President Mukherjee Confers Padma Awards
President Pranab Mukherjee on 31 March
conferred Padma awards on 66 eminent personalities at a ceremony held at
Rashtrapati Bhavan. Noted scientist Dr. Raghunath A. Mashelkar received Padma
Vibhushan while classical singer Begum Parveen Sultana, actor Kamal Hasan,
sportsperson Pullela Gopichand were among those who were honoured with Padma
Bhushan.Padma Shri Awardees included sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik and actress
Vidya Balan.
US Ambassador To India Nancy Powell Resigns
US ambassador to India Nancy Powell has
resigned her post on 31 March . US Ambassador to India Nancy J Powell announced
in a US Mission Town Hall meeting March 31 that she has submitted her
resignation to President Obama.
Zubin Mehta Gets Special Jury Award at Times
Now NRI awards
Renowned music director and concert conductor
Zubin Mehta was conferred the special jury award by Times Now at the channel’s
NRI of the Year awards held in Mumbai on 30 March. In their first year, the
awards recognize non-resident Indians’ contribution across categories,
including entrepreneurship, arts, entertainment and philanthropy.
Norway’s Stoltenberg Appointed as new NATO
chief
Norway’s ex-PM Jens Stoltenberg has been
appointed Nato’s next secretary general, replacing Denmark’s Anders Fogh
Rasmussen. He will take over as leader of the 28-nation military alliance in
October 2014, when Rasmussen steps down after a Nato summit in Wales. Rasmussen
has headed Nato for the past five years.Stoltenberg was prime minister of
Norway at the time of Anders Breivik’s bomb and gun attacks in 2011.
Indian-Origin Student Won UK Twitter Prize
Indian-origin Gopal Rao on 27 March won UK
Twitter Prize. The prize was to meet the British Foreign Secretary William
Hague and to discuss the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI).PSVI was
launched on 29 May 2012 by William Hague. Gopal Rao, an MBA student at the
University of Cambridge, won the accolades from British Foreign Secretary
William Hague after winning a Twitter competition which asked a question
regarding UK’s foreign policy.
India Successfully Test-Fired Nuclear-Capable
Prithvi II Missile
India on 28 March successfully test-fired its
indigenously developed nuclear-capable surface-to-surface Prithvi II missile,
with a range of 350 km, from a test range near Balasore as part of a user trial
by the Army.The missile trajectory was tracked by DRDO radars, electro-optical
tracking systems and telemetry stations located along the coast of Odisha.
Prithvi-II is the first missile to be developed by Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO) under the country’s prestigious Integrated
Guided Missile Development Program and is now a proven technology.
India Officially Declared ‘ Polio Free ’
India was on 27 March officially declared
‘Polio Free’ by the World Health Organisation. India is one of the 11 countries
in the South East Asian region which have been certified as being free of the
wild polio virus.The Union Health Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad received the
official certificate at a function in New Delhi.This achievement makes the
South-East Asia Region, the fourth WHO Region to be certified as polio-free,
after the Region of the Americas in 1994, the Western Pacific Region in 2000
and the European Region in 2002.
Sebastian Vettel and Franklin Won 2014
Laureus Sport Awards
Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel
(Germany) and American swimming sensation Missy Franklin ( US ) on 26 March won
the Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year awards respectively, based on their
successes in 2013.Sebastian Vettel established himself as one of the greatest
drivers of all time with his fourth straight Formula One World Championship,
joining legends Juan Manuel Fangio, Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost, who all
won at least four times.At just 26 years and 116 days, Vettel is the youngest
ever four-time champion. In 2013 he won 13 Grands Prix, including a record nine
straight victories. Missy Franklin was the sensation of Barcelona, becoming the
first woman in history to win six gold medals at a single World Championships –
three individual and three relay – at the age of just 18.This followed her
performance in the London Olympics where she won four gold medals.
Japanese Architect Shigeru Ban Won 2014
Pritzker Architecture Prize
Japanese architect Shigeru Ban has won the
2014 Pritzker Architect Prize for his contribution to humanity and innovative
use of everyday materials.The world’s most prestigious architecture award was
announced by the Hyatt Foundation .The Prize will be awarded to Ban on 13 June
2014 in Amsterdam.The prize has recognized for the first time an architect for
his contribution in the area of housing disaster victims. Ban will be the
seventh Japanese architect to receive the prize.
Jet Airways Acting CEO Ravishankar Gopalakrishnan
Resigned
Jet Airways’ acting Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Ravishankar Gopalakrishnan resigned on
25 March. Gopalakrishnan took up the post of CFO in the airline in October 2012
and was closely involved in negotiations with Etihad and financial revival of
the airline. Prior to joining Jet Airways, he was executive director & CFO
with TVS Capital Funds.Gopalakrishnan took over as acting CEO in January 2014
after Garry Kenneth Toomey resignation.
