Current Affairs Update – 2nd April, 2015

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the important current affairs from 2nd April, 2015.

• Struggling to rein in the fiscal deficit at 4.1 per cent
  of  the gross domestic product (GDP)
  during 2014-15, the Centre has received a good news on the indirect tax front–
  collections under this head exceeded the Revised Estimates (RE) by Rs 4,000
  crore.
• The indirect taxes — customs duty, excise duty and services
  tax–yielded Rs 5.46 lakh crore against RE of Rs 4.42 lakh crore.
• The collections were also higher 9.9 per cent over Rs 4.97
  lakh crore during 2013-14, an official statement said here.
• The government has also got Rs 8,000-10,000 crore from
  spectrum auction in March.
• However, these figures may not be sufficient to bridge the
  fiscal deficit to the targeted level. Also, the government is likely to have a
  shortfall on the direct tax collections front, even against RE.

• Andhra Pradesh Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister N
  Chandrababu Naidu on 1 April 2015 approved that Amaravathi will be the new
  capital city of the state. The capital will come up at Tullur in Vijayawada-Guntur
  region of the state.
• The name of Amaravathi as state capital was finalised in
  view of its historical, spiritual and mythological significance.
• Besides this, AP cabinet also approved the first phase of
  the master plan prepared by Singapore government agencies and the new
  industrial policy, which will accelerate industrialisation of the state.

• Union Government on 1 April 2015 launched Faster Adoption
  and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles (FAME) – India Scheme.
• The scheme was launched with an aim to boost sales of
  eco-friendly vehicles in the country. It is a part of the National Mission for
  Electric Mobility.
• The scheme envisages providing 795 crore rupees support till
  2020 for the manufacturing and sale of electric and hybrid vehicles.
• Characteristic Features of FAME – India Scheme
• It envisages providing demand incentives to electric and
  hybrid vehicles from two wheelers to buses in range of 1800 rupees to 66 lakh
  rupees
• Focus areas of the scheme will be technology development;
  demand creation; pilot projects; and charging infrastructure
• Depending on technology, battery operated scooters and
  motorcycles will be eligible demand incentives ranging between 1800 rupees to
  29000 rupees
• In three-wheeler the incentives will range from 3300 rupees
  and 61000 rupees
• In four-wheeler segment incentive ranges from 13000 rupees
  and 1.38 lakh rupees
• In case of Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) incentive ranges
  from 17000 rupees to 1.87 lakh rupees
• In case of buses the incentive ranges from 34 lakh rupees to
  66 lakh rupees
• The Department of Heavy Industries will be nodal department
  for the scheme.

• Union Government on 1 April 2015 issued Guidelines for
  utilization of the Nirbhaya Fund with a corpus of 3000 crore rupees. The fund
  has been approved by the Union Finance Ministry.
• The Nirbhaya Fund was set up by Union Government under which
  various departments can seek money from the Union Ministry of Women and Child
  Development (WCD) for schemes to improve safety and security of women in the
  country.

• Ministry of WCD is the nodal authority which can be
  approached by various Ministries/Departments with the proposals/schemes, to be
  funded from Nirbhaya Fund targeted to strengthen the safety and security of
  women in the country.
• Ministry of WCD would appraise these schemes to decide their
  suitability to qualify for getting funds from the Nirbhaya Fund.
• Ministry of WCD shall forward the suitable proposals to
  Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) for necessary budgetary allocations in the
  respective Demands. 
• DEA shall appraise the proposal on financial and other
  aspects to avoid any duplicity of schemes/Government efforts to strengthen
  safety and security of women in the country.
• Budget Division of DEA would approve the funding of schemes
  from the fund and would also be the nodal Ministry for any accretion into and
  withdrawal from the fund.

• The 88th edition of the Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Sahitya
  Sammelan (ABMSS) will be held from April 3-5 in Ghuman village in Gurdaspur
  district, where Marathi saint Namdev spent last years of his life.
• The nondescript village is located about 260 km from here.
  Saint Namdev hailed from Maharashtra and his 61 shabads were included in Guru
  Granth Sahib, a holy scripture of the Sikhs.
• Ghuman spiritually connects Punjab and Maharashtra like
  Nanded and for many Saint Namdev, who is an important saint of the Bhakti movement,
  is an example of our country’s social and communal unity.
• A large contingent of Marathi litterateurs is scheduled to
  take part in the event.
• Top politicians from Maharastra, including Union Minister
  Nitin Gadkari, former Union ministers Sharad Pawar and Sushilkumar Shinde would
  also be present at the event tomorrow, officials said.

• India has been ranked a low 119 out of 130 countries on an
  index that measures business resilience of nations based on economic, risk
  quality and supply chain factors, dropping seven notches from last year.
• The 2015 FM Global Resilience Index has been topped by
  Norway for being the country best suited for companies seeking to avoid
  disruptions in their global supply chain operations.
• Venezuela is ranked last on the list.
• India, “despite its scope and global potential”,
  ranks 119, falling from 112th rank in 2014.
• On the economic parameter, which takes into account GDP,
  political risk and oil intensity, India is ranked 115, the same as last year.
• In the risk quality factor, India is ranked 109 for its
  quality of natural hazard and fire risk management, a slight improvement from
  its 113th rank in 2014.
• Among the top 10 countries that are most resilient, Norway
  is followed by Switzerland (2), Netherlands (3), Ireland (4), Luxembourg (5),
  Germany (6), Qatar (7), Canada (8), Finland (9) and the US (10).

