Mayilsamy Annadurai appointed as Director of ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC)
(i) Mayilsamy Annadurai on 1 April 2015 was appointed as Director of ISRO Satellite Centre
(ii) He took over as Director, ISAC from Dr SK Shivakumar who superannuated on 31 March 2015.
(iii) As the Director of ISAC he will oversee development of satellite technology and implementation of satellite systems for scientific, technological and application missions.
(iv) Before the present appointment he had been the Programme Director of Indian Remote Sensing Satellites (IRS) and Small Satellite Systems (SSS) at the ISAC since 2011.
Union Cabinet approved amendments to Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2013
(i) The Union Cabinet on 7 April 2015 approved amendments to the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2013.
(ii) The bill protects the interests of millions of consumers and curbs malpractices in the real estate sector.
(iii) The decision was taken at the Cabinet meet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
(iv) Through the amendments, the applicability of the Bill has been extended to commercial real estate too.
(v) Ongoing projects that have not received Completion Certificates have also been brought under the purview of the Bill and such projects will need to be registered with the Regulator within three months.
Prime Minister launched MUDRA Bank under PM Jan Dhan Yojana to fund small entrepreneurs
(ii) The Bank was launched under the ambitious Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). The bank will provide credit of up to 10 lakh rupees to small entrepreneurs and act as a regulator for Micro-Finance Institutions (MFIs).
(iii) It was set up through a statutory enactment. It would be responsible for developing and refinancing all Micro-finance Institutions (MFIs) which are in the business of lending to micro / small business entities engaged in manufacturing, trading and service activities.
Dronavalli Harika won bronze in World Women's chess championship
(i) Indian Grandmaster Dronavalli Harika on 6 April 2015 won Bronze medal along with Swedish Grandmaster Pia Cramling in the World Women’s chess championships held at Sochi, Russia.
(ii) In the semi-final clash, Harika lost to Mariya Muzychuk of Ukraine. She got 20000 US dollars for the Bronze medal finish.
(iii) World Women Chess Championship was won by Mariya Muzychuk of Ukraine. She defeated Russian Natalija Pogonina by 2.5 to 1.5 points in the four-game final. While Muzychuk won 60000 US dollars, Pogonina bagged 30000 US dollars.
SBI, HDFC Bank & ICICI Bank take lead in cutting base lending rates
(i) State Bank of IndiaBSE 0.63 % was the first off the block to impress the regulator on Tuesday by reducing its base rate, forcing private sector peers HDFC BankBSE 0.19 % and ICICI BankBSE -0.65 % to follow suit as they took heed of RBI governor Raghuram Rajan's stern message to ensure transmission of monetary policies.
(ii) State Bank of India lowered its base rate by a token 15 basis points — from 10% to 9.85%. HDFC Bank lowered its base rate by 15 bps to 9.85%, while ICICI Bank cut it by 25 bps to 9.75%, the lowest in the industry now.
(iii) SBI, HDFC Bank & ICICI Bank take lead in cutting base lending rates Base rate is the minimum rate at which a bank can lend. One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. SBI's new base rate is effective from April 10, while HDFC Bank's will come into effect from April 13. ICICI Bank said its existing floating rate customers will get the benefit of the new rate from April 10, while new borrowers will get it from July 1.
(iv) HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank have also reduced deposit rates by 25 bps for medium-term deposits of up to Rs 1 crore.
Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry constituted Ajay Shankar committee to simplify clearances
(i) The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry on 8 April 2015 formed an expert committee under the chairmanship of Ajay Shankar to suggest simplified compliance for establishing new industries.
(ii) He is a former Secretary to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
(iii) The Expert Committee has been constituted for examining the possibility of replacing multiple prior permissions with pre-existing regulatory mechanism and to prepare draft legislation for this purpose.
(iv) The committee is directed to submit its report within 30 days.
