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Saina
Nehwal becomes 1st Indian woman to reach rank 1; wins Indian Open
Super series along with Kadambi Srikanth
Sports
> Badminton > 28 March
It
was a double bonanza for India on Sunday, 30th March, 2015 as both
the women's and men's singles titles of the Indian Open super series
was won by Indians. Just days after Saina Nehwal created history by
becoming the first Indian woman to become the number one women's
badminton player, she won the women's singles final of the Indian
Open super series by defeating former World Champion Ratchanok
Intanon in the final. Likewise, 22 year-old Kadambi Srikanth defeated
Danish World No.6 Viktor Axelsen in 55 minutes to clinch the men's
single title of the same event.
Australia
wins ICC Cricket World Cup '15
Sports
> ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 > 30 March
Four-time
world cup winners Australia defeated first time finalists New Zealand
to win the World Cup for a fifth time at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
(MCG) on Sunday, 29th March, 2015. After winning the toss, New
Zealand captain Brendon Mccullum elected to bat first. New Zealand
lost early wickets and managed to make only 183 before losing all 10
wickets. James Faulkner who picked up two crucial back to back
wickets, was adjudged the 'player of the match'. In their reply, the
Australians were professional and lost only 3 wickets to get past the
New Zealand score of 183. Captain Michael Clarke top scored with a 72
ball 74. Australian pacer Mitchell Stark, who took 22 wickets in the
tournament, was adjudged as the player of the tournament. Australia
is the only country to have won the World Cup 5 times.
Following
the match, Australian Skipper Michael Clarke retired from One-Day
Internationals (ODIs) and New Zealand great and one of the best
left-arm spinners, Daniel Vettori, also retired from all forms of
international cricket. Vettori finished his career with 305 wickets
in 295 ODIs and 362 in 113 Tests. Michael Clarke has 7,981 runs from
245 matches with eight centuries and 58 half-centuries.
Bharat
Ratna, Padma awardees 2015
Awards
> Bharat
Ratna, Padma Awards > 31 March
Acclaimed
educationist and freedom fighter Madan Mohan Malviya and former Prime
Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee were honoured with the Bharat Ratna,
India’s highest civilian award. BJP stalwart LK Advani and Punjab
chief minister Parkash Singh Badal were conferred with the Padma
Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian honour. With this,
Parkash Singh Badal became the first chief minister to be conferred
the Padma Vibhushan. Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, Rajat Sharma, Satpal
are some of the prominent names who received Padma Bhushan. Padma
Shri was awarded to Prasoon Joshi, Jaya Kumari Chikkala, Nikhil
Tandon, Arunima Sinha and N. Prabhakar to name a few.
Gujarat
assembly passes anti-terrorism and organised crime Bill
Politics
and Government > Gujarat
anti-terrorism Bill > 31 March
The
Gujarat assembly on Tuesday, 31st March, 2015, passed the
controversial Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime Bill (GCTOC),
which allows the police to record telephonic conversations and
present them as evidence in court. The bill was passed despite stiff
opposition from the opposing Congress party. Another provision of the
bill provides the acceptance of a confession made in front of a
police officer as evidence. The bill is a revised version of the
controversial Gujarat Control of Organised Crime (GUJCOC) Bill, which
was rejected multiple times in the parliament.
Ex-Nigerian
dictator Muhammadu Buhari voted to power
World
> Nigeria > 31 March
In
the presidential elections held in Nigeria last week, former Major
General of the Nigerian army Muhammadu Buhari triumphed over
incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan. Muhammadu Buhari rose in power
in the year 1983 after outing the then president in a military coup
to become the head of state for a period of two years. He
unsuccessfully fought the 2003, 2007 and 2011 presidential elections.
The 2015 elections have been hailed as the smoothest and most orderly
one in Nigeria's history. During his tenure, Jonathan had faced
severe criticism regarding his handling of the Boko Haram militant
threat in the country.
Others
SBI
to minimise stake in its general insurance venture
Banking
and Insurance > State
Bank of India > 26 March
The
State Bank of India (SBI) has decided to reduce its stake in its
insurance venture SBI General. The SBI currently holds a 74% stake in
the insurance venture, while its foreign partner Insurance Australia
Group (IAG) holds a 26% stake. IAG is now all set to increase its
stake from 26% to 49%. The move comes after passing of the Insurance
Laws Bill, 2015 in the parliament, which seeks to increase foreign
direct investment up to 49 % subject to the condition that the
management control remains with Indians. The insurer would most
likely undergo a name change to signify the revised share-holding
pattern.
India
stands 37th among 102 countries in Open Government Index
Politics
and Government > Government
openness > 27 March
In
the recent World Justice Project's (WJP) Open Government Index 2015
report, India was ranked at 37th place among 102 countries. The index
measures the government openness based on the general public's
experiences and perceptions. It uses four dimensions i.e publicised
laws and government data, right to information, civic participation
and complaint mechanisms to measure government openness. India scored
0.57 in the range of 0 to 1 with 1 indicating greatest openness.
Narendra
Modi and Kailash Satyarthi feature in 50 greatest leaders' list
compiled by Fortune Magazine
World
> 50
greatest leaders’ list > 27 March
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi have
featured in the list of world's 50 greatest leaders who have
contributed to business, government and philanthropy. The list
compiled by Fortune magazine features Narendra Modi on the 5th place
and Kailash Satyarthi in the 28th position.
Fortune
magazine cited Modi's efforts to make India more business-friendly
and less regulated, addressing violence against women, improving
sanitation and Satyarthi's initiatives against child labour for their
inclusion in the list. The ranking topped by Apple CEO Tim Cook,
surprisingly left out US President Barack Obama, for the second year
in a row.
