Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Mar
Mar
Starred Articles
02 Twitter employees get ISIS threats
Mar World > Terrorism
World
The Twitter employees, specifically Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, have been given open threats for blocking
the accounts associated with the group. With the aid of the UKs counter-terrorism internet referral unit,
Twitter has been shutting down ISIS related accounts, following in the footsteps on YouTube. The posting by
the ISIS, called on ISIS sympathizers to attack the social media company and its "interests." Twitter said that it
is investigating the authenticity of the threats.
David Warner made Australia's highest World Cup individual score of 178, beating the 158 of Matthew Hayden
against West Indies in 2007. Warner's innings included 19 fours and five sixes . With this, Australia made a
record World Cup total of 417 for six wickets in a Pool A match against Afghanistan. Warner's 260-run secondwicket partnership with Steve Smith was also an Australian ODI record.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Pipavav Defence & Offshore have been shortlisted by the Narendra Modi
government, for Rs 60,000-crore contract to build six conventional submarines under its Project 75i. The two
private sector shipyards - L&Ts Katupalli yard and Pipavav unit- were selected by a high level committee by
vice-admiral Subhedar, which had considered both public and private shipyards to shortlist candidates for the
project. Project 75i is designed to purchase 6 next generation diesel submarines with Air Independent
Propulsion System (AIP) technology for Indian Navy by 2022.
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China has overtaken Germany to become the world's third largest weapons exporter. China's share in the
global arms market rose by 143 % between the years 2010-2014, a time when the overall arms market
increased by 16%, according to the data compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
(SIPRI). China's share now accounts for 5% of the total arms export in the world behind USA and Russia the
world leaders. China has long been a major importer of weapons, but of late its soaring economy, adaptation
of foreign technology and its low priced products have largely reversed the trend.
World India along with the other members of the G-33 group have opposed a new US proposal of food stock-holding
to attain the purpose of food security in developing countries at the World Trade Organisation. According to
India, the proposal might allow the US to dictate terms to other countries about the food security programmes
to be adopted. The proposal comprises of three main elements reviewing trade effects of existing food
security programmes and their ability to meet goals; evaluating the problems encountered in implementing
food security programmes due to constraints in the existing WTO rules and drawing the best practices and
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recommendations on food stock-holding. The G-33 countries demanded a permanent solution rather than
reviewing existing ones for temporary relief. The group also demanded that stock-holding for food security
should come under the 'Green Box' subsidies, which cause no or minimum trade distortion.
World The central government announced that Veteran film actor and producer Shashi Kapoor is to be awarded the
46th Dada Saheb Phalke Award 2014. He will be the third member from the Kapoor clan to win the coveted
honour after father Prithviraj Kapoor and elder brother Raj Kapoor.
The award is the highest one presented in the field of cinema and is conferred by the India Government for
outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian Cinema. It was introduced in 1969 to
commemorate the birth centenary year of Dadasaheb Phalke.
World The winners of the National Film Awards were announced in Delhi yesterday, the ceremony for which shall be
held on May 3, 2015. Following are the prominent winners : Best Hindi Film: Queen, Best Feature Film: Court
(Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati & English), Best Educational Film: Komal & Behind the Glass Wall, Best Animation
Film: Sound of Joy, Best Actor: Vijay for Nanu Avanalla Avalu (Kannada), Best Actress: Kangana Ranaut for
Queen, Best Music Direction Haider, Best Male Playback Singer: Sukhwinder Singh for the song Bismil from
Haider, Best Female Playback Singer: Uttara Unnikrishanan for the song Azhagu in Saivam (Tamil), Best
Choreography: Bismil for Haider and Best Costume Designer: Dolly Ahluwalia for Haider.
World The Supreme Court on Tuesday, scrapped a controversial cyber law under the Section 66A of the IT Act, which
gave police the power to arrest anyone for posting annoying or offensive comments online. The
cancellation of the act comes on the grounds that it robs a citizen of his/her right to freedom of expression and
speech. Any person found guilty under the controversial act was previously liable for imprisonment up to a
period of three years. However, the court has said that posting inflammatory and derogatory comments online
would still be punishable under the Indian Penal Code. The court also ordered that all convictions made under
the act should be dropped with immediate effect.
28 Saina Nehwal becomes 1st Indian woman to reach rank 1; wins Indian Open
series along with Kadambi Srikanth
Mar Super
Sports > Badminton
It was a double bonanza for India on Sunday, 30th March, 2015 as both the women's and men's singles titles of
the Indian Open super series was won by Indians. Just days after Saina Nehwal created history by becoming
the first Indian woman to become the number one women's badminton player, she won the women's singles
final of the Indian Open super series by defeating former World Champion Ratchanok Intanon in the final.
