Current Affairs Update – 21st March, 2015

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the current affairs for 21st March, 2015.

• The Union Cabinet approved the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas
  Yojana (PMKVY) on 19 March 2015 with an outlay of 1500 crore rupees. The
  programme aims to impart skill training to youth with focus on first time
  entrants to the labour market and class 10 and class 12 drop outs.

• The programme aims to impart skill training to youth with
  focus on first time entrants to the labour market and class 10 and class 12
  drop outs.
• The scheme will cover 24 lakh persons and skill training
  would be based on the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) and
  industry led standards.
• The programme will be implemented by the Union Ministry of
  Skill Development and Entrepreneurship through the National Skill Development
  Corporation (NSDC) training partners.
• In addition, Central and State Government affiliated
  training providers would also be used for training purposes.
• Skill training would be on the basis of skill gap studies
  conducted by the NSDC for the period 2013-17.
• Focus of the training would be on improved curricula, better
  pedagogy and better trained instructors.
• Training would include soft skills, personal grooming,
  behavioral change for cleanliness, good work ethics.
• A monetary reward will be given to trainees on assessment
  and certification by third party assessment bodies. The average monetary reward
  would be around 8000 rupees per trainee.

• Out of the total outlay of 1120 crore rupees to be spent on
  skill training of 14 lakh youths, 220 crore rupees has been allocated for
  recognition of prior learning.
• 67 crore rupees has been allocated for awareness building
  and mobilization efforts. Mobilization would be done through skill melas
  organized at the local level with participation of the State Governments,
  Municipal Bodies, Pachayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and community based
  organizations.

• Megastar Amitabh Bachchan on 13 March 2015 was roped in as
  the brand ambassador for Union Government’s campaign against Hepatitis B, a critical
  public problem in India.
• Bachchan was roped in as the brand ambassador for India’s
  fight against Hepatitis B after his successful stint as UNICEF’s goodwill brand
  ambassador of pulse polio campaign in India.
• The campaign against Hepatitis B will be launched in April
  2015. The campaign is a part of the Union Government’s ambitious child
  immunization programme named Mission Indradhanush, against seven vaccine-preventable
  diseases.

• The Union Cabinet on 20 March 2015 approved 33 percent
  reservation for women in police forces of all Union territories (UTs) including
  Delhi police, through direct recruitment in non-gazetted posts like constables
  to sub-inspectors.
• The aim of the decision is to make police more
  gender-sensitive and increase representation of women in Police. 
• The reservation will also cover reserved categories like
  SCs, STs and OBCs. The reservation would apply to all existing vacancies in
  police forces of the UTs and any vacancy arising later.

• Legendary Singer Lata Mangeshkar on 20 March 2015 was
  presented with the Laadli Voice of the Century award. She was awarded at the
  sixth edition of the National Media and Advertising Awards for Gender
  Sensitivity held at Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was the chief
  guest at the awards ceremony.

• Laadli Voice of the Century award – Lata Mangeshkar
• Best movie award – Queen
• Laadli Grand Prix award – advertising agency Ogilvy and
  Mather for its advertisement, Titan Raga — tum nahi badle
• Laadli extraordinaire award – Charu Khurana, she won a
  landmark judgment in the Supreme Court regarding Bollywood’s bias against women
  make-up artistes

• Rajendra Singh, an eminent environment activist, has been
  conferred the prestigious Stockholm Water Prize this year for his innovative
  water restoration efforts and extraordinary courage to empower communities in Indian
  villages.
• Singh, who is widely popular as the ‘Water Man’, was named
  the 2015 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate for improving water security in rural
  India, and for showing extraordinary courage and determination in his quest to
  improve the living conditions for those most in need, a statement said.
• Born in 1959, Rajasthan-based Singh for several decades have
  dedicated himself to defeating drought and empowering communities.
• Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf, Patron of the Stockholm Water
  Prize, will present the prize to Singh at a Royal Award Ceremony during 2015
  World Water Week here on August 26, it added.

• World Water Day is marked on 22 March every year. It’s a day
  to celebrate water. It’s a day to make a difference for the members of the
  global population who suffer from water related issues. It’s a day to prepare
  for how we manage water in the future.
• In 2015, the theme for World Water Day is ‘Water and
  Sustainable Development’. It’s about how water links to all areas we need to
  consider to create the future we want. 
  Each year, UN-Water provides resources to inspire celebrations for World
  Water Day. 

• International Day of Forests was observed on 21 March 2015
  with the theme Forests and Climate Change. The theme highlights forest-based
  solutions to address climate change mitigation and adaptation, and more broadly
  forests and sustainable development.
• The day provides a platform to raise awareness of the
  importance of all types of forests and of trees outside forests. The day is
  also used to communicate the vital role forests play in poverty eradication,
  environmental sustainability and food security.

• The World Sparrow Day was observed globally on 20 March 2015
  with the theme I Love Sparrows. The theme has been inspired by the hope that
  more and more of us will celebrate the relationship between People and
  Sparrows.
• The day is designated to raise awareness of the house
  sparrow and other common birds to urban environments, and of threats to their
  populations.
• The day is observed in almost 50 nations and involves
  leading ornithology institutions and bird organisations.

• Martin Guptill, the batsman of New Zealand cricket team, on
  21 March 2015 scored the highest-ever score of 237 not out in Cricket World Cup
  history.
• He achieved the feat in 2015 World Cup quarter-final match
  against West Indies played at WestpacTrust Stadium, Wellington.
• He scored 237 off 163 balls. His 200 came off just 152
  deliveries that included 21 fours and eight sixes.
• Guptill’s double century helped New Zealand to set a target
  of 393 for 6 wickets for West Indies. In reply the West Indies could only
  manage 250 in 30.3 over.
• He also became the second cricketer after Chris Gayle of
  West Indies to score a double century in Cricket World Cup history. Chris Gayle
  had scored 215 off 147-balls against Zimbabwe on 24 February 2015.

• The 1st Counter-Terrorism Conference 2015 was held in Jaipur
  for three days from 19 March 2015 to 21 March 2015. It was organised by India
  Foundation in association with the Sardar Patel University of Police Security
  and Criminal Justice, Jodhpur at Jaipur in Rajasthan.
• The central theme of the Conference is Integrated Approach
  to Counter-Terrorism
• The focus of the deliberations was on exploring the contours
  of 21st century terrorism and sharing the Counter-Terrorism expertise. Some of
  the sub-themes on which the conference focused include 26/11 Mumbai Terror
  Attack, Talibanisation of Af-Pak region, New Caliphate in West Asia, Maritime
  Terrorism and Piracy, Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN)
  Terrorism and Cyber and Space terrorism.

• Marathi folk legend Shahir Krishnarao Sable died on 20 March
  2015 in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He was 92.
• Shahir Sable was an accomplished singer, writer, playwright,
  performer, Loknatya (Folk Theater) producer-director.
• He was the person who brought Maharashtra’s folk singing and
  theatre traditions to the centre stage and his songs enriched Maharashtra’s
  culture. He also made ballads such as Garja Maharashtra Majha and Jai Jai
  Maharashtra Majha popular.

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