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Home , 87th Academy Awards, Debbie Hockley, Delhi Waveriders

1st February to 15th February

AWARDS & HONOURS

The 68th British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, were held on 8 February 2015 at the in London, to honour the best British and international contributions to film in 2014. Presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), accolades are handed out for the best in feature-length film and documentaries of any nationality, that were screened at British cinemas during 2014. Winners of the 68th Annual BAFTA Awards:-

Best Film: Boyhood.

Outstanding British Film: The Theory of Everything.

Best Director: (Boyhood).

Best Actor: (The Theory of Everything).

Best Actress: ().

Best Supporting Actor: K. Simmons (Whiplash).

Best Supporting Actress: Julianne Moore (Still Alice).

Best Original Screenplay: .

Best Adapted Screenplay: The Theory of Everything.

Best Editing: Whiplash.

Best Cinematography: (Birdman).

Best Film Not in the English Language: Ida.

Best Animated Film: .

Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema: BBC Films.

Most awards: The Grand Budapest Hotel (5).

Most nominations: The Grand Budapest Hotel (11).

Elite economist and Noble laureate Professor Amartya Sen has been awarded the newly Charleston-EFG John Maynard Keynes Prize for the year 2015. Amartya Sen is regarded as one of the elite thinkers and policy makers in the field of famine, poverty, economic liberalization, social justice etc. He has had a profound impact on the formation of development policy throughout the world. Sen currently is the Professor of Philosophy and Economics at the Harvard University in US. The Charleston -EFG John Maynard Keynes Prize was announced on May 23, 2015 by Director of Charleston trust. This global prize aims to honour an individual for exceptional and inter disciplinary talents in the spirit of famous British Economist John Maynard Keynes work and legacy.

Two women scientists, Tessy Thomas and Geeta Varadan, were chosen as joint recipients of Dr. Y. Nayudamma Memorial Award 2014 for their significant contributions in the fields of missile technology and remote sensing. This award was established in 1986 in memory of distinguished chemical scientist and internationally renowned leather technologist Yelavarthy Nayudamma. It is conferred annually on persons who have made important contributions to the development of science and technology in the country.

The 57th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2015, in , California. Newcomer British artist Sam Smith won four awards, including Best New Artist, and Record and Song of the Year for "Stay with Me" from the album In the Lonely Hour, which won for Best Vocal Album. Beck's album Morning Phase was named Album of the Year. Both Pharrell Williams and Beyoncé took three honors; with her wins, Beyoncé became the second-most-honored female musician in Grammy history following Alison Krauss. Lifetime Achievement awards were given to the Bee Gees, George Harrison, Pierre Boulez, Buddy Guy, and Flaco Jimenez. In all, 83 Grammy Awards were presented, one more than in 2014. This year two Indians won Grammy Awards. They are - (i) Ricky Kej- His collaborated album Winds of Samsara won the Best New Age Album Trophy. (ii) Neela Vaswani- She won award in Children’s Album category for her album I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up For Education and Changed the World (Malala Yousafzai).

Dr. Zakir A Naik, a non-Arabic Indian Islamic scholar and a renowned authority on comparative religion, won the prestigious King Faisal International Prize for his service to Islam. The prize consists of a handwritten Arabic certificate summarizing the laureate's work, a commemorative 24-carat, 200-gram gold medal and a cash award of 750,000 Saudi Riyal (USD 199,901). Naik, 49, is the founder of the Islamic Research Foundation of and a renowned authority on comparative religion. Two internationally acclaimed scholars of chemistry, Professor Omar Mwannes Yaghi from the US and Professor Michael Gratzel from Switzerland, were declared co-winners of the prize in science category (chemistry). The award for Islamic studies went to Dr Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman Kaki, a consultant at Madinah Development Authority. Prof Jeffrey Ivan Gordon from the US was declared winner of the prize in medicine. The co-winners in any category share the monetary grant. The co-winner in science category, Yaghi, has made seminal contributions in the field of metal organic frameworks.

Filmmaker Nagesh Kukunoor's film "Dhanak" bagged The Grand Prix of the Generation Kplus International Jury for the best feature-length film and also received a special mention at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival.

Distinguished journalist Vinod Mehta was conferred Uttar Pradesh's highest civilian award Yash Bharti by the State government. Yash Bharti Samman is conferred by the Uttar Pradesh Government for excellence in literature, fine arts, folk and classical music and sports. The award was instituted by Mulayam Singh Yadav Government in 1994. It was discontinued by the Bahujan Samaj Party Government from 2007-2013, but later it was revived after a gap of six years. Vinod Mehta is one of India’s most influential editors and has launched a number of successful publications such as the Sunday Observer, Indian Post, The Independent, The Pioneer ( edition) and Outlook.

BUSINESS & CORPORATE

The Rajasthan Government and Adani Enterprises Ltd., signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for developing solar parks with a capacity of 10,000 MW in the next ten years.

Jack Ma-owned Alibaba, the largest e-tailer in the world, will acquire 25-per cent stake in One97 Communications, the parent of mobile commerce firm Paytm, as the Chinese e-commerce giant makes its debut in the rapidly expanding m-commerce space in India. Ant Financial Services, part of the Alibaba Group, said that it has entered in a strategic agreement to acquire 25-per cent stake in One97 to support the growth of mobile payment and commerce platform in India. Paytm will use the funds to grow its mobile payment ecosystem and further boost its commerce user base. The deal represents Ant Financial's first-ever investment in an Indian company. Ant Financial will also provide Paytm with strategic and technical support for its business. Established in October 2014, Ant Financial Services Group focusses on small and micro enterprises and consumers.It operates business like Alipay, Yu'e Bao, Zhao Cai Bao and Ant Credit and Alipay Wallet- largest mobile payment service provider in China with over 190 million users.

Facebook tied-up with Reliance Communications to launch the internet.org app, an initiative to provide internet access to those who don't have it, along with the free basic services. This is the first time the Internet.org app will be available in the region. Internet.org provides access to popular websites and services with zero data charges in order to make it easier for people to access the internet, across both 2G and 3G platform.

