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NATIONAL NEWS

1. India to grow at 7.3% in 2019, 2020: Moody‟s

Indian economy is expected to grow at 7.3% in

calendar years 2019 and 2020, and the government

spending announced ahead of elections this year

which will support near-term growth, Moody‘s

said on 1st March. The US-based rating agency

said that the country is less exposed to a slowdown

in global manufacturing trade growth than other

major Asian economies and emerging markets and

is poised to grow at a relatively stable pace in the

two years.

2. 3-day “Mainamati Maitree Exercise 2019”

between BSF and BGB held in Tripura

Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guards

Bangladesh (BGB) took part in the 3-day

‗Mainamati Maitree Exercise 2019‘ as a part of

‗Confidence Building Measures‘ between the two

border guards of India and Bangladesh held in a

general area of BSF‘s Srimantapur border outpost

near Agartala, Tripura.

3. „Rice Knowledge Bank- Assam‟ launched under

the World Bank funded project APART

Rice Knowledge Bank-Assam, which is an

agriculture web portal is dedicated to magnifying

knowledge on rice production technologies and

techniques, best production practices and state

agriculture facts, was launched under World Bank

funded project – Agri-business and Rural

Transformation (APART).

4. Karnataka CM launches ambitious

„Jalamrutha‟ scheme

Karnataka chief minister, H D Kumaraswamy,

who initiated ‗Jalamrutha‘, an ambitious water

conservation scheme that plans to create awareness

among the people of the state about the invaluable

nature of water and the need to conserve it at any

cost. On this occasion, he also announced the year

2019 as ‗Jalavarsha (year of water)‘.

5. GoI and ADB sign $926 million loan agreement

for Mumbai Metro Rail Project

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the

Government of India signed a $926 Million Loan

Agreement on 1st March to operationalize two

lines for the Mumbai Metro Rail System that will

ease the distress of millions of commuters each

day and help provide a cleaner, less congested city.

6. PM Modi inaugurates ordnance factory in

Amethi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 3rd March

launched 17 developments projects worth 538

crore rupees at Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. These

projects include a factory to manufacture AK 203

rifles, the latest version in Kalashnikov series with

Russian collaboration.

7. Construction Technology India 2019 Expo-cum

Conference held in New Delhi

On 2nd March 2019, Prime Minister Narendra

Modi inaugurated the two-day Expo-cum

Conference on Construction Technology India

2019 (CTI-2019) in New Delhi. The conference

will identify proven, innovative and globally

established technologies for use in the Indian

context.

8. PM launches One Nation, One Card in

Ahmedabad

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched One

Nation, One Card for transport mobility at a

function in Ahmedabad on 4th March. The

Indigenous Automatic Fare Collection System

based on One Nation One Card Model i.e.

National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) is the

first of its kind in India. India‘s First Indigenously

Developed Payment Eco-system for transport

consisting of NCMC Card, SWEEKAR (Swachalit

Kiraya: Automatic Fare Collection System) and

SWAGAT (Swachalit Gate) is based on NCMC

Standards. These are bank-issued cards on

Debit/Credit/Prepaid card product platform. The

customer may use this single card for payments

across all segments including metro, bus, suburban

railways, toll, parking, smart city, and retail.

9. ISRO launches YUva VIgyani KAryakram for

School Children

Indian Space Research Organisation has launched

a special programme for School Children called

―Young Scientist Programme‖ ―YUva VIgyani

KAryakram‖ (युविका) from this year. The Program

is primarily aimed at imparting basic knowledge

on Space Technology, Space Science and Space

Applications to the younger ones with the intent of

arousing their interest in the emerging areas of

Space activities.

10. TN CM launches one-time special assistance for

BPL families

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami on 4th

March launched financial assistance of Rs 2,000

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for 60 lakh below the poverty line (BPL) families

in the state affected by cyclone Gaja, drought and

failure of rains. At the state secretariat,

Palaniswami handed over to 32 families the

administrative sanction to deposit Rs 2,000 in their

bank accounts.

11. PM Modi launches Pradhan Mantri Shram

Yogi Maan-Dhan Yojana PM-SYM) in

Gandhinagar, Gujarat

On the second day of Gujarat visit, Prime Minister

Narendra Modi on 5th March launched PM Shram

Yogi Maan-Dhan Yojana (PM-SYM), a pension

scheme aimed at empowering the unorganized

sector workers in Vastral, Ahmedabad. The

scheme will benefit workers in the unorganized

sector who earn up to Rs. 15,000 per month. The

Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-Dhan Yojana

will provide these workers an assured pension of

Rs. 3,000 per month after they turn 60 years.

12. Venkaiah Naidu reaches out to Paraguay, Costa

Rica for trade in energy, education, healthcare,

space

Vice -President M Venkaiah Naidu embarked on a

visit to Paraguay on Tuesday (5-7 March). He is

scheduled to be in the Republic of Costa Rica,

March 7-9. This is the first high-level visit from

India to both countries. The vice-president is being

accompanied by a high-level delegation including

minister of state for tourism KJ Alphons, Members

of Parliament and senior officials from the Union

government.

13. Swachh Survekshan Awards 2019: Indore

judged the cleanest city in India for the third

time in a row

The Central government‘s cleanliness survey

declared Indore as India‘s ‗Cleanest City‘ for the

third year on a row on 6th March. Ujjain and

Ahmedabad also bagged the title in two different

categories. The cities were awarded for this

achievement during the Swachh Survekshan

Awards 2019. The honor was conferred by

President Ram Nath Kovind at a ceremony in

Delhi. Ahmedabad won the award in the ‗Cleanest

Big City‘ category, while Ujjain won the title of

‗Cleanest Medium City‘.

