1. Margaret Thatcher, Britain's first female PM, dead
i. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, a towering figure in postwar British and world politics and the only woman to become British prime minister, has died at the age of 87
ii. She was called the "Iron Lady" for her personal and political toughness.
iii. Margaret Thatcher came to power in May 1979, at the end of the infamous Winter of Discontent, where Britain was crippled by a wave of national strikes.
A grocer's daughter
i. Thatcher -- born in October 1925 in the small eastern England market town of Grantham -- came from a modest background, taking pride in being known as a grocer's daughter.
ii. She studied chemistry at Oxford, but was involved in politics from a young age, giving her first political speech at 20, according to her official biography.
iii. She was elected leader of the Conservative Party in 1975, when the party was in opposition.
iv. She made history four years later, becoming prime minister when the Conservatives won the elections of 1979, the first of three election victories to which she led her party.
2. Army to launch a New Scheme of Old Age Homes for ex-Servicemen
i. Bikram Singh, the Chief of Army Staff announced that the Army had prepared a new scheme, under which an old-age home will be opened in every command.
ii. The scheme is designed for providing a home to elderly ex-servicemen, who have no one to look after them during their old age.
iii. At present, the army is running an old age home on experiment basis near Chandigarh in Panchkula.
About the Scheme
Under the proposed scheme, the ex-servicemen willing to avail the services of the old-age homes will have to pay for the same from their pensions, as the services offered under the scheme are not free.
3. Nuclear capable Agni-II missile successfully test fired
i. The medium range nuclear capable Agni-II missile was on Sunday successfully test-fired with a strike range of more than 2,000 km from the Wheeler Island off Odisha coast.
ii. The trial of the surface-to-surface missile was conducted from a mobile launcher from the Launch Complex-4 of Integrated Test Range (ITR).
iii. The two-stage missile equipped with advanced high accuracy navigation system, guided by a novel scheme of state of the earth command and control system was propelled by solid rocket propellant system,
iv. The 20-metre long Agni-II is a two-stage, solid-propelled ballistic missile.
v. It has a launch weight of 17 tonnes and can carry a payload of 1,000 kg over a distance of 2,000 km.
NOTE: i. Agni-II is part of the Agni series of missiles developed by DRDO which includes Agni-I with a 700 km range, Agni-III with a 3,000 km range, Agni-IV with 4,000 km range and Agni-V more than 5,000 km range.
ii. The last trial of Agni-II conducted on August 9 last year from the same base, was a total success.
4. India completed a 5-0 Whitewash of Indonesia in Davis Cup
i. India completed a 5-0 whitewash of Indonesia in the Asia-Oceania Group I Davis Cup relegation play-off tie in Bangalore on 7 April 2013 as Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri posted straight-set wins in their respective reverse singles.
ii. Somdevoutplayed David Agung Susant 6-3 6-1in little over an hour while Yuki Bhambari registered a thumping 6-0 6-1 victory over Wisnu Adi Nugroho.
iii. India stay in Asia Oceania Group-I and will strive to qualify for the World Group in 2014.
iv. India had already retained their place in the group, after they took a lead of 3-0 on 6 April 2013.
5. SBI to discontinue Free Accident Insurance Cover from July 2013
i. India's largest bank SBI will discontinue a free accident insurance cover given to its home and car loan customers from July 2013.
ii. In a notification to its customers, the (SBI) said the complimentary group personal accident insurance cover (death only) for home and car loan customers will be discontinued on the expiry of current Master Policy on 1 July 2013.
iii. The bank, however, did not mention the reasons for scrapping the complimentary cover.
iv. SBI said that its home and car loan borrowers, who do not have any insurance cover for their loan liabilities, may opt for the policies being offered by SBI's insurance venture.
NOTE: i. Currently, SBI General Insurance Company Limited is offering an Accident Insurance cover of Rs 4 lakh for SBI's savings bank account holders for an annual premium of Rs 100.
ii. Earlier this year, SBI had said it provided personal accident cover to over 7 million of its account holders across the country in association with SBI General Insurance.
iii. SBI General Insurance Company is a joint venture between the State Bank of India and Australia's leading general insurance provider Insurance Australia Group.
6. World Health Day was Celebrated on 7th April
i. World health day was celebrated on 7 April 2013. The theme for 2013 was high blood pressure.
ii. This day marks the anniversary of the founding of WHO (World Health Organisation) in 1948.
iii. Each year a theme is selected for World Health Day that highlights a priority area of public health concern in the world.
iv. High blood pressure also known as raised blood pressure or hypertension increases the risk of heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure.
v. The ultimate goal of World Health Day 2013 is to reduce heart attacks and strokes.
NOTE: According to the World Health Organisation, High Blood Pressure affects one in three adults worldwide and leads to more than nine million deaths globally every year.
7. Rupesh Shah Won ONGC 12th Asian Billiards championship
i. Rupesh Shah, the world champion won the 12th Asian Billiards championship at Indore Tennis Club, Indore on 7 April 2013.
ii. He defeated Alok Kumar 6-4 in the fierce match.
iii. Rupesh Shah already qualified for 2013 World Championship as the defending champion.
Note: It is important to note that this is the 10th Asian Billiards title. Rupesh Shah is the new entry into the club of elites such as Ashok Shandilya, Alok Kumar, Geet Sethi, Pankaj Advani and Devendra Joshi.
8. Djokovic retains ATP rankings lead
i. Novak Djokovic maintained his big lead in the men’s tennis rankings in the latest list issued on Monday by the ATP.
ii. Djokovic, who helped Serbia on the weekend to beat the United States for a place in the Davis Cup semifinals, has 12,500 points to rank ahead of Andy Murray (8,750) and Roger Federer (8,670) in an unchanged top 10.
9. Serena Williams wins third Charleston title
i. World No. 1 Serena Williams has won her third Family Circle Cup title in Charleston after battling back from a set down to defeat Jelena Jankovic in the final.
ii. The American took the title Sunday on a tense tiebreak in a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) victory that puts her on 49 WTA titles, one short of a mark reached by just nine players in history.
10. IPL6: Hyderabad beat RCB in Super Over
i. Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli were unable to get Dale Steyn away for 21 off their Super Over as Hyderabad won a thrilling contest against Bangalore in Hyderabad on Sunday.
ii. Opting to bat after winning the toss, Bangalore could never get the momentum going their way after losing Chris Gayle in only the second over of the match.
11. KXIP beat Warriors by 8 wkts
i. Kings XI Punjab beat Pune Warriors by eight wickets in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match in Pune on Sunday.
ii. The Man of the Match award was won by Manan Vohra.
Brief Scores:
Pune Warriors: 99 for 9 in 20 overs (Abhishek Nayar 25 not out, Azhar Mahmood 2/19).
Kings XI Punjab: 100 for 2 in 12.2 overs (Manan Vohra 43 not out, Mandeep Singh 31; Angelo Mathews 1/12)
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