Monday 23 March 2015

Daily general awareness 22-23 March 2015


Daily general awareness 22-23 March 2015

Veteran actor and film producer Shashi Kapoor has been named for the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award 2014
Veteran actor and film producer Shashi Kapoor has been named for the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award 2014. He is the 62nd film personality to receive this honour.

About Shashi Kapoor

  • He was born as Balbir Raj Prithviraj Kapoor on 18 March 1938 in Kolkata, West Bengal.
  • Shashi Kapoor had started his acting career at the age of four, by acting in the plays directed by his father Prithviraj Kapoor. Since then he has appeared in 160 movies altogether, 12 being in English and the rest in Hindi.
  • He is best-known for his performances in Hindi films like ‘Jab Jab Phool Khile’, ‘Deewar’ and ‘Kabhi Kabhie’.
  • Apart from acting in movies, he also had worked as a film director, assistant director and film producer.
  • Awards- For his contribution to cinema, he has been conferred many awards including
  • National Film Award for Best actor for the film New Delhi Times (1986),
  • National Film Award Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film) for Muhafiz (1993)
  • National Film Award Best Feature Film in Hindi (as Producer) for Junoon in 1979.
  • Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award (2010).
  • Padma Bhushan (2011).

About Dadasaheb Phalke Award

  • India’s highest award in cinema.
  • Established in 1969 to commemorate the birth centenary year of father of Indian cinema Dadasaheb Phalke.
  • The award is conferred annually by the Union Government to person for his lifetime contribution to Indian cinema.
  • Award comprises a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) medallion, a cash prize of 10 lakh rupees and a shawl.

 

Indian wells open tennis Winners List

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.

