NATIONAL NEWS
Centre approved the name change of a Nagaland village Old Mangkhi to Mungankhun
The Centre has given its consent for changing the name of a village in Nagaland, taking to nearly two dozens the number of name-change proposals, including those of towns and railway stations, to be cleared in the past one year. The ODL Mangkhi village in Tuensang district of the northeastern state will be known as Mungankhun village.
- The central government has given its ‘no-objection’ to renaming of 22 villages, towns and railway stations across the country since December 2017.
‘Special Stamp Cover on Ice Stupas’ released by Department of Post
The Indian Department of Post released a ‘special stamp cover on Ice Stupa’. The stamp was released by Jammu and Kashmir’s Chief Postmaster General during a function organised at the Ice Stupa site at Gangles Village in Leh. A number of officers and dignitaries from Army and civil administration were present on the occasion.
- The special stamps aim to create awareness about depleting glaciers and affect the ecology around the Himalayas. Global warming and ecological imbalance have caused irreparable damage to the Himalayas in the past several years.
Defence Ministry clears proposal to buy 10 lakh 'Made in India' hand grenades for Army
Defence Ministry cleared a major project for the Indian Army for the acquisition of 10 lakh 'Made in India' multi-mode hand grenades. The new hand grenades will replace the existing inventory, HE-36 grenades manufactured by the Ordnance Factory Board. The multi-mode grenades have been developed by the DRDO.
- The project worth more than Rs 500 crore proposal was critical as the government has already taken care of the main personal weapon requirements of the Army soldiers by signing two contracts for modern rifles.
ICF Chennai becomes worlds largest rail coach manufacturer
Integral Coach Factory (ICF), the rail coach manufacturing factory at Chennai, which became famous for manufacturing Train 18, has become the single largest rail coach manufacturer in the world surpassing top Chinese manufacturers.
- The manufacturing facility of Indian Railways in Chennai manufactured 2,919 coaches from April 2018 to February 2019 against 2,600 coaches manufactured by top Chinese manufacturers.ICF has set a target to manufacture 3,200 coaches in this financial year 2019.
- Extra info.:
Integral Coach Factory in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, was established in 1952 and is owned and operated by the Indian Railways.
Mobile app developed by IIPHG, PHFI to combat exam pressure
A mobile application to cope with exam related stress and anxiety for students and their parents has been developed by Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar, Gujarat, (IIPHG) in collaboration with National Mental Health Program, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Gujarat. The mobile application is called 'Conquer Exam, Be a Warrior.'
- The app that has open access reminds students to stay motivated. It enables students to share their creative memorizing learning tips with others as they can write their success stories and share funny school experiences.
Google unveils Cloud gaming service Stadia
Google has unveiled its Cloud gaming service called Stadia at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco. Google CEO Sundar Pichai introduced the Stadia service during a special keynote at the GDC.
- The platform is essentially a Cloud-based infrastructure where game developers would be able to design and write games to run directly on the Internet giant's hardware at data centres.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Kazakhstan President Nazarbayev resigns after 30 yrs
Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev resigned from his position after nearly 30 years in power. Nazarbayev, 78, who has led Kazakhstan since its independence from the Soviet Union, announced his resignation.
- The Speaker of the upper house of Parliament, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, would take over as acting president for the remainder of his term. The announcement came weeks after Nazarbayev sacked the Kazakhstan government, citing failures to improve the economy.
- Extra info.:
Kazakhstan Capital: Astana
Currency: Tenge
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
IBBI, SEBI sign MoU for better implementation of IBC
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for effective implementation of the new bankruptcy law. Executive Directors Anand Baiwar of the SEBI and Ritesh Kavdia of the IBBI signed the pact which provides for sharing information and resources.
- Other areas of cooperation under the MoU include cross-training of staff, effective utilisation of collective resources as well as capacity building of insolvency professionals and financial creditors.
- Extra info.:
IBBI Headquarters: New Delhi
Chairperson: M. S. Sahoo
SEBI Headquarters: Mumbai
Chairperson: Ajay Tyagi
APPOINTMENTS
Gauri Sawant Becomes India’s 1st Transgender Election Ambassador
The Election Commission of India has appointed transgender social activist Gauri Sawant, as one of the 12 election ambassadors from Maharashtra. During 2004 and 2009 Lok Sabha elections there was no record of transgender voters. Following the Supreme Court order, transgenders got the right to vote for the first time in 2014. In 2014, 918 voters were registered in this third category. This number has doubled in five years and now it is 2,086.
- Gauri Sawant's appointment would help in more people from this category getting registered during the final phase of voters enrollment. She would visit every transgender and inspire them about the need for voting.
AWARDS
Raghu Karnad awarded Windham-Campbell prize in the UK for his debut book
Journalist and writer Raghu Karnad won the $165,000 Windham-Campbell Prize in the non-fiction category for his debut book, The Farthest Field: An Indian Story Of The Second World War. Karnad is the second Indian to receive the prestigious prize, since Jerry Pinto won it for his novel, Em And The Big Hoom, in 2016.
- American writer Rebecca Solnit is the other awardee in the non-fiction category for the diverse body of work she has produced over her career.
Mathematician Karen Uhlenbeck becomes 1st Woman To Win Abel Prize
The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters named U.S mathematician Karen Keskulla Uhlenbeck as the winner of the 2019 Abel Prize. Named after 19th Century Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel, the prize is awarded to laureates who have made extraordinary contributions to the field of mathematics.
- She is the first woman to be awarded this top honor in mathematics, which will be presented to her by His Majesty King Harald V at an award ceremony in Oslo, Norway on May 21.
OBITUARIES
Rock Guitarist, Dick Dale passed away
Surf guitar pioneer Dick Dale, whose song Misirlou played over the opening credits to Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, has passed away aged 81. Dale was known for his blindingly fast strumming style, which inspired acts like The Beach Boys and Jimi Hendrix.
- Widely considered to be the first surf-rock song committed to tape, it was a huge local hit, and led to Dale's first album, Surfer's Choice.
US Economist Alan B. Krueger passed away
Alan B. Krueger, an esteemed labor economist who advised Bill Clinton and Barack Obama during their presidencies, passed away recently. He was 58. A pioneer in his field, Krueger shepherded the empirical revolution in economics, using data to tackle some of the country’s toughest quandaries.
- In 2002, Krueger was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2003, he was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.
1971 war hero who set up Bangladesh Navy passes away
The 1971 India-Pakistan war hero, Captain M.N. Samant of the Indian Navy, who helped set up the foundation of the Bangladesh Navy, passed away in Mumbai following cardiac arrest. He breathed his last at the Bharatiya Arogya Nidhi Hospital in Juhu.
- After the 1971 war, which saw East Pakistan's birth as a new country Bangladesh, Capt. Samant helped the fledgling Bangladesh Navy to expand.
IMPORTANT DAYS
World Sparrow Day
Every year March 20 is observed as World Sparrow Day to raise awareness about the bird. The need for marking this day was felt due to the tremendous decrease in its population. The house sparrow is on the verge of extinction.
- This year the theme for World Sparrow Day is I Love Sparrows. The theme has been inspired by the hope that more and more of us will celebrate the relationship between people and sparrows.
International Day Of Happiness
The International Day of Happiness is celebrated on March 20 every year since 2013. The day was founded and materialised by United Nations special advisor Jayme Illien to inspire and spread a global happiness movement.
- The theme for International Day of Happiness 2019 is Happier Together. The day will also be promoted around the central theme – 'Share Happiness and be Part of Something Amazing'.
No comments:
Post a Comment