NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. AP
Government launches Mobile App ‘Nigha’ to check malpractices in civic polls: Andhra Pradesh
Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy has launched a mobile app called ‘Nigha’, to
prevent the corrupt practices in upcoming local body elections in the state.
The app would ensure ‘clean and healthy’ polls by curbing the use of money and
alcohol. Any person can complain about the wrong practices by anyone during the
campaign and his/her personal details and the identity would be kept secret.
Note: Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh: Y.
S. Jaganmohan Reddy; Governor of Andhra Pradesh: Biswa Bhushan Harichandan;
Capital of Andhra Pradesh: Amaravati.
2.
Main Event of International Day of Yoga (IDY) 2020 to be held in Leh, Ladakh: The International
Day of Yoga event will be organized in the capital of Ladakh i.e. Leh on the
occasion of International Day of Yoga. The International Day of Yoga is
observed globally every year on 21st of June. On this day, Indian Prime
Minister leads a mass demonstration of Yoga every year which also features a
45-minute yoga drill based on Common Yoga Protocol. The International Day of
Yoga aims to aware the world about the various benefits of practicing yoga. In
2019, the event was held in Ranchi. The AYUSH Ministry is the nodal body to
oversee the annual celebrations. The first International Day of Yoga was
observed all over the world on June 21, 2015 at Rajpath in New Delhi.
3.
‘Fagli’ festival celebrated in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh: The traditional
‘Fagli’ festival was celebrated in Yangpa village of Kinnaur district, Himachal
Pradesh to observe the “victory of good over evil”. This festival is celebrated
to mark the end of winter or the beginning of spring. It is celebrated in the
entire valley on the moonless night or Amavasya.
Note: Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh:
Jai Ram Thakur; Governor of Himachal Pradesh: Bandaru Dattatraya.
4.
Google India Launches ‘DigiPivot’ Skill Programme Designed for Women: Google India has
introduced a skilling programme ‘DigiPivot’ designed for women to empower them
with digital marketing knowledge and tools as well as mentorship on strategic
leadership skills. The programme aims to provide an opportunity for 200 women
professionals to re-skill themselves. DigiPivot is open to both women
professionals who are currently working as well as those who are keen to return
to the workforce with 4-10 years of experience in consulting, analytics,
branding and sales and support with passion for digital marketing. The
programme is completely sponsored by Google and has been developed jointly in
association with Avtar, a career portal service for women, and the Indian
School of Business, Hyderabad. Applications for registration are open from
March 6 and the last date for registration is March 21. Selected participants
will go through 18-week learning programme and engagement (both offline and
online).
Note: Google CEO: Sundar Pichai;
Headquarters: California, United States.
5.
Biennial Civil Aviation Business Exhibition ‘Wings India 2020’ Begins in
Hyderabad: The
four-day civil aviation business exhibition and air show titled ‘Wings India
2020’ kick-started on 12 March 2020 at Begumpet airport, Hyderabad. It will
continue till March 15. However, the programme will be formally inaugurated on
13 March 2020 by the Minister for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri. The theme
of the biennial event is ‘flying for all’. The event has been organized by
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) along with
Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airports Authority of India (AAI). “Wings India
2020” is a civil aviation business exhibition and air show which is organized
once in every two years.
Note: Union Minister of Civil Aviation:
Hardeep Singh Puri.
6.
Maharashtra govt approves implementation of "happy hour" for
autorickshaws: Maharashtra
government has approved the implementation of "happy hour" for
autorickshaws as recommended by Khatua panel. A government resolution states
that fares will be slashed by 15 per cent between 12 noon and 4 pm. The
decision will however not be applicable to local taxis and app-based taxis. The
new concept will turn lean hours to happy hours, especially for housewives and
senior citizens who normally don't have a fixed schedule for their outings.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
WHO officially declares COVID-19 as a pandemic: The World Health
Organization has officially declared COVID-19 as a pandemic as it spread freely
to more than 100 countries around the world. According to WHO chief Tedros
Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the number of cases and deaths are likely to rise in the
coming days and weeks. UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged world governments to
urgently scale up their response to the novel coronavirus if they are to stand
a chance of stemming its spread. A pandemic is declared when a new disease for
which people do not have immunity spreads around the world beyond expectations.
