Current Affairs on 17th March 2015

Current Affairs on 17th March 2015

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Facebook acquires shopping search engine TheFind.com
1. Facebook has acquired the shopping search engine TheFind. 
2. With the acquisition, the social networking giant Facebook has signaled its future plans to move into the e-commerce.
3. The acquisition aims to improve Facebook ads experience and lift its digital advertising business. The technology of TheFind will be integrated into Facebook in order to make ads more relevant and better for consumers.
4. Since July 2014, the social networking giant was testing a buy button to let its users purchase online goods directly. With the acquisition of TheFind, Facebook will be able to add additional shopping tools to its service.
About TheFind
1. It was Founded in 2006.
2. It was co-founded by CEO Siva Kumar and CTO Shashikant 
3. Khandelwal both are native Indians. Since its establishment, it had raised US 26 million dollars in three investment rounds.
Ashu Suyash appointed as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of CRISIL
1. Ashu Suyash has been appointed as Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited (CRISIL).
2. She will succeed Roopa Kudva, who had been the MD & CEO at Crisil since 2007. Suyash’s appointment was confirmed by the Board of Directors of the Company and will assume charge from 1st June 2015.
3. Prior to this appointment, she was CEO at L&T Investment Management. She was appointed to this post after the L&T Investment Management had acquired Fidelity Worldwide Investment’s India Asset Management business.



India, Kyrgyzstan signed MoU for cooperation on textile & clothing
1. India and Kyrgyzstan on 17 March 2015 signed MoU to strengthen bilateral cooperation on textile and clothing.
2. The MoU was signed by Minister of State (MoS) for Textiles Santosh Kumar Gangwar and his counterpart Minister of Energy and Industry of Kyrgyzstan Kubanychbek Turdubaev in New Delhi.
3. The MoU seeks to strengthen bilateral cooperation between both nations in the three fields including Textiles and Clothing, Silk and Sericulture and Fashion.
4. The MoU also aims to achieve enhance cooperation between both nations in
a) Development of trade and economic & investment relations.
b) Collaboration in techno-commercial and joint trade missions.
c) Investment cooperation.
d) Mutual assistance in R&D.
e) Technical collaboration in the field of product development and manufacturing, testing and certification.
5. Both the nations also agreed to set up a joint working group (JWG) in order to explore areas of cooperation within the scope of the MoU and the steps required to facilitate bilateral trade and investment.

Indian researcher Minoti Apate named as woman of the year 2015 in New South Wales

1. Indian researcher Minoti Apate has been named as New South Wales (NSW) Woman of the year 2015.

2. Apate was named for the award for her contributions to the field of medical research, Indian community and the tertiary education.

About Minoti Apate

1. At present she is Professor of Medicine at the South Western Sydney Clinical School of the University of New South Wales.

2. Apate was the first researcher in the world to develop a method to isolate pancreatic stellate cells, a technique which provided a research tool for studying the path that pancreatic fibrosis (scarring of the pancreas) takes.

3. Apate was awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in 2014 for her services to medical research, Indian community and the tertiary education.

4. Apart from scientific research work, she is also an active member of the Marathi Association of Sydney, an organisation that serves Sydney’s Indian population.


Haryana Government passes bill banning cow slaughter
1. Haryana Government has passed Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Bill, 2015 that bans cow slaughter.  
2. It was unanimously passed in budget session of state with voice vote.
Objective of bill - the Bill seeks to conserve and develop indigenous breeds of cows in the State. It also seeks to establish institutions for the purpose of sheltering and taking care of infirm, injured, stray and uneconomic cows.
Cow slaughter Banned - Cow slaughter is completely banned in the state and anyone found guilty would be liable for imprisonment for 3 to 10 years, along with fines from Rs. 30 thousand to Rs. 1 lakh.
While, the killing of a cow in an accident or for self-defence will not be considered slaughter.
Ban on sale of beef - It is completely banned in the state. Violation of the ban will entail person 3 to 5 years of rigorous imprisonment with fine of up to Rs. 50 thousand.
Export of cow - Exporting a cow for the purpose of slaughter either directly or indirectly through agent or servant or any person is banned. If any person found guilty he will be imprisoned for 3 to 7 years with fine from Rs. 30 thousand to Rs. 70 thousand.
In case of exporting a cow out of the State, permit for export and declaration that cow will not be slaughtered will be required. However, in case of exporting cow to state where cow slaughter is not banned, permit will be not issued.

Veteran singer Bombay S Kamal passes away
1. Veteran singer and music composer Bombay S. Kamal passed away on 17 March 2015 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala at the age of 85. He was suffering from respiratory ailments.
2. In past six decades, he had active presence in the field of music especially in Malayalam film music.
About Bombay S. Kamal
1. He was born in Mumbai. 
2. Kamal had received attention as singer since the age of 7 by singing Mohammed Rafi hits.
3. In 1950’s, he moved to Kerala and settled in Kozhikode district after an acquaintance with iconic composer and director M.S. Baburaj.
4. His debut as music composer was in the film Nilavilakku in 1986.
5. Kamal was also active in the world of music by singing for albums and gana melas.
6. He is recipient of inaugural Swaralaya Guruvandanam Award in 2012.