India, China to hold border talks in Delhi from Today
  • India and China will hold the 18th round of border talks in Delhi from Today.
  • It will be the first round of negotiations after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power last year .
  • This Meeting will be important for both countries to solve border disputes.
  • where the two sides are expected to focus on clarification of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
  • Special Representative and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval would hold talks with his Chinese counterpart and State Councillor Yang Jiechi amid hopes to clinch a solution under the strong leadership in both the countries.
  • India and china has some long Border Issues pending.
  • both the countries want to solve these issues .
  • Showing its sensitivity on Arunachal Pradesh, China had recently strongly protested to India over Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the border state.
  • China says the border dispute is confined only to 2,000 kms mostly in Arunachal Pradesh whereas India asserts that the dispute covered the western side of the border spanning to about 4,000 kms, especially the Aksai Chin area annexed by China in 1962 war.
Nitish Kumar Bihar CM launches Power Projects worth of 3241 crore .
  • Nitish kumar Bihar cm Laid foundation stone of power projects of worth 3241 crore Rupees on the occasion of 103rd Bihar Diwas.
  • Main aim of these power projects are to increase Power supply in Rural Areas.
  • Bihar Power capacity increased from 1000 MW to 4200 MW In 2015.
  • According to Data Bihar will Have power capacity of 5000 MW By Year End.
Finance Minister Launches ambitious national Electronic I-T Judicial Data base.
  • The Finance Ministry has operationalised an ambitious electronic national database of judicial orders and appeals to de-congest and streamline huge litigation in the Income Tax Department and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
  • National Judicial Reference System Was Envisaged Three Years Back.
  • According to data, tax demand of more than Rs 3.5 lakh crore is under dispute and litigation before various courts and appellate authorities under the direct taxes category.
  • I-T department is One Of the Largest litigants in government Sectors organizations.
  • The database has records of over 2.5 lakh appeals and more than 1.45 lakh orders and judgements.
  • The NJRS will also have an interface for the taxpayers so that they can see the status of their I-T cases on the Internet-enabled portal by using a unique code which could either be the Permanent Account Number (PAN) or the case number of the assessee.
  • A central processing centre for the NJRS has been established at Nashik in Maharashtra by the tax department .
  • This Centre will act as a repository of all judgements and pending appeals related to Direct Tax cases at Income Tax Appellate Tribunals (ITATs), Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR), High Courts and the Supreme Court.
Light Combat Helicopter to Production in 2017-18
  • Name of the Helicopter – Light Combat Helicopter (LCH)
  • Which Company Is Manufacturing this Helicopter – Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.
  • LCH is likely to enter production from 2017-18.
  • LCH is a 5.5-tonne, twin-engine armed helicopter designed specifically to meet the requirements of the Army and the Air Force.
  • LCH  is  not a replacement for the ageing fleets of Cheetah and Chetak helicopters.
  • The Cheetahs and the Chetaks are sub-three-tonne, single-engine unarmed utility helicopters.
Ecologist Madhava Gadgil Win Tyler prize for Environment
  • Renowned ecologist Madhav Gadgil has been chosen for the prestigious 2015 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement.
  • Prof. Gadgil, who was Chairman of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), will share the $200,000 cash prize with noted American marine ecologist Dr. Jane Lubchenco .
  • The Award win by Gadgil and Jane Lubchenco for their work in changing policy and specifically for their “leadership and engagement in the development of conservation and sustainability policies in the United States, India and internationally.
  • Both winners will receive the prize and a gold medallion at a private ceremony in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles on April 24.
  • The prize, instituted in 1973, is awarded by the international Tyler Prize Executive Committee with the administrative support of the University of Southern California.
  • Prof. Gadgil’s landmark report on the preservation of the unique ecosystem of the Western Ghats and the inclusion of local committees was especially noted as the reason behind his award.
  • Gadgil Report On western Ghats is considered as the landmark Report .
Every year World Water Day is marked on 22 March. It is observed to preserve and ration consumption of water.
The theme for this year is ‘Water and Sustainable Development’. Under this theme the year 2015 provides an important opportunity to consolidate and build upon the previous World Water Days and highlight water’s role in the sustainable development agenda.
Background
  • In 1992, this day was first formally proposed in Agenda 21 of United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
  • Later, the UN General Assembly accepted the recommendation of UNCED and celebrated first World Water Day on 22 March 1993.
  • Since then this day is observed annually to draw attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of fresh water resources.
·          
·         Union Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEFCC) has given coastal regulatory zone (CRZ) nod to the 6,000-MW Mithivirdi Nuclear Power Plant of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat.
·         The clearance was granted by MoEFCC for constructing an intake and outfall facility in the plant. This intake channel will be 100 metre wide and 10 metre deep and a discharge facility comprising of Condenser Cooling Water Discharge tunnels will be 8 metre diameter and 6 kms in length for each two units and a total of 18 kms each for units.
·         MoEFCC also has proposed to construct a small barge handling marine facility having a draft of 3-4 metres. It will help for receiving and handling over dimensional consignments (ODCs) during the construction stage of the plant and will be in the form of a shore-based wharf type or an open-piled jetty system.
·         MoEFCC also asked NPCIL to examine possibilities of deploying ultrasonic devices with the help of National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) to divert the aquatic life from entering into the sea water intake in connection. The ministry also has asked filters to be provided at intake to prevent entry of marine life along with the sea water.
·         It should be noted that this environmental clearance for the plant is seen as a big boost for NPCIL that has been facing severe opposition from local farmers and social activists.
SEAC-II reconstitute 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).
Former Sri Lankan Army Chief Sarath Fonseka was conferred the highest military rank of Field Marshal by the Government.
He was awarded this title by President Maithripala Sirisena at a state ceremony held in the Colombo. With this Fonseka became the first Sri Lankan to receive this highest military title which is honorary in nature.
Background
  • Fonseka is credited for being the force behind ending the 26-year Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009 by defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels.
  • After retiring from Army, Fonseka had entered politics and had contested 2010 Presidential election against then President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
  • Following the controversial defeat in this election he was court martialled and was jailed for alleged corruption and treason charges by then Rajapaksa led government.
  • But the new government led President Maithripala Sirisena after coming to power in January 2015 had dropped all the charges against Fonsek and had reinstated his court martialled army rank using the executive powers.
Sarath Fonseka’s military career
  • He had joined the Sri Lanka Army in 1970 as a cadet officer. Since then during his 40-year career he had served various posts in Army.
  • He was 18th Commander i.e. Chief of the Sri Lanka Army and was in office from 2005 to 2009.
  • Fonseka also has served as Chief of Defence Staff of Sri Lanka. He was in office from July 2009 to November 2009.


President gives away Chakra Award
Pranab Mukherjee on 21 March 2015 conferred one Kirti Chakra awards and 11 Shaurya Chakra awards on armed forces personnel. Among these 11 awardees three were conferred posthumously for gallantry.
The awards were given to defence personnel for displaying conspicuous gallantry, indomitable courage and extreme devotion to duty at a Defence Investiture Ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
  • Kirti Chakra- Captain Jaidev of Parachute Regiment.
  • Shaurya Chakra (Posthumously) – Subedar Prakash Chand, Lieutenant Commander Manoranjan Kumar, Major Abhijai of Corps of Engineers.
  • Shaurya Chakra- Major Mukul Sharma, Commander Gosavi Kaustubh Vijaykumar, Major R Vamshi Krishnan, Rifleman Manga Ram, Wing Commander Huvey Upadhyaya, Major Abhishek Kumar, Major Satnam Singh, Naik Ansaigra Basumatary.
Kirti Chakra- It is the second highest peace time gallantry award i.e. awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the field of battle.
Shaurya Chakra- It is the third highest peacetime gallantry award i.e. awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice while not engaged in direct action with the enemy.


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