Current Affairs Update – 15th March, 2015

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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’.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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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