ICICI Bank, India’s largest private sector bank, launched first digital Bank in the country, “Pockets’, on a mobile phone. Anyone, including those who are not customers of ICICI Bank, can easily download the e-wallet from Google Playstore, fund it from any bank account in the country and start transacting immediately. This wallet uses a virtual Visa card which enables the users to transact on any website or mobile application in India. Customers can also request for a physical card to use it at any retail outlet, ICICI Bank said. The wallet allows users to instantly send money to any e-mail id, mobile number, friends on Facebook and bank account. The users can pay bills, recharge mobiles, book movie tickets, order food, send physical and e-gifts, split and share expenses with friends by using this e-wallet. The limit for transaction is of worth Rs. 10,000, if it is not linked to a savings account of the ICICI Bank. Users can choose to add a zero-balance savings account to the wallet, which will allow them to earn interest on their idle money. The universal wallet and the savings account are the first two products to be launched as part of the ‘Pockets’ digital bank. These products come with a new youth centric look and feel. ICICI Bank said that the wallet comes with best-in-class security features. It allows only one registration for a unique mobile number and requires mandatory authentication with user id and password for every login, among others.

ICICI Bank has tied up with UAE Exchange to offer an instant bank transfer service to the Indians residing in the Gulf nation. ’FLASH remit’ service started by the bank enables customers to conveniently send money instantly to their beneficiaries in India in Indian Rupees. With over 3,800 branches in India, ICICI Bank has the largest branch network among private sector banks in the country. UAE Exchange currently it has over 750 branches across 32 countries, and is the world’s largest networked remittance brand. Its strong correspondent banking relationship, with close to 150 global banks, adds to the might.

Software services exporter Infosys Limited announced to acquire US-based automation technology firm Panaya Inc. for 1200 crore rupees in cash. Panaya was originally founded in 2005 in Israel.

Homegrown handset maker, Micromax has become India's biggest smartphone vendor, replacing Korean electronics giant Samsung, as per research firm analysis. In the recently concluded October-December 2014 quarter, the Gurgaon-headquartered firm controlled 22% market share in smartphones shipments in India -- one of the world's largest market for handsets -- beating Samsung which had 20% market share. Micromax's flagship line of products has very effectively targeted the $150-200 (Rs 9,000-12,000) segment with products like Canvas Nitro and Canvas Hue, it added. The top four players in Q4 2014 in India by units shipped were Micromax, Samsung, Karbonn and Lava. Overall, the Indian market experienced very strong annual growth of 90%, with 21.6 million units shipped in the fourth quarter, analysis said.

Parle Products, one of India’s pioneers in the biscuit and confectionery manufacturing segment has announced the launch of its nationwide Litter Free TV Campaign. Parle Products is a brand that generates disposable biscuit, candy and chips “wrappers” and in many instances consumers toss them on the streets and other public areas without a second thought. Parle Products has taken the initiative to set the course for our community and raise awareness with the positive messaging of its Litter Free Campaign. Armed with this objective, Parle Products has launched the first phase of the Litter Free campaign across the country through a series of Television Commercials.

Biopharmaceutical Company Pfizer Inc. has agreed to acquire Hospira Inc., a provider of injectable drugs, infusion technology and biosimilars, for about $17 billion -- or $90 per share -- the two companies announced. Pfizer, based in New York, makes medicines and vaccines as well as health-care products. Hospira, headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois, manufactures generic sterile injectables and biosimilars. Its sterile injectables line includes injectables for acute care and oncology.

Star India Pvt. Ltd, a unit of 21st Century Fox, announced the acquisition of Telugu television channel network Maa Television Network Ltd, as the company expands its presence in the movies and general entertainment genre across India. The deal marks Star’s biggest acquisition in India and the company now have channels in six Indian languages. It also has a near-stranglehold over the sports broadcasting market in India.

COMMITTEES / SCHEMES / POLICIES

 The government made it clear that India’s liability law will not be amended as it released the understanding reached with the U.S. recently under which foreign suppliers of equipment for the nuclear reactors cannot be sued by the victims in case of a mishap. The Foreign suppliers of the reactors cannot be sued for the damages by victims of a nuclear accident but can be held liable by the operator who has the right of recourse that could be operationalised through the contract between the operator and the supplier.

 The Union Home Ministry announced a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) for re- investigation of the 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases, mainly in Delhi and other States. The SIT will look into all serious criminal cases relating to the riots, examine evidence and even re-open cases and file charge sheets in the courts concerned. It has been given six months to complete its work, including filing of charge sheets in nearly three-decade old cases. The SIT will be headed by Pramod Asthana, an IPS officer of 1986 batch. It will have Rakesh Kapoor, a retired district and session’s judge and Kumar Gyanesh, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police in Delhi Police as members. The government had recently provided additional Rs. 5 lakh compensation to the kin of Sikhs killed in the 1984 riots, which claimed 3,325 persons. Delhi alone accounted for 2,733 and the rest were killed in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and other States.

 The Union Government constituted a High Level Panel to suggest a framework to assess Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities undertaken by companies under the Companies Act, 2013. The panel will be headed by former Union Home Secretary Anil Baijal. It will have members from the Department of Public Enterprises and Corporate Affairs Ministry.

 Heeding the long pending demand of states, Prime Minister Narendra Modi formed a sub-group of chief ministers under NITI Aayog to suggest further rationalisation of 66 centrally funded schemes. This could prune the number of programmes, transfer some of them to the states and even end the not so popular ones. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government also set up sub-groups on skill development and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The 14th Finance Commission headed by former Reserve Bank of India Governor YV Reddy had proposed a significant increase in the quantum of funds that the Centre gives to the states as their share of central tax revenue as well as a major jump in the amount that they can spend on their own without being accountable to the Centre. The Centre's assistance to states for the 66 schemes was Rs 3.38 lakh crore in 2014-15, more than double the amount of Rs 1.36 lakh crore in 2013- 14. Flagship central schemes include Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme, Bharat Nirman, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana. In the 11th Plan period (2007-12), the provision for central schemes stood at over Rs 6.6 lakh crore.

