Important Daily Current Affairs: 27 March 2015

1) Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee conferred with Bharat Ratna:

--> Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was presented with the prestigious Bharat Ratna Award by President Pranab Mukherjee on 27 March 2015 in New Delhi.

--> In a departure from protocol, Mukherjee drove to Vajpayee's residence at Krishna Memon marg in Lutyens' Delhi and presented to the ailing BJP leader the prestigious award, the country's highest civilian honour.

--> The event, which was attended by Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh along with some close family members, was kept away from the media glare.

--> Vajpayee, who was Prime Minister from 1998 to 2004, and has faded from public life due to age-related illness, is lauded as a statesman and has been often described as the moderate face of BJP.

--> President Mukherjee will also confer the Bharat Ratna on Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya on March 30, 2015 at Rashtrapati Bhavan along with the Civil Investiture Ceremony for the Padma Awards.

2) India's first e-ration card service launched by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal:

--> Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launches the country's first e-ration service in the national capital, Delhi on 27 March 2015.

--> The e-ration service is a facility through which people can apply and obtain ration cards and check availability of food grains and their costs.

--> Anyone who holds an Aadhaar Card can apply online for the service.

3) Rajasthan becomes first state to pass bill on eligibility for contesting Panchayat polls:

--> Rajasthan became the first State in the country to fix a minimum educational qualification for contesting elections to the Panchayati Raj Institutions.

--> The Assembly on 27 March 2015 passed the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj (amendment) Bill, 2015, which makes Class VIII pass mandatory for the post of sarpanch — except in tribal reserved areas, where the minimum qualification is Class V — and Class X for Zila Parishad or Panchayat Samiti elections.

--> The amendments to Section 19 of the Rajasthan Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 also make a functional toilet mandatory in the house of a contestant.

4) Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) won Gandhi Peace Prize for 2014:

--> Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has been selected for the Gandhi Peace Prize for 2014.

-->  Award was announced on 27 March 2015 after the Jury met under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

--> The Gandhi Peace Prize consists of one crore rupees cash and citation.

--> Chief Justice HL Dattu, Senior Member of Parliament LK Advani and GopalKrishna Gandhi, Leader of single largest Opposition Party in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and many others were the members of the Jury.

--> Gandhi Peace Prize is named after Mahatma Gandhi, which is awarded annually by the Government of India and Instituted in 1995 as a part of the 125th birth anniversary celebration of Mahatma Gandhi.

5) Lumding-Silchar broad gauge line becomes operational:

--> Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on 27 March 2015 commissioned the 210 km long Lumding-Silchar broad gauge line, a crucial rail link for the Barak valley and the North-Eastern states of Tripura, Manipur and Mizoram.

--> The line was opened for goods traffic and passenger service will be started later on.

--> Sanctioned in 1996-67, the Lumding-Silchar gauge conversion project was declared national project in 2004.

6) In Dornier Crash, first woman officer died in Line of Duty:

--> Lieutenant Kiran Shekhawat became the first Indian woman officer to die in the line of duty.

--> Lieutenant Kiran Shekhawat died in the crash of the Dornier aircraft belonging to the Indian Navy.

--> This accident took place in the evening of 24 March south-west off the Goa coast in Arabian sea.

--> Lieutenant Shekhawat was also part of the Navy Woman Officer Contingent – the first ever all-woman officer contingent – that participated in this year’s Republic Day Parade.

7) World Theatre Day (WTD) celebrated:

--> World Theatre Day (WTD) is celebrated on March 27.

--> It was initiated in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute.

8) Centre declared national mourning on March 29:

--> The Centre has declared national mourning on 29 March 2015 as mark of respect to the former Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew.

--> The Indian National Flag will be flown at half-mast throughout the country and there will be no official entertainment, Lee’s funeral day, an official statement said.

--> Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be attending the funeral.

9) Delhi government to ban sale, purchase of chewable tobacco from March 30:

--> Delhi government will put a ban on sale, purchase and even storage of all forms of chewable tobacco including "guktha, khaini and zarda" in the national capital from 30 March 2015.

10) PM Narendra Modi, Kailash Satyarthi among world's greatest leaders: Fortune magazine

--> Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi have been named among the 50 greatest leaders in the world by Fortune magazine in its annual list of "extraordinary" men and women transforming business, government and philanthropy.

--> Modi is ranked 5th on the 2015 roster of 'World's Greatest Leaders' with Satyarthi coming in at the 28th spot.

--> The list has been topped by Apple CEO Tim Cook.

--> A notable exclusion from the list is US President Barack Obama, who has not been named in the list for a second year in a row.