Rajasthan Assembly passes bill to hike pension for MLAs
1. Rajasthan Legislative Assembly has passed a Bill to hike allowances for all sitting MLAs and those who have been members of the House since April 1, 2012.
2. The Bill was passed during the Budget Session of the House last night before the Assembly was adjourned sine die and will be implemented with effect from April 1, 2015.
3. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje had earlier announced an increase in pension and constituency allowance in the House on March 26.
4. While the minimum monthly pension of those who have been MLAs since April 1, 2012 have been hiked to Rs. 15,000 from the present amount of Rs 7,500, constituency allowance of sitting legislators have been increased to Rs 50,000 from the current grant of Rs 40,000.
US will offer smart transport solutions for
Allahabad, Ajmer and Visakhapatnam
1. The
US Department of Transportation has agreed to offer sustainable transport
solutions for the cities of Allahabad, Ajmer and Visakhapatnam.
2. Bilateral
cooperation in the field of transportation was discussed during a meeting
between the visiting US Secretary of Transportation Shri Anthony Foxx and
Minister of Urban Development Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu.
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Flipkart’s Dabbawala tie-up for last-mile delivery
1. Flipkart, India’s leading e-commerce marketplace, has tied up with the Dabbawalas of Mumbai for last-mile delivery to customers.
2. The partnership is an effort to explore newer delivery channels and opportunities by partnering with this unique community of experts.
2015 Education
for All Global Monitoring Report Launched
1. The
2015 Education for All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report (GMR) was launched by Smt
Smriti Zubin Irani.
2. Ministry
of Human Resource Development launched report with collaboration of the UNESCO
GMR at New Delhi.
3. This
is the first international launch of the GMR report outside of Paris and New
York.
4. Holding
the international launch in New Delhi is a tribute to India’s progress in
school education.
5. The
2015 Global Monitoring Report theme ‘Education for All 2000-2015;
achievements and challenges.
First Indian-origin Sikh politician to
contest UK General Elections
1. A
31-year-old Sikh politician will be the first Indian-origin candidate to
contest in the UK General Elections from Northern Ireland on May 7
2. Amandeep
Singh Bhogal, who was born in Jalandhar
3. He
represents the Upper Bann constituency in the heart of Northern Ireland, which
is 54 per cent Protestant, and deeply Christian and churchgoing.
4. In
2012, he contested the London Assembly elections alongside current mayor Boris
Johnson, who he credits for giving him valuable “never to give up” advice.
Vedic university to be set up in
Kerala
1. A
vedic university, giving thrust to the studies of ancient traditions of
spirituality especially Veda and Tantra, is likely to come up in Kerala soon.
2. The
Travancore Dewaswom Board, which manages a number of shrines in south
Kerala, is actively considering a plan to set up a vedic university.
3. The
aim of University will be to give the younger generation a platform to
study the country’s rich spiritual tradition and heritage.
4. An
autonomous body, Travancore Dewaswom Board manages over 1,200 temples in
the state.
5. Three
locations are under consideration to set up the university. They are
Sasthamkotta, Valiyasala and Nilackal.
Researchers develop single dose “Trojan
horse” Ebola vaccine
1. Researchers
at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have developed a single
dose Ebola vaccine that they dub as a ‘Trojan Horse’ against the deadly virus.
2. Which
is both safe and effective against the strain of the virus that has killed
thousands so far.
3. This
“Trojan horse” vaccine safely triggered an immune response against Ebola Zaire.
4. This
new vaccine employs a virus not harmful to humans called vesicular
stomatitis virus that had a part of the Ebola virus inserted into it.
5. During
2014, the outbreak of the West African Makona strain of Ebola Zaire virus
killed nearly 10,000 and caused worldwide concern.
India ranked Third In Number of Obese
people
1. India
has the third-highest number of obese and overweight people (11 percent of
adolescents, and 20 percent of all adults).
2. US
top the List & China Number two in Number of Obese people
WWF named Thane (Mumbai) as national Earth
Hour Capital 2015
1. World
Wildlife Fund (WWF) has named Thane (Mumbai) as the National Earth Hour Capital
2015.
2. It
was named so after it emerged as winner among the three finalists from India
viz., Thane, Rajkot and Pune, in the Earth Hour City Challenge (EHCC) 2015
conducted by World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
3. For
its city mobility plan and solar and waste-to-energy initiatives, Pune received
a special mention from the jury.
4. Rajkot
was felicitated for the city’s performance in the field of renewable energy.
In
2014, Coimbatore was selected as the National Earth Hour Capital.
India to chair 9th IRENA meet in Abu Dhabi
1. The
9th meeting of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Council is
scheduled to be held in June in Abu Dhabi.