Major
Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award of Hockey India awarded to
Balbir Singh Senior
Awards
> Major
Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award > 28 March
Legendary
hockey player Balbir Singh Senior received the Major Dhyan Chand
Lifetime Achievement Award from Hockey India. A trophy and a cash
prize of 30 lakh rupees were given to the awardee. Balbir Singh
Senior was the Vice Captain of the Indian Hockey team during Helsinki
Olympics and Captain during Melbourne Olympics. He holds a record of
most goals (five) made in 1952 Olympic final which still remains
unbeaten and also figures in the list of 16 iconic Olympians of
all-time.
Germanwings
plane crashes in France, 150 killed
World
> Germanwings > 28 March
An
Airbus operated by Lufthansa's Germanwings budget airline crashed
into a mountainside in the French Alps, killing 144 passengers and
six crew members. The flight that departed from Spain was supposed to
arrive at the German airport. Reports are rife with speculations
about the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz's mental instability and that he
had hid his illness from his employers. Lubitz suspected of
deliberately crashing the airliner last week had undergone
psychotherapy years ago because of suicidal tendencies, a situation
experts say is hard for airlines to detect. The matter is being
investigated further.
HRD
Minister says new National Education Policy to come out by December
Politics
and Government > National
Education Policy > 29 March
Union
Human Resource Development minister Smriti Irani has said that the
central government is working on a new National Education Policy
(NEP), which will come out by December this year. The announcement
was made during a girls’ school convocation ceremony, where the
minister mentioned that the new policy would be formed with an aim of
'education for all'. The minister also said that education ministers
of all the states will be asked to give their inputs, to help the
centre to come out with a holistic policy that can be framed with
respect to the country's needs.
BJP
becomes largest political party in the world
Politics
and government > BJP > 30 March
The
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) replaced the Communist Party of China as
the largest political party in the world after its total strength
reached 8.80 crore members on Sunday. BJP owes this title to the
ambitious membership drive launched by Amit Shah which helped the
party hit the 8.80 crore mark, beating the Communist Party of China's
8.60 crore members. The speeding up of the membership drive comes
amid hectic meetings and tours by Shah to various states to step up
the effort and hit the 10 crore mark by the end of this month.
Lt.
Kiran Shekhawat, first woman officer to die in line of duty
India
> Military > 31 March
Lt.
Kiran Shekhawat, India's first woman officer to die in line of duty,
was cremated with full military honors in Kurthala village, Haryana.
Lt. Shekhawat’s body was recovered from the fuselage of the
ill-fated Dornier Aircraft of the Navy which had crashed during a
training sortie off the Goa coast. Commoners and politicians paid
their homage to the deceased officer.
Another
blogger stabbed to death in Bangladesh
World
> Bangladesh > 31 March
One
more blogger, Washiqur Rahman, who used to write against religious
fundamentalism was stabbed to death in the Bangladesh capital. The
attack comes a month after Avijit
Roy, a US-based Bangladeshi atheist blogger,
was hacked to death in the Muslim-majority Bangladesh. According to
the head of the Blogger and Online Activists Network in Bangladesh,
Rahman was a progressive free thinker and was against religious
fundamentalism. The attacks have posed a threat to the country's
independent writers.
AAP
sacks founding members Prashant Bhushan, Yogendra Yadav and also its
internal Lokpal
Politics
and Government > Aam
Aadmi Party > 31 March
Two
of the founding members of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Prashant Bhushan
and Yogendra Yadav were sacked from the party's national executive in
the light of bitter differences between the duo and Delhi CM and AAP
chief Arvind Kejriwal. The move comes after the duo termed as
'rebels' were removed from the party's political affairs committee,
which is AAP's top decision making body. The ousted duo now have
three options, first to approach the courts or the Election
Commission for justice, second to start a new political party on the
same terms and principles they duo had in mind for the AAP, and the
third being to not get involved in a political party but start a
people's movement taking up issues like public activists. However,
the duo has hinted towards the second of the three options. In
another turn of events the crisis continued for AAP as it sacked its
internal Lokpal, former Indian navy chief L Ramdas, and replaced him
with a three member panel.
India
sends ships to rescue Indians from Yemen
India
> Indians
rescued > 31 March
After
the failure of the plan to airlift Indians from strife-torn Yemen,
the government has decided to take the sea route for rescue
operation. Two merchant vessels and two warships have left for Yemen
to bring them back. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has briefed King
Salman on India’s evacuation plan and requested his support and
cooperation. Yemen is witnessing attacks by Shiite militiamen on the
president and other state figures.
World's
oldest person dies at 117 in Japan
World
> Japan > 01 April
A
month after celebrating her 117th birthday, the world's oldest
person, Misao Okawa, died in Japan. Mrs. Okawa was mother of three,
grandmother of four and great-grandmother of six and one of only a
handful of people still alive who had been born in the 19th century.
On turning 114, she was officially recognised by Guinness World
Records as the oldest woman in the globe. Japan, known for the
longevity of its people, is also home to the world's oldest man —
Sakari Momoi, who celebrated his 112th birthday in February.
Reliance
Jio to enable 4G wi-fi at Wankhede stadium for IPL
India
> Telecom > 01 April
The
Telecom arm of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), Reliance Jio, is
planning to enable 4G wi-fi at the Wankhede stadium for the Indian
Premier League (IPL), which starts from the 8th of April, 2015.
Reliance has been keen on showcasing its 4G services and has been
testing it in different pockets of the country including select
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campuses. Reliance Jio Infocomm
Ltd. (RJIL) is the first Telecom operator to hold pan India unified
licence to provide 4G services.
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