Indore has won this award for the third year in a

row now. The second and third positions were

clinched by Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh and

Mysore in Karnataka.

Among other winners was New Delhi Municipal

Council area that was adjudged ‗Cleanest Small

City‘, and Uttarakhand‘s Gauchar was declared the

‗Best Ganga Town‘. Raipur won the ‗Fastest

Moving Big City‘ and Mathura-Vrindavan won the

tag of ‗Fastest Moving Medium Cities‘.

14. PM Modi donates Rs 21 lakh from his personal

savings to corpus fund for the welfare of

sanitation workers of Kumbh Mela

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has donated 21

lakh rupees from his personal savings to the corpus

fund for the welfare of sanitation workers of

Kumbh Mela. In a series of tweets, Prime Minister

office said, Mr. Modi had recently donated the

entire Seoul Peace prize money of one crore three

lakh rupees to Namami Gange project to help

clean the Ganga.

15. 7th March 2019 to be celebrated as

„JanaushadhiDiwas‟ across India

―With the initiative of Prime Minister of India,

Narendra Modi in the direction of making quality

healthcare affordable for all, the Government has

taken important steps to make affordable and

quality generic medicines popular among the

people through Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya

Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP)‖, said Mansukh

Mandaviya, Union Minister of State for Chemicals

& Fertilizers, Road Transport & Highways,

Shipping while addressing the media.

16. Google launches Bolo app to help children in

India with reading, comprehension skills

Google India has unveiled an app- Bolo which

focuses on improving the reading and

comprehension skills of students, especially the

ones in rural areas. Bolo has an in-built reading

companion called ‗Diya‘ whose primary task is to

encourage, aid, explain and correct the users as

they read aloud.

17. Mamata Banerjee launched Yuvashree Arpan

scheme for financially assisting young

entrepreneurs

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee

launched a new scheme called Yuvashree Plan II

or Yuvashree Arpan under which 50,000 youths

will receive financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh for

setting up their own business initiatives.

18. Uttarakhand CM launches free milk scheme for

Anganwadi children

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh

Rawat launched the Mukhyamantri Anchal Amrit

Yojana here Thursday, under which 2.5 lakh

children at 20,000 Anganwadi kendras in the state

will be given 100 ml milk twice a week for free.

Flavoured, sweet, skimmed milk powder will be

made available to the 20,000 Anganwadi kendras

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across the state under the Amrit Yojana, Rawat

said.

19. Hardeep S Puri launches e-Dharti App

Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Puri

recently launched e-Dharti app where all the three

modules- Conversion, Substitution and Mutation

related to properties have been made online.

20. India and ADB sign $26 Mn Loan Agreement

for Additional Financing to Assam Urban

Project

The Government of India and the Asian

Development Bank (ADB) signed here in New

Delhi a $26 Million Loan Agreement to provide

additional financing for improving drainage

infrastructure in Dibrugarh town of Assam under

the ongoing Assam Urban Infrastructure

Investment Program.

21. India goes to polls starting April 11, results on

May 23

The biggest electoral exercise in the world —

India‘s general elections — will be held in seven

phases across 543 parliamentary constituencies

starting exactly a month from now on April 11 till

May 19, the Election Commission (ECI)

announced on 10th March. The results will be out

on May 23.

22. India, Japan hold inaugural space dialogue in

New Delhi

The inaugural India-Japan Space Dialogue was

held in New Delhi yesterday. The dialogue

brought together Ministries and agencies related to

outer space in the two countries and provided an

opportunity for information exchange on the

respective space policies. Discussions were also

held on bilateral cooperation between JAXA-

ISRO, their space industries, global navigation

satellite system, space situational awareness, space

security, and space-related norms.

23. A 3-member mediation panel created by SC to

settle Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid Case

For the amicable settlement of Ayodhya‘s Ram

Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case, the

five-judge bench, headed by the Chief Justice of

India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi, constituted a three-

member mediation panel headed by former

Supreme Court (SC) judge Justice F. M. Kalifullah

to resolve the issue. The other members of the

panel include spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

and Senior Advocate Sriram Panchu.

24. Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh To Get

NCLT Benches

The Government has approved the establishment

of two new benches of National Company Law

Tribunal (NCLT), one at Amaravati in Andhra

Pradesh and the other at Indore in Madhya

Pradesh. This step has been taken keeping in view

the increasing caseload, especially under the

Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code 2016.

25. Korea Exim Bank extends loan worth Rs. 4,100

crores for Vizag Metro

On 7th March 2019, the Export-Import Bank of

Korea (KEXIM) proposed to provide a soft loan

worth Rs.4,100 crore for the Visakhapatnam

(Vizag) metro rail project. The matter was

discussed in a meeting involving a delegation led

by KEXIM Director (Operations) Yang Dong,

Chief Secretary Anil Chandra Punetha, Amaravati

Metro Rail Corporation Limited (AMRCL)

Managing Director N.P. Ramakrishna Reddy and

other officials at the Secretariat.

26. India slips to 2nd spot; Saudi tops in Arms

import: SIPRI report

After almost a decade, India has slipped to the

second spot among the arms importing countries

of the world. With 12% share of the global arms

trade, Saudi Arabia now tops the list of importers

eclipsing India, which now occupies the second

spot in the list with a share of 9.5%, according to

the latest report from the Stockholm International

Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) that keeps a tab

on the arms trade around the world. India‘s sliding

down between 2009-13 and 2014-18 is due to

delays in the deliveries of arms produced under

license from foreign suppliers, such as (Su-

30MKI) combat aircraft ordered from Russia in

2001 and (Scorpene) submarines ordered from

France in 2008, says the report.