Likewise, 22 year-old Kadambi Srikanth defeated Danish World No.6 Viktor Axelsen in 55 minutes to clinch the
men's single title of the same event.
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Four-time world cup winners Australia defeated first time finalists New Zealand to win the World Cup for a
fifth time at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday, 29th March, 2015. After winning the toss, New
Zealand captain Brendon Mccullum elected to bat first. New Zealand lost early wickets and managed to make
only 183 before losing all 10 wickets. James Faulkner who picked up two crucial back to back wickets, was
adjudged the 'player of the match'. In their reply, the Australians were professional and lost only 3 wickets to
get past the New Zealand score of 183. Captain Michael Clarke top scored with a 72 ball 74. Australian pacer
Mitchell Stark, who took 22 wickets in the tournament, was adjudged as the player of the tournament.
Australia is the only country to have won the World Cup 5 times.
Following the match, Australian Skipper Michael Clarke retired from One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and New
Zealand great and one of the best left-arm spinners, Daniel Vettori, also retired from all forms of international
cricket. Vettori finished his career with 305 wickets in 295 ODIs and 362 in 113 Tests. Michael Clarke has 7,981
runs from 245 matches with eight centuries and 58 half-centuries.
The Gujarat assembly on Tuesday, 31st March, 2015, passed the controversial Control of Terrorism and
Organised Crime Bill (GCTOC), which allows the police to record telephonic conversations and present them as
evidence in court. The bill was passed despite stiff opposition from the opposing Congress party. Another
provision of the bill provides the acceptance of a confession made in front of a police officer as evidence. The
bill is a revised version of the controversial Gujarat Control of Organised Crime (GUJCOC) Bill, which was
rejected multiple times in the parliament.
In the presidential elections held in Nigeria last week, former Major General of the Nigerian army
Muhammadu Buhari triumphed over incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan. Muhammadu Buhari rose in
power in the year 1983 after outing the then president in a military coup to become the head of state for a
period of two years. He unsuccessfully fought the 2003, 2007 and 2011 presidential elections. The 2015
elections have been hailed as the smoothest and most orderly one in Nigeria's history. During his tenure,
Jonathan had faced severe criticism regarding his handling of the Boko Haram militant threat in the country.
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Awards
28 Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award of Hockey India awarded
Balbir Singh Senior
Mar to
Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award
Legendary hockey player Balbir Singh Senior received the Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award
from Hockey India. A trophy and a cash prize of 30 lakh rupees were given to the awardee. Balbir Singh Senior
was the Vice Captain of the Indian Hockey team during Helsinki Olympics and Captain during Melbourne
Olympics. He holds a record of most goals (five) made in 1952 Olympic final which still remains unbeaten and
also figures in the list of 16 iconic Olympians of all-time.
Corporate
04 Largest-ever spectrum auction begins today
Mar Spectrum Auction
The much hyped 2G and 3G spectrum auction to commence today, with government expecting a collection of
Rs 82,000. Most of the spectrum being put up for the auction is presently held by Airtel, Vodafone, Idea
Cellular and Reliance Telecom. Since their licenses are about to expire, they will have to bid for spectrum to
continue offering mobile and other telecom services. The government had collected Rs.62,162 crore from the
last spectrum auction in February 2014 and is aiming for Rs 1 lakh crore this year. The second round of the coal
auction also starts today.
Online food ordering and restaurant delivery portal Zomato is planning to open subsidiaries in over a dozen
countries. In a bid to compete with its rival - Foodpanda, a Germany based website, which has operations in
around 40 countries worldwide, Gurgaon based Zomato has completed the paperwork to set up shop in five
countries Mexico, Sweden, Germany, Finland and Norway. The six year old company already has presence in
over 20 countries including India, Dubai, UK, Brazil, Canada, Australia, Turkey, Poland and New Zealand; and if
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the on paper aspect is taken into account the presence is extended to over 40 countries. Zomato is expected to
earn around Rs. 100 crores this fiscal and has till date raised over Rs. 1300 crores through multiple financers.
