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  • Current Affairs 25th March 2015

    Updated : 25-Mar-2015

    Current Affairs 25th March 2015 - Important Points

    Current Affairs 25th March 2015 - Details

    Which Section has been declared as unconstitutional of Information Technology Act, 2000 by Supreme Court - Section 66A

    On 24th March 2015, The Supreme Court (SC) of India declared Section 66A of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 as unconstitutional. The section authorize law enforcement agencies to arrest those who post objectionable content online and provides for a three-year jail term. It declared Section 66A as unconstitutional because of the following reason :

    It violates the citizens fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression provided in the Constitution of India. The indistinctness of language used in the Section 66A (like the words grossly offensive and of menacing character) is prone to misuse by enforcement authorities.

    It cannot withstand the clear and present danger test and the tendency to create public disorder test as given in Article 19(2) of the Indian Constitution. Article 19(2) provides for approval of law by the state to provide reasonable restrictions on the provisions contained in Article 19(1)(a).

    Which day is observed on 24th March 2015 - World Tuberculosis Day 2015

    Among the important International Current Affairs, On 24th March 2015, World Tuberculosis Day (WTD) 2015 was observed globally. The theme for the year 2015 is continuation of the 2014 theme Reach the 3 Million. Reach, Treat, Cure Everyone was the sub-theme and message for the year 2015.

    The WTD is annually celebrated to commemorate the day on which Dr. Robert Koch discovered the cause of TB, the TB bacillus in 1882. The objective of the day is to build public awareness about the global epidemic of tuberculosis (TB) and efforts to eliminate the disease.

    World TB Day is one of eight official global public health campaigns marked by the World Health Organization (WHO). The other seven includes World Health Day (7 April), World Blood Donor Day (14 June), World Immunization Week (24-30 April), World Malaria Day (25 April), World No Tobacco Day (31 May), World Hepatitis Day (28 July) and World AIDS Day (1 December).

    Who has been awarded with Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement 2015 - Madhav Gadgil and Dr. Jane Lubchenco

    Among the important International Current Affairs, On 23rd March 2015, US Scientist Dr. Jane Lubchenco and Indian ecologist Madhav Gadgil were named for the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement for the year 2015. They were selected for the award for their leadership and engagement in the development of conservation and sustainability policies in India, the United States and internationally.

    As the winners of the Tyler Prize, Gadgil and Lubchenco will share the 200000 US Dollar cash prize and each will receive a gold medallion at a private ceremony in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles on 24 April 2015.

    After MS Swaminathan in 1991, Madhav Gadgil became the second Indian to receive the award. He got the award to help dramatically improve crop yields in India.

    About the Tyler Prize

    The Tyler prize was initiated in 1973. It is awarded by the International Tyler Prize Executive Committee with the administrative support of the University of Southern California.

    It tributes exceptional foresight and dedication in the environmental sciences and policy--qualities that mirror the prescience of the Prize's founders, John and Alice Tyler.

    Union Ministry of Health and Welfare launched Media Campaign for - Mission Indradhanush

    On 23rd March 2015, Union Ministry of Health and Welfare on 23 March 2015 launched Media Campaign for Mission Indradhanush. The media crusade includes a song composed by Bollywood lyricist and scriptwriter Javed Akhtar.

    The drive was launched for creating awareness regarding the importance to fully immunize every child against all vaccine preventable diseases in the country.

    The week-long drive will start on World Health Day on 7 April 2015 and will be repeated on the 7th day of each of the following 4 months. It will include all children less than two years of age and pregnant women.

    About Mission Indradhanush

    Mission Indradhanush represents seven colours of the rainbow, aims to cover all those children by 2020 who are either unvaccinated or are partially vaccinated against seven vaccine preventable diseases which include diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis B.

    To make the mission successful, Health Ministry developed micro plans on the basis of the lessons learned from the Polio eradication towards systems strengthening, vaccine cold chain management, regular surveillance and monitoring of the plans to reach each and every left out and uncovered child.

    Out of 2.7 crore, only 65% children in India receive all necessary vaccine during their first year and this coverage grows by a mere 1% every year. Those children who have remained unvaccinated, 40% are because of lack of information, 32% because of apprehension among their parents arising from a lack of awareness and 28% because their parents do not see the need for it.

    Who has launched the RuPay pre-paid debit cards - Indian Railways

    Among the important National Current Affairs, On 24th March 2015, Indian Railways launched its own RuPay pre-paid card. The card will enable passengers to book their Rail tickets and do shopping using RuPay pre-paid debit cards. Card can be availed from either the Union Bank or the IRCTC.

