CivilServiceArticle: 22 AUGUST 2015 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Gujarat to become 1st state to launch ‘agro-solar policy’

’Agro-solar policy’ is to be launched in Gujarat, making it the first state in India to do so
Under this policy, the farmers will have to tap energy from the sun
This will help them earn additional income from power generation companies
According to officials in Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute, farmers and power generation companies will be in a win-win situation with generation of solar energy in agricultural fields

Christopher Alan Bayly, one of the foremost historians of nineteenth century India and a member of the influential Cambridge school of historiography passed away on Monday aged 70
Bayly’s body of work has been essential reading in History and related disciplines in Indian and other universities across the globe
Bayly was the Vivekananda Professor at the University of Chicago during 2014-15. Several Indians historians and students worked with Bayly over the years
Bayly’s field-defining books include ‘Empire and Information: Intelligence Gathering and Social Communication in India, 1780-1870’, ‘Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars: North Indian Society in the Age of British Expansion, 1770-1870’, and ‘Indian Society and the Making of the British Empire’ as part of the New Cambridge History of India

Saina Nehwal regained the top ranking in the world of badminton, and also signed up a new sports marketing firm
The contract with IOS Sports & Entertainment promises her Rs 25 crore in the next two years
Saina currently earns between Rs 5 crore and Rs 7 crore a year from around 10 endorsement deals, some of which are for digital ads
She endorses brands such as Herbalife, Star Sports,Godrej,No Marks, Emami, Sahara, Indian Overseas Bank, Iodex and Commune Builder
Besides Saina IOS Sports had recently signed a three-year, Rs 35-crore contract with Suresh Raina and also boxers Mary Kom and Vijender Singh, wrestlers shooters Gagan Narang and Heena Sidhu and archer Deepika Kumari