Economy
04 RBI slashes repo rate by 25 basis points citing fiscal deficit issues
Mar RBI
The RBI has decided to slash its repo rates by 25 basis points under the liquidity adjustment facility with
immediate effect. RBI governor Raghuram Rajan cited the drop in the combined fiscal deficit resulting from the
transfer of funds to the states, as the reason for the cut. He also said that the government has been
transferring a significantly larger amount to the states, without entirely devolving responsibility for funding
central programmes. The move comes less than a week after the Union Budget where finance minister Arun
Jaitley announced the signing of a monetary policy framework where RBI has been given a flexible inflation
target of 4% in the medium term.
India
03 Aadhar card to be added to voter list
Mar Aadhar card
With a view to eliminate bogus voters, district administration has launched a drive to collect aadhar card
numbers and link it to electoral rolls. The staff has been instructed to mention the Aadhar card number of the
individuals against their name in the voter list. The voter ID card will have the aadhar number now.
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12 Supreme Court orders against High Courts entertaining pleas against Armed
Tribunal
Mar Forces
Armed forces Tribunal
The SC has ordered that the verdicts passed by the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) under a writ petition cannot
be challenged by the high courts. According to Justices SJ Mukhopadhaya and NV Ramana who passed the
judgement, an HC entertaining a petition under article 226 of the constitution against an order passed by the
AFT, would contradict a key aspect of the AFT act. The ruling came after the SC overruled the order of the Delhi
HC, which was against the AFT's decision reprimanding an army officer. Article 30 of the AFT act now states
that the final decision of the tribunal can only be challenged in the SC.
The Supreme Court has decided to overlook the decision to include Jats into the Central list of Other Backward
Classes (OBC). An SC bench comprising of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman stated that
Jats are not socially or economically backward and also said that caste alone should not be a factor to
determine the backwardness of a class. The bench termed that Jats are a politically established caste and their
inclusion inside the category would adversely impact the welfare of other communities. The decision came
after a PIL filed by the OBC Reservation Raksha Samiti - an organisation for members of communities that are
included in the Central List of Backward Classes.
World India is planning to import 8 million barrels of oil from Iraq in order to fill its Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR),
on the back of low prices and ready supply. The SPR purchases could alleviate the effect of an expected pause
in Chinese stock build. The oil ministry has instructed IOC and HPCL to buy 8 million barrels of Basra oil in MayJune, Basra oil is more suitable for refineries on India's east coast and are to be used only in the case of supply
disruptions. The finance ministry has provided Rs. 2400 crores for the purchase.
World A new innovation council of railways, called 'Kaya Kalp', is to be formed in order to help reform the state-run
transporter, which is to be headed by industrialist Ratan Tata. The council will also have two prominent
railways union leaders. It is an attempt to unite the railway unions, which have been averse to reforms and
privatisation of the railways. Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu said more important members would be added
to the council in the near future to make it more dynamic.
World Jammu and Kashmir CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said his government would work on gradually scrapping the
Armed Forces Special Powers Act 9 (AFSPA) from the state. The announcement comes two days after the twin
terrorist attacks, which killed 3 security personnel.
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The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), is an Act of the Parliament of India which was passed on 11
September 1958. It is a law with just six sections granting special powers to the Indian Armed Forces in what
the act terms as disturbed areas.
The chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu has decided to name the new capital of the state as
Amravati. The core capital region lies on the banks of the river Krishna, and is directly linked to a 2000 year old
history of a small town named by the same name, which is 20 km away from the core capital region and has a
Buddhist history. The state cabinet zeroed in on the name as Amaravati is also associated with Telugu heritage
dating back to the Satavahana kingdom. The foundation stone for the capital would be laid on the 12th of June
this year in a grand ceremony.
Lt. Kiran Shekhawat, India's first woman officer to die in line of duty, was cremated with full military honors in
Kurthala village, Haryana. Lt. Shekhawats body was recovered from the fuselage of the ill-fated Dornier
Aircraft of the Navy which had crashed during a training sortie off the Goa coast. Commoners and politicians
paid their homage to the deceased officer.
After the failure of the plan to airlift Indians from strife-torn Yemen, the government has decided to take the
sea route for rescue operation. Two merchant vessels and two warships have left for Yemen to bring them
back. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has briefed King Salman on Indias evacuation plan and requested his
support and cooperation. Yemen is witnessing attacks by Shiite militiamen on the president and other state
figures.
President Pranab Mukherjee has assented to the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill, 1995,
which will enforce a ban on beef in Maharashtra. Earlier the slaughter of cows was prohibited in the state
under the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act of 1976. But now even killing of bulls as well as bullocks will
not be allowed. Anyone found to be selling beef or in possession of it can be jailed for five years and fined Rs
10,000. This move is believed to hike the prices of other meats and will turn many people jobless.
