Australia won ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
1. Australia
on 29th March 2015 won the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 for the record fifth
time.
2. In
the final match Australia defeated co-hosts of the tournament, New Zealand by 7
wickets played at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Australia.
3. In
the final match, New Zealand had won the toss and had chosen to bat first. They
had set the target of 183 runs to Australia after losing all wickets in the
45th over.
4. Australian
team easily overhauled the target in the 34th over with 7 wickets in hand.
Captain
of Australian Team - Michael Clarke.
Captain
of New Zealand Team - Brendon McCullum.
5. Previously,
Australia had won the Cricket World Cup in 1987, 1999, 2003 and 2007.
India to build two next-generation Awacs
for Rs 5,113 crore
1. Union
Government on 27th Mach 2015 gave its approval to build crore strategic project
of next-generation Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS).
2. Decision
in this regard was taken by Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Union
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.
3. DAC
gave its nod for two AWACS, which includes buying two Airbus A330s, worth 5,113
crore rupees. Airbus was the lone bidder for the programme.
4. AWACS
or eyes in the sky can detect incoming aerial threats like hostile fighters,
drones and cruise missiles from 400-km away.
5. Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will develop the AWACSs.
Earth Hour was observed on 28 March 2015
1. Ninth
edition of Earth Hour was observed on 28 March 2015 across the World.
2. In
this edition of Earth Hour, millions of people around the world took part in
the event for the global climate change awareness campaign.
3. Over
170 countries participated in the event and more than 1,200 landmarks along
with 40 UNESCO world heritage sites observed the Earth Hour.
4. It
is an annual global event organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
5. This
day encourages citizens, communities, businesses and organisations to switch
the lights off from 8:30 pm local time for an hour to highlight the plight of
the planet.
ISRO successfully launches fourth
navigation satellite IRNSS 1D
1. Indian
Space Research Organization (ISRO) on 28 March 2015 successfully launched
fourth navigation satellite Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System
(IRNSS)-1D.
2. It
was launched by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C-27 into the orbit from
Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
3. The
satellite is similar to, and follows the IRNSS 1A, 1B and 1C which were
launched in April 2013, July 2014 and October 2014respectively.
4. IRNSS-1D
will be launched into a sub Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (sub GTO). It weighs
1,425 kg and carries a navigation payload and CDMA ranging payload in addition
with a laser retro-reflector.
Indian-American Scientist Murty Kambhampati
chosen for US Presidential award
1. An
Indian-American scientist and biology professor Murty Kambhampati is
chosen for prestigious US Presidential award.
2. He
is among 15 scientists who have been chosen for US Presidential award for
excellence in the field of science, mathematics and engineering mentoring (PAESMEM).
All of them will receive the award at a White House ceremony later in year
2015.
3. Apart
from Kambhampati, Sri Lankan-origin Tilak Ratnanather is also among the 15
scientist from Indian subcontinent chosen for award.
Poonam Mahajan Becomes First Woman
President of Basketball federation Of India.
1. For
the first time since it came into existence in 1950, the Basketball Federation
of India got a woman as its president when Poonam Mahajan was unanimously
elected as the head of this 65 year old federation — the governing and
controlling body of basketball in India.
2. At
the Annual General Meeting of the BFI, president of Maharashtra State
Basketball Association (MSBA), who is also the BJP national secretary and MP
from the Mumbai North-Central Lok Sabha constituency.
3. Poonam
was unanimously elected as the new president of BFI for a four-year (2015-2019)
term.
4. The
34-year-old Poonam is the youngest president of any national federation in
India
Russia Joins Asian Infrastructure
investment Bank
1. Russia
has decided to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the latest
country to sign up as the application deadline draws close, Russian First
Deputy Prime Minister Shuvalov said.
2. According
to the Asia Development Bank (ADB) data, Asia’s infrastructure demand is
expected to reach some $730 billion per year by 2020, but the supply of
investment funds from the World Bank and the ADB falls far short of the demand.
India can save $ 7 Billion By Use of LED
bulb
1. India
can save up to USD 7 billion (about Rs 43,750 crore) annually by replacing
incandescent lamps with energy efficient LED bulbs, Power Minister Piyush Goyal
said
2. Prime
Minister Narendra Modi had launched a scheme for light-emitting diode (LED)
bulb distribution under the Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme.
3. Installation
of LED bulbs for domestic and street-lighting in 100 cities is targeted by
March 2016.
4. According
a report use of LED bulbs will reduce peak power demand of the country by
10,000 MW per day.
India Ranks 83rd On UN Index Assessing
E-commerce Readiness
1. India
has been ranked a lowly 83rd on a new index compiled by the UN trade body
UNCTAD for assessing the readiness of countries for electronic commerce and it
has the fourth largest number of complaints made against companies selling
online.
2. India
scores 40.6 on index value with 1.8 per cent individuals over 15 years owning a
credit card (2011 data), 12.6 per cent using the internet (2013 data), 48.2
secure servers per million people and 100 per cent population having mail
delivered at home.
3. Globally,
the top four countries with highest readiness for electronic commerce are
Luxembourg, followed by Norway, Finland and Canada.
The
Alibaba Group is the world’s largest e-commerce company by gross merchandise
value – volume of goods and services being transacted – followed by Amazon and
eBay.
India Forex reserves up By $ 4.26 Billions
1. India’s
foreign exchange reserves increased by $4.26 billion to $339.99 billion for the
week ended March 20, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed.
2. For
the previous week ended March 13, the reserves had decreased by $2.06 billion
to $335.72 billion. For the week ended March 6, the reserves had fallen by
$286.3 million to $337.79 billion.
3. India’s
reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the week ended
March 20 decreased by $295.8 million and stood at $1.28 billion.
4. The
value of special drawing rights (SDRs) was higher by $18.2 million in the week
under review at $3.97 billion.
5. Gold
reserves were static at $19.83 billion. The gold reserves had plunged by $346.2
million in the week ended March 6.