Narendra Modi launches National Air Quality index for monitoring pollution level
1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 6 April 2015 launched a National Air Quality Index (NAQI) to tackle air pollution.
2. This National Air Quality Index will provide information for 10 cities
Nanded Varsity to have Chair in honour
of Guru Gobind Singh
1. Maharashtra
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday announced a Chair in the name of
10th guru of Sikhs Guru Gobind Singh in Swami Ramanand Tirath Marathawara
University, Nanded
2. He
was reciprocating the gesture of Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal who has set up a
Chair in the name of Bhagat Namdev at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.
3. One
of the five Takhts of Sikhs, Takht Hazur Sahib, is at Nanded
4. Guru
Gobind Singh had breathed his last there.
NREGA: Each household got only 39 job
days last year
1. As
per the data available with the Ministry of Rural Development, which implements
the scheme, the average days of employment provided per household in 2014-15
were only 39.2, significantly lower than in 2013-14 when the figure was 46.
2. Last
year was the scheme’s worst performance on this count in the past nine years
since it was introduced.
3. The
average days of employment provided per household has, although always low,
remained above the 40-mark.
4. The
figure was 43, 42, 48, 54, 47, 43, 46 in 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10,
2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 respectively.
5. The
MGNREGA, introduced in February 2006 by the UPA government, promises 100 days
of employment every year to each rural household.
Indian-origin schoolboy in UK wins major
physics prize
1. A
15-year-old Indian-origin schoolboy in the UK has been awarded the Institute of
Physics Prize for conducting an experiment that verified an effect of Albert
Einstein’s theory of special relativity
2. Pratap
Singh, a student at The Perse School, Cambridge, has won the 500 pounds
Institute of Physics (IOP) prize at the Big Bang Fair held at the National
Exhibition Centre in Birmingham
3. He
created a mathematical model for their arrival rate with and without time
dilation, and using a Raspberry Pi and some statistical analysis, showed that
they follow the model predicted by Einstein’s 1905 theory of special
relativity.
Mufti Mohammad Sayeed inaugurates Asia’s
largest Tulip garden
1. Jammu
and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today inaugurated Asia’s
largest Tulip garden situated on the banks of Dal Lake here for public viewing.
2. This
year around ten lakh tulips have been planted in the garden, spread over an
area of 15 hectares.
3. The
opening of the garden, in the foothills of Zabarwan Range, marks the beginning
of a new tourism season in Kashmir Valley.
4. It was formerly
known as Siraj Bagh
5. The
Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip garden was opened in 2008 by the then Chief
Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.
India to hold fifth meeting of SAARC health
ministers
1. India
will host the fifth meeting of SAARC health ministers next week to focus
on HIV/AIDS, prevention of communicable and non-communicable diseases
2. The
meeting will decide upon a road map for strengthening collaboration among SAARC
countries on a number of issues and challenges faced by them.
Myntra plans to close its website from 1st May
and would be available as a mobile app only
1. After
closing its mobile website last month, online fashion retailer Myntra is now
moving to an app-only strategy.
2. Myntra
is to complete Rs 2,000 crore in sales or gross merchandise value (GMV) for the
current financial year.
Mumbai: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar
unleashes first Scorpene submarine
1. Defence
Minister Manohar Parrikar launched the country’s first domestically-built
Scorpene submarine at the Mazagaon Dockyard Ltd in Mumbai.
2. The
Scorpene is part of the Project 75 of Indian Navy’s submarine programme,
undertaken with French collaboration.
3. Currently,
Indian Navy has 14 conventional diesel-electric powered submarines which
include 10 Russian Kilo Class and four German HDW class vessels.
Sania Mirza-Martina Hingis win Miami Open, lift their second title together
1. Sania Mirza achieved yet another career milestone by capturing her 25th WTA doubles title as the Indian ace continued her dream start with Martina Hingis to win the Miami Open trophy
2. The top seeded Indo-Swiss pair beat second seeded Russian team of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina by 7-5 6-1 .
3. In individual doubles rankings, Sania is now only 145 points away from becoming world number one.
Novak Djokovic beats Andy Murray to lift fifth Miami title
1. World number one Novak Djokovic continued his impressive run of form, winning the Miami Open over Andy Murray 7-6(3) 4-6 6-0 at Key Biscayne
2. The victory followed Djokovic’s triumphs at the Australian Open and Indian Wells and was the Serb’s fifth title at Miami.
3. He has now beaten Murray in 10 straight matches on hard courts and has an 18-8 overall record against the Scot.