1. RBI notified hike in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in Insurance Sector to 49 percent
The RBI (Reserve Bank of India) notified hike in FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) limit in Insurance Sector to 49 percent from the present 26 percent.As per the notification, FDI up to 26 percent will be under automatic route and beyond 26 percent and up to 49 percent will be allowed with the approval of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).
The RBI notification is in tune with March 2015 decision of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) regarding operationalisation of increased FDI limit in the insurance sector.
2. Dr. Nasim Zaidi appointed as Chief Election Commissioner of India
President of India, Pranab Mukherjee appointed Dr. Nasim Zaidi as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). He will assume the charge of office of the CEC with effect from 19 April 2015. Zaidi is the 20th CEC of India and will succeed Harishankar Brahma who will demit his office on 18 April 2015.
He will have tenure up to July 2017 when he attains the age of 65, the upper age limit under the Constitution for holding the post.
Zaidi is the senior-most Election Commissioner after Harishankar Brahma and he was appointed as CEC following the convention in which the senior-most EC is appointed as the CEC.
Appointment of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC)
Article 324 (2) under Part XV of the Constitution of India provides for appointment of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (EC) by the President.
3. SEBI raised the limit for currency derivatives trades to 15 million US dollar
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) raised the transaction limit in exchange traded currency derivatives to 15 million US dollars for both foreign and domestic investors without having any underlying exposure. Earlier, the limit was 10 million dollars.
SEBI issued the circular after Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 1 April 2015 notified the revision.The capital market regulator, SEBI in a circular said that the Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) and domestic clients can take position (long and short) in foreign currency up to 15 million US Dollars or equivalent per exchange.
The notification said that the Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) or domestic investors should ensure that their short positions at the stock exchange across all contracts in USD-INR pair do not exceed the limit and do not exceed five million dollar per exchange in EUR-INR, GBP-INR and JPY-INR pairs, all put together.
4. Gopaldas Neeraj, Uday Pratap Singh conferred with Sahitya Shiromani Samman of Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh Government conferred Sahitya Shiromani Samman on noted Hindi poet Gopaldas Neeraj and veteran Hindi litterateur Uday Pratap Singh.
Along with the award, the duo was given a cash prize of 21 lakh rupees.
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav conferred the award on Neeraj and Singh. Yadav also announced that Neeraj will be given Rashtra Ratn-Sitara-e Hind award for his lifelong service to Hindi literature. Beside this, Yadav also unveiled the poetry book of Gopal Das Neeraj named Geetsri in Lucknow.
About Gopaldas Neeraj
He is among the best-known poets and authors in Hindi literature and he wrote under the pen name Neeraj.
Some of his poems were even used in Hindi movies. Some of them are
• E Bhai Jara dekh ke Chalo, Sung by Manna Dey in Mera Naam Joker
• Dhiire se jaanaa khatiyan me in Chhupa Rustom
• Dil aaj shaayar hai in Gambler
• Phoolon ke rang se, dil kee kalam se in Prem Pujari
• Rangeela re, Rangeela re, mere man me yoon ranga hai tera mann in Prem Pujari
Born in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, he was awarded Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2007
5. Liu Xiang, former Olympic 110m hurdles champion, retired
Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang retired . Xiang, the first man from China to win an Olympic gold medal in track and field, announced his retirement due to injury.
He sporting career was affected by an Achilles problem, which made him to pull out at 2008 Beijing Olympics. The injury also made him crash out from the 2012 London Olympics.
He is the first Chinese athlete to achieve the triple crown of athletics, that is, World Record Holder, World Champion and Olympic Champion.
6. University of Cape Town voted for removal of the statue of British colonialist, Cecil Rhodes
The University of Cape Town (UCT) of South Africa voted to remove a statue of British colonialist Cecil Rhodes from the campus. The statue had become a focus of student protests. The decision of removal of the monument was taken by the UCT’s Council, the institutions highest decision-making body. It announced that the monument will be taken down from the campus on 9 April 2015 and stored for safe keeping.
The decision of Council follows weeks of protest and debate over the statue. The matter was known as the Rhodes Must Fall debate.The 19th century figure unveiled in 1934 was a matter of campaigning for students. The students at UCT have been campaigning for removal of the statue. Other monuments to colonial-era leaders have also been recently vandalised.