• Justice Sunil Kumar Sinha on 30 March 2015 was appointed as
  the Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court (HC). He was appointed by the
  President Pranab Mukherjee in accordance with the Article 217 (1) of the
  Constitution of India.
• He assumed the charge of the office of Chief Justice of
  Sikkim HC on the date he was appointed.
• Before this appointment he was serving as the acting Chief
  Justice of the Sikkim HC since October 2014. He became a Judge in the Sikkim HC
  in July 2014.

• Gulshan Rai, the Director General of Indian Computer
  Emergency Response Team (Cert-In), took over as India’s first Cyber Security
  chief.
• Rai, who also heads the eSecurity and Cyber Law division in
  the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, has been involved in
  various capacities regarding cyber security for over two decades. He is part of
  the Department of Electronics and IT ( DeitY).
• Rai’s appointment comes at a time when cyber security
  assumes importance in the backdrop of growing network intrusions and hacking
  attempts on not just businesses but also on the government.
• According to government data, more than 700 government
  websites that are hosted under ‘gov.in’ and ‘nic.in’ domains have been hacked by
  cyber criminals since 2012.
• As per CERT-In, 371, 189, 155 and 13 government websites
  were hacked during the year 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 (January), respectively.
• During the Budget Session last month, Home Minister Rajnath
  Singh had said an experts committee was set up to suggest ways and means to
  strengthen cyber security and was likely to submit its report within three
  months.

• An Indian-American assistant professor, who employs a game
  called “Baffa Baffa” to have students understand culture’s role in
  business, has won the prestigious Peltier Award for her innovative teaching
  methods.
• Rajani Ganesh-Pillai, who teaches marketing at the North
  Dakota State University, will be recognised for her efforts to bring hands-on
  experience, theory-based understanding and an enhanced global perspective to
  her students.
• One of her innovative practices is a game called “Baffa
  Baffa,” where the goal is to have students understand culture’s role in
  business and how it can affect transactions and relationships.

• Union Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (MYAS) on 31
  March 2015 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India Infrastructure
  Finance Company Limited (IIFCL) to support Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOP)
  Scheme for Badminton sport.
• Under the MOU, IIFCL shall contribute 30 crore rupees to the
  TOP Scheme under its initiatives for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
  IIFCL have contributed 10 crore rupees so far.

• To provide customized training and coaching to TOP Scheme
  Athletes at institutes/centers having world class facilities under the guidance
  of renowned coaches,
• To provide world class equipment to TOP Scheme Athletes,

• New Zealand cricket team captain Brendon McCullum on 1 April
  2015 was conferred with the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for 2014-15. McCullum won
  the award for his remarkable performance both as a player and the captain
  during the 2014-15 season.
• The highest cricketing honour of New Zealand was presented
  to him during the New Zealand Cricket (NZC) Awards presentation ceremony held
  in New Zealand’s capital Auckland.

• Pakistan is set to acquire eight submarines from China for
  nearly USD 5 billion, in what is likely to be the biggest arms export deal for
  the Communist giant which today defended the move, saying its defence ties with
  Pakistan adhered to international treaties.
• The deal was reportedly finalised during last month’s visit
  by Pakistan Naval Chief Muhammad Zakaullah to China. He met Vice Chairman of
  China’s Central Military Commission Fan Changlong on March 26.
• However, there have been reports that Yuan-class Type-041
  diesel-electric submarines were being considered.
• The-Type 041 ‘Yuan’ class is described by IHS Jane’s
  Fighting Ships as a diesel electric attack submarine (SSK), potentially with
  Stirling air independent propulsion.
• China is Pakistan’s biggest supplier of military hardware
  which included battle tanks, naval ships as well as fighter jets. The two
  jointly manufacture J-17 Thunder warplane.

• Sunita Tomar, the face of India’s anti-tobacco campaign,
  died on 1 April 2015 at her native village in Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh.
  She was 28.
• In 2014, she shot a 30-second video titled Sunita
  highlighting the devastating effect of smokeless tobacco. In the video she
  shared her experience, which later was used by the government for its
  anti-tobacco drive to warn people against consumption of smokeless gutkha and
  pan masalas.
• She teamed up with Voice of Tobacco Victims (VoTV) to
  produce the video which tells about her struggle with oral cancer.

• Renowned Hindi poet Kailash Vajpeyi died on 1 April 2015 due
  to cardiac arrest in a private hospital of Saket in New Delhi. He was 79.
• He is survived by his wife and daughter Ananya Vajpeyi.
• Kailash Vajpeyi was born in 1936 at Hamirpur of Uttar
  Pradesh and began his career as a journalist and subsequently started teaching
  at Delhi University.
• He published 28 books, including 14 volumes of poetry. Some
  of his works includes Sufinama, Sankrant, Dehant se Hatkar (Away from Death),
  Teesra Andhera (Third Darkness), Prthvi ka krshnapaksha, Rajdhani and Bhavishya
  Ghat Raha Hai (The future is shrinking).
• A number of his poems were banned like Naya Rashtrageet (A
  new national anthem).

• Sahitya Akademi award in 2009 for his work Hawa mein
  hastakshar (Signature in the air)
• Vachaspati title from Lucknow University
• He was honoured by Delhi Academy of Letters and New York’s
  Literary Society

It’s never too late – never too late to start over, never too late to be happy. – Jane Fonda

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