National Affairs
Bimal Julka Appointed Chief Information Commissioner
Information Commissioner Bimal Julka was appointed as the Chief Information Commissioner. President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of office to Mr Julka as the CIC in the Central Information Commission at a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan
The transparency watchdog has been functioning without a chief after Sudhir Bhargava retired on January 11 and is at a reduced strength of six information commissioners, against the sanctioned strength of 11 (including the CIC).
There is a vacancy of five more information commissioners at the commission after Mr Julka’s appointment as the CIC.
DAY-NULM partners with Amazon for e-marketing of products
Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) which functions under Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs recently signed MoU with e-commerce major Amazon.
The agreement is for e-marketing of products made by Self Help Groups (SHGs) across the country in urban areas. The MoU focuses on women empowerment and it aims to provide greater access to customer base for products made by SHGs.
Important Points:
- Ministers of State for Housing and Urban Affairs: Hardeep Singh Puri.
- Chief Executive Officer of Amazon: Jeff Bezos.
Fourth Global Ayurveda Festival to be held at Kochi
The Fourth Global Ayurveda Festival, GAF will be held at Kochi in Kerala from 16th to 20th May.
A curtain raiser event was organized in New Delhi on 5 March for the GAF. The theme for the five-day event is Ayurveda Medical Tourism: Actualizing India’s credibility.
It will be the largest Ayurvedic event ever to be held anywhere across the world and will witness the largest gathering of experts, stakeholders and business explorers from the field of Ayurveda.
IIFA Awards postponed amid Coronavirus outbreak
The 21st edition of International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards has been postponed in light of the coronavirus scare.
One of the most popular award functions in the country IIFA was scheduled to be held from March 27 to 29 at Indore and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.
A fresh date and plan for hosting IIFA in the state will be announced at the earliest, an official release said.
International Affairs
Top CEO Fired After a 46 Million Rupees Mistake
Trusted online trading operator Etoro Inc has made a costly mistake after launching their online trade platform in India that caused the company to lose millions of Rupees to its players.
This glitch has already lost them close to ₹100,000,000 Rupee and the loss is going to continue to increase until 8 March 2020 when their new customer agreement takes effect.
Etoro CEO, Peter Newsted was fired immediately after the incident and the new manager Hayden Connor has a lot of fixing to do.
Freedom in the world 2020 report: India ranked 83rd among least free democracies; Finland tops
According to the ‘Freedom in the World 2020” report, which analyzes democratic values and people’s freedom in 195 countries & 15 territories and ranks them category-wise, released by the Freedom House, a U.S based watchdog that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, India has ranked 83rd in the report along with Timor-Leste and Senegal in ‘Free’category. While, Finland topped the list as the free democratic country.
| Top 3 nation in free category | Bottom 3 nation in free category |
| Finland | India |
| Norway | Timor-leste |
| Sweden | Tunisia |
State Affairs
Mizoram
Chapchar Kut of Mizoram celebrated in Mizoram
The biggest and most joyful spring festival of Mizos, Chapchar Kut is being celebrated across the state.
The festival is a public holiday in the state.
Traditional bamboo dance, Cheraw and other dances were performed at the main event, attracting thousands of people.
About Mizoram
- Capital- Aizawl
- Governor – P.S. Sreedharan Pillai
- Chief Minister – Pu Zoramthanga
Maharashtra
Maharashtra Government renamed Aurangabad Airport as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Airport
The Maharashtra Government renamed Aurangabad Airport as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Airport. The decision was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet, chaired by Maharashtra Chief Minister (CM) Uddhav Bal Thackeray.
The name of the airport has been renamed in order to honour Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, who was the son of Maratha warrior King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
About Maharashtra:
- Capital- Mumbai.
- Governor- Bhagat Singh Koshyari.
Appointments
Kareena Kapoor becomes new brand ambassador of Puma
German sportswear brand Puma signed Bollywood actor Kareena Kapoor Khan as its new brand ambassador. She will be the face of the sports brand for its studio Collection which involves a low-intensity training apparel collection for yoga, barre and pilates workouts.
The collaboration of the bollywood actress aims to encourage more women to lead a fit and healthy lifestyle.
SBI Life re-appoints Sanjeev Nautiyal as MD & CEO
SBI Life Insurance appointed Sanjeev Nautiyal as its new Managing Director and CEO. He replaces Arijit Basu, who takes over a key role in the State Bank of India Group.
He served as a Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the SBI Life since March 10, 2018.
About SBI Life Insurance Company:
- Established- 2001.
- Headquarters- Mumbai.
Science & Technology
NASA names Mars Rover ‘Perseverance’ for 2020 Mission
NASA recently named its Mars rover as ‘Perseverance’ for the scheduled Mars mission for July 2020. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) organised a nationwide competition to decide the name of the Mars rover. Seventh-grade student Alexander Mather emerged as a winner in the competition.
Awards & Recognitions
Times of India Sports Awards (TOISA) 2019 function held in New Delhi
The 4th edition of TOISA (Times of India Sports Awards) awards honoured the best Indian in 2019 sports in New Delhi, India. The event was powered by BHIM-UPI (Bharat Interface for Money- Unified Payments Interface).
Complete List of Winner Details
| Award | Winner |
| Sportsperson of the Year | PV Sindhu |
| Team of the Year | Indian men’s hockey team |
| Coach of the Year | Jaspal Rana |
| Inspiration of the year | Rani Rampal |
| Icon of the Century award | Balbir Singh |
| Mentor of the Year | Pulella Gopichand |
| Change Agent of the Year | Odisha |
| Corporate Supporter of the Year | Reliance Foundation |
| Lifetime Achievement | Bhaichung Bhutia |
Indira Gandhi, Amrit Kaur named among ‘TIME 100 Women of the Year’
TIME Magazine’s ‘TIME 100 Women of the Year’ list contains the names of two powerful Indian women – Indira Gandhi and Amrit Kaur.
Indira Gandhi has been named as the women of the year for 1976 and Amrit Kaur has been named for the year 1947. Gandhi has been adjudged as India’s great authoritarian by the Time Magazine.
Sports Affairs
First ever Khelo India Winter Games begin at Gulmarg in J&K
The first ever Khelo India Winter Games will begin today at Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir. Around 900 participants will take part in the 5-day event. Organised by Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council in collaboration Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the Games will be held in various sports disciplines.
Important Days
7th March celebrated as Jan Aushadhi Diwas
The ‘Janaushadhi Diwas’ was observed across the country on March 7, 2019. On the occasion of the ‘Janaushadhi Diwas’, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have an interaction event with seven Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana Kendras through the video conferencing.
The Janaushadhi Diwas aims to provide further impetus and create awareness about the use of generic medicines.
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