Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 22 March 2015

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 22 March 2015

:: National ::

‘Water Man’ Rajendra Singh wins Stockholm Water Prize

  • Eminent environment activist Rajendra Singh, has been conferred the prestigious Stockholm Water Prize this year for his innovative water restoration efforts and extraordinary courage to empower communities in Indian villages.

  • Mr Singh, who is widely popular as the ‘Water Man’, was named the 2015 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate for improving water security in rural India, and for showing extraordinary courage and determination in his quest to improve the living conditions for those most in need, a statement said.

  • Born in 1959, Rajasthan-based Singh for several decades have dedicated himself to defeating drought and empowering communities.

  • Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf, Patron of the Stockholm Water Prize, will present the prize to Mr Singh at a Royal Award Ceremony during 2015 World Water Week here on August 26, it added.

  • In its citation, The Stockholm Water Prize Committee said that “today’s water problems cannot be solved by science or technology alone. They are instead human problems of governance, policy, leadership, and social resilience.”

  • “He has literally brought villages back to life. We need to take Mr Singh’s lessons and actions to heart if we are to achieve sustainable water use in our lifetime.”

  • On receiving the news about the prize, Mr Singh said “this is very encouraging, energising and inspiring news.”

  • “When we started our work, we were only looking at the drinking water crisis and how to solve that. Today our aim is higher. This is the 21st century. This is the century of exploitation, pollution and encroachment. To stop all this, to convert the war on water into peace, that is my life’s goal,” he said.

  • He has already won Ramon Magsaysay award in 2001 for his work on community-based water harvesting and water management.

  • The Stockholm Water Prize is a global award founded in 1991 and presented annually by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) to an individual, organisation or institution for outstanding water-related achievements.

  • The Stockholm Water Prize Laureate receives USD 150,000 and a specially designed sculpture.

Armed forces personnel honoured

  • President Pranab Mukherjee conferred one Kirti Chakra and 11 Shaurya Chakras on armed forces personnel for “displaying conspicuous gallantry, indomitable courage and extreme devotion” to duty. Three of the Shaurya Chakras were given posthumously.

  • The President conferred 43 distinguished service medals — 14 Param Vishisht Seva Medals, three Uttam Yudh Seva Medals and 26 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals — on senior officers.

  • The medals were given away at a defence investiture ceremony at the Durbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

  • The Kirti Chakra was awarded to Captain Jaidev of the Parachute Regiment and with the 3rd Battalion of Rashtriya Rifles, for “displaying dauntless courage and extraordinary valour under heavy fire from terrorists” while confronting three terrorists in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir.

  • Subedar Prakash Chand of Kumaon regiment, Lieutenant-Commander Manoranjan Kumar and Major Abhijai of Corps of Engineers were awarded the Shaurya Chakra posthumously.

  • While Subedar Prakash Chand gave up his life preventing an infiltration bid at the Line of Control in 2013, Major Abhijai was killed while manoeuvring a malfunctioning aircraft away from an inhabited area in Uttar Pradesh in 2014.

  • Lieutenant-Commander Kumar was killed while saving the lives of 94 crew members on board INS Sindhuratna in February last year.

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Hashimpura massacre accused set free (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: International :

Katharine Viner to be the first woman editor-in-chief of The Guardian

  • Katharine Viner will be the next editor-in-chief of The Guardian . She will be the first woman to run the paper and the 12th editor of the publication that was founded in 1882.

  • Ms. Viner’s appointment by the Scott Trust, which owns The Guardian , was greeted warmly by her colleagues and peers. She takes over from Alan Rusbridger, who will take over as Chair of the Scott Trust early next year.

  • The Guardian has reported Ms. Viner as saying she was “honoured” to succeed Mr. Rusbridger. “I intend to lead a media organisation that is bold, challenging, open and engaging. It will be a home for the most ambitious journalism, ideas and events, setting the agenda and reaching out to readers all around the world.”

  • Ms. Viner joined The Guardian in 1997, and according to Liz Forgan, the outgoing chair of the Scott Trust, “has done almost every editorial job in the organisation,” showing herself to be an “inspiring and courageous leader.”

  • Ms. Viner was responsible for launching the newspaper’s Australian operations. She moved to New York last summer to take over as editor-in-chief of The Guardian , U.S.

  • In her candidacy statement to the National Union of Journalists, Ms. Viner flagged 12 journalism essentials that will guide her priorities. They included two basics of modern day journalism that The Guardian has already embraced: “Be instinctively digital”, and “Cherish print, but don’t let it hold us back.”

China, Japan, S. Korea to set up leadership summit

  • The Foreign Ministers of South Korea, China and Japan pledged to set up a trilateral leadership summit at “the earliest” opportunity as they met in Seoul for the first time in nearly three years.

  • The talks were an effort to calm regional tensions stoked by territorial disputes and historical rows with roots in Japan’s colonisation of the Korean peninsula and occupation of parts of China before and during World War II.

  • In a joint statement, South Korean Foreign Minister Yoon Byung-Se and his Chinese and Japanese counterparts, Wang Yi and Fumio Kishida, said they had agreed to work towards a three-way summit of their respective leaders “at the earliest convenient time.”

  • They also declared their “firm opposition” to the development of nuclear weapons on the Korean peninsula — a clear reference to North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.

U.K. schoolboy’s design to grace new £1 coin (Register and Login to read Full News..) 

:: Business and Economy ::

Pharma sector in healthy growth

  • The Indian pharmaceutical sector has seen its fortunes rising recently, and after double-digit growth over the past three months, the market rose 18.9 per cent in February, posting its highest growth in 19 months.

  • AIOCD Pharmasofttech AWACS, a market research firm, said the Indian pharmaceutical market grew 18.9 per cent clocking Rs. 7,194 crore in total revenues.

  • Domestic pharma sector grew 19.4 per cent and multinational pharma 17.6 per cent.

:: Sports ::

Guptill powers Kiwis into semis

  • Martin Guptill’s record-shattering double century and Trent Boult’s four-wicket haul sent New Zealand into the World Cup semi-finals as they trounced the West Indies by 143 runs .

  • Guptill, dropped on four by Marlon Samuels, finished on 237 not out, the highest individual score in the World Cup history and the second highest one-day international innings of all time, as he led New Zealand to 393 for six in 50 overs at Wellington Stadium.

  • Boult backed up the opening batsman’s feat by taking four for 44 to move to the top of the tournament wicket-takers list with 19 as the West Indies folded for 250 in the 31st over.

Simmons to coach Windies (Register and Login to read Full News..)

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Sources: Various News Papers & PIB

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