COVID-19 is a disease caused by the novel coronavirus which originated in
China.
Note: Headquarters of WHO: Geneva,
Switzerland; Director general of WHO: Tedros Adhanom.
2.
Five Indians named in WEF’s Young Global Leaders list 2020: Geneva-based World
Economic Forum (WEF) has released the list of members for the Forum of Young
Global Leaders (YGL) for the year 2020. The 2020 list consists of 115 Young
Global Leaders (YGLs) from various fields. The Forum of Young Global Leaders is
dynamic global community of exceptional people, under the age of 40, with the
vision, courage and influence to drive positive change in the world. The
members are inducted in the forum for a five-year period. Five Indians have
been included in the 2020 list of YGLs namely:
Byju Raveendran – Founder & CEO of Byju
Classes’
Gaurav Gupta – Co-Founder of Zomato
Tara Singh Vachani – CEO of Antara Senior
Living
Vinati Mutreja – Managing Director and CEO
of Vinati Organics Limited)
Swapan Mehra – CEO of Iora Ecological
Solutions
Note: Note: Headquarters of World Economic
Forum: Cologny-Geneva, Switzerland; Founder of World Economic Forum: Klaus
Schwab; President of World Economic Forum: Borge Brende; World Economic Forum
founded: January 1971.
3.
Singer Taylor Swift Named as Google’s most-searched for woman in music of 2020:
The
search engine Google honoured the women folk on the occasion of International
Women’s Day on 8 March 2020 by sharing data for the most-searched women on the
Internet in 2020 in the following 4 discipline: Music, Sports, Comedy,
Novelists
Music – Singer Taylor Swift
Sports – Tennis player Serena Williams
Comedy – American actress Awkwafina
Novelists – American Novelist Toni Morrison
Note: Google CEO: Sundar Pichai;
Headquarters: California, United States.
4.
World Kidney Day: 12 March 2020: The World Kidney Day (WKD) is observed
annually on the Second Thursday in March. In 2020, the World Kidney Day is
being celebrated on 12 March 2020. The theme of WKD 2020 is ‘Kidney health for
everyone everywhere– from prevention to detection and equitable access to
care’. The day aims to raise global health awareness on the importance about
conditions of the kidney and the impact of kidney disease and its associated
health problems worldwide. WKD is a joint initiative of the International
Society of Nephrology (ISN) and the International Federation of Kidney
Foundations (IFKF).
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1.
Pankaj Advani wins 34th National Snooker title: Ace Indian cueist
Pankaj Advani clinched the National 6-Red Snooker Championship with a
convincing 7-3 final over Maharashtra’s Ishpreet Singh in Ahmedabad. It is overall 34th national title for Advani.
In the women’s edition, Amee Kamani overcame Vidya Pillai 4-2 to win the title.
2.
Mohun Bagan are the Hero I-League Champions 2019-2020: Indian football
heavyweights Mohun Bagan clinched their second I-League title with a 1-0 win
over Aizawl FC at Kalyani, West Bengal. Their first I-League title came in
2014-15 season. Bagan lifted the title even when four rounds are still to go in
the season. With this win, Mohun Bagan has 39 points from 16 matches.
3.
PCI puts national & state championships on hold till April 15: The Paralympic
Committee of India has decided to put on hold all national and state
championships till 15th April in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The PCI was scheduled to host national para-athletics championship in Mysore.
National swimming championship was to be held also from 28th March 2020 in
Bengaluru. Shooting World Cup and the Indian Open golf tournament were impacted
due to COVID-19 both of which have been postponed for later this year.
4.
