9-10 march 2015
International Women’s Day 2015 observed with theme Make it Happen
8 March: International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day was observed across the world on 8 March 2015. The theme for the year 2015 is Make it Happen and it encourages effective action for advancing and recognizing women.
The theme was declared by United Nations.
The day represents an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women while calling for greater equality.
The day sees several events to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women. These events are organised by governments, charities, educational institutions, women's groups, corporation, media and other institutions.
International Women’s Day (IWD): Timeline
The second International Conference of Working Women was held in 2010 in Copenhagen and the idea of International Women’s Day was tabled by Clara Zetkin, the Leader of the 'Women's Office' for the Social Democratic Party in Germany.
1911
At Copenhagen in 1911, International Women's Day (IWD) was honoured for the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on 19 March.
1917
On the last Sunday of February, that is 23 February, Russian women began a strike for "bread and peace" in response to the death over 2 million Russian soldiers in war. This forced the Czars to abdicate and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote. The date 23 February was according to the Julian calendar which was then in use in Russia. This day on the Gregorian calendar in use elsewhere was 8 March.
1975
United Nations designated 1975 as International Women's Year
Since 2000, IWD is celebrated as official holiday in some countries. These are Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia.
In China, Nepal and Madagascar the official holiday is granted for women only.
Aapki Beti Humari Beti scheme launched in Haryana
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on 8 March 2015 launched a scheme for girl child - Aapki Beti Humari Beti. The scheme was launched with an aim to combat the problem of declining child sex ratio in the state.
The scheme was announced at a state-level function on the occasion of International Women’s Day at Panchkula. Khattar launched the scheme by giving away a cheque of 21000 rupees each to mothers of six female children born on or after 22 January 2015. Key Characteristics of the Scheme
• Under the scheme, the first girl child born on or after 22 January 2015 in Schedule Caste (SC) and Below Poverty Line (BPL) families will be eligible to receive 21000 rupees.
• The second girl child born on or after 22 January 2015 of all families will also receive the same amount.
• Families where twin girls or multiple girls are born will also get 21000 rupees per girl child.
• The Scheme will be implemented in both rural and urban areas of the state covering first-born girl child of SC and BPL families all second girl child born on or after 22 January 2015 of all families.
Other schemes that were launched during the function
• Haryana Kanya Kosh: for the welfare and development of girl child and women in the state
• Multi Sectoral Nutrition Programme: The programme will address the maternal and child nutrition in five districts namely Mewat, Fatehabad, Narnaul, Palwal and Kaithal.
Other announcements made during the function
• The amount of Indira Gandhi Mahila Shakti Award was increased to 1.5 lakh rupees from one lakh rupees.
• The amount of Behan Shanno Devi Award was increased to one lakh rupees from 51000 rupees.
• The amount of Life Time Achievement Award was increased to 51000 rupees from 21000 rupees.
• The amount of other women achiever award was increased to 21000 rupees from 5100 rupees. Districts honoured for improving sex ratio in the State
Four districts namely Panipat (first prize of four lakh rupees), Jind (second prize of two lakh rupees), Rohtak (third prize of two lakh rupees) and Sonipat (fourth prize of two lakh rupees) were honoured for improvement in their sex ratio during the year 2014.
Panipat was conferred with first prize for registering sex ratio of 892 girls per 1000 boys in the year 2014 as compared to 851 in the year 2013. Jind registered a sex ratio of 891 as compared to 859 in 2013, Rohtak registered a sex ratio of 879 as compared to 847 in 2013 and district Sonipat registered a sex ratio of 847 as compared to 824 in 2013.
First Indo- Nepal Friendship Motor Rally concluded at India Gate
The first Indo-Nepal Friendship Motor Rally concluded on 8 March 2015 at India Gate in New Delhi. The rally aimed at strengthening bilateral relations between India and Nepal and spreading the message of road safety. The rally was flagged off at Puri, Odisha on 27 February 2015. Twenty four teams and about 90 participants from India and Nepal covered 3060 Km during the ten-day rally in both countries.
