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WHO:

It is an abbreviation for World Health Organization. WHO is

a specialized agency of the United Nations that is concerned

with world public health. It was formed on 7 April 1948. It is

headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The current Chief of

WHO is Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Recently, WHO has officially declared the coronavirus

outbreak as GLOBAL PANDEMIC. This was announced after the spread and severity of the outbreak

of COVID-19. The new coronavirus has spread to more than 100 countries and led to tens of

thousands of cases and is still rising.

UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged world governments to urgently work towards detecting,

isolating and treating COVID-19 cases and tracing COVID-19 patients' contacts so as to protect and

train health care workers and prepare hospitals and also to communicate with members of the

public about the risks of the disease and how to protect themselves.

Pandemic: Pandemic disease is an epidemic that has spread world wide. It is generally classified as

epidemics first, which is the rapid spread of a disease across a particular region or regions. COVID-19

began as an epidemic in China, before making its way around the world in a matter of months and

becoming a pandemic.

UNSC:

It refers to United Nations Security Council. UNSC is one of

the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It is

responsible for the maintenance of international peace and

security. It has 15 Members, and each Member has one

vote. Under the Charter of the United Nations, all Member

States are obligated to comply with Council decisions. It is

headquartered in New York, United States. It was founded

on 24 October 1945.

Recently, UNCS unanimously approved a United States' resolution on the recent peace agreement to

bring lasting peace in war-torn Afghanistan. The agreement deal was signed between the United

States and the Taliban February 29, 2020 in Doha, Qatar. As a part of the agreement the US military

has begun withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. The complete withdrawal by US will be done only

after Taliban sticks to its part of the deal.

The UNSC resolution had urged the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to advance

the peace process by participating in intra-Afghan negotiations through a diverse and inclusive

negotiating team composed of Afghan political and civil society leaders, including women.

International


Afghanistan:

Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a

landlocked country in Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the east

and south; Iran to the west; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and

Tajikistan to the north; and China to the northeast. Its Capital is

Kabul and the currency used here is Afghan afghani. The

President of Afghanistan is Ashraf Ghani.

Recently, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani was sworn in as the Afghanistan President for the

secont term. He was sworn in as the President of Afghanistan at a ceremony held at the Presidential

Palace in Kabul on Monday afternoon. Ghani was declared as the winner of the election held in

September 2019.

Meanwhile his rival Abdullah Abdullah, who disputed the vote, held a parallel ceremony surrounded

by hundreds of supporters.

Ukraine:

It is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to

the north-east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia and

Hungary to the west; and Romania, Moldova, and the Black

Sea to the south. The Capital of Ukraine is Kyiv. The currency

used here is Ukrainian hryvnia. The current President of

Ukraine is Volodymyr Zelensky.

Recently, the Parliament of Ukraine approved Denys

Shmygal as a new prime minister of the country. Shmygal succeeds Oleksiy Honcharuk who resigned

after he was caught criticizing the President. 44 year old Denys Shmygal is the nominee of

Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine. He was earlier serving as the Deputy prime minister in

charge of regional development.

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ECA:

It refers to the Essential Commodities Act. The ECA was enacted

in 1955. It was enacted to to ensure the delivery of certain

commodities or products, the supply of which if obstructed

owing to hoarding or black-marketing would affect the normal

life of the people. This includes foodstuff, drugs, fuel etc. It has

since been used by the Government to regulate the production,

supply and distribution of a whole host of commodities it

declares ‘essential’ in order to make them available to consumers at fair prices. The Government of

India (GoI) has the right to fix the maximum retail price (MRP) of any packaged product that it

declares an “essential commodity”.

Recently, GoI has brought hand sanitizers and masks under Essential Commodities Act till 30 June

2020. The government has notified an order to declare masks and hand sanitizers as essential

commodities by amending the Schedule of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. This step was taken

in view of the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19. The government has also issued an advisory under the

Legal Metrology Act. Under this Act the states can ensure the sale of both the items at MRP.

The move is aimed at supplying and prevent hoarding of these items in its fight to check the spread

of corona virus disease.

Epidemic Disease Act, 1897:

The Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 is a law which was first

enacted to tackle bubonic plague in Bombay state in

former British India.