27. 34th edition of AAHAR – International Food

and Hospitality fair-begins in New Delhi

The 34th edition of AAHAR – the International

Food and Hospitality fair – began at Pragati

Maidan in New Delhi on 11th March. Our

correspondent reports that Minister for Commerce

and Industry Suresh Prabhu will inaugurate the

fair. The fair will feature a wide range of food

products, machinery, hospitality and Decoration

and Confectionery items from over 560

participants from India and abroad.

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28. India Occupies 11th position in Global Gold

Holdings

India, which is the world‘s largest consumer of

gold, has the 11th largest gold reserve, with the

current holding pegged at 607 tonnes, as per the

latest report by the World Gold Council (WGC).

The numero uno slot is occupied by the U.S.,

which boasts of gold reserves of 8,133.5 tonnes,

followed by Germany with 3,369.7 tonnes.

Whereas, the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

is included and is third on the list with total gold

reserves of 2,814 tonnes.

29. Arecanut gets its first GI tag for „Sirsi Supari‟

For the first time in the arecanut sector, ‗Sirsi

Supari‘ grown in Uttara Kannada has received the

Geographic Indication (GI) tag. It is cultivated in

Yellapura, Siddapura and Sirsi taluks. Totgars‘

Cooperative Sale Society Ltd., Sirsi, is the

registered proprietor of the GI.

30. Vienna tops in the world, Hyderabad, and Pune

most liveable cities in India: Mercer Report

Hyderabad and Pune continue to be the most

liveable cities in India for expatriates, a Mercer

survey found, even though their overall global

ranking remains a lowly 143. According to

Mercer‘s 21st annual Quality of Living Rankings,

released on 13th March, the two cities are

followed by Bengaluru (149), Mumbai (154) and

New Delhi (162), whose rankings remained

unchanged from last year. Mercer‘s survey

provides assessment for more than 450 cities; this

ranking is for 231 of these cities. Vienna retained

the top rank for the 10th year running, followed by

Zurich at the second spot. In joint third place are

Auckland, Munich, and Vancouver.

31. India observed Dandi March Day on 12th

March 2019

12th March 2019 marks the 89th anniversary of

the Dandi Satyagraha, an act of nonviolent civil

disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma

Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi had undertaken a 26-

day march from March 12, 1930, to April 6, 1930,

as a direct action campaign of tax resistance and

nonviolent protest against the British salt

monopoly.

32. First Afghan shipment to India via Chabahar

arrives in Mumbai‟s Nhava Sheva port

In a major boost to ties between India and

Afghanistan, the first Afghan shipment to India via

Chabahar arrived at Nhava Sheva port in Mumbai.

The 570 tonnes of consignment contained mung

beans and talc.

33. President of India inaugurates Festival of

Innovation and Entrepreneurship in

Gandhinagar

The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind,

inaugurated the Festival of Innovation and

Entrepreneurship in Gandhinagar, Gujarat on 15th

March. He also presented the 10th Biennial

National Grassroots Innovation Awards. Mr.

Prakash Singh Raghuvanshi of Uttar Pradesh got a

lifetime achievement award for his innovations in

new varieties of agriculture crops. The first prize

in Veterinary, Herbal medication for coccidiosis

received by Periyasami Ramasami of Tamil Nadu.

34. 3rd Indo-Japan Workshop on Disaster Risk

Reduction held in New Delhi

The 3rd Indo-Japan Workshop on Disaster Risk

Reduction was held in New Delhi. The workshop

was attended by about 140 delegates from Japan

and India including experts from both the

governments, top premium research institutes, city

administrators, specialized Disaster Management

agencies and the private sector.

35. Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar

develops Mobile app to combat exam pressure

A mobile application to cope with exam-related

stress and anxiety for students and their parents

has been developed by Indian Institute of Public

Health Gandhinagar, Gujarat, (IIPHG) in

collaboration with National Mental Health

Program, Department of Health and Family

Welfare, Government of Gujarat. The mobile

application is called `Conquer Exam, Be a

Warrior.‘

36. India ranks 140th in the global list of happiest

nations, Finland tops: UN World Happiness

Report 2019

Indians are not as happy in 2019 as they were in

2018 and the country figures at 140th place, seven

spots down from last year, on this year‘s UN

World Happiness Report released Wednesday

which is topped by Finland for the second year in a

row. The report was released by the Sustainable

Development Solutions Network for the United

Nations on March 20 which has was declared as

World Happiness Day by the UN General

Assembly in 2012.

37. Integral Coach Factory of Chennai became the

world‟s largest rail coach manufacturer

Indian Railways Integral Coach Factory (ICF) has

surpassed the top Chinese manufacturers after

creating a 40% record increase in its production.

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With this, Indian Railway‘s oldest and premier

coach manufacturing unit becomes the single

largest rail coach manufacturer in the world.

38. Mountain climber Malavath Poorna scales

Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia

Malavath Poorna, the youngest girl to summit

Mount Everest when she was just 13 years old, has

added another feather in her cap. Now at 18, she

has scaled another major peak the Carstensz

Pyramid which stands at a height of 4884m in

Indonesia. As part of her 7-Summits Challenge,

which is about scaling the seven tallest mountains,

one in each continent, Poorna has scaled five

peaks with her latest addition. Now, Poorna is just

two peaks away from achieving her goal.

INTERNATIONAL

1. World Wildlife Day: 3rd March

World Wildlife Day is an opportunity to celebrate

the many beautiful and varied forms of wild fauna

and flora and to raise awareness of the multitude

of benefits that conservation provides to people. At

the same time, the Day reminds us of the urgent

need to step up the fight against wildlife crime and

human-induced reduction of species, which have

wide-ranging economic, environmental and social

impacts.

