Daily Current Affairs: 26 April 2015

1) Army conducted Akraman-II defense exercise in Rajasthan:

--> The Army on 26 April 2015 conducted a major exercise, 'Akraman-II', in Rajasthan to test a new generation of weaponry and platforms employed in the desert region.

--> The exercise was conducted by the Bhatinda-based Chetak Corps, a part of South Western Command.

--> The exercise also test the capabilities of Indian Air Force in launching deep insertion of airborne and helicopter- borne army units.

2) Norway’s Magnus Carlsen won Shamkir chess tournament:

--> World champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway on 26 April 2015 won the Shamkir Chess tournament held in Azerbaijan.

--> In the ninth and final round, he defeated Rauf Mamedov of Azerbaijan in 35 moves and scored seven points.

--> Former world champion Viswanathan Anand finished second in this tournament after he drew against Fabiano Caruana of Italy.

3) Anil Kapoor gets Dinanath Mangeshkar Award:

--> Actor Anil Kapoor was conferred the Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar Award on the occasion of the death anniversary of singer Lata Mangeshkar's father.

--> He was presented the award by noted historian and writer Babasaheb Purandare.

--> Apart from Anil Kapoor, veteran Marathi actor Dilip Prabhavalkar was also bestowed with the prestigious Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Award 2015. 

4) Logo, Slogan and Tagline for the New Education Policy Campaign finalised:

--> Union HRD Minister, Smt Smriti Irani introduced Shri Nawaj Shaikh, the winner of the logo competition for the New Education Policy at the Press Briefing held in New Delhi 0n 24 April 2015.

--> This competition was held through MyGov Platform.

--> Minister while introducing the winner said that for the first time ever the logo designed by a common man of the country and not by any advertising agency or a corporate house has been considered for the New Education Policy campaign.

--> “Nayi Shiksha Neeti Kare Saakaar, Gyaan, Yogyata aur Rojgaar”prepared by Vinod Kumar Maheshwari of Rewari (Haryana) will be the slogan.

--> “Educate Encourage Enlighten”by Ms. Vipitha Devi of Paravur (Kerala) will be the English tagline of the New Education Policy.

5) “Operation Maitri”name given to Indian Army’s relief and rescue operation in Nepal:

--> Operation Maitri” is the name given to the massive rescue and relief launched by the Indian Army in Nepal.

--> It involves medical teams, Engineer Task Forces (consisting of manpower, skid steers and JCBs), blankets and tents and INMARSAT for satellite communications devices.

--> The operation was launched shortly after the 7.9-magnitude quake hit Nepal at 11.56 am on 25 April.

6) Parliamentary panel wants Direct Taxes Code to stay:

--> A Parliamentary panel has rejected the Government's view of there being "no merit" in going ahead with the direct taxes code (DTC).

--> Noting that it was "not convinced" with the Government's reply, the Standing Committee on Finance headed by Veerappa Molly has urged the Modi-Government to go ahead with the DTC.

--> The DTC should be implemented within a stipulated deadline along the lines of the goods and services tax (GST) regime, the Standing Committee said in a report tabled in the Lok Sabha on

7) Ratan Tata bought stake in Chinese Phone Maker Xiaomi:

-->  Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of the holding company of the Tata conglomerate, has acquired a stake in Xiaomi Technology.

--> Financial details of the unspecified stake bought by Tata in Xiaomi, the first by an Indian, were not disclosed.

--> Xiaomi, the No. 3 global smartphone maker, was valued at $45 billion after a December funding round.

8) Volkswagen board chairman Ferdinand Piech resigned:

--> Chairman of the board of Volkswagen AG, Europe's biggest automaker, has stepped down after clashing with other board members over his criticism of the company's top management.

--> Volkswagen said in a statement that Ferdinand Piech was resigning with immediate effect.

9) Double amputee swimmer Masudur Rahman Baidya passed away:

--> India swimmer Masudur Rahman Baidya, the only man with amputated legs to cross the English Channel in 1997 died.

--> A double amputee below the knee, who had conquered the English Channel, the Strait of Gibraltar in 2001 and the Palk Strait in July 2010, was very popular and Indian cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar was one of his admirers.