The Act has been routinely used to contain various

diseases in India such as cholera, malaria, dengue and

swine flu. This Act was enforced in 2018 as cholera had

begun to spread in a region of Gujarat then in 2015; it was

used to deal with dengue and malaria in Chandigarh and in 2009 in Pune to combat swine flu.

Recently, the Government of India invoked the Section 2 of the Epidemic Disease Act 1987. The

Cabinet Secretary of India has taken this action following the 2019–20 coronavirus Covid-19

pandemic. Section 2 of the Epidemic Disease Act makes it mandatory for all states to follow the

directives of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. As per the Union Health Ministry the total

number of the persons affected has reached up to 73.

National


Union Cabinet:

The Union Council of Ministers exercises executive authority in the

Republic of India. It consists of senior ministers, called 'cabinet

ministers', junior ministers called 'ministers of state' and, rarely,

deputy ministers. It is led by the Prime Minister. A smaller executive

body called the Union Cabinet is the supreme decision-making body in

India. The prime minister and ministers of the rank of cabinet minister

can only be the members of the Union Cabinet in accordance with Article 75.

Recently, the Union Cabinet approved a proposal for the construction of 780 kilometer of National

Highway Corridor project. The project involves an investment of 7,660 crore rupees in partnership

with the World Bank. The announcement was made by the Union Minister Prakash Javadekar.

The main aim of the project is to rehabilitate and upgrade various National Highways in the states of

Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. Besides redevelopment and up-

gradation, environment-friendly and sustainable steps would be taken to build the highway.

Women Transforming India Awards:

It is an annual award instituted by the NITI (National

Institution for Transforming India) Aayog. It was instituted in

2016 to recognize and celebrate stories of exceptional women

change makers. The Women Transforming India (WTI)

recognizes the inspiring stories of women entrepreneurs who

are breaking the glass ceiling. The current CEO of NITI Aayog is

Amitabh Kant.

Recently, the 4th Edition of the Women Transforming India Awards 2019 was organized on the

occasion of International Women’s Day. The award ceremony was organized by NITI Aayog's Women

Entrepreneurship Platform. The WTI awards was conferred by the Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh

to the exceptional women change makers from across India. The theme for the year is "Women and

Entrepreneurship. The Women Entrepreneurship Platform was formulated on three pillars, namely

Karma Shakti, Iccha Shakti and Gyan Shakti.

15 winners from among the chosen 30 finalists were awarded. The awards recognized women from

diverse fields, including healthcare, education, and food tech, amongst other fields. The winners of

the award are :

Co-founder of Vaayu Home Appliance Dr. Priyanka Mokshmar; Founder of Centre for Teacher

Accreditation (CENTA) Ramya Venkataraman; Founder of BarrierBreak Shilpi Kapoor; Founder of

Thinking Forks Rinka Banerjee; Founder of Hand in Hand Kalpana Sankar; Founder of ImpactGuru

Khushboo Jain; Founder of Kutuki Sneha Sundaram; Founder of CSO Jugnu Jain; Founder of

NemoCare Pratyusha Pareddy; Founder of Daily Dump Poonam Bir Kasturi; Founder of Spookfish

Innovations Anupriya Balikai; Founder of Taru Naturals Ruchi Jain; Founder of 17000 ft Foundation

Sujata Sahu; Nidhi Pant, who combats the issue around waste and farmer living standard through


her Science for Society team and Jayanti Pradhan, an agro-processor and farmer from Odisha. A

special jury award was awarded to the Founder Trustee of Salaam Baalak Trust Dr. Praveen Nair.

Mineral Law (Amendment) Bill 2020:

The Mineral Laws (Amendment) Bill 2020 was passed in

the Rajya sabha on 12 March 2020 with 83 votes.The bill

was earlier passed by the Lok sabha on 6th March, 2020.

Parliament passed Bill for amendments in Mines &

Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act 1957 and The

Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015.

The amended Bill seeks to will open a new era in Indian

coal & mining sector specially to promote Ease of Doing Business. It will remove end-use restrictions

for participating in coal mine auctions and open up the coal sector fully for commercial mining by

domestic and global companies. The Bill will not only transform the mining sector in the country

boosting coal production and reducing dependence on imports but will also facilitate the

implementation of FDI policy in the coal sector..

