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Current Affairs                    13^th & 14^th March, 2024

Day:

• 13^th March 2024 was celebrated as “No Smoking Day”. It is celebrated each year on the second Wednesday of March.
• 14^th March is celebrated as the “Pi Day”. It is also the birth day of Albert Einstein.
• 14^th March is also celebrated as the “International Day of Action for Rivers”.
  • Theme: “Water for All”.

Appointments:

• Justice Satyendra Kumar Singh has been sworn in as the New Lokayukta of Madhya Pradesh by Mangubhai Patel, the Governor of Madhya Pradesh.
• Indian Sugar & Bio-energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) has appointed Deepak Ballani as its new Director General.
  • ISMA     HQ: New Delhi.

Awards:

• Japanese Architecture Riken Yamamoto has been declared as the winner of the 2024 Pritzker Architecture Prize , also known as ‘The Nobel of Architecture’.
• The Sahitya Academy Awards 2024 were distributed on the occasion of the 70^th Sahityotsav:
  • Neelum Saran Gaur has been awarded the Sahitya Academy Award for her English Novel “Requiem in Raga Janki”.
  • Novelist Sanjeev has been awarded the Sahitya Academy for his Hindi novel ‘Mujhe Pehchaano’.
• Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 2022-23: Hyderabad based Bharat Natyam dancer Manjula Ramaswamy has been conferred with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award by the President of India.
• Writer Amitav Ghosh has been awarded the esteemed Erasmus Prize 2024 for his writings on the climate crisis, significantly contributing to the theme of ‘imagining the unthinkable’.

National News

• The Government of India has issued notice for the implementation of The Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019.
  • It was passed in December 23, 2019 for changing the provisions of the Citizenship Act of 1955.
  • Subject: This act seeks to grant fast-track-citizenship to the people belonging to 6 non-Muslim ethnicities (Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Christians and Persians) who came to India before December 31, 2014 for fear or suppression or any similar ground , and are a religious minority in the neighbouring Muslim States of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
  • A new portal for applying for Citizenship under CAA has been launched along-side the ‘CAA-2019’ Mobile App.
  • Required Documents:
    • A document issued by the governments of Pakistan, Bangladesh or Afghanistan that signifies the person was a citizen of that State.
    • A document issued by any government authority in India after his or her arrival, that portraits that the person came to India before December 31, 2014.
    • A document issued by any locally reputed religious community / institution belonging to the stated six sects, that acknowledge that the person belongs to that particular religious denomination.
    • Lastly a declaration by the person that by accepting Indian citizenship and embracing India as his or her original home, he/she is wilfully and irrevocably renouncing the existing citizenship of the other country from which he/she came.
  • After application followed by the submission of the required documents, the person will be granted fast-track-citizenship within 5 years.
  • Exemptions of Implementation: The areas within the Indian Union belonging to the Sixth Schedule , of Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya along with the areas of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur where the Inner Line Permit (ILP) exists – shall be out of the purview of implementation of the CAA.
  • Counter Arguments: The critics basically base their counter on two grounds-
    • The grant of Citizenship is available for all other ethnic communities discriminating only against the Muslims.
    • The critics point out the lack of concern on the part of the government regarding the religious minorities of Sri Lanka , Tibet and Myanmar.
• After the resignation of Manohar Lal Khattar over a lack of consensus regarding the seat sharing in the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections, Nayab Singh Saini swears in as the new Chief Minister of Haryana.
• The Jammu & Kashmir Police launches ‘Operation Kamdhenu’ to put an end to the cross border cattle-smuggling.
• Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur has launched the revamped websites of Akashvani News and DD News along with audio visual network named “Shabd” (Prasar Bharati – Shared Audio Visuals for Broadcasts and Dissemination).
• Anurag Sigh Thakur has also launched the first season of a 75 episode series “Swaraj” on Amazon Prime, that will showcase the journey of India from the arrival of Vasco-Da-Gama on 1498 to the Independence in 1947.
• Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde has inaugurated the 9 km long corridor from Worli to Marine Drive, 1^st phase of Mumbai’s Coastal Road , named ‘Dharmaveer, Swarajya Rakshak Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Mumbai Coastal Road’.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his visit to Gujarat, has inaugurated the renovated Kochrab Ashram – the first ashram built by Gandhiji upon his return to India in 1915, where he stayed before shifting to the Sabarmati Ashram. The renovation is part of the ₹1200 Crore Master Plan of Gandhi Ashram Memorial.
• Home Minister Amit Shah has launched the Dilli Gramoday Abhiyan in Delhi by providing PNG (Piped Natural Gas) connection to 41 villages nearby Delhi. The aim of the campaign is to establish and enhance essential infrastructures on the peripheral villages of Delhi.
• The Sahitya Academy has organised the World’s Largest literature festival ‘Sahityotsav’ to mark its 70year legacy from 11^th to 16^th March at Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi.
• The University Grants Commission (UGC) has launched the “SheRNI” (She Research Network India) portal to serve as a large online community for women with diverse expertise.
• The annual World Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly is going to be held in New Delhi from 15 to 24 October.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid the foundation stone for ₹1.25 trillion, 3 semiconductor projects :
  • Dholera Special Investment  Region (DSIR) in Gujarat. (will be managed by TATA Electronics Pvt. Ltd)
  • Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test facility (OSAT) facility Sanand in Gujarat.
  • Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test facility (OSAT) in Morigaon, Assam.

