Current Affairs Update – 15th March, 2015




        Today’s Topics


 •  Banking
 • India
 • Sports
 • Obituaries
 • World



Banking
1.8 lakh accounts
opened under Sukanya scheme in 2 months of launch

  • As many as 1.80 lakh accounts have been opened under
    ‘Sukanya Samridhi Scheme’ in less than two months of launch of the special
    programme for girl child, with the maximum number of accounts in Karnataka and
    the least in Bihar.
  • On January 22, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched a
    small deposit scheme for girl child, as part of the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’
    campaign. The deposits would fetch an interest rate of 9.1 per cent and provide
    income tax rebate as well.
  • As per data available with the Finance Ministry, 56,471
    accounts have been opened in Karnataka, followed by 43,362 accounts in Tamil
    Nadu and 15,877 accounts in Andhra Pradesh.
  • However, Bihar accounted for the least number of accounts
    opened at just 204, followed by Kerala 222 and West Bengal 334, the data
    showed.
  • National Capital Delhi saw 2,054 accounts being opened,
    4,177 accounts in Haryana while 7,620 accounts have been opened in Uttar
    Pradesh.

About the Sukanya
Samridhi Account
  • As per the details of the scheme, ‘Sukanya Samridhi Account’
    can be opened at any time from the birth of a girl child till she attains the
    age of 10 years, with a minimum deposit of Rs 1,000. A maximum of Rs 1.5 lakh
    can be deposited during the financial year.
  • The account can be opened in any post office or authorised
    branches of commercial banks.
  • The account will remain operative for 21 years from the date
    of opening of the account or marriage of the girl child after attaining 18
    years of age.
  • To meet the requirement of higher education expenses, partial
    withdrawal of 50 per cent of the balance would be allowed after the girl child
    has attended 18 years of age.

India
Gandhi Jayanti No
Longer a Holiday in Goa

  • In a decision that could spark nationwide outrage, the BJP
    government in Goa has dropped Gandhi Jayanti on October 2 from the list of
    public holidays.
  • Gandhi Jayanti, the birth anniversary of the Father of the
    Nation, has not been marked as a holiday in the current year’s calendar,
    released yesterday.
  • The decision has triggered strong reactions from a section
    of legislators in the state.
  • Interestingly, Gandhi Jayanti disappeared from the list of
    commercial and industrial holidays released on a day when the Mahatma’s statue
    was unveiled in London.
  • Gandhi Jayanti has been celebrated all over the country for
    decades, with the entire nation gratefully recalling the services of the
    Mahatma, who led the struggle against the British rule through non-violent means.

‘New Delhi’ was named
on Dec 31, 1926

  • The city of New Delhi got its name on December 31, 1926,
    according to archival documents of the period at the National Archives of India
    (NAI) here.
  • When British monarch King George V and his consort Queen Mary
    held one of the grandest durbars on December 12, 1911, where he assumed the
    crown of India and announced the shifting of the imperial capital from Calcutta
    (now Kolkata) to Delhi, the new capital had remained unchristened.
  • On December 15, the King and the Queen, the first monarchs
    to attend their coronation durbar in India, laid two plain foundation stones of
    the new city, bearing just the date “December 15, 1911” engraved on it.
  • It was only 15 years after his coronation as the
    King-Emperor of India that King George V named the city ‘New Delhi’. Until
    then, the city had in common parlance been referred to just as the ‘new
    capital’ or ‘new imperial capital’ or ‘imperial city’.