The Bill replaces the ordinance for amendment of the MMDR Act 1957 and CMSP Act. The ordinance

was promulgated on January 11, 2020.

The Ordinance, which was cleared by the cabinet in January, had brought amendments to the Mines

and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, and the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act,

2015.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (amendment) bill:

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill,

2020 was passed by the Parliament on 12 March 2020.

The Bill was passed by voice vote in Rajya Sabha. The Lok

Sabha had approved the bill earlier on 6 March 2020.

The Bill replaces an ordinance which was passed in 2019.

The amendments are aimed at streamlining the

insolvency resolution process and to protect last-mile funding and boost investment in financially-

distressed sectors.

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approved the Insolvency and

Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019 on December 11, 2019. The bill proposes to make

amendments in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.

The second amendment bill seeks to amend sections 5(12), 5(15), 7, 11, 14, 16(1), 21(2), 23(1), 29A,

227, 239, 240 in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 and insert new section 32A in the code.

The IBC Bill came into force in 2016. It has already been amended thrice.

Indian polity


Delimitation Commission:

Delimitation Commission or Boundary Commission is set up

by the Government of India under the rules of the

Constitution. It has been constituted 4 times in India. For the

first time in 1952 under the Delimitation Commission Act,

1952. For the second time in 1963 under Delimitation

Commission Act, 1962. For the third time in 1973 under

Delimitation Act, 1972 and for the forth time in 2002 under

Delimitation Act, 2002. Delimitation Commission is an independent commission that sets the size,

boundary of Constituencies in India. It is a high power body whose orders have the force of law and

cannot be called in question before any court. The main function of the commission is redrawing the

boundaries of the various assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies based on a recent census. The

Delimitation Commission is appointed by the President of India and works in collaboration with the

Election Commission of India. At present it was appointed by the current President of India Ram

Nath Kovind.

Recently, the Central Government, under the section 3 of the Delimitation Act, 2002, has set up a

Delimitation Commission. It is formed under the former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash

Desai. It has been constituted to set up the delimitation of Assembly and Parliamentary

constituencies of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and the northeastern states of

Arunachal Pradesh(AP), Assam, Manipur and Nagaland.

The Delimitation for Jammu and Kashmir is to be carried out according to Jammu and Kashmir

Reorganization Act, while for the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh(AP), Assam, Manipur and

Nagaland will delimit the constituencies in accordance with the provisions of the Delimitation Act,

2002.

GoI:

It refers to the Government of India. GoI has planned to create a

total of 75 lakh Self Help Groups (SHGs) by 2022 to enable more

women to get livelihood. This was announced by the Union

Minister for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Rural Development

and Panchayati Raj, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar on the 8 March

2020. The announcement was made by him while addressing a

programme on Women's Empowerment to mark International Women's Day in New Delhi. The main

focus of the Ministry is towards women’s liberation. Under this programme the GoI is not only

supporting women and rural population but also providing them with platforms like the Government

e-Marketplace for fetching better prices for their products. The funds will be provided by the

Government.

Indian policy News


Women's Self Help Groups (SHGs): The SHGs are the backbone of poverty alleviation programmes.

NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) introduced the concept of Self-Help

Groups in 1992 under the guidelines of RBI. There are over 60 lakh SHGs across the country

mobilizing more than six crore 73 lakh women. The SHGs not only help to promote Gender Equity,

Social Integrity, Financial Inclusion and help raise voice of marginalized section but it also helps to

improve efficiency of Government Schemes.

The most successful SHG project is the “Kudumbashree” project which was launched in the state of

Kerala 1998.

Kisan Rail Scheme:

It is a scheme that was introduced by the Finance Minister

Nirmala Sitaraman in the Union Budget 2020-21. The scheme

was aimed at setting up a chain to transport highly perishable

goods like meat, milk and fish through the public private

partnership method. The Kisan Rail includes refrigerated

coaches in Express and Freight trains.

Recently, the Union Government formed a committee for the implementation of Kisal Rail. The

panel comprises the representatives from the railways and departments of the agriculture ministry.