State News:

• Citing the unsettled rights of the people of the area, the Assam cabinet has declared to de-notify the “Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary”. Famed as “Mini Kaziranga”, this WLS is the second largest and most dense habitat of the one horned Rhinos.

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Defence:

• PM Narendra Modi attended the Tri-Service war game “Bharat Shakti” at Rajasthan’s Pokhran.

International News:

• President Draupadi Murmu has been conferred the Honorary Degree of “Doctor of Civil Law“ by the Mauritius Government.

Sports:

• Youth World Boxing Championship 2024:
  • Venue: Montenegro
  • India’s achievement: 26 Medals – (5 G, 9 S, 12 B)
  • First: Russia – 8 Gold.
  • Indian Nikita Chand was named the ‘Best Boxer’ of the tournament.
• Team India becomes the No.1 Test Team in the ICC rankings after its latest win over England. It also now stands as the team to top all the three formats if ICC.
• ICC Players of the Month – February 2024: Yashashvi Jaiswal (Men), Annabel Sutherland (Australia).

Current Affairs                          15^th March, 2024

Day

• 15^th March is celebrated as ‘World Consumer Rights Day’ since 1983, commemorating the historic addressing of the US congress by President J.F. Kennedy on 15 March 1962.
  • Theme 2024: “Fair and Responsible AI for Consumers”.

Books and Authors

• Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur has released the new book ‘Israel War Diary’ written by Vishal Pandey.
• Former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksha has released his newly written book ‘THE CONSPIRACY to oust me from the Presidency’.

Obituaries

• Padme Shri awardee and famous artisan Kapildev Prasad has breathed his last. In 2023 he was awarded the Padma Shri for his contribution to the handloom industry and revival of ‘Bababuti Sarees’ of Nalanda, Bihar.
  • ‘Bawa Booti’ or ‘Bababuti’ saree is a special hand woven cotton cloth that has 52 buddhist motifs imprinted on it.
• Paul Alexander, The Man in the Iron Lung has passed away in US. In his childhood, Paul was diagnosed with Polio which caused him Paralysis and Lung Failure after which he has spent over 70 years of his life inside an Iron Lung.
  • He holds the Guinness World Record for being the longest iron lung patient. His Memoir is “Three Minutes for A Dog: My Life Inside An Iron Lung”.

