*CURRENT AFFAIRS (05:03:2014)

1. South African cricketer Graeme Smith announces retirement from all
forms of international cricket.
- He featured in 109 test and won 53 of them as captain - both world record.
- He played in 117 tests scoring 9262 runs studded with 27 hundreds
and 38 fifties.
2. Bill Gates is back as the most richest man on the planet as per the
Forbes magazine's annual global list of billionaires.
- He wrested the coveted title from Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim
who was heading the list for the previous 4 years.
- Carlos Slim has slipped to 2nd place followed by Amanico Ortega at 3rd.
- Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani is the richest
Indian in the list that features 55 more billionaires from the
country.
3. Hockey India has been granted the status of a National Sports
Federation for the game of Hockey in India.
- With this end the dispute between the two rival governing bodies for
hockey namely 'Indian Hockey Federation' (IHF) and 'Hockey India' (HI)
4. Minority Affairs Ministry introduces 2 new schemes namely Maulana
Azad Sehat Scheme and Nalanda Project.
- Maulana Azad Sehat Scheme is dedicated to serve the health needs of
students studying in schools financially assisted by MAEF (Maulana
Azad Education Foundation).
- Nalanda Project is a faculty development program for minorities'
higher educational institutions.
5. KS Popli assumes charge as the Chairman and Managing Director of
Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA).
- IREDA is a non-banking financial institution under the Ministry of
New and Renewable Energy which provides term loans for renewable
energy and energy efficiency projects.
6. Anuja Prabhudessai becomes the first woman judge of Goa high court.
7. The former Delhi Chief Minister 'Sheila Dikshit' has been appointed
as the new (22nd) Governor of Kerala.
- She succeeds Nikhil Kumar as such.