The function of the committee will be to monitor the creation of cold storage supply chain for

perishable goods. The perishable goods are to be transported through freight and express trains

with refrigerated coaches.

NASA:

It is an abbreviation for National Aeronautics and Space

Administration. It is headquartered in Washington D.C.,

United States. The current Administrator of NASA is Jim

Bridenstine.

Recently, NASA named the 5th Mars (red planet) rover as

Perseverance. Earlier, the project has been known only by

its code name - Mars 2020. The name was announced by the director of science, Thomas Zurbuchen

at an event in Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Virginia. The name "Perseverance" was

suggested by a 7th standard Student Alexander Mather from Virginia. His name was chosen out of

28,000 entries that participated in NASA's naming competition.

Perseverance: Perseverance is a Mars rover manufactured by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for use

in NASA's Mars 2020 mission. The Perseverance rover has a new, more capable wheel design, among

other improvements. It is used to collect the samples from the Martian rocks which help the

Science and Technology


scientists to determine about the ancient microbial life that existed in red planet. It is the fifth

exploratory vehicle which will begin the process of trying to bring rocks back to Earth for study. The

other four Mars rover are Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity.

TIH:

It refers to Technology Innovation Hub. As a part of the

National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical

Systems (NM-ICPS), the Department of Science and

Technology (DST) sanctioned a sum of Rs 7.25 crore to IIT

Mandi, to establish a Technology Innovation Hub (TIH). TIH

will be established at the institute in Himachal Pradesh.

The main focus of TIH will be on human-computer interaction (HCI) research. The projects will

highlight designing and developing computer technology (interfaces), and study the interaction

between humans (users) and entrepreneurship. It will also collaborate with other leading institutes.

The function of TIH is to develop tools, education material, hands-on experiments with specialized

tool kits, connecting with existing innovation ecosystems.

It will not only inter-link with different stakeholders but also connect with other initiatives of the

Government of India. It seeks to provide an innovation platform for schools, colleges and advanced

technical training institutes in the targeted areas.

TIFAC:

It refers to Technology Information Forecasting and

Assessment Council. The TIFAC is an autonomous

body under ministry and it functions under the

Department of Science & Technology, Ministry of

Science & Technology. It was founded in 1988. Its

function is to foresee the technological innovation in

select technology areas that are of national

importance.

Recently, TIFAC launched the Vigyan Jyoti scheme.

The scheme was launched on International Women's Day. The main aim of the scheme is to

encourage women to pursue science.

Vigyan Jyoti: It was launched by the President of India Ram Nath kovind. It is an initiative to promote

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education among girls.

Under the scheme, selected women from more than 500 districts will be given opportunities to

attend science camps at Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), NITs, and other leading institutions of

science and technology education where women are not adequately represented.


Kaikaia gaga:

It is a newly identified species of treehopper named after new insect

species named after lady gaga. The new insect was discovered and

named by Brendan Morris, an entomology graduate student at the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The treehopper is a

common insect group known for its bright colors and ostentatious

flair.

ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020:

Defending champions Australia defeated India to win the

Women’s T20 World Cup 2020. The final took place at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground on International Women's

Day. Australia beat India by 85 runs, to win their fifth title.

The seventh edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup

tournament was held in Australia from 21 February to 8

March 2020. Beth Mooney was named the Player of the

Tournament while Alyssa Healy has been adjudged the Player of the Match.

The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 was the seventh edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup

tournament. The tournament featured 10 teams which are India, Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand,

South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Thailand.

Environment & Climate News

Sports News

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Kieron Pollard:

He is a West Indies skipper. Pollard is a medium-pace bowler and

big-hitting batsman in the middle-order. He has become the first

player in the history of T20 (Twenty20) cricket to play 500 T20s

matches. He made this record while playing against Sri Lanka for

the first T20I in Pallekele, Srilanka. The second in the list is Dwayne

Bravo with 453 matches and Chris Gayle is at the third spot in the

list with 404 T20 matches.