2019 theme: ―Life below water: for people and

planet―

2. World Hearing Day: 3rd March

World Hearing Day is observed on 3rd March

every year by the Office of Prevention of

Blindness and Deafness of the WHO (World

Health Organization). The Theme for this year‘s

World hearing day is ―Check your Hearing‖.

This year, WHO launched an app, HearWHO that

will allow people to check their hearing.

3. Senegal President Macky Sall wins re-election

Senegalese President Macky Sall has won re-

election with 58.27% of votes cast in last Sunday‘s

poll, according to Judge Demba Kandji, president

of Senegal‘s National Census of Votes

Commission. The solid majority hands Sall a

second term without the need for a second round

of voting.

4. Global Consumer Confidence Survey topped by

India

On 4th March 2019, India ranked first in the

Confidence Board Global Consumer Confidence

Survey which was conducted in collaboration with

a global performance management company

Nielsen Holdings. India maintained its 1st position

from the 3rd quarter and in the 4th quarter of 2018,

India‘s Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) score is

133. South Korea has the most pessimistic

consumer who is worried about rising inflation,

lower wage growth, unemployment, a weak stock

market and global trade uncertainties in the world.

5. Kaja Kallas appointed as the first female prime

minister of Estonia

Kaja Kallas, the leader of the Reform Party has

been appointed as the first female Prime Minister

of Estonia after the liberal Reform Party declared

victory in the elections against center-left Prime

Minister Juri Ratas‘s party. Kaja Kallas appointed

as the first female prime minister of Estonia. The

Reform Party secured 28.8% votes against Centre

party votes of 23%. The coalition government will

be formed between the Reform Party and far-right

EKRE.

6. Historic Guinness World Record in yoga in

Hong Kong made by over 1,000 people

A Guinness World Record in Yoga was set by

more than a thousand people who performed the

Virabathrasan or the Warrior II Pose for 3 minutes,

in Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park, Hong Kong. The

previous record was of 387 people.

7. Malaysia joined the International Criminal

Court as 124th member

Malaysia became a member of the International

Criminal Court (ICC), the world‘s only permanent

war crimes court which aims to prosecute the

worst abuses when national courts are unable or

unwilling. Malaysia joined the International

Criminal Court. Malaysia is the 124th

International Criminal Court.

8. India approves USD 250 million investment for

infrastructure projects in Nepal

India has extended a grant assistance of up to USD

250 million to Nepal for the reconstruction of

infrastructures in the areas of housing, education,

health and cultural heritage that was destroyed

during the devastating April 2015 earthquake

which saw the death of over 9,000 people.

9. Britain Issues New „Black Hole‟ Coin in

Honour of Stephen Hawking

The UK‘s Royal Mint on 12th March unveiled a

new commemorative 50 pence coin inspired by the

late legendary British physicist Stephen

Hawking‘s seminal work on black holes. Hawking,

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one of the world‘s best-known theoretical

physicists who died aged 76 last year, joins the

ranks of other eminent scientists such Isaac

Newton and Charles Darwin to have a

commemorative coin in honor of one of his

greatest discoveries that black holes should not be

all black

10. 15th Special Olympics World Summer Games

to start on Thursday (14 March) in UAE

The 15th Special Olympics World Summer Games

will kick start Thursday in the Emirati capital with

the participation of 7,500 athletes from 192

nations. This is the first time the tournament is

held in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The tournament, taking place until March 22,

includes various sports activities and disciplines

designed for people with intellectual disabilities.

The tournament was first held in Chicago, Illinois,

the US in 1968. It is an event recognized by the

International Olympic Committee and the Special

Olympics Organization.

APPOINTMENT

1. Former Chief Justice of Gauhati HC Ajit Singh

appointed as first Lokayukta of Odisha

Former Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court Ajit

Singh has been appointed as the first Lokayukta of

Odisha. He was chosen by a selection committee

which was led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik

and his name was then approved by Odisha

Governor Ganeshi Lal.

2. Anil Kumble designated as ICC Cricket

Committee Chairman

On 2nd March 2019, Anil Kumble, a former India

captain and great leg spinner was re-appointed

ICC (International Cricket Council) Cricket

Committee Chairman for a final 3-year term in a

board meeting of cricket council in Dubai.

3. Ajit Kumar Mohanty appointed Director of

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)

Distinguished scientist Ajit Kumar Mohanty has

been appointed Director of Bhabha Atomic

Research Centre (BARC). It is the country‘s

premier multi-disciplinary nuclear research facility

based in Mumbai. An order by the Ministry of

Personnel and Training said Mohanty has been

appointed Director for a period of three years.

4. Jagdish Mukhi appointed as the Governor of

Mizoram

As Governor of Mizoram Kummanam

Rajasekharan has resigned from his post, President

Ram Nath Kovind has accepted the resignation of

Rajasekharan and has appointed Prof. Jagdish

Mukhi as the Governor of Mizoram, in addition to

his own duties of Assam Governor, until regular

arrangement for the office of the Governor of

Mizoram is made.

5. Soumya Swaminathan named Chief Scientist at

WHO

Soumya Swaminathan, a Deputy Director-General

of the World Health Organisation has been named

Chief Scientist of the WHO. As Deputy Director-

General Programmes (DDP), she was one of the

three DDGs assisting WHO Director-General

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

6. Metro Man‟ E Sreedharan appointed a

principal advisor to MRTS in J&K

The Jammu and Kashmir Governor administration

has approved the appointment of ―Metro Man‖ E

Sreedharan as the principal advisor to two mass

rapid transit systems to be built in Jammu and

Srinagar, an official said Sunday. Sreedharan, a

retired IES (IRSE) officer, is popularly known as

the ―Metro Man‖ for changing the face of public

transport in the country with his leadership of

building the Konkan Railway and the Delhi Metro.

