Appointments & Resignations
Manohar Parrikar sworn in as new Goa chief minister:
i. Manohar Parrikar was today sworn in as the new Goa chief minister. Goa Governor Mridula Sinha administered him and other cabinet ministers the oath of office and secrecy at Raj Bhawan.
ii. Parrikar quit from Defence Minister post a day before to go back to his home state after newly elected BJP MLAs as well as independents demanded him to take over the reigns of Goa.
iii. This will be the 4th term for Parrikar as the Goa Chief Minister.
iv. Parrikar was first elected to the Goa Assembly in 1994. He served as he leader of the opposition from June to November 1999.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley gets additional charge of Defence Ministry:
i. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was given the additional charge of the Defence Ministry after Manohar Parrikar resigned to take on the new role of Goa Chief Minister.
ii. This is the second time that Jaitley is holding the additional portfolio of Defence Ministry during the present NDA government. He was incharge of the ministry earlier from May 26 to November 9 in 2014.
ICC appoint Sachin Tendulkar as official ambassador of women’s World Cup 2017:
i. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has appointed Indian cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar as the UNICEF and Cricket for Good Ambassador for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017.
ii. The ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 scheduled to start from 24th June 2017 at England and Wales.
President Pranab Mukherjee appoints Chief Justices in four High Courts:
i. President Pranab Mukherjee on 10 March 2017 appointed Chief Justices for High Courts in Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.
ii. Hemant Gupta was appointed as the Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court. Before this appointment, he was serving as the Acting Chief Justice of Patna High Court .
iii. Acting Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court P K Mohanty was appointed as the Chief Justice of Jharkhand itself.
iv. Justice Navniti Prasad, a judge in Patna High Court, was appointed as the Chief Justice of Kerala High Court.
v. ustice T B Radhakrishnan, Acting Chief Justice of Kerala High Court, was named as the Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court.
Narendra Kumar takes over as Chairman Central Water Commission:
i. Narendra Kumar, an officer of Central Water Engineering Service (1979 batch) has assumed the charge of Chairman, Central Water Commission (CWC) by succeeding GS Jha.
ii. Central Water Commission is a premier technical organization of India in the field of water resources.
National
Krishi Unnati Mela 2017:
i. This year KrishiUnnatiMela 2017 will be organised from 15-17 March at the campus of IARI, New Delhi in jointly by ICAR and Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.
ii. The mela will be inaugurated by Hon’ble Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Sh. Radha Mohan Singh on 15th March, 2017.
Some Important point: Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) every year has been organising Krishi Vigyan Mela(Agriculture Science Fair) to display and popularise the latest advancement in agricultural research and technology development among farmers and end users since 1972.
International Vision Zero Conference’ on Occupational, Safety and Health begins in New Delhi:
i. Three days International Conference on the VISION ZERO and its relevance to Occupational Safety and Health, is being held from 15th to 17th, March 2017 in New Delhi.
ii. It is organized by Directorate General Factory Advice and Labour Institutes (DGFASLI), Government of India.
Arunachal Pradesh Launches Adarsh Gram Yojana for Rural Poor:
i. The Arunachal Pradesh government has launched a new scheme Adarsh Gram Yojana that is in accordance with the basic philosophy of the Prime Minister “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikaas” (Collective Efforts Inclusive Growth).
ii. The scheme aims to reach the poor people in rural areas of the state to serve them better.
iii. Under the scheme, 123 villages (comprising one village per circle) will be developed as ‘Model Villages’ during the fiscal year 2017-18.
The Union Government launches Mission Fingerling to achieve Blue Revolution:
i. Government of India has envisaged a program named ‘’Blue Revolution’’ to unlock the country’s latent potential through an integrated approach in the fisheries sector.
ii. The Blue Revolution focuses on creating an enabling environment for an integrated and holistic development and management of fisheries for the socio economic development of the fishers and fish farmers.
iii. The programme will enhance the fisheries production from 10.79 mmt (2014-15) to 15 mmt by 2020-21.
iv. Fish Fingerling production is the single most important critical input visualized to achieve fish production targets under the Blue Revolution.
Awards & Honors
IIT-Madras won 2017 IEEE Spectrum Technology in the Service of Society Award:
i. The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras in the first week of March 2017 was selected for the 2017 IEEE Spectrum Technology in the Service of Society Award.
ii. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has chosen the IIT-M for the award for its solar-direct current (DC) inverter system.
iii. The system was developed by Centre for Decentralised Power Systems at IIT-M using micro grid technology.
iv. Its ability to tap rooftop solar power makes it the most energy efficient solution for homes and offices.
Sports
Lee Chong Wei clinches fourth All England Open Badminton Championships title:
i. Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia has lifted the Men’s Singles crown at the All England Open badminton championships.
ii. He defeated Shi Yuqi (China) to conquer the title.
iii. It is his fifth Singles Title in seven finals in the prestigious championships.
iv. Earlier, the Chinese pair of Lu Kai and Huang Yaqiong won the Mixed Doubles title by defeating the Malaysian duo of Peng Soon Chan and Liu Ying Goah in the final
Some Important point: The All England Open Badminton Championships is the world’s oldest badminton tournament, held annually in England.
SSP Chawrasia clinches second successive Indian Open title:
i. SSP Chawrasia has become only the second Indian golfer to successfully defend the Hero Indian Open title.
ii. He clinched a seven-stroke win at the redesigned DLF golf and country club in Gurgaon(Haryana).
iii. This was his sixth win on the Asian Tour and overall sixth international victory.
iv. Chawrasia is the third player to win back-to-back Indian Open.
Short News
I. The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) IT Wing has launched the women safety application ‘Ammavin Aran’ in Tamil Nadu.
II. Malayalam film director Diphan (47-year) passed away in Kochi. Diphan was known for his films namely Puthiya Mukham, Hero and SIM.
III. As per RBI data, ICICI Bank topped the list of banks that witnessed most number of frauds during April to December period of 2016 with state-owned SBI taking the second spot.
IV. Radha Mohan Singh, Union Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare Minister, on 11 March 2017 laid the foundation stone of the Banana Research Centre at Gorole, Vaishali, Bihar.
V. Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti introduced Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2017 in Lok Sabha today.’