Bhawna Dehariya:

She is 27-year-old Indian mountaineer from Chhindwara

in Madhya Pradesh. She has successfully scaled the

Australia highest peak 'Mount Kosciuszko'. Its height is

2,228 meters (7,310 ft) above sea level. The mountaineer

had scaled Mount Everest and Mount Kilimanjaro in

2019. The height of Mount Everest is 8,848 m (29,029 ft)

above sea level and the height of Mount Kilimanjaro is

5,895 meters (19,341 ft) above sea level.

Mohun Bagan:

Mohan Bagan is an Athletic Club and is one of the oldest

clubs in India & Asia. It was established on 15th August

1889 by Bhupendra Nath Bose in West Bengal, India. It

created history in 1911 by becoming the first Indian team

to win IFA Shield, an event that has been closely linked

with Indian nationalism.

Recently, Mohun Bagan clinched the 2019-20 Hero I-League Championship title by defeating Aizawl

FC by 1-0. The final match was held at Kalyani, West Bengal. The top goal scorer in this tournament

was Dipanda Dicka who played for the Punjab football team in the I-League. This is the Kolkata

giants' second I-League title in five years. 2019-20 Hero I-League Championship was the 13th edition

of the football championship.

Snooker:

34 year old Indian snooker player Pankaj Advani won the

34th National 6-Red Snooker Championship title. Pankaj

defeated Ishpreet Singh by 7-3 in the finals to claim the

title while Amee Kamani defeated Vidya Pillai by 4-2 to

win the women's title.

6-Red Snooker Championship: The Six-red World


Championship is a six-red snooker tournament. It is played with the six colour balls and six reds. The

maximum break/ points in the six-red snooker are 75. Stephen Maguire is the reigning champion.

UNCTAD:

It refers to the United Nations Conference on Trade,

Investment and Development. UNCTAD has issued a warning

that global foreign direct investment (FDI) could drop by up to

15% on previous estimates due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

The organization has predicted that as the visus spreads there

will be further decline in the economic growth. COVID-19

outbreak would significantly drag down global FDI, which is a

measure of cross-border private sector investment.

Surat:

It is a city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is known as the

textile hub of the nation or the Silk City of India. It is very

famous for its cotton mills and Surat Zari Craft. Surat is the

biggest centre of MMF (man-made fibre) in India. It is also

known for its diamond industry.

Recently, the Surat diamond industry is likely to face a loss of

around Rs 8,000 crore in next two months. This is due to a

state of emergency is declared in Hong Kong as well as other

states of China due to the coronavirus outbreak. Hong Kong is a major business hub for the Surat

diamond industry and according to Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) polished

diamonds worth around Rs 50,000 crore are exported from Surat to Hong Kong every year. If the

situation does not improve then the diamond industry of India will worsen.

Andhra Pradesh:

Andhra Pradesh is situated in the south-eastern part of

India. It came into existence in its present form in 1956

as a result of the demand of the Andhras for a separate

state. Its Capital is Amaravati. The current Governor and

the Chief Minister of Andra Pradesh is Biswabhusan

Harichandan and Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy respectively.

As per the recent report shared by NITI Aayog, the State

Places in News

Economic News


of Andhra Pradesh has ranked 1st in the country for overall implementation of Poshan (Prime

Minister’s Overreaching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment) Abhiyan. As part of the programme the

State has trained all Angan Wadi Workers on modules created based on lifecycle approach, i.e. first

1000 days of life, with the support of incremental learning Approach (ILA).

Poshan Abhiyan: Poshan Abhiyan which was earlier known as National Nutrition Mission is

implemented by the the Government of India since 18th December 2017 to address the problem of

malnutrition in the country. The aim of this initiative is reduce malnutrition in the country in a

phased manner, through a life cycle approach, by adopting a synergized and result oriented

approach.

The main objective of Poshan Abhiyan is to achieve improvement in the nutritional status of children

from 0-6 years, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers in a time-bound manner.

Gujarat:

Gujarat: Gujarat is a state on the western coast of India most of

which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. The state is bordered by

Rajasthan to the northeast, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman

and Diu to the south, Maharashtra to the southeast, Madhya

Pradesh to the east, and the Arabian Sea and the Pakistani

province of Sindh to the west. Its capital city is Gandhinagar.

The Governor and Chief Minister of Gujarat are Acharya

Devvrat and Vijay Rupani respectively.