7. Jnanapith awardee Tamil writer Jayakanthan died
Tamil novelist, short story writer and literary critic Jayakanthan died in Chennai . He was 81. He is survived now by wife, two daughters and a son.Jayakanthan writings were mainly focused against social injustices and economic inequality in the society. His writings earned him Sahitya Akademi Award in 1972, Jnanpith in 2002 and Padma Bhushan in 2009.
He started writing from around 1953 in Tamil magazines such as Saraswathi, Thamarai, Grama Uzhiyan and Anantha Vikatan and went on to author about 40 novels and novellas along with several short stories, poems, and articles.
His autobiographies
a) Oru Ilakkiyavathiyin Arasiyal Anubavangal
b) Oru Arasiyalvathiyin Ilakkiya Anubavanga
8. Visit Kerala 2015 campaign launched to promote Kerala tourism
Union Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge) Dr. Mahesh Sharma launched Visit Kerala 2015 campaign to promote Kerala tourism.The campaign is an initiative of Kerala Government to promote state-specific tourism products including Ayurveda, Responsible Tourism and Spice route. Under the campaign various innovative programmes and schemes will be launched in India and abroad to attract domestic and foreign tourists.
Highlights of the Visit Kerala 2015 Campaign
• The campaign aims at increasing the number of tourist arrivals in the state to over 1.37 crore in 2015 compared to 1.26 tourist arrivals in 2014.
• The period from April 2015 to March 2016 is declared as Visit Kerala Year.
• The second phase of Kerala Tourism’s Kerala-Home of Ayurveda campaign will be launched in selected national and international markets.
• Social media and online campaigns will be launched to promote 2015 as the best time to visit the state highlighting the festivals and events along with the contests.
• Food festivals will be conducted in cities like New Delhi and Mumbai to market Kerala’s authentic cuisine.
• A tourism industrial meet to promote responsible tourism and encourage the participation of local communities in the tourism sector will be conducted. The meet would provide guidance to people on setting up home-stays and villas with small-scale investment.
• A new set of Kerala souvenirs will be designed and will be sold to travelers with the support of Kudumbashree units.
The RBI (Reserve Bank of India) notified hike in FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) limit in Insurance Sector to 49 percent from the present 26 percent.As per the notification, FDI up to 26 percent will be under automatic route and beyond 26 percent and up to 49 percent will be allowed with the approval of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).The RBI notification is in tune with March 2015 decision of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) regarding operationalisation of increased FDI limit in the insurance sector.
2. Dr. Nasim Zaidi appointed as Chief Election Commissioner of India
President of India, Pranab Mukherjee appointed Dr. Nasim Zaidi as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). He will assume the charge of office of the CEC with effect from 19 April 2015. Zaidi is the 20th CEC of India and will succeed Harishankar Brahma who will demit his office on 18 April 2015.
He will have tenure up to July 2017 when he attains the age of 65, the upper age limit under the Constitution for holding the post.
Zaidi is the senior-most Election Commissioner after Harishankar Brahma and he was appointed as CEC following the convention in which the senior-most EC is appointed as the CEC.
Appointment of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC)
Article 324 (2) under Part XV of the Constitution of India provides for appointment of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (EC) by the President.
3. SEBI raised the limit for currency derivatives trades to 15 million US dollar
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) raised the transaction limit in exchange traded currency derivatives to 15 million US dollars for both foreign and domestic investors without having any underlying exposure. Earlier, the limit was 10 million dollars.
SEBI issued the circular after Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 1 April 2015 notified the revision.The capital market regulator, SEBI in a circular said that the Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) and domestic clients can take position (long and short) in foreign currency up to 15 million US Dollars or equivalent per exchange.
The notification said that the Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) or domestic investors should ensure that their short positions at the stock exchange across all contracts in USD-INR pair do not exceed the limit and do not exceed five million dollar per exchange in EUR-INR, GBP-INR and JPY-INR pairs, all put together.
4. Gopaldas Neeraj, Uday Pratap Singh conferred with Sahitya Shiromani Samman of Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh Government conferred Sahitya Shiromani Samman on noted Hindi poet Gopaldas Neeraj and veteran Hindi litterateur Uday Pratap Singh.