 The Minister of Health and family welfare J P Nadda launched the national deworming initiative on the eve of the National deworming day at Jaipur on February 9, 2015. This is a path breaking initiative focused primarily to reduce the threat of parasitic worm infections and other forms of stomach worms seen in millions of children across the nation. The Union Minister declared that after making India polio free the target is to make India worm free by deworming all pre-school and school age children between the ages of 1 to 19 years.

 The model villages adopted by the Members of Parliament under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) will now get rural roads under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) on priority basis. Similarly, in these model villages, rural roads constructed or upgraded under PMGSY would have to be maintained by the State Governments up to prescribed standards and even beyond the built in period of first five years. A decision to issue these amended guidelines was taken in a meeting chaired by Union Minister for Rural Development. This is in accordance with the Cabinet decision wherein all ministries/Departments of the Central Government have been asked to take necessary action to make suitable changes in the guidelines of their respective Central sector and Centrally Sponsored schemes/programmes to enable priority to be given to the Gram Panchayats selected under Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana.

ECONOMY & FINANCE

 CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL) signed an MoU with Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd (SPMCIL) for research and technological expertise for testing bank notes and security documents. The MoU will help research and exchange of technical expertise in material sciences and testing capabilities for bank notes, security documents and coins. The MoU seeks to explore printing innovations.

 The government has decided to infuse Rs. 6,990 crore in nine public sector banks (PSBs) out of the current year’s budget to strengthen their capital base. The capital infusion has been done on the basis of their efficiency in performance. The country’s top lender State Bank of India got the maximum of Rs. 2,970 crore, followed by Bank of Baroda (Rs. 1,260 crore), Punjab National Bank (Rs. 870 crore), Canara Bank (Rs.570 crore) and Syndicate Bank (Rs. 460 crore). To infuse capital on efficiency parameters, weighted average of return on assets (ROA) for all PSBs for last three years was put together and all PSBs, which were above the average, were considered for capital infusion. The second parameter that was considered was return on equity (ROE) for these banks during the last financial year, and similarly those performing better than average have been rewarded. So far, the Union government was infusing capital to those banks hit by equity erosion. The other four banks chosen for capital infusion include Allahabad Bank (Rs. 320 crore), Indian Bank (Rs. 280 crore), Dena Bank (Rs. 140 crore) and Andhra Bank (Rs. 120 crore).

 The Supreme Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), saying these regulatory bodies cannot turn a “blind eye” to the multi-crore chit-fund scam across several states. The court referred to its May 9 last year’s order, directing the agency to probe the duping of thousands of people of over Rs 10,000 crore through several Ponzi schemes in West Bengal, Odisha and Assam. So far, three Trinamool Congress (TMC) functionaries — West Bengal Transport Minister Madan Mitra, TMC Member of Parliament Srinjoy Bose and Kunal Ghosh — have been arrested in the Saradha chit-fund scam.

 The Reserve Bank of India announced that soon the currency notes of one rupees denomination will be in circulation. The notes will be printed by the Government of India. RBI in its release informed that these currency notes are legal tender as provided in The Coinage Act 2011.

 Telecom regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released a report on subscriber base. India telecom subscriber base reaches all-time high at 970 million at the end of December 2014.The number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 964.20 million at the end of November 2014 to 970.97 million at the end of December 2014. This surpasses the previous record of 965.5 million reached in June 2012. The total broadband subscribers base increased by 4.28% on monthly basis to 85.7 million at the end of December 2014 from 82 million in November 2014.Bharti Airtel has maintained its leadership with 217.2 million mobile customers. It is followed by Vodafone with 178.6 million mobile subscribers, Idea Cellular 150.5 million, Reliance Communications 106.2 million, BSNL 81.3 million, Aircel 78.6 million, Tata Teleservices 66.1 million and Uninor 43.6 million.

 The Reporters without Borders (RWB) released the World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) 2015. In the WPFI 2015, India was placed at 136th position out of 180 nations that were surveyed worldwide in terms of press freedom. In the top of the list were three Scandinavian countries: Finland on the 1st position followed by Norway and Denmark. At the other end of the scale, Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea were the worst performers securing the last places in the index. The 2015 World Press Freedom Index

highlights the worldwide deterioration in freedom of information in 2014. World Press Freedom Index is produced by France-based international non-governmental organization Reporters without Borders (RWB). WPFI aims to promote and defends freedom of information and freedom of the press. The WPFI ranks the performance of countries according to index calculated based upon various parameters. These parameters include media pluralism and independence, respect for the safety and freedom of journalists and the legislative, institutional and infrastructural environment in which the media operate.

 The 7th round of India Kenya Joint Trade Committee (JTC) meet was held in on 12 February 2015. During the meet, the two sides reviewed bilateral trade between the two nations and reiterated their commitment towards strengthening mutually beneficial relationship. The two sides agreed to enhance cooperation in the fields of bilateral investment, infrastructure, SMEs, agriculture, health, energy, skill development & entrepreneurship, pharmaceuticals and tourism. The two also agreed to ensure enhancement of bilateral trade and mutual cooperation, the two sides also agreed to meet often. The 8th meeting of the Joint Trade Committee would be held in Nairobi.

 Alstom has bagged a contract worth Euro 25 million (approximately Rs. 177 crore) from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to provide track work on the new line 7 of Delhi Metro by the end of 2016. It is part of the Delhi Metro Phase III project to extend the metro network from 6 to 8 lines. With the two new lines expected to open in early 2017, the number of commuters is projected to go up from 3 million currently to about 4 million. Alstom is in charge of the supply, installation, testing and commissioning of 30 km of concrete and ballast tracks.

 National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has announced Rs. 1, 14, 927 crore credit plan for agriculture in Rajasthan for fiscal 2015-16 for all 33 districts in the state.

 Ratnakar Bank Ltd. has signed an agreement with technology major IBM to use the latter’s Mobile First Platform to build, deploy and manage its applications, aimed at improving the overall customer experience.

