Nation pay homage to Dr. BR Ambedkar on His 124th Birth Anniversary
1. The President, Shri Pranabh Mukherji led the nation in paying homage to Bharat Ratna Baba Saheb, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on his 124th Birth anniversary here today.
2. A noted jurist, economist and social reformer, Dr. Ambedkar campaigned against discrimination of Dalits, caste discrimination, and ‘untouchability.’
3. He was the free India’s first Law Minister.
4. He was the Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee, Dr. Ambedkar drafted the nation’s constitution.
5. He was posthumously conferred with the Bharat Ratna in 1990.
6. Political parties have planned year-long celebrations to mark his 125th birth anniversary year beginning today.
7. He is known as the father of Indian Constitution
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NCTI inks MoU with Paytm to promote Indian MSMEs
1. Mobile commerce platform Paytm on 13 March 2015 inked memorandum of understanding MoU with National Centre for Trade Information (NCTI) to promote Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
2. As per MoU, Paytm will offer a virtual marketplace platform for NCTI members and will extend its services and enable them to sell online.
3. In this regard, Paytm will set up payment gateways platform for online ticketing and membership fees for NCTI.
4. This tie-up will play a pivotal role in the growth of MSMEs by providing them with value-added trade information generally for the trading community.
5. It will also provide platform to NCTI members that will serve as an opportunity to trade online and scale faster.
IMF-World Bank annual & spring Meeting held in Washington
1. The International Monetary Fund-World Bank Spring meeting to be held in Washington.
2. All the senior officials including Finance Minister, RBI Governor and other officials of the Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank shall participate in the meeting.
Haryana grants Baba Ramdev Cabinet minister status
1. “Ramdev, Brand Ambassador for promotion of yoga and ayurveda in Haryana.
2. He will be given status equivalent to Cabinet Minister
3. The BJP government in Haryana has decided to accord the rank, equal to that of a cabinet minister, to yoga guru Ramdev.
4. Ramdev will also be honoured by the state government in Panchkula on April 21.
World’s First Selfie Museum opens in Manilla
1. Manilla became the first ever city to have World’s first Selfie Museum opened on 13 April, 2015.
Vice president releases a book ’My little Epiphanies’
1. Vice president released a book ’My little Epiphanies’ authored by Late Ms. Aisha Chaudhary
2. Late Ms. Aisha Chaudhary was born on 1996 with SCID (Severe Combined Immune Deficiency) and underwent a Bone Marrow Transplant when she was 6 months old.
3. Since 2014, spending almost all her time living on bed, Aisha wrote down her thoughts to get some relief, to get them out of her head. She passed away recently in 2015.
US President nominates Indian-American businesswoman Shamina Singh for Board Member of CNCS
1. Indian-American businesswoman Shamina Singh has been nominated as the member of the
2. Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).
3. She was nominated to top most post by United States President Barack Obama for term of four year. till October 2019.
About Shamina Singh
1. Prior to this, Shamina was global director for government services and solutions at MasterCard Centre for Inclusive Growth.
2. Prior to joining MasterCard, she had led government and public affairs for sports brand Nike and had five years with Citigroup’s Global Community Development Group.
3. She also had held senior positions within the Bill Clinton Administration and the US House of Representatives.
India’s GDP growth rate expected to reach 8% by 2017: World Bank
1. In India, GDP growth is expected to accelerate to 7.5 per cent in fiscal year 2015-16.
2. The World Bank has predicted a GDP growth rate of 8 per cent for India by 2017.
3. The Factors behind the Economic growth are -a strong expansion in the country, coupled with favourable oil prices, and would accelerate the economic growth in South Asia.
4. In India, GDP growth is expected to accelerate to 7.5 per cent in fiscal year 2015/16.
5. It could reach 8 per cent in FY 2017-18, on the back of significant acceleration of investment growth to 12 per cent during FY 2016-FY 2018, the bank said.
PM Modi, Arvind Kejriwal among 100 most influential people: Time magazine poll
1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have been voted among the 100 most influential people in the world in an online poll by readers of Time magazine.
2. Russian President Vladimir Putin emerged the winner of this year’s Time 100 readers’ poll.
3. Mr. Putin edged out rapper-singer CL (of the South Korean girl-group 2NE1) to claim the number one spot with 6.95 per cent of the votes in the final tally.
4. Pop stars Lady Gaga (2.6 per cent), Rihanna (1.9 per cent) and Taylor Swift (1.8 per cent) rounded out the top five.
5. Other winners of the online poll include US presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, the Dalai Lama, Harry Potter actress Emma Watson, Nobel peace prize winner Malala Yousafzai, Pope Francis, Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Haryana will register only BS-IV Engine vehicles in state
1. Days after the National Green Tribunal order for a cleaner Delhi, Haryana has come up with a measure aimed at curbing vehicle pollution in its districts within the National Capital Region.
2. 11 districts of Haryana will register only vehicles with BS-IV engines, a decision that will be implemented over the next three months.
3. BS-IV engines are designed for low emission.
4. Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar made the announcement at a meeting of the environment ministers of Delhi, Haryana and UP who discussed measures against pollution in the NCR.
Australia Extends its Support to Ganga Rejuvenation Plan
1. Australia has promised its full support to Ganga Rejuvenation plan.
2. This was communicated by Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Ms. Julie Bishop when she called on Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Sushri Uma Bharti.
3. Both the leaders also discussed the possibilities of bilateral co-operation in sectors like water flow forecasting, recharging of ground water, mapping of ground water storage and inter-linking of rivers.
4. The visiting dignitary also extended an invitation to Sushri Bharti to visit Australia.
Indian Gazelle spotted in Tumakuru
1. Chinkara also called Indian Gazelle (Gazella bennetti) has been spotted in Bukapatna State forest in Sira of Tumakuru. Chinkara called “Sanna Hulle Kara” in Kannada.
2. It normally exists in arid areas, deserts, savannahas and sub-tropical light forests.
3. This antelope species is known to exist in India with a very few numbers in Pakistan and Iran.
4. In India, Chinkara is protected under Schedule-I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 giving it more protection.
5. Of the six species of antelopes found in India, three species, Chinkara, Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) and the four-horned antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis) are found in Karnataka.
WTO cuts 2015 global trade growth outlook to 3.3% from 4%
1. Global commerce is expected to grow just 3.3 per cent this year, the World Trade Organization said Tuesday
2. Earlier WTO forecast Growth rate of 4.0 per cent over weak global economic growth and rising geopolitical tensions.
3. Trade growth is expected to pick up in 2016 with an expansion of 4.0 per cent, according to the WTO.
2014 was marked by extreme accounts of rape, sexual slavery & forced marriage: UN
1. According to United nation 2014 Year was marked by harrowing accounts of rape, sexual slavery and forced marriage being used by extremists including the Islamic State group and Boko Haram.
2. In a report released Monday, the UN chief expressed “grave concern” over sexual violence perpetrated by armed groups, including those promoting extremist ideologies in Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Nigeria, Mali, Libya and Yemen.