7. Pinaki Chandra Ghose set to be India‟s first

Lokpal

Former Supreme Court judge and current member

of the National Human Rights Commission

(NHRC), Pinaki Chandra Ghose, is likely to be

India‘s first anti-corruption ombudsman, or Lokpal

after his name was cleared and recommended by

the high-level selection committee chaired by

Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

8. Pramod Sawant sworn-in as new Goa CM

BJP MLA Pramod Sawant was sworn-in as the

new Chief Minister of Goa late last night. He

succeeds Manohar Parrikar, who passed away on

Sunday following a prolonged illness. Goa

Governor Mridula Sinha administered the oath of

office and secrecy to the 46-year-old Sawant. He

represents Sanquelim constituency in Goa

Assembly.

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9. Mumbai Social Activist Becomes First

Transgender Election Ambassador

In a first, the Election Commission of India

appointed Maharashtra‘s transgender activist Shree

Gauri Sawant as one of the 12 election

ambassadors. According to election officials, as a

goodwill ambassador, Shree Gauri Sawant is

expected to meet transgenders and urge them to

enroll themselves as voters and also explain to

them the need to exercise their franchise.

AWARDS

1. DRDO chairman wins missile systems award

The American Institute of Aeronautics and

Astronautics (AIAA) has selected G. Satheesh

Reddy, the Secretary of India‘s Department of

Defence R&D and Chairman of the Defence

Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)

as the co-winner of the 2019 Missile Systems

Award.

2. Japanese architect Arata Isozaki wins Pritzker

prize

Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, credited with

bringing together the East and West in his

innovative designs, has been awarded this year‘s

Pritzker Architecture Prize — known

internationally as the highest honor in the field.

The 2019 prize was announced by the jury of the

Hyatt Foundation. Founded in 1979, the prize

honors a living architect or architects each year

whose work demonstrates talent and vision, as

well as a contribution to humanity.

3. Prominent personalities conferred with Padma

awards at Rashtrapati Bhawan

President Ram Nath Kovind on 11th March

conferred the Padma awards to 56 of the 112

personalities, chosen for this year‘s honor, at the

Rashtrapati Bhawan. The Padma awards are

conferred in three categories, namely, Padma

Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri, the

second, third and fourth highest civilian awards of

the country respectively, only after Bharat Ratna.

Four recipients were bestowed with the Padma

Vibhushan award — Singer Teejan Bai from

Chhattisgarh (art-vocals-folk), Anilkumar

Manibhai Naik from Maharashtra (trade and

industry-infrastructure), Balwant Moreshwar

Purandare from Maharashtra (art-acting-theatre)

and Djibouti‘s President Ismail Omar Guelleh

(public affairs).

The President conferred the Padma Bhushan award

upon journalist Kuldip Nayar (posthumous), and

actor Mohanlal among others.

Prominent personalities conferred with the Padma

Shri award included — director and actor Prabhu

Deva for the field of art – dance, singer and music

director Shankar Mahadevan, veteran actor Kader

Khan (posthumous), Bajrang Punia for the field of

sports- Wrestling, Indian national kabaddi team‘s

captain Ajay Thakur and table tennis player

Sharath Kamal and grandmaster Harika

Dronavalli. Former Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar

and Indian percussionist Anandan Sivamani were

also bestowed with the prestigious Padma Shri

award at the function.

4. Ex-RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan received

Yaswantrao Chavan National Award

Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor

Raghuram Rajan, for his contribution towards

economic development, was awarded the

‗Yashwantrao Chavan National Award 2018‗ on

March 12, 2019, which was the 106th birth

anniversary of late Yashwantrao Chavan, the first

chief minister of Maharashtra.

5. Arun Jaitley awarded BusinessLine

Changemaker Of The Year award

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 15th

March presented the BusinessLine Changemaker

Of The Year award to Union Minister Arun Jaitley

for successfully introducing the Goods and

Services Tax (GST), giving the BJP an opportunity

to heckle the Congress on social media.

6. Swati Shingade bags the first prize of DD

Mahila Kisan Award

Swati Shingade of Pune, Maharashtra has bagged

the first prize of DD Mahila Kisan Award for

2018-19. Prasar Bharati Chairman A Surya

Prakash gave away the award to Ms. Shingade at a

grand finale event organized by DD Kisan

Channel in New Delhi.

7. Karen Uhlenbeck becomes First Woman to win

Abel Prize for Mathematics

For the first time, one of the top prizes in

mathematics has been given to a woman. On 19th

March, the Norwegian Academy of Science and

Letters announced it has awarded this year‘s Abel

Prize — an award modeled on the Nobel Prizes —

to Karen Uhlenbeck, an emeritus professor at the

University of Texas at Austin. The award cites

―the fundamental impact of her work on analysis,

geometry and mathematical physics.

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8. Raghu Karnad awarded Windham-Campbell

prize in the UK for his debut book

An Indian journalist, author and chief of The Wire

‗Raghu Karnad‘ received the prestigious Windham

Campbell prize of USD 165,000 for his debut

book, ‗Farthest Field: An Indian story of Second

World War‘, published in the year 2015.

9. Leeladhar Jagudi to be honored with the Vyas

Samman 2018

Hindi writer Leeladhar Jagudi honored with Vyas

Samman 2018 for his collection of poems ―Jitne

Log Utne Prem‖. He also authored several poetry

anthologies. The award carries an amount of Rs. 4

lakhs and it was started by KK Birla foundation in

1991.

