Daily Current Affairs Updates: 2 March 2015

1) INS Alleppey to be decommissioned this year:

--> INS Alleppey, one of the seven mine sweepers of the Indian Navy, will be decommissioned this year, leaving 14 ports - of which 12 are identified as key - to be covered by just six ships.

--> Mine sweepers perform the critical job of keeping shipping lines and ports open by detecting and defusing mines planted by the enemy by sea or air.

--> The Indian Navy had acquired 12 mine sweeper vessels from Russia between 1978 and 1988. Of these, four have been decommissioned. INS Alleppey, a Russian Natya Class Mine Sweeper, has been in use since 1980.

--> No mine sweeper vessel has been acquired since 1988. 

2) Jagmohan Dalmiya unanimously elected as the new President of the BCCI:

--> Jagmohan Dalmiya has been unanimously elected the president of the BCCI, more than a decade after he last held the position, at the board's AGM in Chennai on 2 March 2015.

--> Anurag Thakur, who was joint-secretary before has become the new secretary after edging out Sanjay Patel.

--> Amitabha Chodhary was elected the Joint Secretary beating Goa's Chetan Desai, while Haryana's Anirudh Choudhary won the treasurer's position by defeating Rajiv Shukla.

3) Ola acquired India's second-largest cab aggregator TaxiForSure for $ 200 mn:

--> Ola (formerly Olacabs), a mobile app for personal transportation, on 2 March 2015 said it has acquired TaxiForSure, India's second largest cab aggregator, for $200 mn in a cash and equity deal.

--> With this deal, Ola, which has over 1 lakh vehicles on its platform for personal transportation, has further deepened its footprint with TaxiForSure's operator led model.

--> Ola and TaxiForSure will continue to operate as separate entities.

4) Ficci roped in Arvind Virmani as Economic Mentor:

--> Noted economist, Arvind Virmani, who served as the country’s Chief Economic Advisor and Principal Advisor in the Planning Commission, will now mentor Ficci’s public policy & economic work.

5) World’s first electric satellites successfully lifted off by SpaceX rocket:

--> World’s first electric satellites were successfully lifted off by a Space Exploration (SpaceX) Technologies rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, United States.

--> The rocket was carrying two all-electric commercial satellites built by Boeing.

--> The satellites are owned by the French satellite provider Eutelsat and Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS).

6) Bill Gates named world's richest person again:

--> Bill Gates has been declared the richest man in the world for the 16th time by Forbes magazine's annual ranking of global billionaires.

--> The Microsoft founder once again beat Mexican businessman Carlos Slim to the top spot.

--> Legendary US investor Warren Buffett regained third place in the list with a net worth of $72.7bn

7) Chelsea won Tottenham to win League Cup:

--> John Terry set Chelsea up for a 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in League Cup final held on 1 March 2015 as Jose Mourinho claimed the first trophy of his second stint as manager.

--> It was Mourinho's first title since he returned to Stamford Bridge in 2013 and his third League Cup after previous successes with the club in 2005 and 2007.

8) Lok Sabha passed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2015:

--> Lok Sabha on 2 March 2015 passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2015 by voice vote.

--> The Bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 which regulates the acquisition and determination of citizenship and details registration of Overseas Citizens of India and their rights.

9) Namibia President Pohamba won Mo Ibrahim prize:

--> The outgoing Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba has won the world's most valuable individual award, the Mo Ibrahim prize for African leadership.

--> The $5m (£3.2m) award is given each year to an elected leader who governed well, raised living standards and then left office.

--> But the previous award was the fourth in five years to have gone unclaimed.

10) Rafael Nadal defeated Juan Mónaco at Argentina Open:

--> Rafael Nadal won a record-equalling 46th clay-court title and his first on any surface since last June by brushing aside Juan Mónaco in the final of the Argentina Open.

11) Sania Mirza to team up with Martina Hingis:

--> Three-time Grand Slam winner Sania Mirza of India has decided to team up with former World No. 1 Martina Hingis of Switzerland in the US-leg of the WTA Tour circuit after parting ways with women's doubles partner Hsieh Su-wei of Chinese Taipei with whom she featured in the doubles final of the just-concluded Doha Open championship.