Along with the award, the duo was given a cash prize of 21 lakh rupees.
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav conferred the award on Neeraj and Singh. Yadav also announced that Neeraj will be given Rashtra Ratn-Sitara-e Hind award for his lifelong service to Hindi literature. Beside this, Yadav also unveiled the poetry book of Gopal Das Neeraj named Geetsri in Lucknow.
About Gopaldas Neeraj
He is among the best-known poets and authors in Hindi literature and he wrote under the pen name Neeraj.
Some of his poems were even used in Hindi movies. Some of them are
• E Bhai Jara dekh ke Chalo, Sung by Manna Dey in Mera Naam Joker
• Dhiire se jaanaa khatiyan me in Chhupa Rustom
• Dil aaj shaayar hai in Gambler
• Phoolon ke rang se, dil kee kalam se in Prem Pujari
• Rangeela re, Rangeela re, mere man me yoon ranga hai tera mann in Prem Pujari
Born in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, he was awarded Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2007
5. Liu Xiang, former Olympic 110m hurdles champion, retired
Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang retired . Xiang, the first man from China to win an Olympic gold medal in track and field, announced his retirement due to injury.
He sporting career was affected by an Achilles problem, which made him to pull out at 2008 Beijing Olympics. The injury also made him crash out from the 2012 London Olympics.
He is the first Chinese athlete to achieve the triple crown of athletics, that is, World Record Holder, World Champion and Olympic Champion.
6. University of Cape Town voted for removal of the statue of British colonialist, Cecil Rhodes
The University of Cape Town (UCT) of South Africa voted to remove a statue of British colonialist Cecil Rhodes from the campus. The statue had become a focus of student protests. The decision of removal of the monument was taken by the UCT’s Council, the institutions highest decision-making body. It announced that the monument will be taken down from the campus on 9 April 2015 and stored for safe keeping.
The decision of Council follows weeks of protest and debate over the statue. The matter was known as the Rhodes Must Fall debate.The 19th century figure unveiled in 1934 was a matter of campaigning for students. The students at UCT have been campaigning for removal of the statue. Other monuments to colonial-era leaders have also been recently vandalised.
7. Jnanapith awardee Tamil writer Jayakanthan died
Tamil novelist, short story writer and literary critic Jayakanthan died in Chennai . He was 81. He is survived now by wife, two daughters and a son.Jayakanthan writings were mainly focused against social injustices and economic inequality in the society. His writings earned him Sahitya Akademi Award in 1972, Jnanpith in 2002 and Padma Bhushan in 2009.
He started writing from around 1953 in Tamil magazines such as Saraswathi, Thamarai, Grama Uzhiyan and Anantha Vikatan and went on to author about 40 novels and novellas along with several short stories, poems, and articles.
His autobiographies
a) Oru Ilakkiyavathiyin Arasiyal Anubavangal
b) Oru Arasiyalvathiyin Ilakkiya Anubavanga
8. Visit Kerala 2015 campaign launched to promote Kerala tourism
Union Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge) Dr. Mahesh Sharma launched Visit Kerala 2015 campaign to promote Kerala tourism.The campaign is an initiative of Kerala Government to promote state-specific tourism products including Ayurveda, Responsible Tourism and Spice route. Under the campaign various innovative programmes and schemes will be launched in India and abroad to attract domestic and foreign tourists.
Highlights of the Visit Kerala 2015 Campaign
• The campaign aims at increasing the number of tourist arrivals in the state to over 1.37 crore in 2015 compared to 1.26 tourist arrivals in 2014.
• The period from April 2015 to March 2016 is declared as Visit Kerala Year.
• The second phase of Kerala Tourism’s Kerala-Home of Ayurveda campaign will be launched in selected national and international markets.
• Social media and online campaigns will be launched to promote 2015 as the best time to visit the state highlighting the festivals and events along with the contests.
• Food festivals will be conducted in cities like New Delhi and Mumbai to market Kerala’s authentic cuisine.
• A tourism industrial meet to promote responsible tourism and encourage the participation of local communities in the tourism sector will be conducted. The meet would provide guidance to people on setting up home-stays and villas with small-scale investment.
• A new set of Kerala souvenirs will be designed and will be sold to travelers with the support of Kudumbashree units.
