Current Affairs 28th March 2017

Current Affairs 28th March 2017 - Important Points

• Garfield Sobers Trophy awarded to - Ravichandran Ashwin
• Former Punjab minister Gurdev Singh Badal -  passed away
• Who has been elected as Speaker of Punjab Legislative Assembly?- Rana Kanwar Pal Singh
• Vietnam Open International Challenger Badminton Doubles title won by - Satwiksairaj & Chirag
• Who has been appointed president of 'Leadership Conference'?- Vanita Gupta 
• First state to bring banking to remote areas - Odisha

Current Affairs 28th March 2017 - Details

Garfield Sobers Trophy awarded to - Ravichandran Ashwin

 Ravichandran Ashwin was awarded the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy in Dharamsala on 28th March 2017. He was honoured with the trophy for being named the ICC Cricketer of the Year 2016. Ashwin was a popular choice for the prestigious title, because of 48 wickets and 336 runs against his name in eight Tests, and 27 wickets in 19 Twenty20 Internationals during the voting period. Ashwin has become the third Indian and the 12th player overall to win this award.

Interesting Highlights

• The Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy is awarded by the ICC to its chosen world player of the year annually.
• The trophy is manufactured by leading international crystal manufacturer Swarovski.
• This trophy is named after former West Indies cricket captain Sir Garfield Sobers.

Do you know?

Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid was awarded with this trophy for the first time in 2004.

 Former Punjab minister Gurdev Singh Badal -  passed away

Former Punjab minister and senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader, Gurdev Singh Badal passed away at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital in Ludhiana on March 28th, 2017 due to prolonged illness. He was 85 at the time of death.

More about Gurdev Singh Badal 

• He was a senior member of Shiromani Akali Dal and served as the party’s Vice President. 
• He was a five-time Member of Punjab Legislative Assembly, representing the Panjgrain constituency in Jalandhar district. 
• He was also close relative of former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.
• He boycotted the assembly elections along with the SAD in 1992.

 Who has been elected as Speaker of Punjab Legislative Assembly?- Rana Kanwar Pal Singh

 Rana Kanwar Pal Singh was elected as the Speaker of the Punjab Legislative Assembly on 27th March 2017. Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh proposed his name.

Interesting highlights 

• Rana Kanwal Pal Singh is 59-year-old and the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of Punjab.
• He has been elected as an MLA for three times from the Congress party.
• In the 2017 general elections, he won as an MLA from the Anandpur Sahib.

 Vietnam Open International Challenger Badminton Doubles title won by - Satwiksairaj & Chirag

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty of India won the USD 20,000 Vietnam Open International Challenger badminton title on 27th March 2017.

For the young Indian pair, it was their maiden title this season, and fifth victory overall.

Some of the achievements of Indian sports players in 2017 are –

• In March 2017, Indian special athletes won 73 medals in the 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games, which were held in Austria.
• In February 2017, the Young Indian racer Jehan Daruvala won the New Zealand Grand Prix 2017 at the Chris Amon Circuit, and created history by becoming the first and the only Indian to win a Grand Prix in motorsport.
• On 29th January 2017, the 2016 Olympic silver medalist PV Sindhu and Sameer Verma won the men’s singles and the women’s singles titles respectively at the Syed Modi International Badminton Championships.
• Indian ace shuttler Saina Nehwal on 22nd January 2017 won the 2017 Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold Women’s Singles title. To win the title, Nehwal defeated Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong by 22-20, 22-20 in a 46-minute clash.
• On 8th January 2017, Indian tennis players Rohan Bopanna and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan won the 2017 Chennai Open Men’s Doubles title.
• On 8th January 2017, the Indo-American pair Sania Mirza and Bethanie Mattek-Sands won the 2017 Brisbane International Women’s Doubles title.

 Who has been appointed president of 'Leadership Conference'?- Vanita Gupta 

 Indian-American Vanita Gupta has been appointed as president and CEO of ‘The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights'. With this, she has also become first woman to head the prestigious organisation.

Important highlights 

• As the civil rights division head, she oversaw a number of criminal and civil enforcement efforts, which would help in ensuring equal justice and protect the equal opportunity for all during one of the most consequential periods of the division.
• She performed critical work in a number of areas like prosecuting hate crimes,ensuring voting rights for all and human trafficking; 
• She served a Deputy Legal Director and the Director of the Center for Justice at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
• Gupta joined ACLU in 2006 as a staff attorney.

 First state to bring banking to remote areas - Odisha

 Odisha became the first state in the country to carry financial inclusion and extend banking services to remote rural areas through Self Help Groups (SHGs) on 27th March 2017.  

Important Highlights 

• The process will start first with the 1000 remote Gram Panchayats that have no access to banking facilities, 
• and then would be extended to 4000 unbanked panchayats. 
• The arrangement would be of great help to people living in rural areas come under social security schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Bima Surakshya Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana and Atal Pension Yojana.
• It would also help people to get access to services like opening of bank accounts, depositing and withdrawal of cash, use of Rupay Cards, Aadhaar-enabled payments and other banking facilities. 
• It would also help in promoting digital banking.