8th March Daily Updates

1) All England Badminton Championship: Saina Nehwal lost to Carolina Marin

i. Saina Nehwal lost the women's singles final of the $500,000 All England Open Badminton Championships to Spain's Carolina on 5 March 2015.

ii. In her attempt to become the first Indian woman to win the prestigious Super Series Premier event, she took off well to win the opening game and lead in the second.

iii. However, a major turnaround saw the reigning World Champion demonstrate pure skill and class to earn a come-from-behind 16-21, 21-14, 21-7 win in an hour and two minutes.

2) International Women’s Day celebrated

i. International Women’s Day was celebrated across the world on 8 March 2015. 

ii. The theme for the year 2015 is Make it Happen and it encourages effective action for advancing and recognizing women.

iii. The day represents an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women while calling for greater equality.

3) Stree Shakti Puraskar and Nari Shakti Puraskar presented

i. Six illustrious women have been awarded 'Stree Shakti Puraskar' and eight women have been awarded 'Nari Shakti Puraskar' for the year 2015, by the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, on the International Women's Day (March 8,2015) at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

ii. The awardees were nominated by the state governments, MPs, VIPs as well as on suo-moto basis which were then selected by a national level Screening Committee.

iii. Stree Shakti Puraskar has been conferred:

       1) Anyay Rahit Zindagian NGO of Goa has been conferred with Devi Ahilyabai Holka Award

       2) Rani Lakshmibai Award has been presented to Seema Prakash of Madhya Pradesh

       3) Astha Sansthan , NGO of Rajasthan has been awarded Rani Rudramma Devi

      4) Chandraprabha Bokey from Maharashtra has been conferred Mata Jijabai Award

      5) Dr. P Bhanumati of Kerala has been presented with Kannagi Award

      6) Sister while Mariola from Rajasthan has been awarded Rani Gaidinliu Zeliang

4) Veteran journalist Vinod Mehta passed away

i. Veteran journalist and author Vinod Mehta passed away after prolonged illness on 8 March 2015.

ii. Mr. Mehta, 72, who had founded the Outlook Magazine and served as its Editor-in-Chief, last held the post of editorial Chairman of the publication.

iii. An eminent political commentator, Mr. Mehta was served as the editor of several publications, including The Pioneer, The Sunday Observer, The Independent and The Indian Post.

5) Kumar Sangakkara announced retirement from Test cricket

i. Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara on 9 March 2015 announced that he will retire from Test cricket “by the end of August” whe Sri Lankahosts India in a three-match series.

ii. The 37-year-old wicketkeeper has already announced retirement from One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty-20 cricket.

iii. In 130 Tests, Sangakkara has 12,203 runs, which makes him the fifth highest scorer. Only Sachin Tendulkar (15,921), Ricky Ponting (13,378), Jacques Kallis (13,289) and Rahul Dravid (13,288) are above him in the elite list.

6) India-Nepal Combined Exercise Surya Kiran VIII concluded

i.  The 14-day-long 8th India-Nepal Combined Exercise Surya Kiran VIII concluded on 8 March 2015 at Salijhandi in Nepal.

ii. The exercise carried out under the support of Nepalese Army aimed to create a greater understanding between Indian Army & Nepalese Army and develop interoperability in Jungle Warfare and Counter Terrorism operations in mountainous terrain.

7) 'Aapki Beti Humari Beti' scheme launched in Haryana

i. Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on 8 March 2015 launched a scheme for girl child - 'Aapki Beti Humari Beti' - with an aim to combat the problem of declining child sex ratio in the state.

ii. The scheme was announced at a state-level function on the occasion of International Women's Day at Panchkula.

iii. 'Aapki Beti Humari Beti' will be implemented in both rural and urban areas of the state covering first-born girl child of Scheduled Caste (SC) and Below Poverty Line (BPL) families and all second girl child born on or after January 22, 2015 of all families.

iv. Under this scheme, the first girl child born on or after January 22, 2015, in SC and BPL families will be eligible to receive Rs 21,000.

v. Khattar also launched 'Haryana Kanya Kosh' for the welfare and development of girl child and women in the state.

8) Kerala Tourism won Golden Gate award in Germany

i. Kerala Tourism's popular global multimedia campaign to promote the backwaters has won the Golden Gate award at the Internationale Tourismus-Borse Berlin (ITB-Berlin) - 2015, the world's leading travel trade event.

9) Arun Singh appointed India's ambassador to US

i. Arun Singh has been appointed as India’s ambassador to the U.S. succeeding S. Jaishankar, who was named the Foreign Secretary in January, the External Affairs Ministry announced on 8 March 2015.

ii. Currently India’s Ambassador to France, the 1979-batch IFS officer is expected to take up his assignment shortly, the Ministry said