CURRENT AFFAIRS & FINANCIAL AWARENESS March

9th & 10th , 2015

Worlds first solar powered aircraft on global journey- Solar Impulse 2
successfully landed in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The aircraft was piloted by Swiss
pilots Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg from its first halt Muscat, Oman.
Senior Congress leader and Former Union Minister Mr. M. Veerappa Moily will
receive the Saraswati Samman 2014 for his Kannada poem Ramayana
Mahanveshanam. The award would make Mr. M. Veerappa Moily the second
Kannada author to receive the honour after S. L. Bhyrappa (2010).
On 10 March 2015, 46th Raising Day of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)
was observed.
8th edition of India-Nepal Combined Exercise Surya Kiran VIII concluded on 8
March 2015 at Salijhandi in Nepal.
Maharashtra government has launched Bhagyashree scheme for girls. The
scheme replaces state governments previous Sukanya scheme Actress
Bhagyashree is the brand ambassador of the scheme. Under the Sukanya
scheme, the state government was to earmark an amount of Rs. 21,200 for each
girl child born in a Below the Poverty Line (BPL) family. While the Bhagyashree
scheme aims at providing one lakh rupee on maturity after the girl completes 18
years of age.
North East Indias first Kisan Call Centre (KCC) was opened in Agartala, Tripura. It
was launched by Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 9 March 2015 launched the first indigenously
developed and manufactured Rotavirus vaccine- Rotavac. The vaccine will boost
Indias efforts to combat infant mortality due to diarrhoe
Pakistan on 9 March 2015 successfully conducted the first test of surface-tosurface Shaheen-III ballistic missile off the Arabian Sea. The missile, also called
White Falcon-III in English has been developed by Pakistans Space and Upper
Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) and NESCOM along with its
subsidiary NDC.
Kerala Tourism has won silver prize in the prestigious Golden Gate Award at the

CURRENT AFFAIRS & FINANCIAL AWARENESS March

9th & 10th , 2015
Internationale Tourismus-Brse Berlin (ITB-Berlin) 2015.
Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on 26 February 2015 presented the
Railway Budget 2015-16 in the Parliament

Below are the highlights of this Budget:

Railway Fares No new hike in passenger fares While, the Freight fares have been
raised incase of urea by 10%, iron and steel by 0.8%, kerosene and cooking gas
by 0.8%, coal by 6.3% and cement by 2.7%.
Railway Finances Plan Budget is gone up by 52 percent Rs. 100011 crore for
financial year 2015-16 compared to Rs. 65789 crore in FY 2014-15.
For next five year envisaged investment for railways is Rs. 8.5 lakh crore rupees.
Funds for railways will be raised from pension, institutional and multilateral
agencies. In order to improve passenger amenities, MPs requested to use part of
their MPLAD funds
Railways to set up an infrastructure fund and holding company to raise long-term
debt

Passengers Amenities
120 days in advance ticket booking facility for passengers instead of earlier 60
days.
Railways is aiming to move towards paperless ticketing.
Operation 5 minutes- Passengers can buy railway tickets within five minutes
SMS updates to inform passengers about any change in schedule of trains
Open wi-fi facility at 400 railway stations.
Mobile charging units will be installed.
For women safety CCTVs to be installed in selected trains and suburban trains
Food ordering facility food while booking tickets through IRCTC website. Watervending machines to be set up at stations
138 will be a nationwide 247 helpline number for railway-related queries. While,
182 will be a toll-free number for security-related issues

CURRENT AFFAIRS & FINANCIAL AWARENESS March

9th & 10th , 2015
On-board entertainment in Shatabdi Expres

Infrastructure Track capacity will be increased by 10% to 1.38 lakh km. Speed of
passenger trains on 9 corridors will increased to 160-200 km/h from 110-130 km/h.
Wagon-making scheme will be reviewed in order ease private investment By
inviting open bids, station redevelopment policy will be revamped. 10 satellite
railway terminals will be developed in major cities in 2015-15
PPP cell of Indian Railways will be revamped. Feasibility report of high-speed
train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad expected by mid-2015.
Connectivity to North-East India will be improved. In J&K rail connectivity will be
on focus
Tourism Railways will promote Gandhi circuit in order to mark centenary year of
Mahatma Gandhis return from South Africa.
Special travel scheme Kisan Yatra for farmers for farming and marketing
technique centres.
Under Incredible India, Incredible Rail will be launched.
Analysis: A Modest Railway Budget

WISHING YOU ALL

BEST OF LUCK

C RAGHAVA RAM