 Reliance Industries has teamed up with the nation’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI) to apply for a payments bank licence.

PEOPLE IN NEWS

US President Barack Obama has announced to appoint top Indian- American CEO Ajay Banga to a key administration position. Banga, chairman of the US India Business Council, has been appointed as member of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations. Banga, an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, is president and CEO of MasterCard, a position he has held since 2009.

Capping a momentous journey, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal took oath as the eighth Chief Minister of Delhi, promising to make Delhi the first corruption-free state and act against communal elements. Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung administered the oath of office and secrecy to Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and five other ministers exactly an year after Kejriwal quit after a short 49-days regime.

Veteran Marathi theatre artist and film actor Atmaram Bhende passed away in Pune at the age of 91.He was considered the doyen of Marathi experimental theatre and had graced the Marathi stage for more than sixty years.

The US Senate appointed Ashton B Carter as the Defense Secretary. He replaced Chuck Hagel. Carter will be the United States’ 25th and Obama's fourth defense secretary in six years after Hagel, Panetta and Robert Gates.

Balasubramaniam Venkataramani has been appointed as the new MD & CEO of Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX). Prior to this appointment B Venkataramani was Chief Business Officer of Bombay Stock Exchange(BSE).The top post at MCX was lying vacant since May 2014.

Designer of bullet train, Kenji Ekuan of Japan died at the age of 85.

Renowned Telugu novelist Kesava Reddy passed away in Nizamabad district of Telangana at the age of 68.He was well known for his writings that had addressed many important social problems in India like poverty, prejudices and superstitions.

LC Goyal has taken charge as the Union Home Secretary. He replaced Anil Goswami who had resigned following a controversy over the arrest of former Union Minister Matang Singh in connection with the Saradha chit fund scam.

Acclaimed Indian sculptor and artist Mrinalini Mukherjee passed away in New Delhi at the age of 65.She was best known for her sculptures, crafted using knotted hemp ropes and cast bronzes.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Nickolay Mladenov of Bulgaria as new Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority. He will oversee the ongoing UN-backed reconstruction efforts in Gaza, undertaken by UN, after thousands of people were displaced in July 2014 during the month long Israel-Palestinian conflict.

The Janta Dal United (JDU) has replaced their leader Jitan Ram Manjhi with Nitish Kumar.

Senior NCP leader R R Patil, who was Maharashtra’s Home Minister during the 26/11 terror attacks, died at the age of 57. The NCP leader, a six-term MLA from Tasgaon in Sangli district, was admired for his clean image and easy accessibility, and was among the top rung leaders of NCP.

Sergio Mattarella, 73, a Constitutional Court Judge was elected as the President of Italy. He succeeded Giorgio Napolitano.

Loksabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan's name was included in LIMCA book of records as she is the only woman in India to represent the same constituency on the same party ticket eight times in a row.

The President of Republic of Singapore Dr. Tony Tan Keng Yam, paid a State Visit to India from 8-11 February, 2015.His visit highlighted the celebrations on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Singapore.

Greek Parliament has elected Zoe Konstantopoulou, a member of the left wing party Syriza as its new President. She is second woman from Greek to be President of country after Anna Psarouda-Benaki who was elected in 2004. Zoe Konstantopoulou is also the youngest ever elected as President of the Greek Parliament.

SPORTS

 Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri won the Malaysian Open 2015.With this win Anirban Lahiri secured his breakthrough European Tour title.In the final 4th round he defeated Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger.

 The International Council (ICC) confirmed that following remedial work and retests, the bowling actions of Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal and Sohag Gazi of Bangladesh had been found to be legal, and the players can now resume bowling in international cricket.

 Malaysia’s female professional squash player Nicol David has set a new record by topping the world squash rankings for 106th month. She is first Asian to achieve this milestone and has overtaken previous 105th month record set by four time world champion Susan Devoy from New Zealand which was set in February 1993.

 BCCI President-in-exile N Srinivasan led India Cements' board approved transfer of IPL team CSK to a wholly-owned subsidiary Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd. Srinivasan, who has been barred by the Supreme Court from contesting any polls of the board till he gave up ownership of the IPL team, did not specify who would be at the helm of Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd and details of its main functionaries.

 Ammu the Great Hornbill, the cute mascot of the 35th National Games, has winged her way into the Limca Book of Records. Limca Book’s 2015 Special Literature Edition has listed ‘Kalikkunna Kuttikalkkayi Bharatham Kathirikkunnu’ (India Awaits Children Who Play), the play starring Ammu, as the play about a mascot that has been staged in the most number of schools. The mascot was designed by Rakesh. The play scripted and directed by Anil Karette and enacted by a team of police officers premiered at the Sarvodaya School, Nalanchira, on September 30, 2013.The play was intended to encourage students to take up sports along with their academic pursuits.

 The Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Sarbananda Sonowal called upon the corporate houses to extend their CSR support to make India the super power in the world of sports. The Minister said, Indian Companies Act 2009 has now been suitably revised to include various Sports Promotion Schemes under its Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR). He said, his Ministry has also suitably revised the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar which was introduced to encourage involvement of corporate and sports promotion boards in the development of sports in the country. According to the revised plan, Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar scheme, which was introduced in 2009, will now be given in four categories - Identification and nurturing of budding talent, Encouragement of sports through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Employment of sportspersons and sports welfare measures and Sports for Development. He said, in the revised Scheme, eligibility criteria for all four categories have been prescribed. As 'Training to promote rural sports, nationally recognized sports, Paralympics sports and Olympic sports' have been included in the Schedule VII of the Companies Act 2013.

MISCELLANEOUS

World

 Hurun Report released the Hurun Global Rich List 2015, a ranking of the US dollar billionaires currently found in the world. "New Energy King" Li Hejun, 48, is now the richest man in China and Bill Gates takes the top spot in the world, according to the report. Li is the board Chairman and CEO of Hanergy Holdings Group Limited, a Beijing-based thin-film photovoltaic solar panel manufacturer. The combined net worth of the Chinese billionaires is US$1.2 trillion (S$1.61 trillion). China is the number 1 in the world in terms of most self-made billionaires–90 percent of all the Chinese billionaires are self-made. Wealth calculations are a snapshot of January 17, 2015. This is the fourth year that Hurun Report has released a ranking of the dollar billionaires in the world.

