1. Former minister Sitaram Prasad passes away
i. Veteran Congress leader and former minister Sitaram Prasad passed away at a private hospital here today after protracted illness, his family sources said.
ii. He was 93. Prasad is survived by two daughters.
iii. A member of the state legislative assembly for four terms between 1969 and 1985 representing Shikarpur Assembly seat in West Champaran district, he had served as a minister in the government headed by the then Chief Minister Kedar Pandey in early 1970s.
2. WHO certifies India as a polio-free nation
i. India and the 11-country South-East Asia region today received formal certificates to mark a health milestone – being polio-free.
ii. India, the largest country in region, was the most recent member to achieve the status of being polio-free for at least three years.
iii. Minister of Health Ghulam Nabi Azad received the certificate on behalf of India.
iv. According to the international guidelines, a country or region has to be polio-free at least for three years to qualify to be declared polio-free. India touched this milestone in January this year.
v. However, the country's close proximity to polio affected nations, such as Pakistan and Afghanistan, remains a danger.
3. Vietnam not to host 2019 Asian Games
i. Vietnam said on Friday it had decided against hosting the 2019 Asian Games for financial reasons, and was exploring procedures to withdraw from staging the region's largest sporting event.
ii. There was scant public jubilation when the communist country's capital was chosen in 2012 to host the showpiece competition and public sentiment has hardened against the move, with even tightly-controlled state-run newspapers criticising the move in recent weeks.
iii. Hanoi in November 2012 won the right to host the 2019 Asian Games, beating Indonesia's second city Surabaya after Dubai in the United Arab Emirates pulled out just before the vote.
4. IPL-7 to begin in UAE
i. Seventh season of Indian Premier League, IPL-7 gets underway in UAE tomorrow.
ii. Eight participating teams, Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils , Kings Eleven Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad will be in action over the next fortnight in the tournament.
iii. In all, 20 matches will be played during April 16-30 in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.
iv. Defending champions Mumbai Indians take on last years’ runners up Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening match at Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi tomorrow. The two teams are already in town and went through the net practice sessions at the venue over the past three days.
v. The BCCI- IPL Interim President Sunil Gavaskar has promised to hold a transparent corruption free and controversy free game of cricket in the IPL Season-7.
vi. He has inducted the HDFC Chairman Deepak Parikh as Special Advisor for the tournament.
i. Veteran Congress leader and former minister Sitaram Prasad passed away at a private hospital here today after protracted illness, his family sources said.
ii. He was 93. Prasad is survived by two daughters.
iii. A member of the state legislative assembly for four terms between 1969 and 1985 representing Shikarpur Assembly seat in West Champaran district, he had served as a minister in the government headed by the then Chief Minister Kedar Pandey in early 1970s.
2. WHO certifies India as a polio-free nation
i. India and the 11-country South-East Asia region today received formal certificates to mark a health milestone – being polio-free.
ii. India, the largest country in region, was the most recent member to achieve the status of being polio-free for at least three years.
iii. Minister of Health Ghulam Nabi Azad received the certificate on behalf of India.
iv. According to the international guidelines, a country or region has to be polio-free at least for three years to qualify to be declared polio-free. India touched this milestone in January this year.
v. However, the country's close proximity to polio affected nations, such as Pakistan and Afghanistan, remains a danger.
3. Vietnam not to host 2019 Asian Games
i. Vietnam said on Friday it had decided against hosting the 2019 Asian Games for financial reasons, and was exploring procedures to withdraw from staging the region's largest sporting event.
ii. There was scant public jubilation when the communist country's capital was chosen in 2012 to host the showpiece competition and public sentiment has hardened against the move, with even tightly-controlled state-run newspapers criticising the move in recent weeks.
iii. Hanoi in November 2012 won the right to host the 2019 Asian Games, beating Indonesia's second city Surabaya after Dubai in the United Arab Emirates pulled out just before the vote.
4. IPL-7 to begin in UAE
i. Seventh season of Indian Premier League, IPL-7 gets underway in UAE tomorrow.
ii. Eight participating teams, Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils , Kings Eleven Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad will be in action over the next fortnight in the tournament.
iii. In all, 20 matches will be played during April 16-30 in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.
iv. Defending champions Mumbai Indians take on last years’ runners up Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening match at Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi tomorrow. The two teams are already in town and went through the net practice sessions at the venue over the past three days.
v. The BCCI- IPL Interim President Sunil Gavaskar has promised to hold a transparent corruption free and controversy free game of cricket in the IPL Season-7.
vi. He has inducted the HDFC Chairman Deepak Parikh as Special Advisor for the tournament.