    The RuPay pre-paid card was initiated by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), the Railways' tourism and catering arm, in collaboration with the Union Bank of India.

    It is India's own card payment gateway network and provides an alternative system for banks to provide debit card service.

    The transaction charge will be 10 rupees per ticket for booking a ticket via card on the IRCTC portal. As an opening present, the transaction charge will not be levied for six months for purchasing tickets on the IRCTC's website. The inceptive value of the card is 10000 rupees.

    62nd National Film Awards announced

    Among the important National Current Affairs, On 24th March 2015, 62nd National Film Awards were announced. The awards are annually presented by Directorate of Film Festivals to honour the best films of the previous in the Indian cinema. The ceremony will be held on 3 May 2015.

    The list of winners

    • Best Actress: Kangana Ranaut for Queen
    • Best Supporting Actor: Bobby Simhaa for Jigarthanda (Tamil)
    • Best Actor: Vijay for Nanu Avanalla Avalu (Kannada)
    • Best Direction: Srijit Mukherji for Chotushkone (Bengali)
    • Best Music Direction: a) Songs - Haider (Hindi); and b) Background Score - Nineteen Eighty Three (Malayalam)
    • Best Female Playback Singer: Uttara Unnikrishanan for song Azhagu in Saivam (Tamil)
    • Best Male Playback Singer: Sukhwinder Singh for song Bismil from Haider
    • Best Choreography: Bismil for Haider
    • Best Supporting Actress: Baljinder Kaur for Pagdi The Honour (Haryanavi)
    • Best Writing on Cinema: Silent Cinema: (1895-1930)- Pasupuleti Purnachandra Rao
    • Best Writing on Cinema: G. Dhananjayan for Pride of Tamil Cinema (Special Mention)
    • Best Costume Designer: Dolly Ahluwalia for Haider

    Best Films in different languages

    • Best Tamil Film: Kuttram Kadithal
    • Best Telugu Film: Chandamama Kathalu
    • Best Rabha Film: Orong
    • Best Haryanvi Film: Pagdi The Honour
    • Best Hindi Film: Queen
    • Best Assamese Film: Othello
    • Best Bengali Film: Nirbashito
    • Best Kannada Film: Harivu
    • Best Konkani Film: Nachom - IA Kumpasar
    • Best Malayalam Film: Ain
    • Best Marathi Film: Killa
    • Best Odiya Film: Aadim Vichar
    • Best Punjabi Film: Punjab 1984

    Best Films in different categories

    • Best Educational Film: Komal & Behind the Glass Wall
    • Best Exploration/Adventure: Film Life Force - India's Western Ghats
    • Best Investigative Film: Phum Shang
    • Best Animation Film: Sound of Joy
    • Best Short Fiction Film: Mitraa
    • Best Film Critic: Tanul Thakur
    • Best Film On Environment Conservation/ Preservation: Ottaal (Malayalam)
    • Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Mary Kom
    • Indira Gandhi Award For Best Debut Film Of A Director: Asha Jaoar Majhe (Bengali)
    • Best Feature Film: Court (Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati & English)

    Name the service launched for direct communication between Government and Citizens - Twitter Samvad

    On 24th March 2015, Union Government launched new platform named Twitter Samwad that facilitates direct communication between citizens, government agencies and leaders. This programme was launched in association with social networking service Twitter.

    Through this, the government bodies can have a direct communication with citizens on a daily basis via Tweets and SMS on their mobile devices. The service was launched in New Delhi by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his meet with Twitter Chief Executive Dick Costolo. The service is pursued to boost the nation's e-governance plans.

    Till now, 16 government offices, including the Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of railways, the Bengaluru Police and the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are participating in Twitter Samvad, which is powered by Bengaluru-based ZipDial, which was recently acquired by Twitter.

    Where did Scientists found the world’s largest asteroid impact zone - Warburton basin, Australia

    Among the important International Current Affairs, In March 2015, in the Warburton Basin of central Australia, Scientists at Australian National University (ANU) found the world’s largest asteroid impact zone. The findings were issued in the March 2015 issue of Journal Tectonophysics. Dr Andrew Glikson from the Australian National University (ANU) School of Archaeology and Anthropology was the lead author of the study.

    As per the study

    • The impact zone is 400-kilometer (250-mile) wide area.
    • It has a high magnetic susceptibility of SI 0.012–0.037 and high-density of 2.9–3.0 gr/cm3 at a depth of 6–10 km at the centre of the anomalies.
    • The shapes are marked by deep-seated magnetic and seismic tomography anomalies.
    • The asteroid broke into two before the collision, with each fragment more than 10km across.
    • The collision occurred at least 300 million years ago, that is, it belongs to pre-Carboniferous era.