 Foreign Ministers of India, Russia and China released a joint communiqué after 13th meet of Foreign Ministers held in Beijing, China. They emphasised to maintain international and regional peace and stability and promoting global economic growth and prosperity.

 Pakistan successfully test-fired a new indigenously developed cruise missile - The Ra'ad -on February2, 2015. With the range of 350 km, it is capable of delivering nuclear and conventional warheads up to, bringing many Indian cities under its range.

 Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced an anti-terror law criminalising public terror threats and giving more teeth to CSIS. This is the 2nd piece of legislation introduced since the October 2014 terrorist attack in Ottawa and Quebec.

 Japan, on 1 February 2015, successfully launched the Information Gathering Satellite, a spy satellite. The Satellite was launched from the Tanegashima Space Centre in the Kagoshima Prefecture in the south of Japan. The satellite was taken into orbit by the H-2A (H-IIA) carrier rocket. The satellite carries a sophisticated radar payload designed to survey the globe night and day in all weather conditions from an orbit about 300 miles above Earth.

 China has over taken the US as the top destination for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for the first time since 2003 as per the data released by the United Nations Conference of Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

India

 The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won the Delhi Assembly Election 2015 by record a landslide victory and secured 67 out of the 70 seats.

 Chhattisgarh was felicitated for emerging as one of the best performing states in the renewable energy segment. The state was adjudged for the award on the basis of criteria fixed by 13th Finance Commission. Solar power is being used in 600 primary health centre, 100 community health centre, 350 police stations, 1800 tribal hostels, 27 collect orates and 1,700 villages of the state. In addition, various villages are using 3,000 solar power pumps for drinking water and 1,500 for irrigation purpose.

 The Andhra Pradesh government gave nod to some significant solar and wind energy policies. The single window system, easy permissions and industry like treatment for rendering clearances are some of the striking features among the policies approved by the ministry. The new policy is aimed to place Andhra Pradesh in the leading position of highest solar energy producing states of India within the next five years.

 Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and girl students of Bihar will be granted free education till Post Graduation in the state. The decision was made in meeting of the state cabinet of Bihar Government.

 Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister has launched the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS) project in state. It will help in connecting 177 sites and 114 police stations in the state besides 13 district headquarters, 26 sub-divisional police officers and three police ranges along with state crime records bureau.

16th February to 28th February AWARDS & HONOURS

The 87th ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) was held at the in , Los Angeles. The Academy Awards (commonly referred as Oscars) were presented in twenty four categories. The prominent ones are;

Best Picture- Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).

Best Actor- Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything).

Best Actress- Julianne Moore (Still Alice).

Best Supporting Actor- J. K. Simmons (Whiplash).

Best Supporting Actress- (Boyhood).

Best Director- Alejandro G. Iñárritu for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).

Best Original Screenplay- Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).

Best Adapted Screenplay- .

Best Original Song- Glory (Selma).

Best Original Score- The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Best Animated Feature Film- Big Hero 6

Delhi Airport was adjudged the best, among the world's most performing airports in the 25-40 million passengers per annum category by the Airport Council International (ACI), with Airport also figuring in the top five list. Indira Gandhi International Airport won the annual Airport Service Quality (ASQ) award, which recognizes and rewards the best airports in the world based on Geneva-based ACI's ASQ passenger satisfaction survey. Both Delhi's IGI and Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International (CSI) airports are operated under a joint venture between Airports Authority of India (AAI) and private firms. IGI is by Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), a joint venture between the AAI and GMR Group-led consortium, while the CSI is run by Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), a joint venture between the AAI and GVK group-led consortium.

An Indian-American, who developed an environment friendly field analyser for checking toxic arsenic levels in water, was awarded a prestigious award for his special contribution in the field of chemistry. Purnendu Dasgupta, a Jenkins Garrett professor of chemistry at The University of Texas at Arlington, was awarded the 2015 American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry J. Calvin Giddings Award. The national award recognises a scientist, who has enhanced the professional development of analytical chemistry students, developed and published innovative experiments, designed and improved equipment or teaching labs and published influential textbooks or significant articles on teaching analytical chemistry.

A retired judge of either Supreme Court or High Court will now head the Selection Committee for Arjuna Awards as the government has revised the schemes of various awards it present to sports persons. From now onwards, a sportsperson of eminence or a sports administrator or sports expert belonging to para sports will also be a member of Arjuna Awards’ selection committee. As per the amendments brought in by the government, not more

than one sportsperson of eminence or coach from a particular sporting discipline shall be a member of the Selection Committee. The step has been taken to avoid any bias in favour of a particular discipline.

Clemson University honored chairman emeritus of India’s Tata Motors Ratan Tata with an honorary Doctorate of Automotive Engineering. Tata was the chairman of the major Tata companies, including Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Power, Tata Global Beverages, Tata Chemicals, Indian Hotels and Tata Teleservices. During his tenure, the group’s revenues grew tremendously and totaled over $100 billion in 2011-12.

44 Armoured Regiment of Indian Army was honoured with President’s Standards for its meritorious and distinguished service to the nation for more than three decades. The honour was bestowed on 44 Armoured Regiment by Chief of the Army Staff General Dalbir Singh on behalf of the President Paranb Mukherjee.

BUSINESS & CORPORATE

Indian telecom major Bharti Airtel Limited, in 18 February 2015, tied-up with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to provide health, education and youth-focused content to its customers in 17 African countries.

Swedish mobile telecom gear maker Ericsson sued Apple Inc for patent infringement, Ericsson said on Friday. Ericsson filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) requesting an exclusion order against Apple's products for infringing Ericsson patents that are essential to the 2G and 4G/LTE standards. It also filed a second ITC complaint seeking an exclusion order and multiple complaints in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas requesting damages and injunctions for infringement of patents "critical to many other aspects of Apple's devices".

