Current Affairs Update – 21st March, 2015

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

India
Union Cabinet
approved Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) to impart skill training
to youth
  • 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.

Key
characteristics of the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKY)
  • 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.

Funds Allocation
  • 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.

Amitabh Bachchan
roped in as Brand Ambassador for Campaign against Hepatitis B
  • 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.

Union Cabinet
approved 33% women reservation in police forces of all Union Territories
  • 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.

Awards
Lata Mangeshkar won
the Laadli Voice of the Century award
  • 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.

Winners of the
National Media and Advertising Awards in different category
  • 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

Activist Rajendra
Singh Wins Stockholm Water Prize 2015
  • 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.

Days
22nd World Water Day
celebrated on 21st March

  • 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 observed with the theme Forests and Climate Change
  • 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.

World Sparrow Day
observed on 20 March with the theme I Love Sparrows
  • 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.

Sports
Martin Guptill scored
the highest-ever score of 237 in Cricket World Cup history

  • 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.

World
1st Counter-Terrorism
Conference 2015 held in Jaipur
  • 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.

Obituaries
Marathi Folk legend
Shahir Krishnarao Sable died
  • 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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