2. India
has been designated to chair the ninth meeting of the International Renewable
Energy Agency (IRENA) Council.
3. The
body is an intergovernmental organisation that supports countries in their
transition to a sustainable energy future.
Rs 1000 minimum monthly pension scheme
suspended by EPFO
1. Employees’
Provident Fund Organisation, EPFO has suspended the 1,000 rupees minimum
monthly pension scheme from this month.
2. The
scheme was launched with effect from September 2014, hiking the pension amount
to a flat 1,000 rupees per month for those who were getting lower amount
earlier.
3. With
the suspension of the scheme, the beneficiaries will get pension at earlier
rates.
4. In
a circular to its field offices, the EPFO said it has decided to suspend the
scheme in the absence of any direction from the government to continue this
benefit beyond March 31
5. According
to the government notification issued on August 19th last year, the benefit of
minimum pension was made effective from 1st September 2014 to 31st March 2015.
Nasim Zaidi appointed as Chief Election
Commissioner
1. President
Pranab Mukherjee on 9 April 2015 appointed the senior most Election
Commissioner (EC), Dr. Nasim Zaidi as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).
2. He
will succeed incumbent CEC HS Brahma, who retires on 19 April 2015 after
attaining age 65.
3. Dr
Zaidi will have tenure of two years i.e. till he attains the age of 65 in July
2017.
1. Richie
Benaud, the former Australian cricket captain and legendary commentator died in
Sydney on 10 April 2015.
1. He
died after fighting a long battle with skin cancer. He was 84.
About Richie Benaud
1. Benaud
born in Penrith, New South Wales, in 1930 was an Australian Test cricket
all-rounder and a pioneering leg-spin bowler.
2. He
became Australia's Test captain in 1958.
3. He
retired as a captain in 1964.
4. After
retirement from international cricket, he became a highly regarded commentator
of the game.
Arun Kumar Jha appointed CEO of Khadi and
Village Industries Commission
1. Arun
Kumar Jha was today appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Khadi and Village
Industries Commission (KVIC), Mumbai.
2. Jha,
a 1985-batch officer of Indian Economics Service, is presently working as
Director General, National Institute of Entrepreneurship and Small Business
Development (NIESBUD) under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises.
3. He
has been appointed to the post of CEO (Joint Secretary level post) for the
balance period of his overall five year tenure up to September 13, 2016, an
order issued by Department of Personnel and Training
Retired Air Chief Marshal Hrushikesh
Moolgaonkar passes away
1. Retired
Air Chief Marshal Hrushikesh Moolgaonkar passed away on 9 April 2015 in Pune,
Maharashtra. He was 95.
India successfully test-fired
nuclear-capable Dhanush missile from ship
1. India successfully
test fired nuclear weapons-capable Dhanush missile from a ship, off the Odisha
coast. The ship-based missile was launched from an Offshore Patrolling Vessel
(OPV), deep inside the Bay of Bengal to test its full range.
2. It
successfully hit the target point with high degree of accuracy.
Thane named as National Earth Hour Capital
2015 by WWF
1. Thane
in Mumbai, Maharashtra was named as the National Earth Hour Capital 2015.
It
was named so after it emerged as winner among the three finalists from India
viz., Thane, Rajkot and Pune, in the Earth Hour City Challenge (EHCC) 2015
conducted by World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
2. For
its city mobility plan and solar and waste-to-energy initiatives, Pune received
a special mention from the jury.
3. Rajkot
was felicitated for the city’s performance in the field of renewable energy.
LinkedIn to buy online education company
lynda.com for $1.5 billion
1. Professional
social network operator LinkedIn Corp said it would buy privately held online
education company lynda.com in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $1.5
billion.
2. LinkedIn
said it would pay about 52 percent in cash and about 48 percent in stock.
IndusInd Bank to buy RBS India's diamond,
jewellery financing business
1. Private
sector lender IndusInd Bank has bought RBS's diamond and jewellery financing
business and related deposit portfolio.
2. “IndusInd
Bank has entered into an agreement to acquire Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS)
Diamond & Jewellery Financing business in India; simultaneously it has
entered into Partnership Agreement with ABN AMRO Bank N.V. for cooperation in
diamond and jewellery financing,” the bank said in a release filed with BSE.
3. "This
is part of ABN AMRO Bank NV’s diamond & jewellery clients that is
housed in Royal Bank of Scotland NV acting through its Mumbai branch in
India," IndusInd said. "The Royal Bank of Scotland NV diamond and
jewellery financing loan book is approximately Rs. 4,500 crore in size."