Google has acquired mobile marketing company Toro, a firm that helps developers market their apps on social media platforms like Facebook. The San Francisco-based startup Toro, which was originally known as Red Hot Labs Inc., is known for offering services and tools to help software makers boost their user numbers, and was best known for its Facebook ad campaigns. It was also a Facebook 'Preferred Marketing Developer' (PMD). The company is led by Amitt Mahajan and Joel Poloney.

Six Indian women entrepreneurs and businesswomen have been named by Forbes magazine as among the 50 ‘Power Businesswomen’ from Asia. Indians included in the list are Arundhati Bhattacharya (Chairperson of State Bank of India), Chanda Kochchar- MD & CEO of ICICI Bank (Forbes list referred her as India’s second-most- powerful banker after Bhattacharya), Akhila Srinivasan-MD of Shriram Capital, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw-Chairman & MD of Biocon, Shikha Sharma- CEO of Axis Bank and Usha Sangwan- MD of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).

Software services exporter Infosys Limited, in February 2015, announced to acquire US-based automation technology firm Panaya Inc. for 1200 crore rupees in cash. Panaya was originally founded in 2005 in Israel.

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) tied-up with Tech Mahindra Limited to build a platform for the development of cloud-based apps for its clients to increase hybrid services adoption.

Leading bourse NSE said it will set-up an international exchange in Gujarat's GIFT City, to be developed as the country's first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC). The new exchange will provide an electronic platform for facilitating trading, clearing and settlement of securities, and will also explore the possibility of starting trading facilities in different asset classes like equities, interest rates, currencies, among others. NSE signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with GIFT SEZ, a wholly owned subsidiary of GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City), at Gandhinagar

Reliance Communications (RCom), part of the Anil Ambani-led group, which is the global telecom sponsor of the ICC World Cup 2015, partnered with Twitter to provide its customers with a platform to follow the global commentary as the world’s 14 best cricketing nations compete for the tag of the champion team, with no data charges. In addition to this, Reliance has launched an exclusive cricket portal wherein Reliance customers can download exciting content related to the event like match highlights, commentary, and behind the scenes images.

Global supplier and aero-structure components integrator RUAG Aerostructures entered into a multi-year contract with Tata group’s TAL Manufacturing Solutions, for manufacture and supply of aero-structural components and sub-assemblies. The contract has a potential value of over $150 million. The new work scope allows RUAG to strengthen and optimise the global supply chain to the advantage of Airbus. TAL Manufacturing Solutions, a subsidiary of Tata Motors, is in commercial and defence aerospace manufacturing. As part of the contract, TAL will manufacture and supply over 550 sheet metal components, machined parts and sub-assemblies to RUAG, for Airbus’ fast-moving, successful A320 programme.

Expanding its presence in the high-end fashion segment, online marketplace Snapdeal acquired luxury fashion portal Exclusively.com for an undisclosed amount. With this acquisition, the Delhi-based firm that gets a little over $1 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) from its fashion business expects this figure to touch $2 billion by the end of the current calendar year. According to industry insiders, Snapdeal's total GMV — total value of goods sold — is around $2 billion at present and fashion business accounts for over 60% of the total volume.

India’s second largest private power producer Tata Power has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Russia’s largest coal producer Siberian Coal Energy Company (SUEK). As part of this initial agreement, both the companies will cooperate with each other to identify and target opportunities in the energy sector.

Zoomcar, a self-drive car rental service, tied up with Tata Motors Limited to add 50 new Nano cars to its fleet. Zoomcar has stated that it chose Nano as it was a tremendous city car and very manoeuvrable in traffic conditions.

COMMITTEES / SCHEMES / POLICIES

 Rajya Sabha, in February 2015, unanimously passed the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders Amendment Bill, 2014. The bill seeks to modify the list of Scheduled Castes in three states- Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha and one Union Territory- Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

 The Supreme Court held that a person can be accorded Scheduled Caste (SC) status on his re-conversion to Hinduism if he is accepted by fellow caste men and proves that either he or his forefathers previously belonged to that caste before embracing another religion.

 Union Cabinet has approved the implementation of the scheme for setting up of 15,000 Mega Watt Grid- connected Solar Photo Voltaic Power projects under the National Solar Mission. The scheme will be implemented through NTPC and NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited. The project under this scheme is expected to accelerate the process of achieving grid tariff parity for solar power and also help reduce consumption of kerosene and diesel. Meanwhile, the Cabinet also cleared the establishment of the New Development Bank for funding infrastructure and development projects in the BRICS countries.

 The Union Cabinet gave its approval to the creation of two additional benches of the Authority for Advance Rulings (Income Tax), one in New Delhi and one new bench in Mumbai. The creation of two additional benches of the Authority would dispose of increased number of cases and pendency of cases would be reduced benefitting the tax payer and the Government. Besides, this will operationalise the facility of advance ruling for resident tax payers. The proposed additional Benches of Authority for Advance Rulings (Income Tax) will facilitate the cause of the resident tax payers in obtaining tax clarity in certain situations.

 Union Government blocked private email network like Yahoo and Gmail for official work. The aim of the move is to monitor staff's online activities. Union Government notified E-mail Policy of Government of India and Policy on use of Information Technology resources of Government of India on 18 February 2015.

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a Soil Health Card scheme, under which the Centre plans to target over 14 crore farmers in the next three years to check the excess use of fertilisers. Pointing out that soil health has deteriorated due to high usage of fertilisers, Modi asked farmers to take care of soil. The card, to be issued after testing soil, would help them save up to Rs 50,000 in 3 acres of land, he added.

ECONOMY & FINANCE

 The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has tied up with .in to sell various products to IRCTC customers. However, the products are not sold on IRCTC’s website, instead clicking on ‘Shop by Amazon’ redirects users to Amazon.in, which sports an IRCTC logo on it.

 In a bid to boost fixed line phone connections in the country, telecom regulator Trai removed charges that a landline service provider has to pay to the other service providers for transmitting its customers' phone calls - a move that is likely to lead to lower tariffs. Now, calls made from landline-to-landline or landline- to- mobiles will not include the interconnection charge, which was 20 paise. Trai has also reduced network interconnection usage charges (IUC) on calls made from mobile phones by about 30 per cent to 14 paise per call from 20 paise earlier.