Hindi Writer Govind Mishra To Get Saraswati
Samman 2013
Renowned Hindi author Govind Mishra will be
given Sarawasti honour for the year 2013 for his book “Dhool Paudho Par”.
Mishra will be the second Hindi author who will recieve this honour after it
was given to Harivansh Rai Bachchan in 1991.The book “Dhool Paudho Par” was
published in 2008.Saraswati Samman is an annual award and is given in
recognition of outstanding prose or poetry literary works in Indian languages
that are listed in Schedule VII of the constitution of India. This Samman is
given for the literary works of last 10 years.The award was established in 1991
by K. K. Birla Foundation and carries a prize amount of 10 lakh rupees along
with a certificate.
Stuart Oliver Won First-ever Indian
Truck-Racing Championship
Stuart Oliver of Castrol Vecton emerged
winner of the inaugural Tata T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship at the Buddh
International Circuit (BIC) in Greater Noida on 23 March. He represented
Castrol Vecton team in the race and took 30:26.848 minutes to complete 15 laps
of the 2.5 km loop on the 5.1 km-long track. Stuart Oliver (50-year-old), a
ten-time British Truck Racing Champion staved off the stiff challenge from
Mathew Summerfield (30:31:522 minutes) of Team Cummins.
Physicist Rajesh Gopakumar Selected For G D
Birla Award 2013
The 23rd G.D.Birla Award for Scientific
Research for 2013 has been given to theoretical physicist Rajesh Gopakumar of
the Department of Physics at the Harish-Research Institute (HRI),
Allahabad. The award, which carries a cash prize of Rs 1.50 lakhs, was
instituted in1991 by the K.K.Birla Foundation with the objective of accord
recognition to high calibre scientific research undertaken by Indian scientists
living and working in India.
World Water Day Observed Across The World
World Water Day 2014 was observed on 22 March
with the theme Water and Energy to raise awareness of the inter-linkages
between water and energy. World Water Day is observed to preserve and ration
consumption of water.The Day was celebrated with the events like the UN-Water
Decade Programme on Advocacy and communications with journalist workshop in
Tokyo, releasing of the World Water Development Report, giving away of Water
for Life Awards, high-level policy panel, side events and key note speeches.
K.C. Chakrabarty Resigned As RBI Deputy
Governor
KC Chakrabarty, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank
of India (RBI), has resigned on 20 March. His resignation came three months
ahead of the completion of his term due to personal reasons.Chakrabarty was
appointed as RBI deputy governor for a three-year term in June 2009, and was
subsequently given a two-year extension.
IJA elects its First Woman President
The Indian Journalists’ Association in London
has unanimously elected its first woman president Aditi Khanna.Khanna is London
correspondent for the Press Trust of India, the country’s leading news agency.
Noted Author and Journalist Khushwant Singh
Died
Khushwant Singh, the grand old man of Indian
literature, has died on 20 March. One of India’s best known raconteurs, Singh
enthralled millions of readers with classics like “Train to Pakistan”, “I Shall
Not Hear the Nightingale” and “Delhi – A Novel”. Singh was born on February 2,
1915, in Hadali, now in Pakistan’s Punjab. He was the founder-editor of Yojana
and went on to head The Illustrated Weekly of India, the National Herald and
the Hindustan Times. His autobiography, “Truth, Love and a Little Malice”, was
published by Penguin Books in 2002. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1974
but returned it in 1984, in protest against “Operation Bluestar”, or the
storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar by the Indian Army under then prime
minister Indira Gandhi.
Akhilesh Laid Foundation For World’s Tallest
Temple
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav
on 16 March laid the foundation stone of a project to build a 70-storey temple
in Vrindavan – Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir — which, when finished, is billed
to be the tallest shrine in the world. This project will cost more than Rs. 300
crore and its builder International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)
is hoping to conclude the temple construction within the next five years.The
proposed Chandrodaya Mandir, a 213 metres high one of its kind temple is
expected to mark Vrindavan, where Hindu deity Krishna is said to have spent his
childhood, on the world spiritual map.
Nico Rosberg Won Australian Grand Prix
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg of Germany won
the Australian Grand Prix on 16 March. Rosberg dominated the Australian Grand
Prix to claim the fourth F1 victory of his career and the first in the new
turbo-powered era. Kevin Magnussen of Denmark (McLaren) was declared second
after Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was disqualified after finishing second in
the race. Ricciardo was disqualified for breach of fuel regulations. Jenson
Button of Great Britain also representing McLaren finished the podium with
third place.
Tomas Halik Won 2014 Templeton Prize
Czech priest and intellectual Tomas Halik has
won the 2014 Templeton Prize.Under the award he will receive 1.1 million Euro.In
2012 the prize went to the 14th Dalai Lama and last year to South African
Archbishop and anti-apartheid fighter Desmond Tutu.