PM Modi finally gave his statement on the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed
crediting Pakistan, Hurriyat and militants for smooth conduct of elections in the State, controversy. He put rest
to the ongoing arguments in the Parliament on Mufti's statement. The opposition demanded PM's statement
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on the issue and a resolution condemning the CM's statement. PM Modi said that he does not support the
statement. Following PM's statement, Mufti reiterated the stand of the government saying the credit for the
smooth conduct of elections goes to the Election Commission, people, Army men, and paramilitary.
JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav hit back at Smriti Irani in Rajya Sabha after his remarks on saanvli (darkcomplexioned) women. Yadav's comment on dark complexioned women had met with Smirti Irani's appeal,
requesting him to stop making such comments. However, Sharad Yadav hit back at her saying I know what
you are. He has refused to apologise for his earlier remarks and said that he is ready to participate in a debate
any time.
World Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has written an open letter to all the people who have opposed the Land Bill,
calling them for an open debate on any platform. The Land Bill, which has been passed in the Lok Sabha faces
opposition in the Rajya Sabha, where the government is in minority. This move from the minister is seen by
many as an attempt to break the impasse at the parliament. According to the letter, the BJP is open to debate
all aspects of the bill and is also ready to make changes to it if required.
29 HRD Minister says new National Education Policy to come out by December
Mar National Education Policy
Union Human Resource Development minister Smriti Irani has said that the central government is working on a
new National Education Policy (NEP), which will come out by December this year. The announcement was
made during a girls school convocation ceremony, where the minister mentioned that the new policy would
be formed with an aim of 'education for all'. The minister also said that education ministers of all the states will
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be asked to give their inputs, to help the centre to come out with a holistic policy that can be framed with
respect to the country's needs.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) replaced the Communist Party of China as the largest political party in the
world after its total strength reached 8.80 crore members on Sunday. BJP owes this title to the ambitious
membership drive launched by Amit Shah which helped the party hit the 8.80 crore mark, beating the
Communist Party of China's 8.60 crore members. The speeding up of the membership drive comes amid hectic
meetings and tours by Shah to various states to step up the effort and hit the 10 crore mark by the end of this
month.
30 AAP sacks founding members Prashant Bhushan, Yogendra Yadav and also
its internal Lokpal
Mar Aam Aadmi Party
Two of the founding members of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav were
sacked from the party's national executive in the light of bitter differences between the duo and Delhi CM and
AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal. The move comes after the duo termed as 'rebels' were removed from the party's
political affairs committee, which is AAP's top decision making body. The ousted duo now have three options,
first to approach the courts or the Election Commission for justice, second to start a new political party on the
same terms and principles they duo had in mind for the AAP, and the third being to not get involved in a
political party but start a people's movement taking up issues like public activists. However, the duo has hinted
towards the second of the three options. In another turn of events the crisis continued for AAP as it sacked its
internal Lokpal, former Indian navy chief L Ramdas, and replaced him with a three member panel.
Sports
22 Sri Lanka's Kumara Sangakara, Mahela Jayawardene and Pakistan's Misbahand Shahid Afridi bid adieu to ODI cricket
Mar ul-Haq
Cricket
World The ongoing Cricket World Cup 2015 (CWC '15) has seen four of the game's legends depart. After Sri Lanka lost
their quarter final game against South Africa on the 18th of March, 2015; two of its batting stalwarts Kumara
Sangakara and Mahela Jayawardene announced retirements from one day international cricket. Similarly,
Pakistan lost their quarter final match against co-hosts Australia on the 22nd of March, 2015, which saw
captain Misbah-ul-Haq and veteran all rounder Shahid Afridi hanging their boots off the 50 over format of the
game. All the four departing cricketers did not receive the fairytale send off, seen so often these days in
international cricket due to their last minute decisions.
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World
03 Iraq fights to reclaim Tikrit from IS
Mar Terrorism
Iraq has launched one of the largest operations against ISIS to retake Tikrit which has been under the captive
of ISIS and the jihadists' main hub in Iraq. The jihadists have been retaliating the attack, making it difficult for
Iraq to gain victory over them. The offensive is the biggest military operation in the province since the Sunni
Islamist radicals captured parts of north Iraq last June and advanced towards the capital. According to military
sources, warplanes were involved in the attack, excluding those of the US-led coalition fighting IS.
NASA's Dawn spacecraft has become the first mission in the history to achieve orbit around the dwarf planet
Ceres. According to NASA, the spacecraft had reached 61,000 kilometres from Ceres when it was captured by
the dwarf planets gravity. Following this accomplishment, Dawn will work on providing new insights and
capturing images of the planet. Dawn is currently in Ceres shadows and wont take new pictures until it
emerges in April.