Appointments

• A committee consisting the Prime Minister, a committee member and Oppn. leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has appointed bureaucrats Sukhbir Singh Sandhu from Punjab and Gyanesh Kumar from Kerala as the new Election Commissioners.
  • Their appointment comes shortly after the retirement and resignation of Anup Ch. Pandey and Arun Goel respectively.
  • The Election Commission is a Constitutional Body enumerated in Part XV (Article  324 – 329) of the Constitution.
  • The Election Commission is a three membered Body responsible for conducting Free and Fair elections headed by the Chief Election Commissioner.
  • Currently Rajeev Kumar is the CEC.

National

• The Maharashtra Govt. has renamed the district of Ahmednagar as “Ahilya Nagar” after the 18^th Century Maratha Queen Ahilyabai Holkar, one of the women rulers of the Maratha Malwa Kingdom.
  • She was regarded by British Historian John Keay as “The Philosopher Queen”.
• The Supreme Court of India has notified for a halt in the Assam Govt.’s  notification to withdraw the status of Pobitora Wild Life Sanctuary, one of the largest One Horned Rhino habitat in Asia. The state made the move as the WLS was notified in 1998 without settling the land rights of the residents of the area.
• Maharashtra becomes the first state in India to purchase land in Jammu & Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, to construct a state tourist stay house in the valley.
  • The Building – Maharashtra Bhavan – that will be constructed in Central Kashmir’s Budgam will be the first ever state Bhavan in the Valley.
• Geological Survey of India designates ‘Pandavula Gutta, a geological structure older than Himalaya consisting Prehistoric Man’s artwork in Telangana , as ‘Exclusive Geo-Heritage Site of India’.
  • Geological Survey of India :
    • Estd: 1851
    • HQ– Kolkata.
    • It is a body attached to The Ministry of Mines that mainly functions to create and update national geo-scientific information and mineral resource assessment and exploration.
• The Numaligarh Refinery Limited of Assam, that supplies Petroleum products to Bangladesh under the Friendship Pipeline Project (2023), has opened its first overseas office in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
• The ICAR- Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI), Thiruvananthapuram has developed a novel technological marvel in Agriculture , the Electronic Crop (e-Crop), an innovative device designed for smart farming.
  • This device, planted in ground along with other crops, calculates the weather conditions, nutrient contents and water level in the soil and other key information related to farming on a daily time scale and duly advises the farmers through SMS on how to treat the crops.
  • This device was developed by Dr. Santosh Mishra, a principal scientist at the ICAR-CTCRI.
• The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the ‘Pradhan Mantri Samajik Utthan and Rozgar Adharit Jankalyan’ (PM-SURAJ) portal and sanctioned credit support to  one lakh entrepreneurs of the disadvantaged sections under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• Report of the “One Nation, One Election” Committee headed by former President Ramnath Kovind:
  • The high level committee set up on 2^nd September 2023 headed by Ramnath Kovind submitted its 18,626 page report to President Draupadi Murmu after research work of 191 days.
  • The panel has recommended holding of simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and state Legislative Assemblies as the first step after which Local Bodies polls will be conducted within 100 days.
  • The committee has proposed specific scientific amendments to the Constitutions and the Representation of People Act, 1950, 1951 and other related laws.
  • It has recommended insertion of Article 82-A to the Constitution to synchronize the terms of the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.
  • All state assemblies which are constituted after the insertion of this Article is brought into effect will automatically come to an end of tenure along with the expiry of the full term of the Lok Sabha.
  • After that all general elections to the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies will be hold simultaneously.
  • In case of a hung Parliament and a No Confidence Motion, fresh elections may be conducted. But the govt. formed so shall have the tenure of only the remaining previous term of five years.
    • When fresh elections will be held for the Lok Sabha, the tenure of the House will be “only for the unexpired (remaining) term of the immediately preceding full term of the house.
    • When fresh elections are held for state legislative assemblies, then such new assemblies – unless sooner dissolved – shall continue up to the end of the full term of the Lok Sabha.
  • To bring this into effect, Amendments are proposed to Article 83 (duration of the Houses of the Parliament) and  Article 172 (duration of the state legislatures).
  • Ratification by the states is not required to hold simultaneous elections in the House of the People and State Legislative Assemblies.
  • The Members of the Kovind Panel were:
    • HM Amit Shah
    • Former Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad.
    • Former Finance Commission Chairman N.K. Singh.
    • Former LS Secretary General Subhash Kashyap.
    • Senior Advocate Harish Salve.
    • Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, a special invitee.
  • The 22^nd Law Commission (under the chairmanship of Justice Ritu Raj Aawasthi) had also suggested to hold simultaneous elections from the General Elections of 2029.

