Daily GK Updates – 24th MARCH 2015
1. Rail ministry launches pre-paid RuPay debit card for ticket bookings
i. Railway passengers can now book their tickets, do shopping and pay service bills using RuPay pre-paid cards, as 
the IRCTC launched the debit card service here today.
ii. The service was launched by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) in collaboration with the Union Bank of India and the National Payment Corporation of India.
iii. “It is a union with your bank for customers’ interest,” Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said here while launching the IRCTC-UBI RuPay pre-paid card.
iv. RuPay is India’s own card payment gateway network like Visa and Master Card, and provides an alternative system for banks to provide a debit card service.
2. Veteran Bollywood actor Shashi Kapoor selected for prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award 2014
i. Veteran Indian actor and film producer Shashi Kapoor, on March 23, 2015 got named for the renowned Dada Saheb Phalke Award.
ii. Shashi Kapoor becomes the third member of his family to receive the prestigious award for the year 2014 after
Prithviraj Kapoor and Raj Kapoor, Shashi . He will be honoured with the award at the62nd National Film Awards Ceremony.
iii. Shashi, who turned 77 in March 2015, is the winner of two National Film Awards including Best Actor for New Delhi Times in 1985.
iv. Shashi debuted as a child actor at the age of four in the plays directed by his father Prithviraj Kapoor and later as a leading man in the 1961 film Dharmputra.
3. India to grow at 7.8% in 2015-16; surpass China: ADB
i. The Indian economy will grow by 7.8 per cent in 2015-16 on the back of improved performance in industry and 
services, says a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report.
ii. This is higher than the 7.4 per cent GDP growth forecast for 2014-15 by this Manila-headquartered development bank in its latest flagship annual economic publication – Asian Development Outlook 2015 (ADO) released on Tuesday.
iii. India’s growth momentum is expected to build to 8.2 per cent in 2016-17, ADB Country Director M.Teresa Kho told reporters here.
iv. Also, India is expected to grow faster than China in the next few years, said ADB Chief Economist Shang Jin-Wei.
4. Supreme Court strikes down Section 66A of IT Act which allowed arrests for objectionable content online
i. The Supreme Court on Tuesday declared Section 66A of Information Technology Act as unconstitutional and struck it down.
ii. This section had been widely misused by police in various states to arrest innocent persons for posting critical comments about social and political issues and political leaders on social networking sites.
iii. The court said such a law hit at the root of liberty and freedom of expression, the two cardinal pillars of democracy. The court said the section has to be erased from the law books as it has gone much beyond the reasonable restrictions put by the Constitution on freedom of speech.
iv. The court, however, upheld the validity of section 69B and the 2011 guidelines for the implementation of the I-T Act that allowed the government to block websites if their content had the potential to create communal disturbance, social disorder or affect India’s relationship with other countries.
5. World Tuberculosis Day 2015 observed globally
i. World Tuberculosis Day (WTD) 2015 was globally observed on 24 March 2015. The theme for the year 2015 is continuation of the 2014 theme Reach the 3 Million.
ii. The main sub-theme and message for the year 2015 is Reach, Treat, Cure Everyone.
iii. The WTD is annually celebrated on 24 March to commemorate the day on which Dr. Robert Koch discovered the cause of tuberculosis, the TB bacillus in 1882.
iv. The day aims to build public awareness about the global epidemic of tuberculosis (TB) and efforts to eliminate the disease.
6. Maharashtra Government announced to make Sale of Gutka a non-bailable offence
i. State Government of Maharashtra on 23 March 2015 announced that those involved in the sale of gutka in the state will be booked under Section 328 of Indian Penal Code (IPC), that is, sale of gutka will be made a non-bailable offence.
ii. The decision was announced by State Food and Drug Minister Girish Bapat in the State Legislative Assembly.
iii. Until now, the manufacture and sale of Gutka was banned in Maharashtra, but was not implemented effectively leading to smuggling of the tobacco-laced chewing products in the state from neighbouring states.
iv. Maharashtra banned the sale of gutka in July 2012.