In the worst bilateral diplomatic dispute between the United States and Venezuela, President Barack Obama
issued and signed an executive order declaring Venezuela a national security threat. Obama has ordered
sanctions against seven officials from Venezuela. The orders were issued for people whose actions undermined
democratic processes or institutions, had committed acts of violence or abuse of human rights, were involved
in prohibiting or penalizing freedom of expression, or were government officials involved in public corruption.
Following this, Venezuealan President Nicolas Maduro angrily denounced the sanctions calling it an attempt to
overthrow his government.
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area of Saljhandi. The exercise was conducted under the aegis of Nepalese Army and it had started on 23
February 2015.
Veteran diplomat David Hale has been appointed as the next ambassador to Pakistan by the US President
Barack Obama. Mr. Hale has been serving as the US Ambassador to Lebanon since 2013. Mr. Hale has also
served as Director of the Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs, Executive Assistant to the Secretary of State
and in other positions overseas in Bahrain, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia.
Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at two Christian churches in Pakistan in a latest attack on religious
minorities. The attack left at least 15 persons dead and more than 70 injured. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Jamaatur-Ahrar accepts responsibility for the suicide attacks on the churches in Lahore . They were quoted saying
that they will continue to do so until the Islamic system is put into place in Pakistan. The devastating incident
created outrage among the mob who took to street to protest against the attack.
Vanautu in New Zealand was hit by a dreadful cyclone killing 24 people and sweeping away homes of 3,300.
The New Zealand relief workers failed to reach the affected area due to poor weather and communications
issues for days. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said 3,300 people are sheltering in
37 evacuation centres on the main island of Efate and in the provinces of Torba and Penama. Officials are
dispatching aid to the worst-hit areas.
18 Ex-lawyer of the doctor who helped CIA find Osama shot dead
Mar Pakistan
Samiullah Afridi the former lawyer of a Pakistani doctor who helped CIA locate Osama Bin Laden's
whereabouts, was killed by an unidentified gunman in Northwest Pakistan near the city of Peshawar. Two
different militant groups have claimed responsibility for the incident. Dr. Shakeel Afridi helped the CIA by
organising a fake vaccination camp to help trace Osama's location in 2011.
World Sri Lanka on Sunday conferred its highest military rank to former army chief Sarath Fonseka. The new
government bestowed the title of Field Marshal on the army veteran who was stripped of all honours by the
previous government as he tried to challenge the then president Mahinda Rajapaksa's re-election. The new
government used its executive powers to drop all charges against Fonseka and then appointed him to the
office of the field marshal.
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23 Pakistan celebrates National Day with 1st military parade since 2008, V.K.
Mar Singh's visit sparks controversy
World World > Pakistan
Pakistan conducted a military parade on its National Day for the 1st time since 2008 in the city of Islamabad.
The dazzling event saw precision parachute drops and state-of-the-art aircraft on display along with the
Pakistani military might. Pakistan had sent an invitation to Chinese president, Xi Jinping to be the guest of
honour for the event, but that could not happen. The event also saw commandos fire a remote controlled
drone missile, which is an achievement by itself.
Meanwhile, union minister of state for foreign affairs Gen VK Singh has created a controversy by attending the
Pakistan National Day at the Pakistani embassy in New Delhi. The minister has offered to resign from his post,
as his visit is viewed as anti-national by some segments of the political and social class. The minister gave a
statement that he attended the event on the Indian government's behalf, as it is a part of diplomatic civility.
World Lee Kuan Yew, the man who transformed Singapore from a small port city into a wealthy global hub, passed
away at the age of 91 on Monday, 23rd March, 2015. The cause of death is believed to be Pneumonia. He was
the nation's prime minister for 31 years and is hailed as the architect of the country's growth. He was a key
personality in securing the country's freedom from Britain and also in separating it from Malaysia. The funeral
is scheduled to be held on the 29th of March.
An Airbus operated by Lufthansa's Germanwings budget airline crashed into a mountainside in the French
Alps, killing 144 passengers and six crew members. The flight that departed from Spain was supposed to arrive
at the German airport. Reports are rife with speculations about the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz's mental instability
and that he had hid his illness from his employers. Lubitz suspected of deliberately crashing the airliner last
week had undergone psychotherapy years ago because of suicidal tendencies, a situation experts say is hard
for airlines to detect. The matter is being investigated further.
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