Defense News

• ‘Agray’ and ‘Akshay’ two new Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Watercrafts (ASW-SWC), built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) has been launched by the Indian Navy.
• Indian Navy has launched its 3^rd 25T Bollard Pull Tug ‘Bajrang’ in Bharuch, Gujarat.

Sports

• Rachin Ravindra becomes the youngest recipient of the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal of New Zealand. The medal was introduced in 2011 by NZC to felicitate best New Zealand Men’s Cricketer of the previous year.
• Union Sports Minister Anuragh Singh Thakur has launched the KIRTI (Khelo India Rising Talent Identification) program in Chandigarh. This scheme aims at scouting talents in the schools among the children belonging to the age group of 9 to 18 and spreading awareness about the importance of a healthy and active sports culture. The ministry will conduct 20 lakh assessments per year throughout the country.

Current Affairs                    16^th March,2024

Day

• 16^th March is celebrated as the ‘National Vaccination Day’.
  • On this day in 1988, the WHO Global Polio Eradication Initiative was kicked off  and on the very same date in 1995 in India, the Govt. started the Pulse Polio Immunization Program as the first attempt to eradicate the disease from the country.
  • Theme 2024: ‘Vaccines save lives fear endangers them.”

Obituaries

• Former Indian Naval Chief, 13^th Chief of Naval Staff of India, Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas has breathed his  last.

National News

• State Bank of India has submitted its data related to the Electoral Bonds to the Supreme Court of India:
  • Over the last five years, top donors have donated nearly Rs. 6000 Cr. to various Political Parties through Electoral Bonds.
  • The Top Donor is Future Gaming and Hotel Services that donated around Rs. 1368 Cr. – a 11% of the total donation.
  • A Hyderabad based Megha Engineering and Infrastructures has donated around 966 Cr.
  • Some prime firms like Bharti Airtel (RS 198 Cr.) and mining giant Vedanta (Rs. 401 Cr.) have also found their name on the donor list.
  • Electoral Bonds Scheme:
    • It was a scheme launched by the Union Government in 2018 that allowed people to make any amount of donation to the political parties of their choice while maintaining anonymity.
    • State Bank of India (SBI) was the sole issuer of the Electoral Bonds in the denominations of Rs. 1000, Rs. 10,000, Rs. 1 lakh, Rs.10 lakh and Rs. 1 cr.
    • The Supreme Court has labeled the Electoral Bonds Scheme as unconstitutional on 15^th February 2024.

