Sebi cancels Sahara’s portfolio management licence

Market regulator Sebi has cancelled the portfolio management licence of Sahara Asset Management (AMC). Under this business, Sahara AMC managed nearly Rs 77 lakh worth of funds for six clients as of January 2015. The Sebi decision, however, will not impact Sahara’s mutual fund business under which the conglomerate managed assets worth nearly Rs 148 crore as of December 2014.

India ranks below most BRICS nations in innovation

Even as the research and development (R&D) sector has been witnessing double-digit growth in the last few years, India ranks lower than most BRICS nations in capacity for innovation, according to the Economic Survey 2014-15. The report ranks India at 48 in capacity for innovation, Brazil at 44, China 40 and South Africa 35. Russia is ranked 66.  Only in terms of availability of scientists and engineers, India scores better or is equal to other BRICS countries. The R&D sector in the country grew 20.8 per cent in 2012-13.

Justice Amitava Roy sworn in as Supreme Court judge

Justice Amitava Roy has been sworn in as a judge of the Supreme Court (SC). He was administered the oath of office by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) H. L. Dattu and will have a tenure of three years. He was the chief justice of Orissa high court. With the elevation of Justice Amitava Roy, the strength of the SC judges has gone up to 29 out of total sectioned strength of 31 judges.

Today is National Science Day

Every year February 28 is celebrated as the National Science Day i.e. Rashtriya Vigyan Diwas. In 2015, the theme of the day is “Science for Nation Building”. This day marks the epoch-making discovery of Raman Effect by Indian physicist Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (CV Raman) on February 28, 1928. In 1930, for this discovery he was awarded with the Nobel Prize in Physics. The first National Science Day was celebrated on 28 February 2000.

US actor Leonard Nimoy died at age 83 in Los Angeles

Acclaimed US actor Leonard Nimoy passed away on 27 February 2015 in Los Angeles. He was 83 and died of end stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Nimoy had a long career as both an actor and a director. However, he was best known for his portrayal of the half-human, half-Vulcan character, Mr. Spock, in both the TV franchise and film series Star Trek.

AB De Villiers hits fastest ODI 150 

AB de Villiers hit the fastest ever 150 in one-day internationals as South Africa condemned West Indies to a crushing 257-run defeat in Sydney. He achieved this feat in just 64 balls and also broke the previous record of Australia’s Shane Watson by 19 balls. AB De Villiers scored 162 runs from 66 balls with 8 sixes and 17 fours. He now holds the record for the fastest 50, 100, and 150 in One-Day Internationals. De Villiers’s century came off 52 balls, the second-fastest in a ICC Cricket World Cup match, after Kevin O’Brien’s 50-ball effort against England in 2011.