit
Kerala Tourism bags the national Web
Ratna Award for 2014
1. Kerala Tourism bags the national Web Ratna Award for 2014 for ‘exemplary e-governance initiative through the Internet’
2. Their
website www.keralatourism.org gets the Golden Icon award in the 'outstanding
content' category of the Web Ratna Awards.
Centre inaugurates Urja Sangam 2015
- India's biggest global hydrocarbon meet
1. Centre inaugurates Urja Sangam 2015 - India's biggest global hydrocarbon meet with aim to achieve energy security and reliance.
2. Urja
Sangam aims to market nation's potential in the hydrocarbon globally to bring
investment and expertize to provide the necessary boost to this sector.
3. He
urged all stakeholders to increase the domestic production of Oil and Gas to
reduce import dependence from 77 % to 67% by the year 2022, and down to 50 % by
the year 2030.
4. National
gas grid network to be increased from its current length of 15,000 kms pipeline
to 30,000 kms cross country gas pipeline.
5. India
currently has 99 trillion cubic feet of shale gas reserves and 800 MMT of oil
reserves.