A display of vintage cars was also organised at India Gate to mark the occasion. The route of the Rally was as follows: Puri, Konark, Dhauli, Bhubaneswar, Baripada, Rairangpur (Odisha); Jamshedpur, Ranchi (Jharkhand); Bodhgaya, Rajgir, Bakhtiyarpur, Patna, Muzaffarpur, Forbesganj, Jogbani (Bihar); Biratnagar, Dharan, Bardibas, Dhulikhel, Kathmandu, Pokhara, Lumbini, Dhangadhi (Nepal); New Delhi.
Kerala Tourism won the silver prize of Golden Gate award for promoting the backwaters of Kerala
Kerala Tourism on 8 March 2015 won the silver prize of Golden Gate award at the Internationale Tourismus-Borse Berlin (ITB-Berlin) 2015, Germany. Kerala won the award for its global multimedia campaign to promote the backwaters of Kerala. The campaign was conceptualised by Kerala State’s Tourism Department’s creative and marketing agency Stark Communications.
In 2014, The Great Backwaters campaign of Kerala had won the Golden Gate Silver Prize in the Print category at the ITB-Berlin. Kerala Tourism had won the award for the hugely successful Your Moment is Waiting ad campaign in the print category.
The Golden Gate award (Das Golden Stadttor) is presented every year at the ITB-Berlin and is dubbed as the Oscar in tourism communication. It is considered the ultimate recognition in global tourism communication.
President presented Stree Shakti Puraskars and Nari Shakti Puruskars for the year 2014
President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 8 March 2015 presented Stree Shakti puraskars and Nari Shakti Puruskars for the year 2014. The awards were given on the occasion of International Women’s Day at a function at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The Stree Shakti puraskars are conferred on six women in the area of women’s endeavor and exceptional contribution each year. The award carries a cash prize of 3 lakh rupees and a citation. Winners of the Stree Shakti Puruskar 2014
|
Award |
Winner |
Cause |
|
Rani Lakshmibai Award |
Seema Prakash, Madhya Pradesh |
For working for the cause of vulnerable and marginalised Communities of Madhya Pradesh Since 2000 particularly for the Korku tribe of the state. |
|
Rani Rudramma Devi Award |
Astha Sansthan (NGO), Rajasthan |
For protecting women’s rights, gender mainstreaming, issues relating to violence against women tribal rights, food security, transparency and right to work and others. |
|
Mata Jijabai Award |
Chandraprabha Bokey, Maharashtra |
She is a social worker and is working in rural areas since 1960. Her field of work includes empowerment and rehabilitation of destitute, divorced, disabled women and rehabilitation of orphan children. |
|
Kannagi Award |
Dr. P Bhanumati, Kerala |
For founding Association for Mentally Handicapped Adults (AHMA) working for welfare of the poor destitute mentally challenged adults since 1996. |
|
Rani Gaidinliu Zeliang Award |
Sister Mariola, Rajasthan |
For working with the inmates at Ajmer Jail, Rajasthan since 1997 and has been lobbying for Prisons Without Walls. |
|
Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Award |
Anyay Rahit Zindagi (NGO), Goa |
The organisation works towards combating trafficking of persons subjected to commercial sexual exploitation since 1997. |
The Nari Shakti Puraskars have been conferred for the first time in 2015 and the award carries a cash prize of one lakh rupees and a citation. They have been instituted by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development to honour 8 women and recognize their individual contribution in specific areas.
Winners of the Nari Shakti Puruskars for the year 2014 includes Rashmi Anand from Delhi, Nandita Krishna from Tamil Nadu, Dr. Laxmi Gautam from Uttar Pradesh, Latika Thukral from Haryana, Dr. Sailakshmi Balijepally from Tamil Nadu, Neha Kirpal from Delhi, P Kausalya from Tamil Nadu and Dr. Swaraj Vidwan from Uttarakhand.
