1- Indian Army conducts Akraman–II defense exercise in Rajasthan

Indian Army on 26 April 2015 conducted a major exercise ‘Akraman-II’ in Rajasthan. The exercise was conducted by the Chetak Corps, a part of South Western Command based in Bhatinda, Punjab. The exercise aimed to test a new generation of weaponry and platforms which are employed in the desert region to provide ‘real time battle and situational awareness’ to its commanders. In this exercise more than 300 Combat Vehicles including Main Battle Tanks, Long Range Artillery Guns participated along with 10,000 troops. The Akraman-II exercise also tested the capabilities of Indian Air Force in launching deep insertion of helicopter-borne and airborne army units. The exercise envisaged at orchestration of an integrated battle field scenario in network-centric environment. This orchestrated environment was an integration of reconnaissance, electronic warfare & surveillance and communication assets in order to provide real time battle and situational awareness to commanders.

2- NTPC flags off Mobile Science labs to revolutionize rural education

India’s largest power producer, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) flagged off a Mobile Science Lab (MSL) as part of its efforts to promote scientific learning. MSL seeks to revolutionize rural education in India and make hands-on learning accessible to underprivileged children. Union Minister for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal flagged off three Mobile Service Labs. MSL is a vehicle fitted with LCD TV and is carrying working science models that give emphasis to curiosity-based learning for children in rural India. These three labs will be deployed at NTPC’s ongoing projects at Darlipalli, Pakri Barwadih and Kahalgaon through Agastya International Foundation. Each of the MSL will cover a set of about 20 schools around NTPC project and generate exposure to about 16000 students per year. While in next three years more than 1,40,000 student exposure will be generated in order to enhance the level of curiosity and creativity among children. These mobile science labs will have the instructors from neighborhood community of deployment.

3- Yashwant Sinha gets highest French honour of Officier de la Légion d’Honneur

French Government has honoured former Union Finance Minister and veteran BJP leader Yashwant Sinha with Officier de la Légion d’Honneur (Officer of the Legion of Honour). It is the highest French civilian distinction bestowed upon him in recognition of his international action taken during his stint as Union Minister of Finance, Minister External Foreign Affairs and for his invaluable contribution to international issues. The honour was given to Sinha by French Ambassador to India François Richier in Delhi. Sinha as External Affairs (from 2002-2004) had chaired Indo-French Parliamentary Friendship Group since its very inception (from 2009-2014). He had contributed in deepening of the Indo-French strategic partnership which was launched during the visit of  them Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Paris in September 1998.

About Officier de la Légion d’Honneur

Officier de la Légion d’Honneur (Officer of the Legion of Honour) was created in 1802 by first emperor of France Napoleon Bonaparte. It is the highest civilian award given by the French government to person for his outstanding service to France, regardless of the nationality.

4- Bharatiya Mahila Bank wins Asian Banker Achievement Award 2015

Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) has won The Asian Banker Achievement Award 2015. The award was presented to the BMB in the Technology Implementation category of Best Outsourcing Project (New Bank). Usha Ananthasubramanian, Chairman and Managing Director of BMB received the award at a function held in Hongkong as a part of The Asian Banker Summit 2015.

About Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB)

BMB is India’s first all-women public sector bank and was formally launched on November 19, 2013. Its objective is to focus on the banking needs of the women and promote economic empowerment. It also seeks to address the gender related issues and will be helpful in financial inclusion. In Budget 2013-14, Union Government had approved Rs 1,000-crore seed capital for the bank. Headquarter of Bharatiya Mahila Bank is located in New Delhi.

5- Norway’s Magnus Carlsen wins Shamkir chess tournament in Azerbaijan

Magnus Carlsen

World champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway on 26 April 2015 won the Shamkir Chess tournament held in Azerbaijan. In the ninth and final round, he defeated Rauf Mamedov of Azerbaijan in 35 moves and scored seven points. Former world champion Viswanathan Anand finished second in this tournament after he drew against Fabiano Caruana of Italy. With this win, Magnus Carlsen took his rating to 2875 points and Viswanathan Anand entered the 2800 rating club to gain number two in world ranking.