Reports & Indices

• United Nations Human Development Report 2023-24:
  • INDIA’s rank: 134^th (1 position improvement from 2022-23).
  • Out of: 193 countries.
  • The Data was published under the UNDP Report, titled, “Breaking the Girdlock: Remaining Cooperation in a Polarized World”.
  • In the year 2022, India witnessed a net growth in all the three parameters across the HDI – Life expectancy, education and gross national income (GNI) per capita.
  • The avg. life expectancy has rose from 67.2 in 2021 to 67.7 years in 2022.
  • The GNI per capita has improved from $6,542 to $6,951.
  • There is a net growth in the avg. years of Schooling from 11.9 years to 12.6 years.
  • India’s score in the HDI index is 0.644.
  • The HDI has been topped by: Switzerland.
  • Ranks of the neighbors of India: China – 75, Sri Lanka – 78, Bhutan – 125, Bangladesh – 129, Nepal – 146, Pakistan – 164.
  • The UNDP report has concluded that inequality across the globe is on the rise again.
• Gender Inequality Index  by UNDP 2022:
  • The Gender Inequality Index has been released by the UNDP in its Human Development Report 2023-2024.
  • India’s rank: 108 out of 193 countries.
  • India’s score: 0.437.
  • Previously India was ranked 122 out of 191 countries in the Gender Inequality Index 2021.
  • The GII has three key parameters in the domains of – reproductive health, empowerment and labor market.
• SIPRI Report 2024 on National Reports on Arms Export:
  • This is report is released by Swedish think tank, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
  • Findings:
    • India is the largest arms importer of the World for the period of 2019-2023.
    • Arms imports have gone up by 4.7% globally compared to 2014-18.
    • Arms imports by the European countries have gone up by 94% from 2014-18 to 2019 – 23.
    • Russia has remained India’s largest arms supplier (36% of total imports), second – France (33%) followed by the US (13%).
    • 9 out of 10 of the biggest arms importing countries were from Asia, Oceania or the Middle East.
    • Top 5 arms exporting countries are – USA (42% of Global Arms), followed by France (11%), Russia (11%), China (5.8%) and Germany (5.6%).
• TRAFFIC and WWF-India have jointly released a factsheet “Netted in illegal wildlife trade: Sharks of India” based  on the findings of the illegal trades of Sharks in India between 2010 to 2022.
  • Tamil Nadu was accountable for 65% of the illegal trades in shark body parts in India, followed by Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala and Maharashtra.
  • Sharks, being a top predator in the marine food chain, are very crucial to our ecology. But due to demands for shark meat and fins they are hunted illegally globally. The Shark fins are the most sought after shark product to cater to ‘Shark-fin’ soup delicacy.
  • TRAFFIC: It is a joint program of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) that functions as a non-governmental organization on monitoring wildlife trade.

National

• Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has virtually flagged of India’s newest regional airline services, Goa- based, FLY91. It has completed its inaugural flight from Goa’s Mopa International Airport to Agatti in Lakhadweep.
  • MD & CEO of FLY91: Manoj Chacko.
• Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has certified 100 jails as ‘Eat Right Campus’. Highest number of Jails were from Uttarpradesh.
• Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has launched first of its kind Water Quality Now Casting System (WQNS)  to monitor coastal water quality status.
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah has virtually launched a unique digital Criminal Case Management System (CCMS) of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) that will enable the NIA personnel to better coordinate organized crime cases and justice delivery.
  • Home Minister has also launched the mobile app “Sankalan” – an information hub on the New Criminal Laws by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

International

• Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has appointed Mohammad Mustafa as the New Prime Minister of the Country.

Current Affairs            17th – 18th March,2024

Days

• 18^th March is celebrated as Ordnance Factories Day all over India commemorating the foundation of India’s Oldest Ordnance Factory at Cossipore of Kolkata in 1802.
  • Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) is the world’s largest and oldest organization run by the govt. of India.
• 18^th March is also celebrated as Global Recycling Day since 2018.
  • Theme: #RecyclingHeroes.

Appointments

• Former IAS Officer Navneet Kumar Sehgal has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Prasar Bharati.
• Arjuna Awardee and Para Archer Ms. Sheetal Devi has been announced as the ECI National PwD Icon before the upcoming General Election.

Awards

• Philanthropist and Former Chairman of the TATA Sons, Ratan Tata has been awarded the PV Narasimha Rao Memorial Award for his Philanthropic Contributions.