World Kidney Day 2014 Observed Across The
World
World Kidney Day 2014 was observed on 13
March 2014 with the theme, Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and aging. World Kidney
Day (WKD) is observed annually on the 2nd Thursday in March. Australia also
observed the World Kidney Day with the theme Kidneys Age, Just Like You-take
care of them to create awareness on the prevention of kidney diseases. World
Kidney Day (WKD) is a global health awareness campaign focusing on the
importance of the kidneys and reducing the frequency and impact of kidney
disease and its associated health problems worldwide.
Rakesh Sethi Appointed As Allahabad Bank CMD
Rakesh Sethi has been appointed as the new
Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Allahabad Bank . Sethi will take charge
of CMD with immediate effect as the post was lying vacant since January 2014
when Shubhlakshmi Panse retired.
Two Indians Among America’s Most Powerful CEOs Under-40
In the Forbes Magazine List, Among Most
powerful American CEO’s under age 40, Two Indian’s were named. This list was
topped by Google CEO and Co-Founder Larry Page. Hari K Ravichandran stood at
19th position. He is Endurance International Group CEO. Ashish Pandey stood at
20th place. He is Asset Management Firm Altisource Asset Management CEO.
Soma Mondal Takes Over As Director (Commercial) of NALCO
Soma Mondal has been appointed as the new Director
(Commercial) of Navratna PSU National Aluminium Company Ltd (NALCO) on 12
March. Mondal joined Nalco in 1984 as a Graduate Engineer Trainee. Earlier, she
was working with the company as executive director (marketing) at Nalco’s
corporate office.
Sahitya Akademi Awards Presented
Famous poets Javed Akhtar (Urdu), Subodh Sarkar (Bengali)
and Ambika Dutt (Rajasthani) were among the literary giants who were
felicitated by the Sahitya Akademi at the ongoing annual “Festival of Letters”
in New Delhi on 11 March. Novelists Mridula Garg (Hindi), Manmohan (Punjabi)
and R.N. Joe D’ Cruz (Tamil) were among those who accepted the awards from the
Sahitya Akademi president Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari. The award winners included
Rabindra Sarkar (Assamese), Anil Boro (Bodo), Sita Ram Sapolia (Dogri), Temsula
Ao (English), Chinu Modi (Gujarati), C.N. Ramachandran (Kannada), Mohi-ud-Din
Reshi (Kashmiri), Tukaram Ram Shet (Konkani), Sureshwar Jha (Maithili), M. N.
Paloor (Malayalam), Makhonmani Mongsaba (Manipuri) and Satish Kalsekar
(Marathi), Katyayani Vidmahe(Telugu).
Former SC Judge Appointed As FPSB chairman
Justice (Retd.) BN Srikrishna has been appointed as the
Chairman of Financial Planning Standards Board India (FPSB). He will succeed
Dhirendra Swarup, the former chairman of Pension Fund Regulatory and
Development Authority (PFRDA). Srikrishna is a retired judge of Supreme Court
and has served as the Chief Justice of Kerala High Court.He has also served as
the Chairman of the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) set
up in March 2011 by the Union Ministry of Finance. He also headed the Sixth
Central Pay Commission set up by the Union Government on 5 October 2006.
Michelle Bachelet Sworn In as Chile’s President
Michelle Bachelet has been sworn-in as the President of
Chile in Valparaiso on 11 March. She succeeded the conservative President
Sebastian Pinera. In the Presidential election conducted in December
2013, Michelle won 62 percent of the vote in the second round against the
38 percent vote won by the conservative leader Evelyn Matthei. This is her
second term in the office and with this swearing-in she became the first
Chilean President in over half a century to return for the second term.
International Women’s Day Observed On 8th March 2014
International Women Day is being observed across the
world on 8 March 2014. With the theme INSPIRING CHANGE United Nation celebrated
the 2014 Women day. International women’s day is also called Working women’s
day. United Nations celebrated this day with the theme Inspiring Change. In
1911, these celebrations were started for the first time. Clara, a German, had
proposed this day. First international women’s conference held at Copenhegen.
This day celebrated to remember the achievements of the women.
Avaya Appointed Priyadarshi Mohapatra As new MD for India
and SAARC
Technology firm Avaya has appointed Priyadarshi Mohapatra
as its Managing Director (MD) for India and SAARC operations. He will be
responsible for providing strategic direction to the India operations, managing
India business priorities, and enhancing Avaya’s position as a leading business
communications company.
Chinese Woman Named World’s Youngest Billionaire
A 24-year-old Hong Kong-based woman has been named the
world’s youngest billionaire, replacing a Facebook co-founder and spurring
gossip in the city.Perenna Kei, a graduate from the University of London who
lives in Hong Kong, was ranked by Forbes as the world’s youngest tycoon in its
annual super-rich list, with a net worth of $1.3 billion.
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