1. RBI notified hike in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in Insurance Sector to 49 percent
The RBI (Reserve Bank of India) notified hike in FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) limit in Insurance Sector to 49 percent from the present 26 percent.As per the notification, FDI up to 26 percent will be under automatic route and beyond 26 percent and up to 49 percent will be allowed with the approval of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).
The RBI notification is in tune with March 2015 decision of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) regarding operationalisation of increased FDI limit in the insurance sector.
2. Dr. Nasim Zaidi appointed as Chief Election Commissioner of India
President of India, Pranab Mukherjee appointed Dr. Nasim Zaidi as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). He will assume the charge of office of the CEC with effect from 19 April 2015. Zaidi is the 20th CEC of India and will succeed Harishankar Brahma who will demit his office on 18 April 2015.
He will have tenure up to July 2017 when he attains the age of 65, the upper age limit under the Constitution for holding the post.
Zaidi is the senior-most Election Commissioner after Harishankar Brahma and he was appointed as CEC following the convention in which the senior-most EC is appointed as the CEC.
Appointment of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC)
Article 324 (2) under Part XV of the Constitution of India provides for appointment of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (EC) by the President.
3. SEBI raised the limit for currency derivatives trades to 15 million US dollar
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) raised the transaction limit in exchange traded currency derivatives to 15 million US dollars for both foreign and domestic investors without having any underlying exposure. Earlier, the limit was 10 million dollars.
SEBI issued the circular after Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 1 April 2015 notified the revision.The capital market regulator, SEBI in a circular said that the Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) and domestic clients can take position (long and short) in foreign currency up to 15 million US Dollars or equivalent per exchange.
The notification said that the Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) or domestic investors should ensure that their short positions at the stock exchange across all contracts in USD-INR pair do not exceed the limit and do not exceed five million dollar per exchange in EUR-INR, GBP-INR and JPY-INR pairs, all put together.
4. Gopaldas Neeraj, Uday Pratap Singh conferred with Sahitya Shiromani Samman of Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh Government conferred Sahitya Shiromani Samman on noted Hindi poet Gopaldas Neeraj and veteran Hindi litterateur Uday Pratap Singh.
Along with the award, the duo was given a cash prize of 21 lakh rupees.
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav conferred the award on Neeraj and Singh. Yadav also announced that Neeraj will be given Rashtra Ratn-Sitara-e Hind award for his lifelong service to Hindi literature. Beside this, Yadav also unveiled the poetry book of Gopal Das Neeraj named Geetsri in Lucknow.
About Gopaldas Neeraj
He is among the best-known poets and authors in Hindi literature and he wrote under the pen name Neeraj.
Some of his poems were even used in Hindi movies. Some of them are
• E Bhai Jara dekh ke Chalo, Sung by Manna Dey in Mera Naam Joker
• Dhiire se jaanaa khatiyan me in Chhupa Rustom
• Dil aaj shaayar hai in Gambler
• Phoolon ke rang se, dil kee kalam se in Prem Pujari
• Rangeela re, Rangeela re, mere man me yoon ranga hai tera mann in Prem Pujari
Born in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, he was awarded Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2007
5. Liu Xiang, former Olympic 110m hurdles champion, retired
Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang retired . Xiang, the first man from China to win an Olympic gold medal in track and field, announced his retirement due to injury.
He sporting career was affected by an Achilles problem, which made him to pull out at 2008 Beijing Olympics. The injury also made him crash out from the 2012 London Olympics.
He is the first Chinese athlete to achieve the triple crown of athletics, that is, World Record Holder, World Champion and Olympic Champion.
6. University of Cape Town voted for removal of the statue of British colonialist, Cecil Rhodes
The University of Cape Town (UCT) of South Africa voted to remove a statue of British colonialist Cecil Rhodes from the campus. The statue had become a focus of student protests. The decision of removal of the monument was taken by the UCT’s Council, the institutions highest decision-making body. It announced that the monument will be taken down from the campus on 9 April 2015 and stored for safe keeping.
The decision of Council follows weeks of protest and debate over the statue. The matter was known as the Rhodes Must Fall debate.The 19th century figure unveiled in 1934 was a matter of campaigning for students. The students at UCT have been campaigning for removal of the statue. Other monuments to colonial-era leaders have also been recently vandalised.
