National Affairs
PM Narendra Modi to participate 100th birth Anniversary celebrations of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Prime Minister Narendra Modi take part in the 100th birth anniversary celebrations of Bangladesh’s founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman through video conferencing.
- Due to the coronavirus crisis, the events planned for March 17 in Bangladesh will be held without any public gatherings.
- Rahman, the first President of Bangladesh, was born on March 17, 1920, in Tungipara village in Faridpur district. He is also referred to as ‘Jatir Pita’.
About Bangladesh:
- Capital – Dhaka
- Currency – Bangladeshi taka
- Prime Minister – Sheikh Hasina
India pledged USD 10 million toward a Covid-19 emergency fund
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted a video-conference meet of leaders of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) member nations to tackle the novel coronavirus (Covid-19).
- India pledged $10 million toward a Covid-19 emergency fund and planned to put together a rapid response team of doctors and specialists for SAARC nations.
- India suggested Integrated Disease Surveillance Portal (IDSP) that is currently being used to detect infected patients and contact tracing.
About SAARC Countries:
- SAARC founded: 8 December 1985
- Headquarters of SAARC: Kathmandu, Nepal.
- Members country of SAARC: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
International Affairs
India to give 107.01 million Nepali Rupees for three new schools in Nepal
India will provide 107.01 million Nepali Rupees for the construction of three new school buildings. These schools will be built in Darchula, Dhanusha and Kapilvastu districts.
- The MoU was signed on March 16, 2020 in Kathmandu between the bodies of India, Nepal and allied districts.
- India-Nepal Development Partnership program is constructing these schools for the mutual benefit of both countries.
About Nepal:
- Capital- Kathmandu
- Currency – Nepalese Rupee
- Prime Minister – KP Sharma Oli
State Affairs
Chaitra Jatra Festival cancelled in Odisha due to Corona Virus
The Odisha Government cancelled the famous Chaitra Jatra festival due to the threat of Corona Virus.
- The Chaitra Jatra festival is celebrated in the month of Chaitra during Tuesdays. The second and third Tuesdays are more crowded. March 17 being second Tuesday, the festival has been cancelled. The festival is celebrated at Tara Tarini hill shrine.
Banking Affairs
YES Bank to resume full banking service from March 18
YES Bank will resume its full banking services from March 18 on 6 P.M.
- The bank customers can visit any of its over 1,132 branches from Thursday during banking hours.
- The customers will also be able to access all its digital services and platforms.
Science & Technology
Microsoft launches website to track COVID-19
Microsoft’s Bing team has built a tracker for COVID-19 worldwide. The web portal has been launched by Microsoft’s Bing team.
- The site, launched Sunday, features a live map and tracks total confirmed cases of COVID-19 as well as cases per country.
- Click on a country and you’ll get more information about the virus outbreak there, with numbers of active/recovered/fatal cases, as well as news and videos.
About Microsoft:
- CEO : Satya Nadella.
- Founded: April 4, 1975;
- Headquarters: Washington, United States.
Google’s free coronavirus checkup website is made live for California
Google has come up with a free coronavirus checkup website.
- Those staying in California, US can visit the website to take an online COVID-19 (coronavirus) screener survey through Project Baseline.
- After checking few eligibility criteria, People will be directed to the mobile testing sites based on capacity where they will go through a nasal swab test and will be informed in next few days if they are infected with COVID-19 or not.
Ranks & Reports
India Ranked 12th Globally In ‘Women On Board 2020’ Study
India has been ranked 12th in the world as per study titled ‘Women On Board 2020’. The list was topped by Norway with 40.72% women on board.
- A study on ‘Women On Board 2020’ has been done jointly by global recruitment tendering platforms MyHiringClub and Sarkari-Naukri.
- The 7824 listed companies across 36 countries were considered for the study. From India, 628 listed companies participated in an online study.
Appointments
Former CJI Ranjan Gogoi nominated to Rajya Sabha
President Ram Nath Kovind nominated former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi to the Rajya Sabha.
- The vacancy was created due to the retirement of K.T.S. Tulsi at the end of February.
- Justice Gogoi, who had a tenure of a little more than 13 months after being sworn in on October 3, 2018, also headed a bench that had held that the office of the CJI was a public authority and came under the purview of the Right to Information Act.
ECI appoints Hirdesh Kumar new Chief Electoral Officer of Jammu and Kashmir
The Election Commission of India today appointed Hirdesh Kumar as the new Chief Electoral Officer of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. He will replace Shailendra Kumar with effect from the date he assumes charge.
- Hridesh Kumar, a 1999 batch IAS officer is presently serving as Commissioner Secretary in the School Education Department of J&K.
Agreements
OIL signed agreement with Numaligarh Refinery for crude oil sale
India’s second-largest national oil explorer Oil India Ltd (OIL), signed an agreement with Numaligarh Refinery for purchase and sale of crude oil for a term of five years. The agreement was signed by the finance directors of the two companies.
- The Crude Oil Sales Agreement (COSA) will come in effect from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2025.
- The agreement will streamline the sale and purchase transactions of crude oil produced from fields in North East India.
Books & Authors
An Extraordinary Life: A biography of Manohar Parrikar
The book titled ‘An Extraordinary Life: A biography of Manohar Parrikar’ is written by veteran journalists Sadguru Patil and Mayabhushan Nagvenkar.
- A book on the life and times of bureaucrat-turned-politician Manohar Parrikar, who served as the defence minister and Goa chief minister, will release in April, announced publishing house Penguin Random House India.
- Manohar Parrikar served as the Defence Minister of India from 2014 to 2017 and also served four times as the Chief Minister of Goa.
Obituaries
Veteran journalist Patil Puttappa passes away
Veteran journalist and former Rajya Sabha member Patil Puttappa passed away.
- Puttappa was the founder-editor of weekly “Prapancha” and also edited “Navayuga”. He also wrote columns in various dailies.
- Puttappa represented Karnataka in the Rajya Sabha for two terms. He was also the first president of the Kannada Watchdog Committee and was also the founder-president of the Border Advisory Committee.
Veteran poet and Malayalam scholar Puthussery Ramachandran passes away
Veteran poet and Malayalam scholar Puthussery Ramachandran passed away. ‘Onnanthyakkuttam’ was his first poem which was published in 1944.
- His poetry works were majorly concentrated on an in-depth study of the early and medieval Malayalam language along with the early history of Kerala.
- He is also known for his tireless efforts due to which Malayalam was finally recognised as a Classical Language by the Union Government in 2013.
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