IPL kicks off with glitzy opening after rain delay
(ii) The event was a little subdued compared to the galas of the previous editions but the cine stars still managed to put up a show, enthralling the thousands of drenched fans who were glued to their seats.
(iii) The cheer was loud for Virat Kohli, louder for Mahendra Singh Dhoni but loudest for their ‘very own’ Gautam Gambhir.
Major power outage sweeps Washington region
(i) Outages stretched from downtown Washington into neighboring Maryland, knocking power out for more than 2,500 people, according to area power companies.
(ii) Most outages were brief, but computer systems were downtown offices and access to Metro trains were disrupted.
(iii) Washington power provider Pepco said the outage was caused by a dip in voltage as a result of an issue with the transmission line.
(iv) "There was never a loss of permanent supply of electricity to customers," Pepco said.
(v) Electricity was restored to normal by mid-afternoon and the company had dispatched teams to look into how it happened.
Gujarat won Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy
(ii) In the final clash, Gujarat defeated Punjab by two wickets.
(iii) Wicketkeeper and opening batsman Smit Patel's unbeaten 50 helped Gujarat to win their second Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
(iv) Gujarat won the trophy in 2012-13 by defeating Punjab in the final by four wickets.
PCI President Rajesh Tomar suspended for mismanagement in Para-Athletics games
(i) The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) on 7 April 2015 suspended its president Rajesh Tomar.
(ii) He was charged with gross mismanagement of the 15th National Para-Athletics championship for differently-abled sports persons.
(iii) The 15th National Para-Athletics championship was held from 22 March to 24 March 2015 in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.
(iv) The decision to suspend Tomar was taken at a meeting of the PCI’s executive committee in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
(v) It was alleged that the participants were accommodated in unfurnished flats with unhygienic facilities in Ghaziabad.
U.S. defence chief seeks deeper ties in first Asia visit
(ii) Mr. Carter, who travels to South Korea later this week, is on his first trip to Asia since becoming Defence Secretary in February.
(iii) Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani said that he and Mr. Carter also agreed that relocating a U.S. Marines base in Okinawa to another part of the island is the “only solution” to closing the existing base, which lies in a heavily populated area.
Subramanian Swamy launches Hindutva outfit
(i) BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Wednesday announced the formation of an organization that would push for Hindutva issues like securing the disputed Ram Mandir area for building a temple by persuading Muslims to accept an alternative site.
(ii) The outfit Virat Hindustan Sangam will empower the youth to articulate the "values" of Hindutva, like scrapping of Article 370, Uniform Civil Code, Ram temple and beef ban, he told a press conference.
(iii) He also batted for scrapping of Article 370, an issue put on the back burner, saying it is in the party's manifesto and it would have to do it by 2019 when next Lok Sabha election is scheduled.
CM to launch Knowledge Mission in Vizag today
(ii) The Knowledge Mission is part of government’s first of its kind initiative in the country to usher education reforms and create entrepreneurs who can generate employment opportunities.
(iii) Its objective is to transform A.P. into one of the three performing States by 2022-23 and as the best State in the country for higher education by 2029.
Indian ice hockey team seeks crowd funding
(i) Short of finances but desperate to participate in the upcoming Asian Championships, India's ice hockey team has sought crowd funding to make the trip to Kuwait and has also managed to get leading industrialist Anand Mahindra's support in the endeavour.
(ii) The team set up a website to seek funds to travel to Kuwait for the event and has found support.
(iii) "I've decided to support these passionate athletes. #SupportIceHockey.Your turn? Chak de barf pe!" tweeted Mahindra.
Snapdeal acquires FreeCharge
(ii) With this acquisition, Snapdeal can offer a wide range of products and services, including financial services, mobile recharge and utility payments with a growing user base of over 40 million.
(iii) FreeCharge, a mobile commerce platform where users can pay their mobile, DTH and utility payments across most major operators, will continue to function as an independent platform and without any changes in its shopping experience.
(iv) The companies will collaborate to offer shopping experience to customers across both the platforms offering an even wider range of products and services.
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