7. Jnanapith awardee Tamil writer Jayakanthan died
Tamil novelist, short story writer and literary critic Jayakanthan died in Chennai . He was 81. He is survived now by wife, two daughters and a son.Jayakanthan writings were mainly focused against social injustices and economic inequality in the society. His writings earned him Sahitya Akademi Award in 1972, Jnanpith in 2002 and Padma Bhushan in 2009.
He started writing from around 1953 in Tamil magazines such as Saraswathi, Thamarai, Grama Uzhiyan and Anantha Vikatan and went on to author about 40 novels and novellas along with several short stories, poems, and articles.
His autobiographies
a) Oru Ilakkiyavathiyin Arasiyal Anubavangal
b) Oru Arasiyalvathiyin Ilakkiya Anubavanga
8. Visit Kerala 2015 campaign launched to promote Kerala tourism
Union Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge) Dr. Mahesh Sharma launched Visit Kerala 2015 campaign to promote Kerala tourism.The campaign is an initiative of Kerala Government to promote state-specific tourism products including Ayurveda, Responsible Tourism and Spice route. Under the campaign various innovative programmes and schemes will be launched in India and abroad to attract domestic and foreign tourists.
Highlights of the Visit Kerala 2015 Campaign
• The campaign aims at increasing the number of tourist arrivals in the state to over 1.37 crore in 2015 compared to 1.26 tourist arrivals in 2014.
• The period from April 2015 to March 2016 is declared as Visit Kerala Year.
• The second phase of Kerala Tourism’s Kerala-Home of Ayurveda campaign will be launched in selected national and international markets.
• Social media and online campaigns will be launched to promote 2015 as the best time to visit the state highlighting the festivals and events along with the contests.
• Food festivals will be conducted in cities like New Delhi and Mumbai to market Kerala’s authentic cuisine.
• A tourism industrial meet to promote responsible tourism and encourage the participation of local communities in the tourism sector will be conducted. The meet would provide guidance to people on setting up home-stays and villas with small-scale investment.
• A new set of Kerala souvenirs will be designed and will be sold to travelers with the support of Kudumbashree units.
The RBI (Reserve Bank of India) notified hike in FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) limit in Insurance Sector to 49 percent from the present 26 percent.As per the notification, FDI up to 26 percent will be under automatic route and beyond 26 percent and up to 49 percent will be allowed with the approval of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).The RBI notification is in tune with March 2015 decision of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) regarding operationalisation of increased FDI limit in the insurance sector.
2. Dr. Nasim Zaidi appointed as Chief Election Commissioner of India
President of India, Pranab Mukherjee appointed Dr. Nasim Zaidi as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). He will assume the charge of office of the CEC with effect from 19 April 2015. Zaidi is the 20th CEC of India and will succeed Harishankar Brahma who will demit his office on 18 April 2015.
He will have tenure up to July 2017 when he attains the age of 65, the upper age limit under the Constitution for holding the post.
Zaidi is the senior-most Election Commissioner after Harishankar Brahma and he was appointed as CEC following the convention in which the senior-most EC is appointed as the CEC.
Appointment of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC)
Article 324 (2) under Part XV of the Constitution of India provides for appointment of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (EC) by the President.
3. SEBI raised the limit for currency derivatives trades to 15 million US dollar
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) raised the transaction limit in exchange traded currency derivatives to 15 million US dollars for both foreign and domestic investors without having any underlying exposure. Earlier, the limit was 10 million dollars.
SEBI issued the circular after Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 1 April 2015 notified the revision.The capital market regulator, SEBI in a circular said that the Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) and domestic clients can take position (long and short) in foreign currency up to 15 million US Dollars or equivalent per exchange.
The notification said that the Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) or domestic investors should ensure that their short positions at the stock exchange across all contracts in USD-INR pair do not exceed the limit and do not exceed five million dollar per exchange in EUR-INR, GBP-INR and JPY-INR pairs, all put together.
4. Gopaldas Neeraj, Uday Pratap Singh conferred with Sahitya Shiromani Samman of Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh Government conferred Sahitya Shiromani Samman on noted Hindi poet Gopaldas Neeraj and veteran Hindi litterateur Uday Pratap Singh.