Ashwin Mittal appointed as CFO of Walmart India Private Limited
Ashwin Mittal was on 7 March 2015 appointed as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Walmart India Private Limited. He will succeed Jill Anderson as he will be repatriated back to Walmart in United States. Walmart India also appointed Javier Rojo as the head of its Real Estate and Business Development. Javier will be responsible for Store Planning & Real Estate, Design & Construction.
Ashwin Mittal had joined Walmart in 2007 as Head of Financial Planning and Analysis. Since then, he had served at various key roles in the company including Head -Business Finance and Strategy, Chief Business Development Officer and Deputy CFO.
Ashwin Mittal is a qualified Chartered Accountant (CA) having rich work experience of 25 years in multinational companies, including Yum Restaurants and Silicon Graphics Cray.
Eighth India-Nepal combined exercise named Surya Kiran VIII concluded
Exercise Surya Kiran VIII: Joint India Nepal Military Exercise
Eighth India-Nepal combined exercise named Surya Kiran VIII concluded on 7 March 2015 at Salijhandi, Nepal. The exercise was conducted under the aegis of Nepalese Army and it had started on 23 February 2015.
The training culminated in a 48 hours consolidation and validation exercise in which troops of both countries carried out a search and destroy mission in the general area of Saljhandi. The final exercise was reviewed by Major General Padamvillas Karki of Nepalese Army and Major General Vinod Prakash Singh Bhakuni of Indian Army.
Aim of the Exercise Surya Kiran VIII
• To create a greater understanding between Indian and Nepalese Army and develop interoperability in Jungle Warfare and Counter Terrorism operations in mountainous terrain
• It also focused on the basics of Disaster Management with special reference to Pandemic or Epidemic control and aviation aspects
Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara announced retirement from Test cricket
Former Sri Lankan cricket captain and batsman Kumar Sangakkara on 8 March 2015 announced his retirement from Test cricket. He will retire after playing the three-match Test series against India in August 2015. Sangakkara had already taken retirement from One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty-20 cricket. He retired from Twenty-20 cricket format after Sri Lanka won the T20 World cup in 2014. While, he had announced to retire from ODI cricket format after the ongoing ICC World Cup 2015.
Presently, Sangakkara is fifth highest run scorer in Test cricket. He has scored 12203 runs in 130 Test matches at an average of 58.66.
Kumar Sangakkara
• In his Test match career till date, he has scored 38 centuries in 130 matches and 51 half-centuries in 129 matches.
• In ICC World Cup 2015, Kumar Sangakkara created a record by becoming first batsman to score hundreds in three consecutive World Cup matches.
• In 2011, he was named as the ODI Cricketer of the Year at the ICC awards ceremony and in 2012, he was honoured as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year.
• On 29 January 2015, Sangakkara became Sri Lanka's highest ever ODI run scorer by surpassing the previous record of 13430 runs held by cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya.
Senior Journalist Vinod Mehta died
Senior Journalist and writer Vinod Mehta died due to multiple organ failure at All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi on 8 March 2015. He was 72. Mehta was known for bold journalism. He was the founder editor of weekly magazine Outlook and also served as Editor-in-Chief of Outlook magazine till February 2012. He remained the Editorial Chairman of the magazine until his death. He founded the Outlook magazine in 1995.
He was an eminent political commentator who launched and served as the editor of several publications. These include
Debonair 1974
The Sunday Observer 1981
Indian Post 1987
The Independent 1989
Pioneer 1990
Outlook 1995
He also authored several books that included biography of Meena Kumari and Sanjay Gandhi. In 2010 he authored a book titled Lucknow Boy: A Memoir which is a memoir on the functioning of media.
His other works includes
• Mr Editor, How Close Are You to the PM? (2001)
• Bombay: A Private View (1971)
• The Sanjay Story (2012)
• Meena Kumari (1972)
• Editor Unplugged (2014)
He was born in 1942 in Rawalpindi in present Pakistan and started his stint with journalism with Debonair, a men’s magazine, in 1974.
Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara announced retirement from Test cricket