National News

• The Ministry of Home Affairs  has ranked amongst the top 10 ministries during 2023-24 in Grievance Redressal Assessment Index. The citizen satisfaction has also stayed  at a high 40%.
• Delhi based Akmus Drugs and Pharmaceutical Limited has developed country’s first indigenous , room temperature stable drug for sickle cell disease that will be available at 1% of the global price.
• The Government of India is going to conduct ‘Foundational Literacy & Numeracy Assessment Test’ (FLNAT) as part of Nav Bharat Saaksharata Karyakram under which 37 lakh learners will be assessed on three subjects – reading, writing and numeracy.
  • The test will be conducted in regional languages. It will be a key tool to assess the impact of ULLAS (Understanding of Lifelong Learning for All in Society) or the New India Literacy Program under the New Education Policy for a period of 2022-27.
  • ULLAS scheme is to empower all adults aged 15 years and above that allows the adult learners to read, write and function numeracy operations along with encouraging them to pursue lifelong learning.
• The Union Government has launched Auto Fuel Ethanol100, an alternative auto fuel in New Delhi. Ethanol100 is a cleaner and greener alternative of Gasoline with a blend of 92-94% ethanol. It is being rolled out mainly by Indian Oil across ethanol rich states – UP, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Delhi.
• Union Minister Piyush Goyal has inaugurated National Time Protocol (NTP) for the dissemination of IST in Mumbai.
  • India is the first country to implement Time Dissemination System.
  • Earlier GPS was used to source time but now onwards we will have our own system with the help of Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC).
  • All mobile operators accoss the country must have to have NavIC synced with their system.
  • By the end of 2024, atomic clocks will be installed in the Regional Reference Standards Laboratory (RRSL) at Bengaluru, Bhubaneshwar, Guwahati and Delhi.

Defense

• Indian Army’s Gorkha Rifles will take part in the biennial “Exercise Lamitiye” alongside the Seychelles Defence Forces (SDF) from March 18 to 27 in Seychelles. This exercise is being conducted since 2001. Lamitiye means ‘friendship’.

Sports

• Asian Games Bronze medalist track athlete Gulveer Singh has broken the 16 years old national record in the men’s 10000m in California.

International News

• After the eruption of volcano in Reykjanes Penisula in Iceland, State of Emergency has been declared in Southern Iceland.

Current Affairs              19^th, 20^th & 21^st March 2024

Days

• 19^th March is celebrated as the Central Reserved Police Force (CRPF) Day commemorating the day in 1950 when the CRPF got the President’s Colours as the first CAPF of the Country.
  • DG of CRPF – Anish Dayal Singh.
• 20^th March is celebrated as World Sparrow Day every year.
  • Theme 2024: “Sparrows: I Love Sparrows and We Love Sparrows”.
• 20^th March is also celebrated as the International Day of Happiness a.k.a World Happiness Day since 2012.
• 20^th March is celebrated as the World Oral Health Day.
  • Theme 2024: A Happy Mouth is a Happy Body.
• 21^st March is celebrated as World Down Syndrome Day every year as an awareness day towards this autosomal disease by the United Nations.
  • Theme: #EndTheStereotypes
• 21^st March is also celebrated as World Forestry Day by the United Nations since 2012.
  • Theme 2024: ‘Forests and Innovation: New Solutions for a better World”.
• 21^st March is also celebrated as World Poetry Day by the UNESCO since 1999.
  • Theme 2024: “Standing on the Shoulders of the Giants”.

Appointments

• Tamilisai Soundarajan has resigned from the posts of the Governor of Telangana and the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry and C.P. Radhakrishnan, the Governor of Jharkhand has been given the charge of Telangana and Puducherry on ad-hoc basis.
  • In 2019, Soundarajan assumed the office as an incumbent after the resignation of Kiran Bedi.
• Cabinet Pashupati Kumar Paras has resigned from the office of Ministry of Food Processing Industries and Union Minister for Earth Sciences, Kiren Rijiu has been given the additional charge of the office.
• Current Ambassador of India to Myanmar, IAS Vinay Kumar has been appointed as the next ambassador of India to Russia.
• P&G (Procter & Gamble ) India has named Kumar Venkatasubhramanian as its new CEO from May 1,2024.
• Rahul Singh has been named as the new Chairperson of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) after Nidhi Chhibber, the former chairperson has been named as an advisor in Niti Aayog.
• Rajiv Kumar Mital has been appointed as the Director General of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
• Vladimir Putin has been elected as the President of Russia for a record fifth time.