 The proposed Rs 15,000-crore merger deal between Kotak Mahindra and ING Vysya got the Competition Commission's approval. According to the fair trade regulator, the merger, which would create the country's fourth largest private sector lender, is "not likely to have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India".

 In order to facilitate 'Ease of Doing Business', the Government launched a single window government-to- business (G2B) portal for 11 central government services. The services, available on the portal, www.ebiz.gov.in, include those from Corporate Affairs Ministry (MCA), Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) and Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).

 The 5th India- Myanmar Joint Trade Committee (JTC) meeting was held in Nay Pyi Taw on 17th February, 2015. The meeting was co-Chaired by Minister of Commerce & Industry Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman and Myanmar Union Minister of Commerce U Win Myint. During the meeting, the two sides had intensive interaction and exchange of views to find ways and means to enhance the bilateral trade and investment ties. Both sides agreed to work together to remove the bottlenecks hampering the bilateral trade and investment such as lack of good connectivity, lack of banking arrangement both for regular and border trade. In this context, India offered to support Myanmar to develop infrastructure at the border trade points, upgrade trade training institutes in Yangon, and also provide training to Myanmar officials on WTO and international trade related issues besides supporting subsidized direct shipping links between India and Myanmar to promote bilateral trade.

 Union Ministry of Finance has imposed an anti-dumping duty on imports of graphite electrodes used in steel plants for five years. The imposed duty ranges between $278.19 and $922.03 per tonne.

 Indian citizens living abroad will now be able to file consular grievances online as the government Saturday launched an e-portal to address such complaints promptly with a high degree of “accountability”.The portal ‘Madad’ (Help) was launched by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who said the grievance monitoring facility would enhance “accessibility” for people and fix greater “accountability and responsibility” on officials. Among the chief characteristics of ‘Madad’ are to speed up forwarding and handling of complaints, improve tracking and redressal and escalate unresolved cases.

 Union Government has approved various highway projects in states of Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh worth over Rs 8,600 crore. The work for these approved road projects will be under the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) Phase-V. This decision was taken by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

 Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced a budget aimed at high growth, saying the pace of cutting the fiscal deficit would slow as he seeks to boost investment and ensure that benefit. Here are the highlights of Jaitley's budget for the fiscal year that begins on April 1:-

Taxation

 Abolition of Wealth Tax.

 Additional 2% surcharge for the super rich with income of over Rs. 1 crore.

 Rate of corporate tax to be reduced to 25% over next four years.

 No change in tax slabs.

 Total exemption of up to Rs. 4,44,200 can be achieved.

 100% exemption for contribution to Swachch Bharat, apart from CSR.

 Service tax increased to 14 per cent.

Agriculture

 Rs. 25,000 crore for Rural Infrastructure Development Bank.

 Rs. 5,300 crore to support Micro Irrigation Programme.

 Farmer’s credit - target of 8.5 lakh crore.

Infrastructure

 Rs. 70,000 crores to Infrastructure sector.

 Tax-free bonds for projects in rail road and irrigation

 PPP model for infrastructure development to be revitalised and govt. to bear majority of the risk.

 Atal Innovation Mission to be established to draw on expertise of entrepreneurs, and researchers to foster scientific innovations; allocation of Rs. 150 crore.

 Govt. proposes to set up 5 ultra mega power projects, each of 4000MW.

Education

 AIIMS in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and Assam.

 IIT in Karnataka; Indian School of Mines in Dhanbad to be upgraded to IIT.

 PG institute of Horticulture in Amritsar.

 Kerala to have University of Disability Studies

 Centre of film production, animation and gaming to come up in Arunachal Pradesh.

 IIM for Jammu and Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh.

Defence

 Allocation of Rs. 2,46,726 crore; an increase of 9.87 per cent over last year.

 Focus on Make in India for quick manufacturing of Defence equipment.

Welfare Schemes

 GST and JAM trinity (Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and Mobile) to improve quality of life and to pass benefits to man.

 Six crore toilets across the country under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

 MUDRA bank will refinance micro finance orgs. to encourage first generation SC/ST entrepreneurs.

 Housing for all by 2020.

 Upgradation 80,000 secondary schools.

 DBT will be further be expanded from 1 crore to 10.3 crore.

 For the Atal Pension Yojana, govt. will contribute 50% of the premium limited to Rs. 1,000 a year.

 New scheme for physical aids and assisted living devices for people aged over 80.

 Govt. to use Rs. 9,000 crore unclaimed funds in PPF/EPF for Senior Citizens Fund.

 Rs. 5,000 crore additional allocations for MGNREGA.

 Govt. to create universal social security system for all Indians.

Financial Sector

 Forward Markets Commission to be merged with the Securities and Exchange Board of India

 NBFCs registered with the RBI and having asset size of Rs 500 crore and above to be considered as ‘financial institution’ under Sarfaesi Act, 2002, enabling them to fund SME and mid-corporate businesses

 Permanent Establishment norms to be modified to that mere presence of offshore fund managers in the country does not lead to “adverse tax consequences.”

PEOPLE IN NEWS

Veteran cinematographer and multilingual director Aloysius Vincent passed away at the age of 86. He had dominated the Tamil film world as cinematographer and later become renowned in Telugu and Hindi films. In 2003, Indian Society of Cinematographers (ISC) awarded him an honorary membership.

Justice Amitava Roy was sworn in as a judge of the Supreme Court. He was the chief justice of Orissa high court. With his elevation, the strength of the apex court judges has gone up to 29. The apex court has a sectioned strength of 31 judges.

Veteran multilingual film producer Daggubati Ramanaidu passed away at the age of 78. D Ramanaidu was popularly known as movie mogul and was the only Indian filmmaker to produce movies in so many languages including in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Punjabi and English.

