1. Asia Cup 2016 to be played in T20 format
(i) Asia Cup 2016 is set to undergo a radical change and will be a Twenty20 competition instead of the 50-over game, outgoing Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief executive Syed Ashraful Haq revealed on Thursday.
(ii) Ashraful said that not only would the tournament continue every two years, it would be revamped to include more Associate nations and mirror the World Cup format.
(iii) The tournament would then revert to a 50-over tournament in 2018 ahead of the 2019 World Cup in England and be played as a T20 competition again in 2020.
(iv) Bangladesh hosted the previous two Asia Cups in 2012 and 2014.
(v) Sri Lanka won the last Asia Cup and has won the competition five times since its inception in 1984. India has won it five times while Pakistan has won it twice.
2. Dr. Mohan Kumar appointed as Ambassador of India to France
(i) Dr. Mohan Kumar on 15 April 2015 was appointed as the next Ambassador of India to France. He is a 1981-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer.
(ii) Prior to this assignment, he was serving as Ambassador of India to Bahrain and he will succeed Arun Kumar who was appointed Ambassador to the United States.
(iii) He had served as Deputy High Commissioner at the Indian Diplomatic Mission in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2001. He also served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indian Embassy in Paris for 3 years.
3. Srinivasan to remain ICC chairman till BCCI AGM: Thakur
(i) The BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur on Thursday said former president N. Srinivasan will continue as the ICC chairman till September after which the Board will chalk a way forward at its Annual General Meeting.
(ii) As per rules, the ICC chairman’s post belongs to the BCCI representative for two years from July 2014 to June 2016.
(iii) “Mr Srinivasan will be BCCI’s representative as ICC chairman till September 2015. In September, we will have our Annual General Meeting (AGM) as per schedule where there would be discussions about what will be the way forward for us,” BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur told PTI during an interview.
4. Sachin Tendulkar elected as member of Laureus Sports Academy
(i) Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar on 15 April 2015 was elected as member of prestigious Laureus Sports Academy. He was named as member at the 16th Laureus World Sports Awards ceremony in Shanghai, China.
(ii) He was elected along with retired Chinese professional basketball player Yao Ming. With this, the total number of members of Laureus Sports Academy reached 52.
(iii) Kapil Dev and Rahul Dravid are the other Indian cricketers to have received this recognition.
Besides, former FC Barcelona and Spain star Carles Puyol was named as the Laureus Ambassador.
5. India successfully test-fired Agni III ballistic missile from Wheelar Island
(ii) Although the missile has a strike range of more than 3000 km, in the present test-fire, it was tested for a lesser range.
(iii) The test-fire was conducted from a mobile launcher by the Strategic Force Command (SFC) with the logistic support from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
6. Former Nepal PM Surya Bahadur Thapa dies
(i) Former Nepal Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa passed away at Medanta Hospital here on Thursday.
(ii) He was suffering from cancer and was admitted to Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon on March 29. “The details about exact time and cause of death are awaited,” said Medanta Hospital spokesperson.
(iii) Mr. Thapa started his political career by executing “underground student movement” in 1950. In 1958, he was elected to the Assembly and became Chairman of the Advisory Council. In 1959, he was elected to the Upper House.
(iv) Prime Minister of Nepal for the third time by the House of Representatives, Mr. Thapa led a coalition government in October 1997.
7. Susanta Lahiri, a co-creator of element 117, awarded Hevesy Medal
(ii) The other person to also win the award this year is Professor Kattesh V. Katti of the Cedntre for Radiological Research, University of Missouri, Columia.
(iii) This premier international award named after George de HEVESY, the 1943- Chemistry Nobel Laureate, for his work on the use of isotopes as tracers in the study of chemical processes, is given to “an individual in recognition of excellence through outstanding, sustained career achievements in the fields of pure as well as applied nuclear and radiochemistry, in particular applications to nuclear analytical chemistry."
8. Geeta Rani’s ‘B’ sample tests positive, faces lengthy ban
(i) Commonwealth Games gold medallist weightlifter Geeta Rani’s confirmatory ‘B’ sample test has also returned positive for a banned substance and she is set to end her career in ignominy as she faces the prospect of a lengthy ban from the sport.
(ii) Rani, who won a gold in 2006 CWG and three silver in the 2004 Asian Championships, had tested positive for a banned substance in her ‘A’ sample collected during the National Games (January 31-February 14) in Kerala, where she won a gold in women’s 75-plus kg category.
(iii) She will now have to face a NADA panel hearing.
(iv) Under the new NADA/WADA Rules, a first time dope offender faces a maximum four-year ban.
8. 175 million new bank a/c in India in three years: World Bank
(ii) Translated into absolute numbers, this growth in number of bank accounts means that 175 million in India became account holders between 2011 and 2014.
(iii) According to the World Bank, the rise in number of bank accounts was to a large extent due to government’s push for financial inclusion.
(iv) In August 2014, the Indian government launched Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana scheme for comprehensive financial inclusion with the goal of opening a bank account for every household.
9. Flipkart & flipside
(i) Even as it pulled out of talks on joining Airtel Zero, native e-commerce major Flipkart asserted that “it has always believed in the concept of Net Neutrality.”
(ii) Net Neutrality provides equal treatment for all traffic on the Net by Internet service providers. Airtel Zero, a platform launched by Airtel last week, allows subscribers free browsing of websites of companies that join the platform for a fee.
(iii) That Flipkart junked its plan to join Airtel Zero is a shot in the arm for advocates of Net Neutrality.
(iv) Flipkart is an iconic brand in the burgeoning Indian e-commerce space. Perhaps, this has emboldened its bosses to ignore the unwritten rules in their pursuit for faster growth.
(v) The pull out from talks with Airtel appears to be have been necessitated by the strong adverse reaction from netizens across the country.
(vi) A combination of rising tide of support for Net Neutrality and down-rating of its apps by customers has indeed forced Flipkart to quit talks. But for its iconic status, Flipkart’s actions — its initial talks with Airtel and the subsequent pull out — would have gone unnoticed. Again, its iconic status has ensured national headlines for whatever Flipkart does.
(vii) Net neutrality is a principle that says Internet Service Providers (ISPs) should treat all traffic and content on their networks equally.
9. Hitachi Automotive sets up auto parts facility in TN
(ii) Hitachi Automotive Systems India will manufacture valve timing control systems and ignition coils from October this year at the facility at Panchanthiruthi village in Tiruporur Taluk in neighbouring Kancheepuram District.
(iii) Ohnuma said the company’s move towards production of auto parts is in the backdrop of global carmakers expanding their operations worldwide.
10. NEEPCO hydel power project facing opposition
(i) A 240 MW hydel power project of North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) proposed to be set up along the Assam-Meghalaya border is facing strong opposition from locals who claim it would affect 1000 families.
(ii) Both the state governments have issued no objection certificates to NEEPCO for the 100 m high dam on Umiam River near Lamalong.
(iii) Local villagers said the dam will submerge 600 sq km and in the process over 20 inhabited villages will be hit directly affecting over 1000 families residing there.
11. Ola raises $400 million
(i) App-based taxi aggregator Ola on Thursday said it has raised USD 400 million (about Rs. 2,500 crore) from a clutch of investors led by DST Global as it eyes expansion into smaller cities across India.
(ii) After this round, the firm has raised close to USD 800 million. In October, it had raised USD 210 million from a group of investors led by Japan’s SoftBank.
(iii) Ola said it has raised “USD 400 million in Series E round of funding led by DST Global with participation from GIC, Falcon Edge Capital and existing investors SoftBank Group, Tiger Global, Steadview Capital and Accel Partners US.”
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