Daily Current Affairs: 28 March 2015

1) Saina Nehwal becomes first Indian woman shuttler to be world no. 1:

--> Saina Nehwal created history on 28 March 2015 as she became the first Indian woman shuttler to attain the world number one ranking after her closest challenger for the spot, Spain's Carolina Marin, lost in the India Open Super Series semifinal in Delhi.

--> Though the official rankings will be out only on 2 April 2015, the 25-year-old Indian has been assured of her ascent to the top owing to Marin's loss in the last-four stage.

--> Prakash Padukone had the distinction of being the No. 1 men's badminton player but Saina became the first Indian woman to achieve this feat.

2) Earth Hour 2015 observed across the World:

--> Ninth edition of Earth Hour was observed on 28 March 2015 across the World organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

--> The event is held worldwide annually encouraging individuals, communities, households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on the last Saturday in March, as a symbol for their commitment to the planet.

--> It was famously started as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia in 2007.

--> Since then it has grown to engage more than 7000 cities and towns worldwide.

3) Isro launched India's 4th navigation satellite IRNSS 1D:

--> The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) on 28 March 2015 successfully launched India’s fourth navigation satellite.

--> The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), in its twenty-ninth flight (PSLV-C27), carried IRNSS-1D.

--> This is the first launch after A S Kiran Kumar took over as chairman of Isro.

--> The launch was earlier scheduled for March 9, 2015, but was postponed to March 28, due to technical reasons.

--> The first satellite IRNSS-1A was launched in July 2013, the second IRNSS-1B in April 2014 and the third on October 16, 2014.

4) Poonam Mahajan becomes first woman president of BFI:

--> For the first time since it came into existence in 1950, the Basketball Federation of India got a woman as its president when Poonam Mahajan was unanimously elected as the head of this 65 year old federation — the governing and controlling body of basketball in India on 28 March 2015.

--> At the Annual General Meeting of the BFI, president of Maharashtra State Basketball Association (MSBA), who is also the BJP national secretary and MP from the Mumbai North-Central Lok Sabha constituency, Poonam was unanimously elected as the new president of BFI for a four-year (2015-2019) term.

--> The 34-year-old Poonam is the youngest president of any national federation in India.

--> In yet another first, another woman, Roopam Harish Sharma — secretary of Delhi Basketball Association — was unanimously elected as the Secretary General of the BFI.

5) Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) sacked founder members Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan:

--> Aam Aadmi Party removed the party’s founder members Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan from its national executive on 28 March 2015.

--> AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal accused the two leaders of working against the party and said, "Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan tried to defeat AAP in Delhi polls."

6) Mizoram Governor Aziz Qureshi sacked:

--> Union Government on 28 March 2015 sacked Aziz Qureshi as the Governor of Mizoram, within three months of transferring him to the north-eastern state from Uttarakhand.

--> He had a term till 2017.

--> Governor of Mizoram and Keshari Nath Tripathi, Governor of West Bengal, would discharge the functions of the Governor of Mizoram, in addition to his own duties,  a communiqué from President Pranab Mukherjee’s office said.

7) Scientist Murty Kambhampati chosen for US presidential award:

--> An Indian-American biology professor is among 15 scientists, who have been selected for a prestigious U.S. presidential award for excellence in the field of science, mathematics and engineering mentoring.

--> Murty S Kambhampati, a professor of biology at Southern University at New Orleans will receive the award at a White House ceremony later this year.

8) Defence ministry cleared airborne warning control system:

--> Defence ministry on 28 March 2015 cleared a proposal for Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) to be developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation.

--> Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) at a meeting cleared the proposal for two AWACS, which includes buying two Airbus A330s, worth Rs.5,113 crore.

--> Decision in this regard was taken by Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.

9) Rajasthan enacted law to ban camel slaughter:

--> Rajasthan Assembly has passed a law that bans the slaughter, trading and unauthorised transportation of camels.

--> Camel had been declared as the State animal last year though there was some opposition from the communities whose livelihoods depend on camel.

10) Social activist Medha Patkar quits Aam Aadmi Party:

--> Social activist Medha Patkar announced on 28 March 2015 that she has decided to resign as primary member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) following the turbulent events in Delhi in which the party ousted a group of senior leaders.

11) Australia captain Michael Clarke announced retirement from ODIs:

--> Australia captain Michael Clarke made a shock announcement on 28 March 2015 by saying Sunday's World Cup final against New Zealand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground would be his last one-day international.

--> Clarke, who turns 34 next month, said it was the right time to retire from one-dayers in order to prolong his Test career and give his successor as ODI captain the opportunity to prepare fully for the next World Cup in England in 2019.