Railway
Ministry constitutes Kaya Kulp council
1.Railway Ministry has constituted ‘Kaya kulp’ Council, an
innovation council for Indian Railways.
`2.The council was constituted by Union Minister of Railways
Suresh Prabhu in order to fulfill the promise made in the Railway Budget
Speech.
3.Eminent industrialist and former chairman of Tata Sons,
Ratan Tata will head the KayaKalp council.
4.The Purpose of the Council is to recommend innovative
methods and processes for the improvement, betterment and transformation of the
Indian Railways.
The Council initially will have following members
1.Shiv Gopal Mishra, General Secretary of All Indian
Railwaymen’s Federation (AIRF).
2.M. Raghavaiah, General Secretary of National
Federation of Indian Railwaymen (NFIR).
Nobel
laureate Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan will head Royal Society
1.Nobel Laureate Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan has been
confirmed as President Elect of the Royal Society.
2.His appointment was confirmed by the society’s council met
on 19 March 2015 and will assume the charge on 1 December 2015.
3.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.
Former Lok
Sabha speaker Meira Kumar was released a book
1.Former Lok Sabha Meira Kumar’s book entitled “Indian Parliamentary
Diplomacy – Speaker’s Perspective” was released on 19 March 2015.
2.The book was released by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
3.Its first copy was presented to the President Pranab
Mukherjee at a function held in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.
4.The book features an account of the parliamentary diplomacy
and its role in furthering foreign policy and strengthening international
relations.
5.It also contains speeches and reports by Kumar during her stint
as Lok Sabha speaker and as leader of Indian parliamentary delegations at
several international fora.
She was the first unopposed elected woman Speaker of Lok
Sabha and served from 2009 to 2014.
Parliament
passes Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2015
1.Parliament has passed Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill,
2015. It was first passed in Lok Sabha on 4 March 2015 and later in Rajya Sabha
on 20 March 2015.
2.This bill will replace the Coal Mines (Special Provisions)
second ordinance, 2014.
3.The bill has provisions for allocation of coal mines through
a transparent bidding process i.e e-auction.
4.The e-auction of coal blocks will ensure the continuity in
coal mining operations and promoting optimum utilization of coal resources.
5.The bill also facilitate e-auction of coal blocks for
private companies for captive use and allot mines directly to state and central
Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).
6.The bill also provides for vesting of the right, title and
interest over the land and mine infrastructure together with mining leases to
successful bidders.
Japan and
China held first security talks after 4 years
1.Japan and China on 19 March 2015 held their first security
talks in Tokyo after four years since the ties had worsened over a row over
islands in the East China Sea.
2.In the security talks both nations agreed to keep alive and
foster a nascent recovery in bilateral ties plagued by the legacy of Japan’s
wartime aggression and a territorial dispute.
3.However, both nations failed to set a timetable for the
implementation of a scheme designed to ensure real-time communication between
their armed forces.
Mahendra
Singh Dhoni has become first Indian Captain to register 100 ODI wins
1.Mahendra Singh Dhoni has become first Indian Cricket team
Captain to register the 100 One Day International (ODI) match wins.
2.He was achieved this feat after Indian team defeated
Bangladesh in the 2015 ICC World Cup quarter-final match by 109-run in
Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Australia.
3.He is the 3rd captain in the history of the cricket to
record 100 wins. Other two captains to achieve this feat are – Australians
Allan Border (107 wins) and Ricky Ponting (165 wins).
4.Mahendra Singh Dhoni had started his captaincy in 2007 after
he took over from Rahul Dravid.
5.Since then under his captaincy, Indian Cricket team has won
2007 World Twenty20, CB Series of 2007-08, Asia Cup 2010, ICC Cricket World Cup
2011, Champions Trophy 2013.
6.Indian Captain Mohammad Azharuddin had recorded 90 wins in
ODIs, followed by Sourav Ganguly with 76 wins.
33%
reservation for women in police forces of UTs & Delhi was approved by Union
Cabinet
1.Union Cabinet on 20 March 2015 approved 33 percent
reservation for women in police forces of all seven Union Territories (UTs)
including Delhi Police.
2.This decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
3.This reservation will be Applicable in each category of SC,
ST, OBC and others in direct recruitment in non-gazetted posts from constables
to sub-inspector.
4.Reservation will available to women against all prior
vacancies that existed on the date of issue of this order after Cabinet
approval and vacancies arising henceforth.
Current Status
1.At present Chandigarh has 6.18 per cent women police force
highest among all 7 UTs. While, Puducherry with 5.89 per cent has lowest
representation.
2.Delhi has 7.61 per cent and Lakshwadeep has 10.52 per cent
women among its police force.
3.The average women representation in police forces across pan
India is only 5.33 per cent i.e. 84,479 police women. The actual needed total strength
is of 15.85 lakh women police force in the country.