Awards

• Keralan litterateur Prabha Varma has been awarded the Saraswati Samman for the Year 2023 for his poetry work in Malyalam Language “Roudra Swathikram”.
  • Saraswati Samman is a presitigeous award in the field of Indian literature annually given by the KK Birla foundation since 1991 for outstanding prose or literary works in any of the 22 scheduled languages of India.
  • A plaque, a citation and an award of Rs. 15 lakh rupees is given to the winner.
• Indian youths Uday Bhatia and Manasi Gupta has been conferred with the “Diana Legacy Award 2024” from Prince William of London for their contribution to social action and humanitarian works.
• International Advertising Association (IAA) India will receive Earthday.Org’s “2024 Best Organisation Spearheading Sustainable Development Award”.
  • Earhday.Org is the world’s largest environmental movement.
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has been awarded with the prestigious ‘Aviation Weeks Laureates Award’ for its achievements with the historic Chandrayaan-3 Mission.
• Dr. Sultan Al Jaber of UAE, the President of CoP28 (Dubai), has been awarded the prestigious “CERAWeek Leadership Award foR Building Global Consensus towards a Sustainable Energy Future” by S&P Global.

Obituaries

• Prominent Tibetan Buddhist Monk and tribal leader of Ladakh, Lama Lobzang has passed away. He associated with the National Commission for SCs & STs for 19 years since 1984.

Reports & Indices

• World Air Quality Report 2023:
  • Released by the Swiss organisation IQAir.
  • World’s Most Polluted Capital City : New Delhi (for a consecutive 4^th year).
  • India is also world’s third most air polluted country in 2023 out of 134 nations after Bangladesh and Pakistan.
  • Bihar’s Begusarai has emerged as the world’s most polluted metropolitan area.
• DHL Global Connectedness Report 2024:
  • Released by – DHL and New York University’s Stern School of Business.
  • The report ranks countries based on their connectedness to the world though the flow of trade, capital, information and people.
  • India’s Rank: 62 out of 171 countries.
  • Top Three globally connected countries: Singapore – 1^st , Netherlands – 2^nd and Ireland -3^rd.
• UN World Happiness Report 2024:
  • This annual report  assessing key parameter like social support, income, health, freedom, generosity and absence of corruption and thus ranking countries, is published on the United Nation’s International Day of Happiness.
  • India’s Rank: 126 out of 143 countries. (No Change from the Last Year).
  • Finland has emerged as the Happiest country for the seventh consecutive year, followed by Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Israel.
  • Afganistan has ranked at the bottom of the list.
  • Rankings of India’s neighbours:
    • China – 60^th, Mauritius – 70^th, Nepal – 93^rd, Pakistan – 108^th, Myanmar  – 118^th , Sri Lanka– 128^th , Bangladesh – 129^th and Afganistan – 143^rd.

National News

• The Election Commission of India has launched “Mission 414” campaign in Himachal Pradesh to achieve maximum voter turnout in 414 polling stations that accounted less than 60% voters turnout in the last LS Polls.
• For the very first time an event was organised on the National Level as “Startup Mahakumbh” from March 18-20, 2024 at the Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, bringing together industry leaders, founders, accelerators, incubators and  all the stake holders of the Indian start up eco system.
  • Its theme was “Bharat Innovates”
  • India is the third largest Start Up Ecosystem in the World after the US and China.
• India’s first Oil Palm processing unit becomes operational in Arunachal Pradesh by India’s largest palm oil development company 3F Oil Palm at Roing in lower Dibang Valley.
  • The operation of the factory is a part of India’s  Mission Palm Oil and under NMEO-OP (National Mission for Edible Oils – Oil Palm) launched in August 2021.
• Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik inaugurates India’s first Indoor Athletics and Aquatics Centre at Kalinga Stadium. It consists of a 10000 sq mt. race track, an Olympic size swimming pool and is capable of holding continental and regional championships.