Tiger Woods to be inducted into World Golf Hall of Fame in 2021 class: American golfer
Tiger Woods (15 major titles winner) will be inducted into the World Golf Hall
of Fame as part of the class of 2021. Woods was among 10 finalists named in
March as candidates for 2021. His 93 worldwide victories include a record-tying
82 US PGA Tour titles. He won his 15th major title at the Masters last April,
ending an 11-year major drought after career-threatening injuries. The 2021
class was chosen by Hall's selection committee, a 20-member panel.
5.
Chennaiyin FC's Schembri to retire from professional football: Chennaiyin FC's
Maltese forward Andre Schembri (33-years) announced he will retire from
professional football after the Indian Super League final against ATK FC in
Goa. He will be aiming to go out on a high, hopefully by helping CFC win its
third ISL title. Schembri, the first Maltese player to feature in ISL, has been
an integral part of Chennaiyin's success this season.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
PhonePe partners with ICICI Bank for UPI Transactions: UPI App PhonePe
which earlier partnered with YES Bank, for UPI, has now partnered with ICICI
Bank for UPI transactions. This comes after YES Bank has been placed under
moratorium by Reserve Bank of India due to which UPI transactions at PhonePe
got disrupted.
Note: The parent organization of Phonepe:
Flipkart; Phonepe founded: December 2015; CEO of Phonepe: Sameer Nigam;
Headquarters location: Bengaluru, Karnataka.
2.
SBI cuts fixed deposit rates, MCLRs in 2nd reduction in a month: State Bank of India
has announced a reduction in its MCLR or marginal cost of funding-based lending
rates by 10-15 basis points across tenors, and a cut in its fixed deposit
interest rates. The SBI has reduced retail term deposits (less than Rs 2 crore)
by 10 to 50 basis points for a few tenors. The new rates for home loans and
fixed deposits will take effect from 10th March. The SBI also reduced bulk FD
rates by 15 bps for deposits with tenors of 180 days and above.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1. Japanese
company Hakuhodo acquires AdGlobal360: Indian MarTech Company, AdGlobal360 has
been acquired by Japanese company Hakuhodo Inc for an undisclosed sum.
Adglobal360 is India’s fastest growing MarTech Company headquartered in
Gurugram, Haryana. The MarTech Company facilitates its customers with end to
end digital solutions.
Note: CEO of AdGlobal360: Rakesh Yadav.
President of Hakuhodo International:
Nobuaki Kondo.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh named greatest world leader in BBC Poll: Maharaja Ranjit
Singh has been named as the “Greatest Leader of All Time” in a poll conducted
by ‘BBC World Histories Magazine’. He was the 19th-century ruler of the Sikh
Empire in India. Singh’s name was nominated by Lockwood, who is an assistant
professor of history at the University of Alabama, as a modernising and uniting
force, whose reign “marked a golden age for Punjab and north-west India”.
DEFENCE
1.
ITBP chief SS Deswal given additional charge of BSF DG: Senior IPS officer
Surjit Singh Deswal (1984-batch Haryana cadre) took over the additional charge
of Director General (DG) of Border Security Force (BSF). Currently, Mr. Deswal
is the Director-General of Indo-Tibet Border Police. He has succeeded
Director-General Vivek Johri, who has been appointed Director-General of Madhya
Pradesh Police.
2. Lt
Gen Dhillon appointed Defence Intel Agency chief: Former 15 Corps
Commander, Lt Gen KJS Dhillon, has been appointed as the Director-General,
Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) and Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff
(Intelligence) under the Chief of Defence Staff. He will replace Lt Gen AS Bedi
who assumed the appointment in February 2018. DIA and DCIDS is a department
that comes under the Chief of Defence Staff in the newly created Department of
Military Affairs. DIA and DCIDS are responsible for collating technical as well
as human intelligence for the three armed forces.
Note: 28th Chief of Army Staff: General
Manoj Mukund Naravane; Chief of Defence Staff: Bipin Rawat; Headquarters of
Indian Army: New Delhi.
No comments:
Post a Comment