Recently, Gujarat ranked first in the installation of rooftop solar projects with an installed capacity of

261.97 megawatts. This was announced by the Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy and

Power R K Singh.

At Present, the total rooftop solar installation in India stands at 1,700.54 MW. Gujarat is followed by

Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu with 198.52 MW and 151.62 MW respectively. Under the solar rooftop

scheme “Surya Gujarat” the State government seeks to cover about 8 lakh domestic electricity

consumers by 2022.

Solar rooftop: It is a rooftop photovoltaic power station, or rooftop PV system. it is a photovoltaic

system that has its electricity-generating solar panels mounted on the rooftop of a residential or

commercial building or structure. The panels capture the light energy emitted by the sun and

convert it into electrical energy. It is Eco-friendly and it does not pollute the air.

Uttar Pradesh:

Uttar Pradesh is a state in northern India. It was created on 1 April

1937 as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh during British rule,

and was renamed Uttar Pradesh in 1950. Its Capital city is Lucknow.

The current Chief Minister and the Governor of Uttar Pradesh are Yogi

Adityanath and Anandiben Patel respectively.

Recently, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath


launched 3-schemes in Lucknow for Skill Development and Employment Generation for the young

generation of the state in Lucknow. The schemes are Kaushal Satrang Scheme, Yuva Hub Scheme

and Apprenticeship Scheme. The main aim of these three schemes is generating employment and

self-employment opportunities for the youth of the Uttar Pradesh state. The Uttar Pradesh

Government also announced to depute ”Arogya Mitras” at all primary health centres to inform

people about govt health schemes.

Kaushal Satrang Scheme: This scheme will have seven components which will provide opportunities

to the youth.

Yuva Hub Scheme: This scheme not only aims at providing employment to thousands of skilled youth

by assisting in project concept and financial help for one year of operation but also facilitate setting

up of 30,000 startups.

Apprenticeship Scheme: This scheme seeks to provide stipend of Rs 2500 to the youth of state.

Telangana:

It is a state in India situated on the centre-south stretch of the Indian

peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It was founded on 2 June 2014.

Its Capital city is Hyderabad. The current Governor and Chief Minister

of Telangana are Tamilisai Soundararajan and K. Chandrashekar Rao

respectively.

Recently, a dedicated monitoring cell was inaugurated under Mission Bhagiratha in Bhongir Circle in

Telangana. It was inaugurated by the Superintending Engineer of Mission Bhagiratha.

The main objective of the cell is to invite grievances and issues of supply of drinking water. It aims to

get prepared to address water scarcity of summer and to record complaints and redress them

without any delays.

Mission Bhagiratha: It is a project that wass implemented in 1998 by Chief Minister Shri K.

Chandrasekhar Rao. It is a safe drinking water project. It aims to provide drinking water to every

village and city household. It will supply clean drinking water from the rivers of Godavari and

Krishna. The mission is named after the great king Baghiratha who brought the holy river Ganga to

the earth.

CISF Raising Day:

This day is celebrated annually on the 10th of March in India. The day

was celebrated by CISF personnel and their families. On this day, in

1969, the CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) was set up under an

act of the Parliament of India with a strength of 2,800. It operates

directly under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Its headquarters

are at New Delhi. The main function of CISF is to safeguard sensitive

Defence


government buildings and Delhi Metro. It also plays a vital role in providing airport security.

The 51st CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) Raising day was celebrated on 10 March 2020. The

Prime Minister reviewed the parade of the CISF at the 5th Battalion Camp. The PM also laid The

Prime Minister reviewed the parade of the CISF at the 5th Battalion Camp. The Police and Fire

Service Medals for distinguished and meritorious services were also presented by him. The day is

celebrated to create awareness among the citizens of India to cooperate with the CISF to maintain

peace and security in the country.

ICG:

It stands for Indian Coast Guard. ICG was formally established

on 18 August 1978 by the Coast Guard Act, 1978 of the

Parliament of India as an independent Armed force of India. It

operates under the Ministry of Defence. It is a multi-mission

organization, conducting round-the-year real-life operations at

sea. It works in close cooperation with the Indian Navy, the

Department of Revenue (Customs), Central and State police forces and the Department of Fisheries.

