NATIONAL AFFAIRS
‘Swachhta Pakhwada’ inaugurated by Nitin Gadkari:
Nitin Gadkari, Union shipping minister, inaugurated the ‘Swachhta Pakhwada’ at the head office of ‘Shipping Corporation of India’ in Mumbai. The Chairman& MD, Anoop Sharma and other directors were present.
First fully India – made suburban ‘Medha’:
India-made suburban train “Medha” flagged off by railway minister Suresh Prabhu. The Medha train can run at a speed of 105km per hour and has been fitted with LED lights and GPS based passenger information system. This train will save foreign exchange worth Rs.32 crore per rake along with 25% saving in the manufacturing cost.
Krishi Unnati Mela in New Delhi:
The Mela is jointly organised by the Indian Council of Agricultural research and the Union ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s welfare. Union Minister of Agriculture and farmer’s welfare Radha Mohan Singh inaugurated the Mela. Some of the themes of Unnati Mela is Digitization in agriculture, organic farming, Agribusiness models, precision farming.
Abhay Command & Control Center is India’s first one-stop Crime control Room in Rajasthan:
India’s first Command & Control Center which is literally smarter than the smartest patrolling center ever opened in India.
Abhay means ‘Fearless’, and so is this first-of-its-kind control center. Abhay is a holistic and integrated surveillance & response management system comprising video surveillance, dial-100 control system, computer aided dispatch, intelligent traffic management system, cyber forensic investigation lab and data center in the seven divisional headquarters of the state viz. Ajmer, Bharatpur, Bikaner, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota and Udaipur.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
China to take part in Brahmaputra festival:
The five-day Brahmaputra river festival titled Namami Brahmaputra organised by the BJP-led government in Assam, will witness significant participation from China. The festival will begin on March 31 with an event scheduled to be inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee.
123 Tejas jets Join IAF by 2024:
The Indian Air Force will have 123 Tejas jets, indigenously made light combat aircraft, on its fleet by 2024-25. To enable this, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) is in the process of setting up a new assembly line for the jets and is involving the private sector in a big way, said by T. Suvarna Raju, Chief Managing Director of the public sector aerospace major.
Zimbabwe-India inks Diamond Direct Trade Agreement:
The Minister of Mines and Mine Development of Zimbabwe, Walter Chidakwa said that government is planning to establish a direct link with India for diamond trading without third-party involvement. A direct link will create a seamless supply chain, which will boost the industry further in both the countries.
BANKING & BUSINESS
PFC signs MoU with Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co:
Power Finance Corporation(PFC) has signed a loan agreement with Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MS EDCL) for a financial assistance of Rs. 3000 crore, which will help the MS EDCL to meet operational requirements within the working capital allowed under the UDAY scheme.
EdCIL bags Rs. 70 crore orders from Mauritius:
Educational Consultant India has bagged a large worth Rs.70 crore from the government of Mauritius to supply 26,800 educational tablets, along with content and software to first and second standard students.
Supertech invests Rs.4000 crore on ‘Affordable Homes’:
Realty firm Supertech plans to invest about Rs.4000 crore to develop affordable homes. It also engaged to raise about Rs.1000 crore through External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) to fund the development of 40,000 ‘low-cost homes’ planned over the next four years in Gurugram, Meerut, Dehradun and Greater Noida.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Japan monitors North Korea:
Japan launched a new satellite from the Tanegashima base to track land and maritime movements in North Korea. Satellite will also undertake surveys on the weapons programme of the secretive nuclear –armed state. “JAXA” Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries entered into a joint venture to manufacture this satellite.
APPOINTMENTS
UN panel on antimicrobial resistance appoints Sowmya Swaminathan:
Sowmya Swaminathan is director of Indian council of Medical research, she is appointed to expertise and coordinate the global fight against antimicrobial resistance in UN. Swaminathan is also secretary of department of Health Research in India’s Ministry of health and family welfare.
AWARDS
NASA honours late singer Chuck Berry:
“Johnny B Goode” is the song written by American singer song-writer Chuck Berry NASA paid a tribute to the singer by sending his song to space in the deep space “Voyager mission”. The voyager mission includes two probes launched 40 years ago which have started beyond the solar system, carrying a “Golden Record” containing selected sounds and images from Earth.
SPORTS
Cheteshwar Pujara Breaks Rahul Dravid’s Record:
Former India skipper and batting legend
Rahul Dravid held the record earlier, having faced a marathon
495 balls during his knock of 270 against
Pakistan in Rawalpindi in 2004.
Pujara, in Ranchi, was unbeaten on 186 against Australia when he faced the 496th ball of his innings and bettered Dravid’s record. Pujara faced 525 balls to knock a run of 202.
Irfan clinches 20km walk bronze:
National record holder K.T. Irfan won the bronze in the 20km men’s event in the Asian race walk championships. Irfan finished in 1hour 20 min and 59 secs. Korea’s Kim Hyun-Sub took the gold in 1:19:50 while Georgiy Sheiko of Kazakhstan bagged the silver in 1:20:47. In the women’s event, India’s Priyanka finished fourth (1:37:42). China’s Wang Na won the gold (1:30:51).
OBITUARY
Pyarimohan Mohapatra passes away:
Former Rajya Sabha member Pyarimohan Mohapatra passed away at a hospital in Mumbai after a prolonged illness. He was 77. Mr Mohapatra was the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Biju Patnaik.
Tour de France champion Pingeon passes away:
Former Tour de France champion Roger Pingeon has died of a heart attack at the age of 76. Frenchman Pingeon won the 1967 Tour and came second to Belgian great Eddy Merckx in 1969, the year he won the Vuelta (Tour of Spain).
Journalist who lashed Nazi surrender is dead:
George E. Bria, the Associated Press reporter who flashed word of the German surrender in Italy at World War II’s end and went on to become chief U.N. correspondent died. He was 101.
