1- Lee Kuan Yew, founding father of Singapore passes away

Lee Kuan Yew

First Prime Minister (PM) of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew passed away on 23 March 2015. He was 91. Mr. Lee is described as the ‘founding father’ and ‘architect’ of modern Singapore. He is also considered as pioneer for transforming the island country from a small port city into a wealthy global hub after its independence from United Kingdom and separation from Malaysia.

About Lee Kuan Yew

He was born in Singapore on 16 September 1923 as a British subject. Lee Kuan Yew had studied law at Cambridge University and had graduated with double First Class Honours. In 1954, Mr. Lee co-founded the People’s Action Party (PAP) and was its first Secretary-General. He had led the party to eight victories from 1959 to 1990.  He was elected as First Prime Minister of Singapore in 1959. Since then he had served as PM of country for 31 years and had stepped down in 1990. He also had overseen the separation of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965. During his regime, Mr. Lee had stressed on combined market-friendly policies with strict controls over the  free speech and press. Even after stepping down as leader, Mr. Lee was holding a cabinet level post till 2011 and was active in decision making process. He was a member of parliament until his death.

2- Indian Wells Open Tennis Titles (BNP Paribas Open)

Indian Wells Open Tennis Titles (BNP Paribas Open)

Men’s Singles Title: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic has won the Indian Wells Open Tennis Men’s Singles Title. In the final match he defeated Switzerland’s Roger Federer by  6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 score . With this win Djokovic won his fourth Indian Wells Open title and overall 50th tour-level title.

Women’s Singles Title: Romania’s Simona Halep has won the Indian Wells Open Tennis Women’s Singles Title. In the final match she defeated Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic by 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 score . It was Halep’s third WTA titles in 2015 apart from Shenzhen Open and Dubai Open.

Women’s Double Title: Sania Mirza (India) and Martina Hingis (Switzerland) pair have won Indian Wells Open Tennis Women’s Doubles Title. In the final match they defeated Russian pair Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina by 6-3, 6-4 score. It was Sania Mirza’s second title of the season 2015 and 24th overall.

Men’s Double Title: Vasek Pospisil (Canada) and Jack Sock (US) pair have won the won Indian Wells Open Tennis Men’s Doubles Title. In the final match they defeated Italian pair Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini  6–4, 6–7 (3), 10–7 score.

3- Union Government reconstitutes SEAC-II in Maharashtra

Union Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEFCC) has reconstituted the second State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) in Maharashtra. The reconstituted SEAC-II will assess projects falling in category 8 of the schedule of (Environment Impact Assessment) EIA notification 2006 in the Mumbai metropolitan region and Konkan division in Maharashtra. SEAC-II will have seven members and will be headed by retired IAS officer Johny Joseph as Chairman. The term of the chairman and members of the committee will be till October 2016. The state government will provide all logistic support and financial to the SEAC-II.

Background

In Maharashtra, there are two SEAC-I and SEAC-II committees. Both the committees appraise projects for environment clearance in the state. The SEAC-I looks at projects from across the state, while the SEAC-II assess projects from the Mumbai metropolitan region and Konkan division. Both committees recommend either approval or rejection the projects to the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA).

4- 23 March observed as World Meteorological Day

Every year March 23 is observed as World Meteorological Day (WMD). Theme for this year is Climate Knowledge for Climate Action. This year’s theme assumes special significance to disseminate Climate Change related knowledge in order to take appropriate mitigation and adaptation actions related to it. On the occasion of WMD, various meteorological research awards are also given. These awards include International Meteorological Organization Prize, Professor Dr. Vilho Vaisaila Award and Norbert Gerbier-Mumm International Award.

Background

On this day in 1950 the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) Convention came into force that aimed at creating WMO. Later in 1951, WMO became United Nations specialized agency for meteorology, geophysical sciences and operational hydrology.

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