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TIDES Academy @ YMCA, SEC-11C CHANDIGARH, 9888432069 Page 1
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
TIDES Academy @ YMCA, SEC-11C CHANDIGARH, 9888432069 Page 2
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
TIDES Academy @ YMCA, SEC-11C CHANDIGARH, 9888432069 Page 3
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.
TIDES Academy @ YMCA, SEC-11C CHANDIGARH, 9888432069 Page 4
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.
TIDES Academy @ YMCA, SEC-11C CHANDIGARH, 9888432069 Page 5
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,
TIDES Academy @ YMCA, SEC-11C CHANDIGARH, 9888432069 Page 6
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.
TIDES Academy @ YMCA, SEC-11C CHANDIGARH, 9888432069 Page 7
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
TIDES Academy @ YMCA, SEC-11C CHANDIGARH, 9888432069 Page 11
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.
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