10. Peter Tabichi conferred with Global Teacher

Prize for 2019

Peter Tabichi, a member of the Franciscan

religious order has been conferred with the

prestigious Global Teacher Prize for 2019 at a

ceremony in Dubai hosted by Hollywood actor,

Hugh Jackman. Peter Tabichi – Global Teacher

Prize for 2019i. Peter Tabichi gives away 80

percent of his monthly income to the poor.

11. President Kovind receives Croatia‟s highest

civilian order

President Ram Nath Kovind on 26th March

received Croatia‘s highest civilian order, the

Grand Order of the King of Tomislav, during his

official visit to the nation. During his State Visit to

Croatia, President Kovind was honored with the

Grand Order of the King of Tomislav, the highest

award of Croatia.

12. Turing Award: „Godfathers of AI‟ receive the

highest honor in computer science

Three researchers have won the 2018 Turing

Award, known as the ‗Nobel Prize of computing,‘

for conceptual and engineering breakthroughs in

artificial intelligence (AI). Yoshua Bengio,

Geoffrey Hinton and Yann LeCun were named the

recipients of the award on Tuesday by the

Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).

13. Nobel Prize recipient Amartya Sen honored

with Oxford University‟s Bodley award

On 27th March 2019, Nobel Prize-winning

economist Amartya Sen has been honored with the

prestigious Bodley Medal, the highest honor

bestowed by the University of Oxford‘s world-

famous Bodleian Libraries for his contribution in

literature, culture, science, and communication.

SPORTS

1. Indian wrestlers win 4 medals including two

golds at Dan Kolov-Nikol Petrov tournament in

Bulgaria

Representational Pic Indian wrestlers have won

four medals including two golds at the Dan Kolov-

Nikol Petrov tournament in Ruse, Bulgaria.

Bajrang Punia won gold in the freestyle wrestling

65kg category and Pooja Dhanda claimed gold in

the 59 kg category.

Rio Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik settled

for a silver medal in the 65kg category final after a

defeat by Sweden‘s Henna Johansson of Sweden.

In the men‘s freestyle category, Sandeep Tomar

won silver after he lost his final in the 61 kg

category.

2. Swiss star Roger Federer creates history with

100th career title

Roger Federer has won his 100th ATP Tour title at

the Dubai Tennis Championships – 6,600 days

after winning his first in Milan. The 37-year-old

Swiss – a 20-time Grand Slam champion – beat

Greece‘s Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 6-4. Federer‘s first

ATP title came at the Milan Indoors on 4 February

2001, when he beat Frenchman Julien Boutter. He

is just the second man, after American Jimmy

Connors in 1983, to reach the landmark. Federer

will have to win 10 more titles to beat Connors‘

men‘s record of 109.

3. Cricket set for Asian Games return in 2022

Cricket is set for a return at the Asian Games after

the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) recently

included it in the sports programme for the 2022

edition in Hangzhou. The decision was taken at the

OCA‘s General Assembly in Bangkok. Cricket

was dropped from the 2018 Asian Games in

Indonesia after featuring in 2010 and 2014, albeit

without the presence of the game‘s powerhouse

India.

4. India become the second team after Australia to

record 500 ODI wins

India is the second team after Australia to record

500 wins in One Day International cricket. Since

playing their first ODI in 1974, India has played

963 matches. India beat Australia by eight runs in

Nagpur to claim their 500th win in ODI cricket.

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5. One gold, four silver medals for India at

Finland boxing tourney

Kavinder Singh Bisht in the 56kg-category struck

gold while Shiva Thapa in the 60 kg category and

three others claimed silver medals to end a fine

Indian campaign at the 38th GeeBee Boxing

Tournament in Helsinki, Finland on 10th March.

Signing off with silver medals were three-time

Asian medallist Shiva Thapa, Govind Sahani,

Commonwealth Games bronze-medallist

Mohammed Hussamuddin and Dinesh Dagar.

6. Chennai City crowned I-League champions

Chennai City has crowned champions of the 12th

I-League in Coimbatore on 9th March. Chennai

City came from behind and got the better of

Minerva Punjab 3-1 on the final day of the league.

Chasing the leaders, travelers East Bengal finished

second after beating Gokulam Kerala FC 2-1 in

Kozhikode.

7. 5th SAAF Women‟s Championship begins in

Nepal

In the opening match, hosts Nepal easily defeated

Bhutan by 3-0. Defending champion India will

take on the Maldives tomorrow. The match will

start at 2.45 P.M. Indian Time. India remained

unbeaten in 19 matches from last four editions of

the championship. In the six-team competition,

India has been drawn in Group-B alongside the

Maldives and Sri Lanka, while hosts Nepal has

been kept in Group-A with Bangladesh and

Bhutan.

8. Rohit Sharma becomes third fastest to cross

8000 ODI runs

Rohit Sharma on 13th March became the third

fastest player to cross 8000 runs in ODI cricket.

He is also the ninth Indian batsman to do so after

Virat Kohli, Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar,

MS Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag,

Yuvraj Singh, and Mohammed Azharuddin.

9. Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019: Karnataka lift

maiden T20 title after defeating Maharashtra

Karnataka, on Thursday, lifted the Syed Mushtaq

Ali Trophy following their thumping eight-wicket

win over Maharashtra at the Holkar Cricket

Stadium in Indore. he Manish Pandey-led side

chased the 156-run target set by Maharashtra with

ease as Mayank Agarwal played a blistering knock

of unbeaten 85 runs off 57 deliveries to take

Karnataka over the winning line in the final of the

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019.

10. Argentina and Colombia will co-host Copa

America 2020

On 14th March 2019, After South America‘s

ruling body CONMEBOL once again ruled out a

US proposal to host the tournament, Argentina and

Colombia are poised to co-host the 2020 Copa

America. This year‘s tournament is to be staged in

Brazil between June 14 and July 7. CONMEBOL

is responsible for the organization and governance

of South American football‘s major international

tournaments.