Sports

Shuttler Kidambi
Srikanth Wins Swiss Open Title

  • Young Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth clinched the Swiss
    Grand Prix Gold championship title after overcoming a strong challenge from
    Viktor Alexson in a hard-fought men’s singles final here today.
  • World No. 4 Srikanth showed nerves of steel to prevail over
    his Danish opponent, ranked sixth in the world, 21-15 12-21 21-14 in the
    thrilling summit clash of the USD 120,000 event as the contest lasted 47
    minutes.
  • Srikanth, who created a major upset in the final of the 2014
    China Open Super Series Premier by beating five-time World champion and
    two-time Olympic gold medallist Lin Dan, kept his nerves to make a strong
    comeback after going down tamely in the second game.
  • Earlier, Srikanth had won a Grand Prix Gold title in
    Thailand Open in 2013, while finished runners-up at the 2014 India Open Grand
    Prix Gold event in Lucknow.

Indian women win
World Hockey League Round 2
  • Putting up a dominating show, India scored in three of the
    four quarters to outplay Poland 3-1 to clinch the FIH World Hockey League Round
    2 at Major Dhyan Chand stadium on Sunday.
  • Vandana Kataria put India ahead by scoring a field goal in
    the dying minutes of the opening quarter.
  • The Polish girls struck back immediately at the start of the
    second period as Oriana Walasek struck level in the 17th minute by converting a
    penalty corner.
  • The third period remained goalless for long before Rani put
    the hosts ahead again with her field goal in the 44th minute.
  • India skipper Ritu Rani then celebrated her 200th
    International appearance by finding the net in the 59th minute to seal the
    title for her side.

Obituaries
Noted Gandhian
Narayan Desai Dies

  • Noted Gandhian and former Chancellor of Gujarat Vidyapith,
    Narayan Desai, died at a private hospital in Surat today.
  • 90–year-old Desai, son of Mahatma Gandhi’s diarist Mahadev
    Desai, is survived by daughter Sanghmitra and sons Nachiketa and Aflatoon.
  • Narayan Desai was born on December 24, 1924, at Valsad in
    Gujarat and brought up at Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad.
  • He imbibed Gandhian ideals of non-violence and truth from
    his father Mahadev Desai, who was the personal secretary and diarist of Mahatma
    Gandhi.
  • Desai was also associated with Vinoba Bhave’s Bhoodan (land
    gift) movement and Jayprakash Narayan’s ‘total revolution’ movement.
  • He was popular for reciting ‘Gandhi-Katha'(narratives on the
    life of Mahatma Gandhi) across the world which he began in 2004.
  • Desai served as Gujarat Vidyapith Chancellor since July 23,
    2007, but resigned from the post in November last year.

Israeli Film Pioneer
Van Leer Dies at 90

  • Lia Van Leer, an Israeli cinema pioneer and Israel Prize
    laureate, has died in a Jerusalem hospital aged 90, a close friend said.
  • Van Leer died on Friday and had been hospitalised after
    returning from Germany, where she attended the Berlinale film festival last
    month, Carol Dreyfus, who worked with her, said yesterday.
  • Born in Romania, Van Leer moved to Israel and studied at
    Hebrew University where she met her future husband, Dutch filmmaker and
    engineer Wim van Leer. They founded Israel’s first cinema club in the 1950s.
  • The two travelled extensively, collecting movies from around
    the world, which led to her founding the Israel Film Archives.
  • In 1973, she created the Jerusalem Cinematheque and, 10
    years later, started the Jerusalem Film Festival.
  • Van Leer was awarded the Israel Prize in 2004 for her life’s
    achievements and the President’s Medal last year.

World
US Gets Its First
Accredited Muslim College
  • A California-based institution has become the US’ first
    officially recognised Muslim college after receiving formal academic
    accreditation.
  • Zaytuna College, which operates out of two rented buildings
    in Berkeley, California, and had an enrolment of 30 in 2013, was officially
    accredited last week by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges — one
    of the six academic organisations responsible for authorising public and
    private colleges and universities in the US.
  • The certification means the institution can apply for
    various federal and private grants, issue visas to international students and
    allow students to transfer credits to or from other accredited schools.
  • Zaytuna College, which was founded in 2008 and began holding
    classes the next year, offers liberal arts courses in politics, religion and
    ethics.


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This post was last modified on July 20, 2019 12:10 pm