Daily GK Potion – 4th March 2015

  1. MC Mary Kom Decides to Quit Boxing After Rio Olympics
    • Olympic medallist boxer MC Mary Kom said she has decided to quit boxing after the 2016 Rio Olympic Games as her body would not be able to cope with the rigours of the sport any further.
    • Mary Kom said after the Rio Games she will concentrate on her boxing academy set up in Imphal which is expected to be inaugurated shortly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
      Mary-Kom
  2. Amit Shah unfurls world’s largest Indian tricolour in Faridabad
    • The world’s largest and tallest Indian tricolour was unfurled at Town Park in Faridabad on Tuesday.
    • Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah, Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar and Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor were present on the occasion.
    • The flag weighs 48 kilograms and has a 96 feet by 64 feet dimension.
    • It was hoisted at a height of 250 feet (75 meters), making it the largest and the highest hoisted Indian flag in the world.
    • Another such flag is located at the Central Park in Connaught Place in the heart of New Delhi. This flag is 60 feet in width and 90 feet in length and is hoisted on the top of a 207 feet high mast.
  3. Lok Sabha passes mines and minerals Bill amid protests
    • The Lok Sabha passed The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015, on Tuesday to replace an ordinance promulgated by the Centre in January, amid protests by members from the CPI(M), Trinamool Congress, Biju Janata Dal , Revolutionary Socialist Party and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, among others.
  4. RBI cuts repo rate by 25 bps to 7.5%; keeps CRR unchanged
    • RBI today slashed key policy (repo) rate by 0.25 per cent to 7.5 per cent, the second such surprise rate cut outside regular policy review in less than two months.
    • It has been decided to “reduce the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points from 7.75 per cent to 7.5 per cent with immediate effect,” RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said in a statement.
    • The cut in the policy rate by RBI will help in lowering interest rate for individual and corporate borrowers.
    • It will thus make home, auto and corporate loans cheaper. However, cash reserve ratio has been left unchanged at 4 per cent.
    • Consequently reverse repo rate reduced to 6.5%.
  5. Rani Mukerji to be awarded for highlighting women’s safety
    • Hindi film actress Rani Mukerji is being honoured with an award for her endeavour to highlight the cause of the safety, security and protection of the girl child and women in Pradeep Sarkar’s ” Mardaani”.
    • A panel of jurists and experts have selected Rani for the ‘National Award for the Best Representation of the Cause of Safety, Security and Protection of Women and Girl Child’ by the Institute for Gender Justice.
  6. Indian-American Doctor Selected for Fulbright-Nehru Distinguished Chair
    • A top Indian-American physician has been selected for the prestigious Fulbright-Nehru Distinguished Chair to India.
    • The Institute performs about 400 kidney transplants in a year and has developed innovative transplant tolerance models.
  7. Kirket: Film on Kirti Azad’s life
    • Kirket, a film based on former cricketer Kirti Azad’s life has been launched.
    • The movie, a brainchild of producer Sonu Jha, will also seek to depict the difficulties of Bihar cricket.
    • The film is expected to be released next year.
  8. Bill banning cow-slaughter in Maharashtra gets President’s nod
    • The bill banning the cow slaughter in Maharashtra, pending for the last several years, Monday received the President’s assent.
    • The memorandum said that the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill, 1995, passed during the previous Shiv Sena-BJP regime, was pending for approval for 19 years.
  9. World Wildlife Day observed globally

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