1- Asteroid 316201 named after Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai

Asteroid 316201 was named as ‘316201 Malala’ after the youngest Nobel laureate and girls’ education campaigner Malala Yousafzai. The asteroid was named after her by Amy Mainzer, astronomer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, United States under the International Astronomical Union rules. In 2010, Mainzer had discovered the asteroid which was known as 316201. As a discoverer of the asteroid she had owned the rights to name it. Asteroid 316201 Malala is located in the Main Belt between Mars and Jupiter. It orbits around the Sun every 5.5 years and is more-than 2 mile wide.

About MalalaYousafzai

Malala was born on 12 July 1997 in Mingora city in Swat province of Pakistan. At the age of 11 she had caught international attention as female education activist after writing for the BBC about life under the Taliban in Pakistan under pseudonym Gul Makai. In 2012, Malala had survived an assassination attempt after she was shot in the head Taliban gunmen.

Awards- In 2014, at the age of 17 she was awarded Nobel peace prize, becoming youngest Nobel Laureate in the history of Nobel award. She had shared this prize with Indian children’s rights activist Kailash Satyarthi She is also conferred with National Youth Peace Prize (2011), Mother Teresa Awards for Social Justice (2012), Simon de Beauvoir Prize (2013), Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought (2013), Anna Politkovskaya Award (2013) and many more. United Nations has declared November 10 as ‘Malala Day’ in her honor.

2- Yuki Bhambri wins $15,000 ITF Futures tournament title

Yuki Bhambri

Yuki Bhambri on 11 April 2015 has won the 15,000 US Dollar ITF Futures tournament title. In the final he recorded a straight-set win over Dzmitry Zhyrmont of Belarus played at Karshi, Uzbekistan. Bhambri defeated his rival with Bhambri with 6-2 6-4 score. This win has pocketed 27 ranking points on Bhambri which will take him to a rank between 215 and 220. It was also Yuki’s 10th ITF Futures singles title. This win also has ensured Yuki’s entry into the French Open qualifying event which will be the Clay Court Grand Slam that will begin on the19 May 2015.

About ITF Futures tournament title

ITF Futures tournament title is a series of professional tennis tournaments held around the world. These tournaments are organized by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). This title represents the lowest rung of the men’s professional tennis ladder. These tournaments are incorporated into the ATP rankings which helps young professionals to progress on to the ATP Challenger Tour and then in ATP World Tour.

3- President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurates ‘Songs and Dances of the North East’ festival

President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated first Songs and Dances of the North East, a cultural festival in New Delhi. The day long festival was organized by Government of Meghalaya and sponsored by the North Eastern Council (NEC). The purpose of festival is to showcase the culture of India’s northeast region and highlight the immense contribution made by the people of the region in nation building. This festival will be held by rotation in different parts of the country as part of the series of events planned by NEC and Union Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER).   All eight States of the northeast region will collaborate to host the festival in different parts of the country with an aim to attract investors and visitors to the region.

4- Apurvi Chandela wins Bronze in ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup

Apurvi Chandela || ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup

Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela on 11 April 2015 won Bronze medal in the 10-metre air rifle event at the (International Shooting Sport Federation) ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup in Changwon, South Korea.  She won the bronze after she shot score of 185.6 in the qualifying fifth final round. In this world cup, Pejcic Snjezana of Croatia with score of 209.1 won gold medal and Ivana Maksimovic of Serbia with score of 207.7 won the silver medal. With this win, Apurvi Chandela has qualified for the 2016 Olympics, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was placed at third position in the list of eight-strong competitors. Among these eight competitors six were qualified for the Olympics. It should be noted that Apurvi Chandela is the second Indian marksman after pistol shooter Jitu Rai to qualify for the Rio Olympics. Jitu Rai after winning won silver in the 50m Free Pistol event in 2014 at the World Championships in Granada, Spain had qualified for the 2016 Olympics.

5- India’s first IFSC becomes operational at GIFT City in Gujarat

India’s first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) became operational at Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City in Gandhinagar district of Gujarat. It became operational after Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley unveiled the rules and regulations for this global financial hub.

Key facts of IFSC rules and regulations

Aim at creating a vibrant IFSC on the lines of those in Dubai and Singapore. They also seek to check the flight of trading in rupee and Indian securities to such offshore financial hubs. These rules will allow companies incorporate outside India to raise money in foreign currencies by issuance and listing of their equity shares on stock exchanges within the IFSC. They will also allow individual and institutional investors from India and abroad, including NRIs to trade. Allows foreign and Indian stock exchanges to set up separate bourses within IFSC as subsidiaries. Relaxes capital and other requirements for some time in order to facilitate exchanges, clearing corporations and depositories to set shop in the IFSC. Allows alternative investment funds and mutual funds that have set up in the IFSC to invest in the securities listed there.

6- NGT directs Real Estate Sector to check air pollution due to dust emanating from construction sites

NGT

National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed Real Estate Sector in the Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) to check air pollution caused by dust emanating from construction sites. The ruling was given by NGT bench headed by Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar on 10 April 2015. NGT in its ruling Ordered to stop to all construction activity in the NCR immediately which do not follow rules stipulated in the 2010 guidelines of Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF). Directed developers to provide masks to every workers working on the construction site or engaged in loading and unloading of building materials. Directed every owner and builder to put tarpaulin sheets around area of construction so the material does not disperse through air. Trucks or vehicles carrying construction material and debris must be fully covered Banned builder and owner from throwing construction material particularly sand on the roads or inside colonies. Any developer if found violating these orders, shall be liable to pay a fine of 50 thousand rupees. In this regard, NGT has directed all concerned authorities to take appropriate measures in order to ensure follow and implement all these directions.

7- India to chair 9th International Renewable Energy Agency council meet

India is going to chair the ninth International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) council meeting to be held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The 9th IRENA council is scheduled to start from 10 June 2015 and will be a two day event. In this meeting 21 member nations of IRENA council are going to take part. They will guide the agency’s future programmes and activities.

About International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)

IRENA is an intergovernmental organization to promote adoption and sustainable use of renewable energy. It is the global hub for renewable energy cooperation and information exchange within its member nations. Founded: in 2009 and its statute entered into force on 8 July 2010.

Headquarters: Abu Dhabi. Two governing structure: IRENA Assembly which takes decisions at macro level and gives policy guidance. IRENA Council is main governing body and is responsible for implementing various decisions of assembly.

Members: In total it has 140 Members. India is one of the 33 Permanent and founder members of IRENA.

8- April 11: National Safe Motherhood day

April 11 || National Safe Motherhood day

Every year on 11 April, National Safe Motherhood day is being observed across India.

Objective of the day

To create awareness on proper healthcare and maternity facilities to pregnant and lactating women. It also seeks to create awareness about the institutional delivery, reducing anemia among women and better pre and post natal health care are necessary for mothers. It should be noted that safe motherhood also means to ensure that all women receive the care they need to be safe and healthy throughout pregnancy and childbirth.

Some facts about Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) in India

India has registered an overall 70 percent decline in MMR during period from 1990 to 2012 as compared to global decline of 45 percent. During 2011-13, the MMR has declined 167 per one lakh live births compared to 178 per one-lakh live births in 2010-12. The rate of decline in MMR is showing an increasing trend from annual rate of 6.2 percent in 2011-13 compared to 4.1 percent in 2001-03. Apart from MMR, the institutional delivery in India has risen sharply from 47 per cent in 2007-08 to over 75 per cent in 2013.

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