Along with the award, the duo was given a cash prize of 21 lakh rupees.
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav conferred the award on Neeraj and Singh. Yadav also announced that Neeraj will be given Rashtra Ratn-Sitara-e Hind award for his lifelong service to Hindi literature. Beside this, Yadav also unveiled the poetry book of Gopal Das Neeraj named Geetsri in Lucknow.
About Gopaldas Neeraj
He is among the best-known poets and authors in Hindi literature and he wrote under the pen name Neeraj.
Some of his poems were even used in Hindi movies. Some of them are
• E Bhai Jara dekh ke Chalo, Sung by Manna Dey in Mera Naam Joker
• Dhiire se jaanaa khatiyan me in Chhupa Rustom
• Dil aaj shaayar hai in Gambler
• Phoolon ke rang se, dil kee kalam se in Prem Pujari
• Rangeela re, Rangeela re, mere man me yoon ranga hai tera mann in Prem Pujari
Born in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, he was awarded Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2007
5. Liu Xiang, former Olympic 110m hurdles champion, retired
Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang retired . Xiang, the first man from China to win an Olympic gold medal in track and field, announced his retirement due to injury.
He sporting career was affected by an Achilles problem, which made him to pull out at 2008 Beijing Olympics. The injury also made him crash out from the 2012 London Olympics.
He is the first Chinese athlete to achieve the triple crown of athletics, that is, World Record Holder, World Champion and Olympic Champion.
6. University of Cape Town voted for removal of the statue of British colonialist, Cecil Rhodes
The University of Cape Town (UCT) of South Africa voted to remove a statue of British colonialist Cecil Rhodes from the campus. The statue had become a focus of student protests. The decision of removal of the monument was taken by the UCT’s Council, the institutions highest decision-making body. It announced that the monument will be taken down from the campus on 9 April 2015 and stored for safe keeping.
The decision of Council follows weeks of protest and debate over the statue. The matter was known as the Rhodes Must Fall debate.The 19th century figure unveiled in 1934 was a matter of campaigning for students. The students at UCT have been campaigning for removal of the statue. Other monuments to colonial-era leaders have also been recently vandalised.
7. Jnanapith awardee Tamil writer Jayakanthan died
Tamil novelist, short story writer and literary critic Jayakanthan died in Chennai . He was 81. He is survived now by wife, two daughters and a son.Jayakanthan writings were mainly focused against social injustices and economic inequality in the society. His writings earned him Sahitya Akademi Award in 1972, Jnanpith in 2002 and Padma Bhushan in 2009.
He started writing from around 1953 in Tamil magazines such as Saraswathi, Thamarai, Grama Uzhiyan and Anantha Vikatan and went on to author about 40 novels and novellas along with several short stories, poems, and articles.
His autobiographies
a) Oru Ilakkiyavathiyin Arasiyal Anubavangal
b) Oru Arasiyalvathiyin Ilakkiya Anubavanga
8. Visit Kerala 2015 campaign launched to promote Kerala tourism
Union Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge) Dr. Mahesh Sharma launched Visit Kerala 2015 campaign to promote Kerala tourism.The campaign is an initiative of Kerala Government to promote state-specific tourism products including Ayurveda, Responsible Tourism and Spice route. Under the campaign various innovative programmes and schemes will be launched in India and abroad to attract domestic and foreign tourists.
Highlights of the Visit Kerala 2015 Campaign
• The campaign aims at increasing the number of tourist arrivals in the state to over 1.37 crore in 2015 compared to 1.26 tourist arrivals in 2014.
• The period from April 2015 to March 2016 is declared as Visit Kerala Year.
• The second phase of Kerala Tourism’s Kerala-Home of Ayurveda campaign will be launched in selected national and international markets.
• Social media and online campaigns will be launched to promote 2015 as the best time to visit the state highlighting the festivals and events along with the contests.
• Food festivals will be conducted in cities like New Delhi and Mumbai to market Kerala’s authentic cuisine.
• A tourism industrial meet to promote responsible tourism and encourage the participation of local communities in the tourism sector will be conducted. The meet would provide guidance to people on setting up home-stays and villas with small-scale investment.
• A new set of Kerala souvenirs will be designed and will be sold to travelers with the support of Kudumbashree units.
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