11. India to host U-17 Women‟s Football World

Cup in 2020

India will host the Under-17 Women‘s Football

World Cup in 2020. This was announced by the

President of International Football Federation

(FIFA) Gianni Infantino after the council meeting

in Miami, the USA last night. Infantino said FIFA

is delighted to announce that India has been

confirmed as the host of the Women‘s World Cup.

This will be the second FIFA tournament India

will be hosting, after the U-17 Men‘s World Cup

in 2017.

12. Bengaluru beat FC Goa to win maiden ISL title

Full-back Rahul Bheke scored in the second half

of extra time as Bengaluru FC edged past FC Goa

1-0 to lift their first Indian Super League (ISL)

title, here on 17th March. Local boy Bheke headed

in from a Dimas Delgado corner in the 118th

minute after both teams were locked goalless in

regulation time at the Mumbai Football Arena.

13. K T Irfan become first Indian from athletics to

qualify for Tokyo Olympics

National record holder KT Irfan 17th March

became the first Indian from athletics to qualify for

the next year‘s Olympics while finishing fourth in

the 20 km event of the Asian Race Walking

Championships in Nomi, Japan.

14. 18-yr-old Diksha 2nd Indian golfer to win on

Ladies European Tour

On 16th March 2019, Indian woman golfer Diksha

Dagar became the 2nd Indian winner on Ladies

European Tour after clinching South African

Women‘s Open in Cape Town.

15. Valtteri Bottas wins the F1 Australian Grand

Prix for Mercedes

Valtteri Bottas has completed a comfortable win in

the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert

Park, while local fans were left to lament as Daniel

Ricciardo had a horror start to his Renault career.

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Bottas took over the season-opening race early on

from Mercedes teammate and pole-sitter Lewis

Hamilton, and the Finn never looked back, going

on to win by 20.886 seconds.

16. Athletics: India finishes second in medal tally at

Asian Youth C‟ships

In Asian Youth Athletics Championships in Hong

Kong, boys medley relay team won a gold medal

for India on the final day to help Indian youth team

finish second in the overall medals tally with a

total of 26 medals including eight gold, nine silver,

and nine bronze medals. China topped the overall

medals tally with 31 medals that included 12 gold,

11 silver, and eight bronze medals and Japan

finished third with 20 medals that included 6 Gold,

8 Silver and 6 bronze.

17. ATP Rankings: Prajnesh Gunneswaran rises to

the career-best 84th position

In Tennis, the breakthrough run at the Indian

Wells has propelled India‘s Prajnesh Gunneswaran

to a career-high rank of 84 in the latest men‘s

rankings of the Association of Tennis

Professionals(ATP). In the Women‘s Tennis

Association rankings, Ankita Raina continues to

be India‘s top-ranked player at 168. She was

followed by Karman Kaur Thandi, who jumped

seven places to 203.

18. India clinches SAFF Women‟s championship

5th time

On 22nd March 2019, India clinched South Asian

Football Federation (SAFF) Women‘s

Championship 2019 by defeating Nepal for 3-1 in

Biratnagar, Nepal. It was for the fifth time in a row

India that India won the championship.

19. At 103, Man Kaur clinches shot put gold

Centenarian Man Kaur on 25th March clinched the

gold medal in the shot put event in the World

Masters Athletics Meet in Torun, Poland. The

World Masters Athletics Championships involves

events like track and field, cross country, and road

running events, for athletes above 35 years of age.

The 103-year-old clinched the yellow metal with

the best effort of 2.13 meters.

20. Australia‟s Graham Reid to be appointed as

India men‟s hockey coach

Australian Graham Reid is set to be named as the

Indian men‘s hockey team chief coach till the 2022

World Cup after the national federation and the

Sports Authority of India (SAI) gave its go-ahead

to fill the position lying vacant for nearly three

months.

21. Manu Bhaker-Saurabh Chaudhary bag Gold

medal in 10m Air Pistol Mixed event at Asian

Airgun C‟ship

In Shooting, Manu Bhaker and Saurabh

Chaudhary have bagged a Gold medal in the 10-

meter Air Pistol Mixed team event at the 12th

Asian Airgun Championship at Taoyuan in Taipei.

The teenage Indian duo went on to win the five-

team final with a score of 484.8 points.

DEFENCE NEWS

1. Women officers to get the permanent

commission in all 10 branches of Indian Army:

Defence ministry

Women officers will now be granted permanent

commission (PC) in all 10 branches of the Indian

Army, the defence ministry announced on 5th

March. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has taken

necessary steps to ensure that women, who were

earlier inducted for short service commission

(SSC), will now be granted PC in the Armed

forces. The permanent commission will be granted

to women officers inducted in branches such as

signals, engineers, army aviation, army air

defence, electronics, and mechanical engineers,

army service corps, army ordnance corps, and

intelligence.

2. Pinaka guided weapons system successfully test

fired

DRDO on 11th March successfully test fired the

PINAKA guided WEAPON rocket system from

Pokhran range in Rajasthan. An official release

said the weapon system is equipped with state-of-

the-art guidance kit comprising of an advanced

navigation and control system. The weapon

systems impacted the intended targets with high

precision and achieved desired accuracies

3. MPATGM successfully test-fired by DRDO in

Rajasthan

Defence Research and Development Organisation

(DRDO) successfully test fired indigenously

developed, low weight, fire and forget Man-

Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM)

for the second time in the Pokhran ranges of

Rajasthan desert.

