Daily Current Affairs on 23rd March 2015

Daily Current Affairs on 23rd March 2015

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Nation observes Martyrs Day on 23rd March
23rd March  is marked as the Martyr's Day to honour the sacrifice of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev who were hanged to death on this very day in 1931.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after his arrival in Amritsar headed straight for Hussainiwala by a helicopter where he paid his respects to freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev.
It was in Hussainiwala that the three martyrs were unceremoniously cremated by the British after their hanging in Lahore on March 23, 1931.

23 March observes as World Meteorological Day
Every year March 23 is observed as World Meteorological Day (WMD).
Theme for this year is Climate Knowledge for Climate Action.
This year’s theme assumes special significance to disseminate Climate Change related knowledge in order to take appropriate mitigation and adaptation actions related to it.
On this day in 1950 the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) Convention came into force that aimed at creating WMO. Later in 1951, WMO became United Nations specialized agency for meteorology, geophysical sciences and operational hydrology.

Union Government reconstitutes SEAC-II in Maharashtra
Union Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEFCC) has reconstituted the second State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) in Maharashtra.
The reconstituted SEAC-II will assess projects falling in category 8 of the schedule of (Environment Impact Assessment) EIA notification 2006 in the Mumbai metropolitan region and Konkan division in Maharashtra.
SEAC-II will have seven members and will be headed by retired IAS officer Johny Joseph as Chairman. The term of the chairman and members of the committee will be till October 2016.

Infosys, Accenture in last lap for Rs 900-crore deal 
Infosys and Accenture have entered the final lap to clinch a Rs 900-crore ($150 million) IT outsourcing contract from Australia-based financial services provider Macquarie Group. 
Macquarie Group provides banking, financial, advisory, investment and funds management services. 
It employs more than 13,900 people in 28 countries. 
HCL, Cognizant and Genpact-Headstrong are some of Macquarie's incumbent IT service providers. 

Veteran actor Shashi Kapoor named for Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2014
Veteran actor and film producer Shashi Kapoor has been named for the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award 2014. He is the 46th film personality to receive this honour.
About Shashi Kapoor
He was born as Balbir Raj Prithviraj Kapoor on 18 March 1938 in Kolkata, West Bengal.
Shashi Kapoor had started his acting career at the age of 4, by acting in the plays directed by his father Prithviraj Kapoor. Since then he has appeared in 160 movies altogether, 12 being in English and the rest in Hindi.
He is best-known for his performances in Hindi films like ‘Jab Jab Phool Khile’, ‘Deewar’ and ‘Kabhi Kabhie’.
He also worked as a film director, assistant director and film producer.
He was also awarded with
National Film Award for Best actor for the film New Delhi Times (1986),
National Film Award Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film) for Muhafiz (1993)
National Film Award Best Feature Film in Hindi (as Producer) for Junoon in 1979.
Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award (2010).
Padma Bhushan (2011).

Winners of 2015 Indian Wells Open Tennis Titles (BNP Paribas Open)
Men’s Singles Title
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic has won the Indian Wells Open Tennis Men’s Singles Title. In the final match he defeated Switzerland’s Roger Federer by  6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 score .
With this win Djokovic won his fourth Indian Wells Open title and overall 50th tour-level title.
Women’s Singles Title
Romania’s Simona Halep has won the Indian Wells Open Tennis Women’s Singles Title. In the final match she defeated Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic by 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 score .
It was Halep’s third WTA titles in 2015 apart from Shenzhen Open and Dubai Open.
Women’s Double Title
Sania Mirza (India) and Martina Hingis (Switzerland) pair have won Indian Wells Open Tennis Women’s Doubles Title. In the final match they defeated Russian pair Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina by 6-3, 6-4 score.
It was Sania Mirza’s second title of the season 2015 and 24th overall.
Men’s Double Title
Vasek Pospisil (Canada) and Jack Sock (US) pair have won the won Indian Wells Open Tennis Men’s Doubles Title. In the final match they defeated Italian pair Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini  6–4, 6–7 (3), 10–7 score.

Founding Father of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew passes away
First Prime Minister (PM) of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew passed away on 23 March 2015. He was 91.
Mr. Lee is described as the ‘founding father’ and ‘architect’ of modern Singapore.
He is also considered as pioneer for transforming the island country from a small port city into a wealthy global hub after its independence from United Kingdom and separation from Malaysia.
He was elected as First Prime Minister of Singapore in 1959. Since then he had served as PM of country for 31 years and had stepped down in 1990. He also had overseen the separation of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965.
During his regime, Mr. Lee had stressed on combined market-friendly policies with strict controls over the free speech and press.