General Awareness 17 March 2015

March 17 2015 General Awareness:

Haryana Government pass cow slaughter bill

Haryana Government has passed Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Bill, 2015 that bans cow slaughter.  It was unanimously passed in budget session of state with voice vote.

Cow slaughter is completely banned in the state and anyone found guilty would be liable for imprisonment for 3 to 10 years, along with fines upto Rs. 1 lakh.

HDFC Launches instant money transfer app

HDFC Bank has launched Chillr, a mobile app that allows users to instantly transfer money to any contact in their phonebook 24 hours a day and seven days a week. HDFC Bank has partnered with MobME, a Kochi-based technology firm, to launch this app. 

Veteran singer S.Kamal  passes away

music composer Bombay S. Kamal passed away on 17 March 2015 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala at the age of 85. He was suffering from respiratory ailments.

In past six decades, he had active presence in the field of music especially in Malayalam film music

About Bombay S. Kamal

·         He was born in Mumbai. Kamal had received attention as singer since the age of 7 by singing Mohammed Rafi hits.

·         In 1950’s, he moved to Kerala and settled in Kozhikode district after an acquaintance with iconic composer and director M.S. Baburaj.

·         In his career he had composed songs for 13 films. His debut as music composer was in the film Nilavilakku in 1986. He also had composed songs for films includingAksharathram (1991), Sheershakam (1991), Police Diary (1992) and Shanthi Nilayam.

Indian Cancer Researcher Wins Woman of the Year Award in Australia

A 56-year-old Indian pancreatic cancer researcher in Australia has been named New South Wales (NSW) Woman of the year 2015 for her contributions to medical research, tertiary education and the Indian community.

Minoti Apte, researcher at University of New South Wales (UNSW) received the award from NSW Premier Mike Baird and Minister for Women Pru Goward during a reception at NSW Parliament House recently.

Crisil announces Ashu Suyash as MD & CEO

Crisil, said that Ashu Suyash would be the next Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the rating agency. Ms. Suyash succeeds Roopa Kudva, who has been the Managing Director and CEO of CRISIL since 2007. Ms. Suyash has over 26 years of experience in the Indian financial services industry. She moved to her current role as CEO of L&T Investment Management Ltd.

India's new hockey coach Paul van Ass takes charge

Paul van Ass had been handed a contract till the 2018 World Cup by his new employer, the Sports Authority of India. 

The Netherlands' Paul van Ass on Monday resumed duties as Indian men's hockey team's chief coach as the eight-time Olympic champions underwent their first practice session under the Dutchman at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium.

India, Kyrgyzstan ink MoU for cooperation on textile, clothing

India and Kyrgyzstan on 17 March 2015 signed MoU to strengthen bilateral cooperation on textile and clothing.

The MoU was signed by Minister of State (MoS) for Textiles Santosh Kumar Gangwar and his counterpart Minister of Energy and Industry of Kyrgyzstan Kubanychbek Turdubaev in New Delhi.

The MoU seeks to strengthen bilateral cooperation between both nations in the three fields including Textiles and Clothing, Silk and Sericulture and Fashion.

The MoU also aims to achieve enhance cooperation between both nations in

1. Development of trade and economic & investment relations.
2. Collaboration in techno-commercial and joint trade missions.
3. Investment cooperation.
4. Mutual assistance in R&D.
5. Technical collaboration in the field of product development and manufacturing, testing and certification.

India ranks 28 on UN's Disaster Risk and Age Index

A Disaster Risk and Age Index launched at the United Nations' third world conference on disaster risk reduction here has ranked India 28th among 190 countries that are worse on most parameters of providing their elderly a secure environment.

Somalia has ranked first, followed by Central African Republic, Afghanistan, Sudan and Iraq among others. All these countries are affected by civil war and ongoing conflict.