    Where did the Gujarat Philatelic Exhibition Gujpex-2015 inaugurated - Ahmedabad

    On 24th March 2015, Gujarat Governor O.P. Kohli inaugurated The thirteenth state level philatelic exhibition of Gujarat postal circle or Gujpex-2015 at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Memorial in Ahmedabad. This exhibition will run from 24th March to 27th March 2015 and is organized by the Gujarat Postal Circle with the active support of philatelic associations of Gujarat.

    The motive of the exhibition is to showcase the beautiful world of stamps to general public especially to children and youth , to promote the hobby of Philately and to provide opportunity to philatelist to show case their valuable collections.

    On this occasion the Governor also started a special cover on River front and released the book Collector’s guide to British India bazaar card- Edwardian and Georgian period written by philatelist Shri Prafful Thakkar.

    Which Indian author has been shortlisted among the 10 finalists for 2015 Man Booker International Prize - Amitav Ghosh

    Among the important International Current Affairs, On 24th March 2015, Indian author Amitav Ghosh was shortlisted for the 2015 Man Booker International Prize. Ghosh is the only Indian among the 10 finalists shortlisted for the prize. 58-year-old, Ghosh was chosen for his contribution to the English language writing. In 2008, he was named for the prize for his work Sea of Poppies but he missed the prize narrowly.

    Writer and academic Professor Marina Warner, chair of the five-person judging panel announced the name of the 10 finalists at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.

    About International Man Booker Prize

    The International Man Booker Prize, found in 2005, is awarded every two years to a living author who has published fiction either originally in English or whose work is generally available in translation in the English language.

    It carries a cash prize of 60000 pounds and is given in recognition of the writer's body of work, instead of any one title. It honours the author for their development, continued creativity, and overall contribution to fiction on the world stage.

    Name the youngest Archer to enter India Book of Records - Dolly Shivani Cherukuri

    Among the important Sports Current Affairs, On 24th March 2015, Three-year-old archer Dolly Shivani Cherukuri of Andhra Pradesh entered the India Book of Records. She undertook the list of records by scoring 388 points in the recurve segment in two distances, five and seven meters, at the Volga Archery Academy in Vijayawada.

    She shot 36 arrows each from five metres and seven metres to score 388 points in presence of judges from the India Book of Records and the Archery Association of India (AAI). India Book of Records adjudicator and chief editor Biswaroop Roy Choudary presented trophy, medal and a certificate to Shivani.

    Shivani is the youngest sister of Cherukuri Lenin, one-time international archery champion and archery coach, who passed away in a road accident in the year 2010. She was upskilled at the Volga Archery Institute run by her father Cherukuri Satyanarayana.

    Who won The Folio Prize 2015 for novel Family Life - Indian-American author Akhil Sharma

    Among the important International Current Affairs, On 23rd March 2015, Indian-American author Akhil Sharma won The Folio Prize 2015 for his novel Family Life. He was presented with the winner trophy by Jean-Marc Rathe of The Folio Society and a cheque of 40000 pound at the awards ceremony held in London.

    His novel named Family Life was one among the eight books shortlisted from 80 works of fiction and was chosen as the best fiction published in the UK in 2014 by the 235 writers and critics who constitute the Folio Academy.

    About The Folio Prize

    The Folio Prize was started in 2014. The prize identifies the best English-language fiction from around the world, published in the United Kingdom (UK) during a given year, regardless of genre, form or the author’s country of origin.

    It is the first major English-language book prize open to writers from all over the world. In 2014, the first Folio Prize was won by American short story writer George Saunders. He won for his story book Tenth of December.

    Who has been honoured with the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of France - Artist Bharti Kher

    Among the important International Current Affairs, On 23rd March 2015, Artist Bharti Kher of India was conferred with the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters. This is the prominent cultural award of France. She was awarded for her contribution in contemporary art landscape.

    Kher's artworks stretch over several mediums like installation, sculpture and painting. The artist is renowned for her remarkable experimentation with bindis that have over time come to be recognised as her signature style. Her An Absence of Assignable Cause is among the finest works from the experiment which is a 14-feet- high sculptural interpretation of the heart of the blue sperm whale.

    The French government prominent Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) is conferred on persons who have distinguished themselves by their creativity in the field of art, culture and literature or for their contribution to the influence of arts in France and throughout the world.