Croatia's first woman president, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, was sworn in and pledged to help kickstart the EU member's ailing economy. The 46-year-old conservative former foreign minister and NATO official narrowly defeated her left-wing predecessor Ivo Josipovic in an election run-off in January. The leading member of the main opposition HDZ party will serve a five-year term.

Acclaimed US actor Leonard Nimoy passed away at 83. He was best known for his half-human, half-Vulcan character of Mr Spock in the cult sci-fi series Star Trek.

Retired IAS officer Maheshwar Sahu from Gujarat has been appointed as an independent director on the board of Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL). With this appointment, he joins RIL as one of the eight independent directors on its 14-member board. Sahu is popularly known as the man behind the success of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brainchild event- Vibrant Gujarat summit.

Eminent filmmaker from Odisha Nirad Mahapatra passed away at the age of 67. As a film-maker, he was best- known for his cultural, ecological and industrial documentaries. He made into international fame with his very first film Maya Miriga. In 1984 the film had won a Rajat Kamal at the National Film Awards. Later it won a special jury award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Senior JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar was sworn in as the chief minister of Bihar, marking his return for the fourth time in the state's most coveted political office. In 2000, for first time he was made CM of Bihar but had resigned within 7 days. In 2005, he was sworn in as the CM of Bihar for second time and in 2010 for third time. In May 2014 he had resigned from the CM post taking the responsibility of his party’s (JDU) dismal performance in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Popular Tamil director R.C Sakthi passed away in Chennai, at the age of 76. He was mentor of famous actor Kamal Haasan and had launched him as lead role in his Tamil directorial debut Unarchigal in 1972.

Veteran journalist, cartoonist and political activist Rajinder Puri passed away at the age of 80. Rajinder Puri was the founding General Secretary of the Janata Party in 1977.

First Hindu Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Rana Bhagwandas passed away in Karachi, Pakistan, at the age of 72. He was the first Hindu and the second non-Muslim to head of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Indian-American Rashad Hussain has been appointed Special Envoy and Coordinator for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications to expand global engagement and partnerships of the US to counter violent extremism.

Ravi Chaudhary, an Indian American has been appointed as Executive director for Regions and Center Operations at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a key federal aviation post of United States (US).

Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co. appointed Takahiro Hachigo as its new President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He will assume charge in June 2015 and replace Takanobu Ito, who had stepped down from the top most post in an unexpected move in February 2015.

Eminent scientist Tapan Misra has been appointed the Chief of ISRO’s Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad Gujarat. He will succeed A S Kiran Kumar, who was appointed as the Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in January 2015.

Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled his new political theory "four comprehensives", calling for deeper reforms and rule of law, asserting his authority on the ruling Communist Party and emerging as its strongest leader. This is not the first time political slogans have been put forward by top Chinese leaders. Similar slogans were given by Xi's predecessors, including Hu Jintao's 'Three Supremes' and Jiang Zemin's 'Three Represents'. The "Four Comprehensives" are tasks raised by the Chinese Communist Party after Xi took over from Hu Jintao two years ago. It is aimed at "comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society, comprehensively deepen reform, comprehensively implement the rule of law and comprehensively strengthen Party discipline,"

Sports

South Africa AB de Villiers smashed the second fastest World Cup century and fastest ever 150 in ODIs, against West Indies in a Pool B match of ICC World Cup 2015 at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). He set a new record in ODI history, scoring 150 off just 64 balls. He now owns records of fastest 50 (16 balls), 100 (31) and 150 (64) in 50-over international cricket. The previous fastest 150 was in the name of Australia's Shane Watson, off 83 deliveries, against Bangladesh in 2011.

Former India spinner was inducted into the restigious International Cricket Council (ICC) Hall of Fame. Kumble became the fourth Indian to be given the honour after , and and also joins the likes of Australian legends Donald Bradman and .

Famous Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri won the Indian Open title of Golf at the Delhi Golf Club. To successfully clinch the title, Lahiri defeated his rival SSP Chowrasia.

West Indies opener Chris Gayle became the first batsman to score a double century in a World Cup innings when he reached the landmark against Zimbabwe. It was also only the fifth double century in all ODI cricket and the first by a non-Indian, with Rohit Sharma (two), and Virender Sehwag the only other batsmen to achieve the feat.

Martin Crowe, former New Zealand captain and player of the ICC Cricket World Cup 1992, was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. Crowe became the third New Zealander, after Sir and Debbie Hockley, and the 79th overall to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

Ranchi Rays won the third edition of Champions of Hero (HHIL) 2015. In the final match they defeated Jaypee by score of 3-2 in the penalty shootout after 2-2 tie in regular time match. With this Jaypee Punjab Warriors took second position followed by Delhi Waveriders in third position.

Somdev Devvarman retained the Delhi Open title of tennis by defeating Yuki Bhambri. With this, he won the 100000 US dollar ATP Challenger Delhi Open title for second time in a row.

MISCELLANEOUS

World

 House of Lords of the United Kingdom (UK) passed a legislation allowing creation of babies using DNA of three people (called mitochondria donation procedure), making the United Kingdom the first country to legalize the creation of three-parent IVF designer babies.

 China launched a massive Silk Road Infrastructure project worth 79.8 billion US dollars in the northwest province of Gansu. The project was launched as a part of China’s ambitious Silk Route plan.

India

 State Government of Haryana announced its decision to increase the cash reward under the Inter-Caste Marriage Scheme from 50000 rupees to 1 lakh rupees. The reward money would be provided through bank accounts opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY).

 Andhra Pradesh Government signed an MoU with Wipro for building and implementing the State Enterprise Architecture (APSEA). The APSEA aims to be a lever for transformational change in the way government services are conceived, designed, delivered and consumed

 Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on 24 February 2015 presented the State Budget 2015-16 of 302687 crore rupees. In the budget, state government has given main thrust on agriculture, education, power, health, roads and infrastructure development.

 Madhya Pradesh Budget 2015-16 was presented by the Finance Minister Jayant Malaiya on 25 February 2015. The budget is inspired by the aim to realise “Make in Madhya Pradesh” by increasing employment opportunities for youth of the state and by increasing production capacities.