Nation
Supreme Court declared Section 66A of Information Technology Act, 2000 as unconstitutional
i. The section empowers law enforcement agencies to arrest those who post objectionable content online and provides for a three-year jail term.
ii. It violates the citizens fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression provided in the Article 19 (1)(angel), not saved by Article 19(2), of the Constitution of India.
Maharashtra Government announced to make Sale of Gutka a non-bailable offence
i. State Government of Maharashtra announced that those involved in the sale of gutka in the state will be booked under Section 328 of Indian Penal Code (IPC), that is, sale of gutka will be made a non-bailable offence
ii. Until now, the manufacture and sale of Gutka was banned in Maharashtra, but was not implemented effectively leading to smuggling of the tobacco-laced chewing products in the state from neighbouring states. Maharashtra banned the sale of gutka in July 2012.
International
Amitav Ghosh among 10 finalists for International Booker prize
i. Amitav Ghosh on Tuesday emerged as the only Indian author among 10 finalists for this year’s Man Booker International Prize for his contribution to the English language writing.
ii. Kolkata born, 58-year-old Mr. Ghosh had narrowly missed out on the Booker Prize back in 2008 when he was shortlisted for his work Sea of Poppies.
Important Days
World Tuberculosis Day 2015 observed globally on 24th March
Theme same as 2014 - Reach the 3 Million, sub-theme - Reach, Treat, Cure Everyone
i. The WTD is annually celebrated on 24 March to commemorate the day on which Dr. Robert Koch discovered the cause of tuberculosis, the TB bacillus in 1882.
ii. World TB Day is one of eight official global public health campaigns marked by the World Health Organization (WHO). The other seven includes World Health Day (7 April), World Blood Donor Day (14 June), World Immunization Week (24-30 April), World Malaria Day (25 April), World No Tobacco Day (31 May), World Hepatitis Day (28 July) and World AIDS Day (1 December).
World Meteorological Day 2015 observed on 23rd March
Theme - Climate Knowledge for Climate Action
i. Every year on the occasion of WMD, awards for meteorological research are also given. These awards include The International Meteorological Organization Prize, Professor Dr. Vilho Vaisaila Award and The Norbert Gerbier-Mumm International Award.
ii. 23 March is celebrated as World Meteorological Day to commemorate the entry into force of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) Convention in 1950 aimed at creating the organisation.
Awards
Shashi Kapoor selected for the Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2014
i. The Union Government on 23 March 2015 announced that Shashi Kapoor was selected for the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2014. The 77-year-old the veteran film actor and producer is the 46th Dada Saheb Phalke Award winner.
ii. The 2014 Dadasaheb Phalke award to Shashi Kapoor made him the third member of Kapoor family to receive the award after Prithviraj Kapoor and Raj Kapoor.
About Phale Award :-
- The Dadasaheb Phalke award is the highest award of India in cinema & for outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian Cinema. The award was introduced in 1969 to commemorate the birth centenary year of Dadasaheb Phalke.
- The award carries a Swarn Kamal (Golden Lotus), a cash prize of 10 lakh rupees and a shawl.
62nd National awards 2015
Kangana Ranaut has been named Best Actress at the 62nd National Film Awards while her film ‘Queen’ bagged the Best Film. This is Kangana Ranaut’s second National Award, she had bagged the Best Supporting Actress award for ‘Fashion’ in 2008
Here's the complete list of winners:
Best Feature Film:Court (Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati & English)
Best Popular Film for Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Mary Kom
Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director: Asha for Jaoar Majhe
Best Direction: Srijit Mukherji for Chotushkone (Bengali)
Best Actress: Kangana Ranaut for Queen
Best Actor: Vijay for Nanu Avanalla Avalu (Kannada)
Best Supporting Actor: Bobby Simhaa for Jigarthanda (Tamil)
Best Supporting Actress: Baljinder Kaur for Pagdi The Honour (Haryanavi)
Best Male Playback Singer: Sukhwinder Singh, for Bismil, Haider
Best Female Playback Singer: Saivam (Tamil) and Uttara Unnikrishanan (Song: Azhagu)
Best Costume Designer:Haider (Hindi) Dolly Ahluwalia
Best Music Direction Songs:Haider
Best Music Direction Background Score:Nineteen Eighty Three (Malayalam)
Best Choreography: Sudesh Bismil, Haider
Best Assamese Film: Othello
Best Bengali Film: Nirbashito
Best Hindi Film:Queen
Best Rabha Film: Orong
Best Haryanvi Film: Pagdi The Honour
Best Punjabi Film: Punjab 1984
Best Tamil Film: Kuttram Kadithal
Best Telugu Film: Chandamama Kathalu
Best Malayalam Film: Ain
Best Marathi Film: Killa
Best Odiya Film: Aadim Vichar
Best Kannada Film: Harivu
Best Konkani Film:Nachom - IA Kumpasar
Special Mention: Killa (Marathi)
Best Film on Environment Consevation/Preservation: Ottaal (Malayalam)
Best Educational Film: Komal & Behind the Glass Wall
Best Exploration/ Adventure Film: Life Force - India's Western Ghats
Best Investigative Film:Phum Shang
Best Animation Film:Sound of Joy
Best Short Fiction Film:Mitraa
Best Film Critic: Tanul Thakur
Economy
SEBI Board approved SEBI (International Financial Services Centres) Guidelines, 2015
i. The guidelines for IFSCs aim to provide an enabling environment for setting up of capital market infrastructure like stock exchanges, clearing houses, depository services, etc., in such centres.
ii. Any Indian stock exchange by the SEBI or a foreign stock exchange recognized by the originating country’s market regulator can set up subsidiaries in IFSC. IFSC will be set up under the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Act of 2005.
IRCTC launches RuPay pre-paid debit card
i. Railway passengers can now book their tickets, do shopping and pay service bills using RuPay pre-paid cards, as the IRCTC launched the debit card service here today.
ii. The service was launched by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) in collaboration with the Union Bank of India and the National Payment Corporation of India.
Axis Bank launches financial planning app
i. Axis Bank, India’s third largest private sector bank, has partnered Max Life Insurance, to launch a financial planning app to facilitate better life insurance purchasing experience to customers. The application is designed to enable policy issuance in less than four hours.
ii. The digital initiative also involves latest analytics tools that will ensure that Axis Bank and Max Life are able to offer customised life insurance solutions after complete understanding of life stage needs of their customers.
Appointments
Former Army Chief Sarath Fonseka became first Field Marshal of Sri Lanka
i. Sarath Fonseka, the former Army Chief of Sri Lanka, was conferred with the country's highest military rank of Field Marshal. He was awarded the honorary title by President Maithripala Sirisena for achieving victory over terrorism.
ii. With this, Foneska became the first Sri Lankan Army officer to become Field Marshal. Fonsenka is a former Chief of Defence Staff and is now a member of Sri Lanka Parliament from Colombo district.
Fatima to become first woman Muslim pilot
i. Syeda Salva Fatima is going to be the first Muslim woman from the Old City of Hyderabad to take a commercial pilot course.
ii. A graduate from Dr B R Ambedkar Open University, Fatima is born into a poor family. Her father works in a bakery and husband doing a private job. The State government would release the amount to Telangana State Aviation Academy towards fee for her seat.
Sports
New Zealand make first World Cup final
i. Corey Anderson and Grant Elliott produced a superbly timed 103-run partnership to take New Zealand into their first cricket World Cup final with a tense four-wicket win over South Africa at Eden Park on Tuesday.
ii. New Zealand will meet second finalist on the mega final event at MCG (Melborne Cricket Ground) on 29th March 2015
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