14th March 2015 - Important Current Affairs updates

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International Affairs

• Today (March 14th) is Pi Day. 
• This day is observed on March 14 as the number 3/14 in the month/day date format represents the first three digits of π (3.14).
  
• Modi's Srilanka Visit
• Modi inaugurates the restored North-South Sri Lankan Rail link at Thalaimannar.
• He handed 27000 houses at Jaffna built with Indian assistance to the people of the civil war ravaged Tamil heartland in northern Sri Lanka.
• He also visited Sri Lanka's historical city Anuradhapura and offered prayers at the sacred Bodhi tree.
• The sacred Bodhi tree was planted in Anuradhapura over two thousand years ago (planted in 288 BC) .
• It is a sapling of the original Bodhi tree, under which Lord Gautam Buddha meditated and achieved enlightenment.
• The shrine is one of the most sacred places in Buddhism.
• Srilankan President Maitripala Sirisena accompanied Mr. Modi during the prayer ceremony.
• This is for the first time that an Indian Prime Minister is visiting Anuradhapura. 
• It is also the first time that Sri Lankan President is accompanying a foreign dignitary during such prayers.
• Modi is the second international leader to visit the region after Premier David Cameron in 2013.
• A historic bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi was unveiled at the Parliament Square in London today.
  
• This 9-foot statue was unveiled jointly by British Prime Minister David Cameron and Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
• Gandhi is the first Indian and the only person never to have been in a public office to be honoured with a statue at the Square.
• The statue stands exactly opposite Britain’s Houses of Parliament in the Palace of Westminster and adjacent to iconic leaders like anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela.
• Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is on a visit to Japan to attend an international conference on disaster risk reduction.
• Japan and France signed a deal on military equipment and technology transfers.
• Japan and France also agreed to work toward concluding an Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA), which provides a framework for logistic cooperation between armed forces. 
• Japan already has ACSAs with the United States and Australia.

National Affairs

• Union government is contemplating to relax the criteria of disability.
• Union minister for social justice and empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlot said that government is mulling to reduce the parameter of body deformity percentage from 40 to 25 for disability certificate.
• With a view to strengthen security measures for women in Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party-led government today decided to form a women security force to be deployed at 'dark stretches' across the city which are crime-prone for women.
• Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said they have also decided to deploy marshals in all DTC buses from 6 PM to 12 midnight.

People in News

• Former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed was convicted of a terrorism charge by a criminal court and sentenced to 13 years in prison.
• Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar sits on a 24 hours fast protesting the Land Acquisition Bill.

New Appointments

• Olympic medal winning boxer MC Mary Kom was today appointed as the brand ambassador of the Northeast to showcase the potential of the region which offers Rs. 2.4 trillion business opportunities across various sectors.
• The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (the highest decision making body) today re-elected Bhaiyyaji Joshi as the Sarkaryvaha (general secretary) of the organisation for a third consecutive term till March 2018.
• Dr. Alka Beotra, Scientific Director, National Dope Testing Laboratory, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, has been nominated to the Executive Board of WAADS
• WAADS :  World Association of Anti Doping Scientists.
• IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) today appointed Aarthi Subramanian, its global head of Delivery Excellence Group, as an Executive Director on the Board.
• The appointment is for a three-year period and takes the Board strength to 11, of which six are independent Directors, the city-based company said in a statement.

Science & Technology

• The scientists of National Dairy Research Institute have for the first time successfully cloned a calf, using cells from the urine of a buffalo.
• The female calf has been named Apoorva and is said to be normal and responding well.
• Pakistan successfully tested its first indigenous all-weather armed drone and a laser guided missile.
• Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif attended the ceremony and witnessed the test-fire of the new missile on static and moving targets.
• The drone, named Burraq, has the ability to fly in all types of weather conditions and strike its targets with pinpoint accuracy.

Sports

• World Cup
• India beat Zimbabwe to finish all-win record of six group B league matches in the ICC World Cup Cricket.
• Australia beat Scotland by 7 wickets.

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