About Shamkir Chess tournament

Shamkir Chess tournament is played Shamkir in Azerbaijan and also known as the Gashimov Memorial. It was established in 2014 and is played in the honour of Vugar Gashimov (1986-2014). The total prize fund for the tournament is 100,000 euros and held in a double round robin format.

6- Indian-Origin Scientist Sangeeta Bhatia wins Heinz Award 2015

Sangeeta Bhatia

Sangeeta Bhatia, an Indian-Origin scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has won prestigious Heinz award for year 2015. She had won this award for her work in tissue engineering and disease detection in the Technology, the Economy, and Employment category of the award. Ms Bhatia’s team has developed artificial human microlivers for drug testing. These artificial microlivers are being used to test the toxicity of drug candidates by many biopharmaceutical companies. She is also using these microlivers to model malaria infection and test drugs that can eradicate malaria parasites completely in the laboratory. This model seeks to eradicate malaria parasites completely as the reservoirs of parasite remains in the liver even after a patient’s symptoms subside.

About Heinz Award

Heinz Award is an annual award established in 1993 and given by the Heinz Family Foundation. Every year it honours and recognize outstanding individuals for their innovative contributions in five areas. They are Environment, Public Policy, Arts and Humanities, Human Condition and the Economy, Technology and Employment. The award carries a cash prize of US 2, 50, 000 dollars and a medallion.

7- Peter Jan Graaff of Netherlands appointed as head of UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response

United Nations (UN) has nominated Peter Jan Graaff of the Netherlands as the new chief of UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER). He will replace Mauritanian diplomat Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed who was recently appointed as special UN envoy for Yemen. With this appointment, Peter Jan Graaff  will work closely with Special Envoy on Ebola David Nabarro, along with governments in the region. Since October 2014, Graaff had served as Ebola crisis manager for Liberia, one of the African countries which were affected by the Ebola epidemic along with Guinea and Sierra Leone. Previously Graaff had worked for the World Health Organisation (WHO) in several African countries, Afghanistan and Haiti. He also had led the Civil Affairs and Development team for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

Some facts about Ebola epidemic

As per WHO estimates, more than 26,000 people have been infected with Ebola since the outbreak which began late in 2013. In this epidemic more than 10,800 people have died since its outbreak. More than 99 per cent of the death cases were reported in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

8- India’s rescue operation in quake-hit Nepal named as Operation Maitri

Operation Maitri

Indian Army has named the rescue and aid to Nepal ‘Operation Maitri’ or friendship which was aftermath of 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal. This operation will involve number of Indian military aircraft and choppers along with bus services through road route. Along with them more than 1000 trained personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) will also take part in this operation. Under the operation, a Multi-National Coordination Centre (MNCC) has been set up. In addition, for relief operations Head-quarters has been established in PPO Pokhra. Since the launch of operation more than 1000 Indian citizens have been safely flown from Nepal. It should be noted that India was the first nation to respond to the earthquake crisis in Nepal, by launching a full-fledged rescue and relief.

9- India’s S. Sarjubala and Pinki Jangra clinch gold medals at President’s Cup International Boxing in Indonesia

India’s Shamjetsabam Sarjubala and Pinki Jangra have clinched gold medals at the 22nd President’s Cup Open International Boxing Tournament held in Indonesia. Pinki Jangra won the gold medal in 51kg category by defeating Mongolia’s Nandintsetseg by 2-1 score. On the other hand, Shamjetsabam Sarjubala won the gold medal in 48kg category by defeating Russia’s Iseva Joya in the final match played at Palembang, South Sumatra. Both of them helped India to win two gold medals in 22nd President’s Cup Open International Boxing Tournament. In this edition of tournament, more than 130 boxers from 30 countries had participated. The other Indians who had participated were Preeti Beniwal (60 kg), Bilao Basumatary (57 kg) and Priya Dayal (54 kg). But, failed to enter into the medal rounds.

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#Current Affairs  JANUARY , FEBRUARY ,  MARCH – Date-wise  |  2015

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