Union Government extended National Food Security Act deadline by 6 months
(ii) The deadline has already been extended twice for implementing the food law, was ending on April 4.
(iii) The deadline was extended for the third time so that the remaining states adopt and implement the law within six months.
(iv) Since passage by Parliament in September 2013, the NFSA has been implemented in 11 states and Union Territories (UTs). The rest 25 states/UTs have not implemented it yet.
21 weightlifters test positive, provisionally suspended by IWF
(i) Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) on 4 April 2015 provisionally suspended 21 weightlifters after they were tested positive for banned substances.
(ii) This could be termed as one of the biggest doping scandals in recent years.
(iii) The lifters tested positive across different championships, both out-of-competition and in-competition.
(iv) Maximum of these offenders were caught at the National Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships, which was held in Yamunangar in January 2015.
(v) Earlier on 1 January 2015, the National Anti-Doping Agency has increased the ban period of first time dope offenders to maximum of four years from two.
Minor planet named after former Chess grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand
(i) Michael Rudenko, a committee member of the Minor Planet Center on 1 April 2015 officially named a minor planet as 4538 Vishyanand, to honour India’s first chess grandmaster, Vishwanathan Anand.
(ii) The main-belt minor planet was discovered between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter by Kenzo Suzuki in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on 10 October 1988. Since its discovery, the planet remained unnamed.
Snapdeal acquired RupeePower to launch financial service
(i) India’s largest online marketplace Snapdeal on 1 April 2015 announced to acquire RupeePower, a leading digital financial products distribution platform.
(ii) The acquisition aimed to launch financial service.
(iii) Snapdeal will now offer consumers a financial services marketplace, a first of its kind initiative in the e-commerce industry. Through this marketplace, Snapdeal and RupeePower will endeavor to digitally organize the fragmented financial services market by integrating these services onto the Snapdeal platform.
(iv) RupeePower is a digital distribution platform for loans, credit cards and other personal finance products.
(v) With its credit comparison, matching and processing infrastructure and strong affiliation with banks and NBFCs.
(vi) The company is not a lender in itself and does not complete with its partner banks and NBFCs in the lending space.
Iran and P5+1 gave nod for nuclear agreement Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)
(ii) The agreement was reached at Lausanne's Beau-Rivage Palace hotel in Switzerland.
(iii) The informal framework agreement will be used as the basis for evolving the final draft of JCPOA by 30 June 2015.
(iv) P5+1 include all the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) viz., the US, the UK, France, China and Russia plus Germany.
Al-shabab attacked Garissa University College in Kenya
(i) Al-Shabaab on 2 April 2015 carried out a massacre killing 147 people in the Garissa University College situated in Garissa County in northeastern Kenya.
(ii) In all, 151 people were killed including 142 students, three security officers, two university security personnel and four militants who were killed by the security forces.
(iii) Al-Shabaab is a Somalia-based militant organization and an al Qaeda affiliate.
FM Global released Global Resilience Index 2015 Report
(ii) The Index offers powerful insights to help business executives target their investments towards more reliable returns and to protect their customers from unforeseen disruption.
(iii) Out of the 130 countries and regions assessed Norway topped the list in terms of business resilience.
Mariyam Asif Siddiqui, Muslim girl won Bhagwad Gita contest
(i) Mariyam Asif Siddiqui, a 12-year-old Muslim girl in March 2015 won the first position at the Shrimad Bhagwad Gita Champion League. She won the prize for explaining the teachings of the Bhagwad Gita.
(ii) Siddiqui who studies in Class 6 of Cosmopolitan High School at Mira Road near Mumbai won the contest from among 4500 students of 195 schools.
(iii) Mariyam said she learned from Bhagwad Gita that humanity is the biggest religion in this world.
Shrimad Bhagwad Gita Champion League was an inter-school competition.
(iv) It was organised by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in March 2015.
Union Minister of Commerce & Industry unveiled Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020
(ii) The policy was unveiled by Minister of State for Ministry of Commerce & Industry Nirmala Sitharaman at Vigyan Bhawan, Delhi.
(iii) The new five year Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-20 provides a framework for increasing exports of goods and services as well as generation of employment and increasing value addition in the country, in keeping with the Make in India vision of Prime Minister.
(iv) The focus of the new policy is to support both the manufacturing and services sectors, with a special emphasis on improving the ease of doing business.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Give it Up campaign
(i) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 27 March 2015 launched Give it Up campaign. The campaign was launched at the annual energy-focussed summit Urja Sangam 2015.
(ii) The campaign seeks to extort the better off sections of society to forego their liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) subsidy, which would be utilised in providing subsidised LPG connections to the poor.
(iii) The Prime Minister asked companies and banks to encourage their employees to give up the subsidy on LPG.
(iv) Gas cylinders surrendered by them would be transferred to the poor who use wood for cooking.
Gujarat leads in implementation of Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) during 2014-15
(ii) Gujarat constructed 60 percent of the household toilets built in the entire country.
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