4. Indo-Sri Lanka joint Exercise Mitra shakti-VI

Exercise MITRA SHAKTI is conducted annually

as part of military diplomacy and interaction

between armies of India & Sri Lanka. The joint

exercise for the year 2018-19 will be conducted

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from 26 March to 08 April 2019 in Sri Lanka.

Troops from 1st Battalion the BIHAR Regiment of

the Indian Army and Gemunu Watch Battalion of

Sri Lankan Army would be jointly undertaking the

exercise.

5. India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (Ind-Indo

Corpat) began at Port Blair

The 33rd edition of the India-Indonesia

Coordinated Patrol (Ind-Indo Corpat) was started

on March 19, 2019, and will continue till 4th April

2019 at Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Islands in

order to enhance interoperability and strengthen

existing bonds of friendship between India and

Indonesia.

6. IAF inducts first four heavy-lift Chinook

helicopters

Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa announced the

induction at a ceremony held at Air Force base in

Chandigarh. Chinook helicopters will be deployed

at Chandigarh‘s Air Force Station 12 Wing.

Speaking at the induction ceremony, Dhanoa said

that these helicopters are capable of vertical lift

and heavy lifting in hilly areas.

7. Admiral Sunil Lanba commissions nuclear,

biological, chemical training facility

ABHEDYA at Lonavla

Chief of naval staff Admiral Sunil Lanba on

Saturday commissioned the nuclear, biological,

chemical (NBC) training facility – ABHEDYA, at

INS Shivaji, Lonavla. The training facility has

been built by Goa Shipyard Limited to help the

Indian Navy train personnel in NBC damage

control.

8. Eye on the Indian Ocean, India-Australia joint

naval exercise AUSINDEX to begin April 2

With an eye on China‘s increasing presence in the

Indian Ocean, India and Australia will participate

in a bilateral naval exercise from April 2 to 16.

This will be Australia‘s largest display of its

defence assets since 1947. The focus of the

AUSINDEX exercise will be ―anti-submarine

warfare‖, and it will take place off the coast of

Visakhapatnam, Australian diplomatic sources

said.

9. Indian-Sri Lankan armies started military

exercise MITRA SHAKTI VI

The joint training exercise MITRA SHAKTI VI

between Indian and Sri Lanka Army has been

started at Diyatalawa in Sri Lanka. An Indian

contingent of 120 Army personnel, including 11

officers will take part in the two-week long

exercise

10. India becomes the 4th country to conduct A-

SAT missile test, codenamed Mission Shakti

India conducted its first anti-satellite (ASAT)

missile test on 27th March, successfully destroying

a low earth orbit satellite in space by using a

missile which covered a distance of 300 km to

engage the target. New Delhi, however,

emphasized that the test did not alter its

commitment against the weaponization of outer

space. There are many countries which have A-

SAT capability but it has been demonstrated by

only 4 countries: United States, Russia, China, and

India.

11. The U.S. and South Korea end military

exercises “Foal Eagle 2019” and “Key Resolve”

The USA and South Korea decided to call off their

joint exercise ―Foal Eagle‖ and ―Key Resolve‖ and

bifurcate them into smaller exercises. This is being

done to ease tensions with North Korea. They

were earlier scheduled to take place in spring of

2019

12. INDO-OMAN Joint Ex Al Nagah 2019

commences

Indo Oman Joint Exercise Al Nagah III 2019, a

joint military exercise between Indian and Royal

Army of Oman (RAO), commenced this morning

at HQ Jabel Regiment, Nizwa, Oman with a brief

but impressive opening ceremony that saw the

unfurling of the national flags of both countries

with Omani and Indian soldiers standing side by

side signifying the growing cooperation, synergy,

and understanding between both the countries.

13. India, China, Pakistan, other SCO members to

hold joint anti-terrorism exercise in 2019

India, Pakistan and the other members states of the

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) will

take part in a joint anti-terrorism exercise to be

held this year by the grouping. The decision to

hold the joint exercise ‗Sary-Arka-Antiterror

2019‘ was announced during the 34th meeting of

the SCO‘s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure

(RATS) council held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan,

Xinhua news agency reported.

14. LIMA 2019 Aero Expo held in Langkawi,

Malaysia

Langkawi International Maritime Aero Expo

(LIMA) 2019 held in Langkawi, Malaysia. Indian

Air force for the first time is participating in the

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relationship between the services. India‘s

indigenous supersonic fighter jet Tejas take part in

Malaysia‘s LIMA 2019 Expo. The anti-submarine

warfare corvette INS Kadmatt also participate in

LIMA 2019.

15. Vice Admiral Karambir Singh appointed as

next Navy Chief

Vice Admiral Karambir Singh has been appointed

as the next Navy Chief. He will succeed Admiral

Sunil Lanba who retires on 31st of May this year.

Vice Admiral Karambir Singh is currently serving

as the Flag Officer Commander -in- Chief of the

Eastern Naval Command. During his long and

distinguished service spanning nearly 39 years, he

has served in a variety of Command, Staff and

Instructional appointments.

16. President presents Gallantry Awards and

Distinguished Service Decorations

President Ram Nath Kovind conferred three Kirti

Chakras and fifteen Shaurya Chakras to Armed

Forces Personnel for displaying conspicuous

gallantry, indomitable courage and extreme

devotion to duty at a solemn ceremony at the

Rashtrapati Bhawan on Thursday. President also

conferred fifteen Param Vishisht Seva Medals, one

Uttam Yudh Seva Medals and twenty-five Ati

Vishisht Seva Medals to senior officers of the

Armed Forces for distinguished service of an

exceptional order. One of the Param Vishisht Seva

Medal was conferred on Army Chief General

Bipin Rawat. While Major Tushar Gauba of 20 Jat

regiment was conferred with the Kirti Chakra.