Its headquarters are at New Delhi. The current Director-General of Indian Coast Guard is

Krishnaswamy Natarajan.

Recently, Nupur Kulshrestha became the first woman to be promoted as Deputy Inspector General

(DIG) of Indian Coast Guard. She has joined Indian Coast Guard in 1999.

Books and Authors:

A comic book titled “The Adventures of the Daredevil Democrat”

was released by the chief minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik in

Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The book was released on the occassion of

the 104th birth anniversary of former Odisha CM Late Biju

Patnaik. The book is about the life and works of late legendary

leader Biju Patnaik who is also the father of Naveen Patnaik. The comic book, prepared by Kalinga

Foundation Trust aims to inspire and encourage young minds to serve the motherland. It is

published Creative workshop which is based in New Delhi.

Fagli Festival:

It is a traditional festival which is celebrated annualy in Yangpa village of

Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh. The festival is celebrated to observe

the “victory of good over evil”. This festival is also celebrated to mark the

end of winter or the beginning of spring.

Recently, Fagli festival was celebrated with in the entire valley of Yangpa

on the moonless night or Amavasya. Men dressed in traditional attire

Art and Culture


with masks on their faces were seen dancing in circles while hundreds of locals also gathered to

watch the event. The festival will continue for the next few days in the district of Himachal Pradesh.

Dr. V Praveen Rao:

He is the Vice-Chancellor of Telangana State Agricultural

University. He has handled thirteen research and six

consultancy projects on micro-irrigation in India, South Africa

and Israel.

He has been awarded the 7th M. S. Swaminathan Award for

the 2017-19 year. He received the prestigious Award for his

contributions in the fields of Agricultural Research, Teaching,

Extension, and Administration. The award will be conferred on him in June 2020.

MS Swaminathan award: It is a national award. It was constituted by Retired ICAR Employees

Association (RICAREA) and Nuziveedu Seeds Limited (NSL). The award carries a prize of Rs 2, 00,000

and a citation.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh:

He was the leader of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the

northwest Indian subcontinent for nearly 40 years (1801-1839).

He was born on the 13th of November 1780, in Gujranwala,

Pakistan. He lost sight in his left eye due to smallpox in his

infancy. He fought his first battle alongside his father at age 10.

He is known as the ‘Lion of Punjab’ and is counted among the

greatest Sikh leaders. Ranjit Singh not only kept Punjab united but also did not allow the British to

capture his empire. He is credited for establishing a modern empire when the region was torn with

wars between afghan tribes due to the decline of the Mughal Empire. He prohibited Jiziya from the

Hindus and Sikhs and never forced Sikhism on anyone. He was known as a secular leader in world

history. He died on 27 June 1839 in Lahore, Pakistan. He is also known for restoring Sikh gurudwaras,

including Golden Temple in Amritsar, as well as creating an atmosphere of religious tolerance for all

communities.

Recently, in a poll conducted by BBC World Histories magazine, Maharaja Ranjit Singh was voted the

greatest leader in world history by 38% of the more than 5,000 readers of the magazine. He has

been nominated by historian Matthew Lockwood who is an assistant professor of history at the

University of Alabama for establishing "modern empire of toleration". Maharaja Ranjit Singh was

described as a modernizing and uniting force, whose reign "marked a golden age for Punjab and

northwest India".

The second place went to African independence fighter Amílcar Cabral who is credited with uniting

over a million Guineans to free themselves from Portuguese occupation. He is also credited for

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inspiring many other colonized African countries to rise and fight for independence. The third place

went to the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill for his contributions to Britain during world war

while the American president Abraham Lincoln was voted fourth.

Bill Gates:

He is an American business magnate, software developer, investor,

and philanthropist. He is the co-founder of Microsoft. He made the

company one of the world's most valuable technology firms. He

along with his wife Melinda run one of the world's largest charities,

the Gates Foundation, which has billions in assets and funds global

health programmes to combat disease and poverty.

Recently, Bill Gates stepped down from the board on Friday to focus on philanthropic works related

to global health, education and climate change. He quit his full-time executive role at Microsoft in

2008. He remained as chairman of the board till 2014 and since then he has been a board member.

international · women transforming india awards: it is an annual award instituted by the niti...

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