Sunita Tomar, the face of India's anti-tobacco campaign, died
(i) 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.
(ii) In 2014, she shot a 30-second video titled Sunita highlighting the devastating effect of smokeless tobacco.
(iii) 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.
(iv) She teamed up with Voice of Tobacco Victims (VoTV) to produce the video which tells about her struggle with oral cancer.
(v) Sunita was among the 60 percent oral cancer patients of India who die within a year or two of their diagnosis because they turned too late for treatment.
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved uniform gas price for urea plants
(i) As per the estimation of the Department of Fertilizer (DOF), the decision will lead to additional production of around 37.13 lakh million tones (MT) of urea in existing fertilizers units over the next four years, that is, from 2015-16 to 2018-19.
(ii) Further, the decision will reduce import dependence and will result in saving of 1550 crore rupees of subsidy.
(iii) It is expected that the cost of production of urea at pooled price would be less than the price of imported urea, which will encourage the existing urea units to produce beyond their reassessed capacity.
RBI approved the amalgamation of ING Vysya Bank with Kotak Mahindra Bank
(i) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 1 April 2015 sanctioned the scheme of amalgamation of ING Vysya Bank Ltd. with Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.
(ii) The Scheme will come into force with effect from 1 April 2015.
(iii) With this sanction, all branches of ING Vysya Bank will function as branches of Kotak Mahindra Bank with effect from 1 April 2015.
(iv) The Scheme was sanctioned in exercise of the powers contained in Sub-section (4) of Section 44A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
Facebook's new app 'Riff' allows users to make posted videos go viral
(i) According to a report, when users create a Riff video for the first time, they can tag a friend and make it trend.
(ii) The app is available on both iOS and Android mobile devices.
(iii) It originated after last year's ALS Ice Bucket Challenge when people began posting videos of them upturning buckets of ice water on their heads in the name of charity.
Iran says 'seize the moment' as talks hit final stretch
(i) "We are a few metres...from the finishing line, but we are well aware that the final metres are the hardest," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters, as he arrived back in Switzerland to rejoin the negotiations.
(ii) The stakes were very high, he said, adding at issue was the question of non-proliferation, and "Iran's reintegration into the international community."
(iii) Fabius was re-joining US Secretary of State John Kerry and their counterparts from Germany and Britain, as well as political directors from Russia and China.
(iv) A US official confirmed Kerry held four hours of late-night talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif and EU deputy foreign policy chief Helga Schmid, adding to days of already bruising negotiations.
Andhra Pradesh Cabinet approved Amaravathi as capital of the State
(i) 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.
(ii) The capital will come up at Tullur in Vijayawada-Guntur region of the state.
(iii) The name of Amaravathi as state capital was finalised in view of its historical, spiritual and mythological significance.
(iv) 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.
Renowned Hindi poet Kailash Vajpeyi died
(i) 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.
(ii) He is survived by his wife and daughter Ananya Vajpeyi.
(iii) 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.
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