7. Hyderabadi Salva Fatima first woman Muslim Pilot
i. Syeda Salva Fatima is going to be the first woman pilot from her community in the Old City of Hyderabad to take a commercial pilot course.
ii. She has just received a letter sanctioning Rs. 35.50 lakh from Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao to join Multi-engine Rating and Type Rating Training Course.
iii. A graduate from Dr B R Ambedkar Open University, Fatima is born into a poor family. Her father works in a bakery and husband doing a private job. The State government would release the amount to Telangana State Aviation Academy towards fee for her seat.
8. 62nd National film Awards 2014-15 announced
i. The 62nd National Film Awards 2014 were announced on March 23, 2015, by the Chairpersons of the three juries on Feature Films, Non Feature Films and Best Writing on Cinema.
ii. The Feature Film Central panel was headed by P Bharathiraja a legend in Tamil cinema and National Film Award winner.
iii. The Central panel comprised 11 members including Chairman, the Non Feature jury was headed by Kamal Swarup and comprised of seven members including the Chairman.
iv. The jury on Best Writing on Cinema was headed by Govind Kumar (Madhan) and comprised three members including Chairperson.
Total list of 62nd National film Awards 2014-15
9. ISRO’s Mangalyaan mission extended for another 6 months
i. India’s maiden Mars Orbiter Mission was extended for another six months on Tuesday to further explore the red planet and its atmosphere, a senior official said here.
ii. “As the 1,340 kg Mars Orbiter has sufficient fuel (37 kg) to last longer than it was intended earlier, its mission has been extended for another six months,” the senior official of the Indian space agency told IANS.
iii. The historic mission has completed six months of orbiting the red planet.
iv. India created history by becoming the first country to enter Mars orbit in maiden attempt on September 24, 2014 after a nine-month voyage through the inter-planetary space from Earth.
v. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present on the occasion at the Indian space agency’s Mars Orbiter Mission centre in this tech hub.
1o. Axis Bank launches first-of-its-kind financial planning app based on tablets
i. Axis Bank, India’s third largest private sector bank, has partnered Max Life Insurance, to launch a financial planning app to facilitate better life insurance purchasing experience to customers.
ii. The application is designed to enable policy issuance in less than four hours.
iii. The digital initiative also involves latest analytics tools that will ensure that Axis Bank and Max Life are able to offer customised life insurance solutions after complete understanding of life stage needs of their customers.
iv. Rajiv Anand, Group Executive & Head – Retail Banking, Axis Bank, said, “The launch of this app will further help us in identifying the customer’s needs and constraints and then offer the best product to realise those goals.
11. Madhav Gadgil and Dr. Jane Lubchenco won Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement 2015
i. Indian ecologist Madhav Gadgil and US Scientist Dr. Jane Lubchenco were on 23 March 2015 named for the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement 2015.
ii. They were named for the award for their leadership and engagement in the development of conservation and sustainability policies in the United States, India and internationally.
iii. As the winners of the Tyler Prize, Lubchenco and Gadgil 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.
iv. Madhav Gadgil became the second Indian to receive the award after MS Swaminathan in 1991. He received the award to help dramatically improve crop yields in India.
12. South Africans choked again as Kiwis advance to maiden final with 4-wicket win
i. South Africa-born Grant Elliott`s brilliant 84 not out, capped with a stunning six off the penultimate ball, saw New Zealand to a four-wicket win over the Proteas in a cliffhanger World Cup semi-final at Auckland`s Eden Park.
ii. NewZealand faced a revised target of 298 under the Duckworth/Lewis method after South Africa made 281 for five in 43 overs.
iii. South Africa, struggling to throw off their unwanted “choker” tag, have now failed to win all four World Cup semi-finals they have contested.
iv. Newzealand will now play with the winner of the second semi final between India and Australia.
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