Sports

• 27 times IBSF (International Billiards and Snookers Federation) Champion, Pankaj Advani has been inducted into the Hall of Fame at the World Billiards Museum in Shangrao City in China.
• WOMEN’S PREMIER LEAGUE 2024:
  • Royal Challengers Bangalore has emerged as the Winner of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2024 after defeating Delhi Capitals by 8 wickets in the finals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium (New Delhi).
  • Player of the Series: Deepti Sharma (UP Warriorz)
  • Most Runs: Ellyse Perry (RCB) – 347 Runs.
  • Most Wickets: Shreyanka Patil (RCB) – 13 wickets.
  • The tournament was played among five teams: Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians and UP Warriorz.
  • WPL 2023 winner: Mumbai Indians.
  • WPL is a T20 Tournament owned and hosted by the BCCI.
• 3^RD Edition of the North East Games begins in Nagaland.
• ATP & WTA 1000 – Indian Wells Open (BNP Paribas Open)  Championship:
  • Men’s Singles:  Winner – Carlos Alcaraz & runner up – Daniil Medvedev.
  • Women’s Singles : Winner – Iga Swiatek & Runner Up – Maria Shakkari .
• Britain’s most successful female Olympic Athlete Laura Kenny has announced her retirement from cycling. Her career is decorated with five Olympic Gold Medals.
• YES Bank has become the partner of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to act as the Official Banking Partner for Team India at the Paris Olympics 2024. It has launched the campaign “Milkar Jitayenge” and introduced the ‘YES Glory Debit Card’ for the athletes.

Science and tec

• The Vikram Sabhai Space Centre (VSSC) Thiruvananthapuram has developed a multipurpose app SAKHI (Space-borne Assistant and Knowledge Hub for Crew Interaction) that will help the Astronauts of the Gaganyaan Mission to carry out various tasks and help them stay connected to the earth.
• According to the State of Global Climate Report 2023 by World Metrological Organisation (WMO), 2023 was the warmest year in the 174 year observational record, mainly because of El Nino impoact.
  • Also it was the warmest 10 period on record.
• Elon Musk’s AI initiative ‘XAI’ has developed ‘Grok’ a new AI Chatbot that is being advertised as having a sense of humour and a direct connection to X.

Defence

• Bilateral Tri-Service HADR Amphibious Exercise ‘Tiger Triumph’ is being conducted between India and the US from March 18 to 31.
• Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has inaugurated the New Headquarter of the Indian Navy ‘Nausena Bhavan’ at Delhi Cantonment. Its foundation was laid by then Defence Minister Arun Jaitley in 2014.
• Raksha Mantri Trophy has been awarded to top armed forced hospitals for their excellence in healthcare services.
  • 1^st – Command Hospital (Southern Command), Pune.
  • 2^nd – Command Hospital (Central Command), Lucknow.
• The inaugural test firing of India’s first indigenously made 1500 HP engine for Main Battle Tanks has been conducted at Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML)’s Engine Division in Mysuru Complex. The test firing was presided over by Defence Secretary Giridhar Armane.

International News

• Tropical Cyclone Megan hits the Northern Territory of Australia after its formation in the Gulf of Carpentaria. The McArthur River of the region has been reported to exhibit a huge rise on its water levels upto 18 meters.
• Nepal PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has designated the city of Pokhara in the Gandaki Province as Nepal’s Tourism Capital.