CURRENT AFFAIRS (EVENTS, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL) , MARCH 2020.

The Most Important Current Affairs March 2020  

Mega Merger of 10 PSBs to be effective from 1st April 2020 Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a big consolidation of public sector banks in 2019. As per the scheme of amalgamation, 10 public sector 

banks are to be merged into 4 banks. They 1st April 2020.

As per the recent RBI circular, 10 PSBs will be merged into 4 in the following manner:

•  From 1st April, 2020, all branches of Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India will operate as branches of Punjab National Bank. 

• From 1st April, 2020, all branches of Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank will operate as branches of Union Bank of India. 

•  From 1st April, 2020, all branches of Allahabad Bank will operate as branches of Indian Bank.

• From 1st April, 2020, all branches of Syndicate Bank will operate as branches of Canara Bank.

•  After the amalgamation, the total number of Public Sector Banks in the country will come down to 12 banks

About Yes Bank.

Government of India has imposed temporary prohibition of the activity of the capital-starved Yes Bank and capped withdrawals at Rs 50,000 per account . Former SBI CFO Prashant Kumar has been appointed as administratorof Yes Bank.The depositors will be allowed to withdraw more than Rs 50,000 under some conditions.

• Times of India Sports Awards 2019 

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). 

1 Sports person of the Year - P.V. Sindhu

2 Cricketer of the year. - Rohit Sharma

3 Team of the year Indian men’s --Hockey Team

4 Coach of the year -- Jaspal Rana

5 Inspiration of the year  --Rani Rampal

6 Mentor of the year --Pullela Gopichand

7 Change agent of the year --Odisha

8Corporate supporter of the year--Reliance Foundation

9.Unbreakable Spirit of Sports -- P.V. Sindu

10 Youth Icon of the year  -- Vijendra Singh

11 Lifetime Achievement -- Bhaichung Bhutia

12 Icon of the year  -- Balbir Singh

RBI’s 7th Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement for 2019-20

In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Reserve Bank of 

India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to 

advance the Bi-monthly Monetary Policy meet which 

was scheduled to be held on 31st March 2020, MPC aims to keep inflation within the target and hence to preserve financial stability.

The key decisions taken in the 7th Bi-Monthly 

Monetary Policy Committee meeting are:

• The repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility 

(LAF) has been reduced by 75 basis points from 

5.15% to 4.40%.

• The reverse repo rate under the LAF has been 

reduced by 90 basis points from 4.90% to 4.00%.

• The marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the 

Bank Rate have been reduced from 5.40% to 

4.65%.

• RBI has also decided to reduce the Cash reserve Ratio of all banks by 100 basis points from 4% to 3% of Net Demand and Time Liabilities. This would be effective from 28th March 2020 for a period of one year. 

What is Monetary policy?

Monetary Policy is the central bank’s policy which uses 

the monetary instruments like Repo rate, Reverse repo 

rate, Liquidity Adjustment Facility and many others, to 

achieve the goals stated in the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

What is the Composition of the Monetary Policy Committee?

The Central Government has constituted the six-member 

monetary policy committee (MPC) in September 2016, 

Governor of the Reserve Bank of India – Chairperson, 

ex officio: Shri Shaktikanta Das.

 Australia wins Women’s T20 

The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 was the seventh edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup tournament. It was held in Australia .Some key statistics of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020:

• Top highest run scorer of thetournament: Beth Mooney (259).

• Top wicket taker of the tournament: Megan Schutt(13).

Prime Minister’s address to the nation on combating COVID-19

As the whole world is fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modiaddressed his countrymen and made an appeal to all Indians to stay indoors as much as possible to stop the outspread of COVID-19 in India. Here are some key takeaways from his speech:

• He stated a mantra ‘Hum Swasth, toh Jag Swasth’. And Social distancing.

. The “People’s curfew” will be imposed on 22nd March 2020.

.COVID-19 Economic Response Task Force, to be headed by the Finance Minister of India.

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. 

Key results of study on ‘Women On Board 2020’:

• Norway topped the list with 40.72% women on board

• Around 54% of employees in Asia and 39% in India are women

• India ranked 12th in the world in women member presence on board.

All India Complete Lockdown for 21 Days

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the complete lockdown of the entire nation, as part of government’s stringent efforts to tackle coronavirus disease Covid-19. The entire country under lockdown from 25 March 2020. This lockdown will take place for 21 days.

 WhatsApp launches “WhatsApp Coronavirus Information Hub”

“WhatsApp Coronavirus Information Hub” has been launched globally by WhatsApp in partnership with the WHO,UNICEF, and UNDP.

Union Finance Minister announced relief package

 Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced a mega relief package of 1.7 lakh crore rupees for the migrant workers and poor people affected by the lockdown amid COVID-19 outbreak. The scheme has been named Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Scheme. This food security scheme will assist the economically weaker sections to bridge over the added challenge of lockdown .and job loss during the worldwide outbreak of coronavirus.

. Karur Vysya Bank has launched India’s 1st pre-paid card Enkasu (My cash in Tamil) in Karur, 

Small Industries Development Bank of India 

(SIDBI) has decided to launch a special train 

‘Swavalamban Express’ on June 05, 2020, to 

empower budding entrepreneurs under its mission Swavalamban.

Schemes/Committee

• The Central Government is implementing the flagship programme Poshan Abhiyan for improving thenutritional status of Indian citizens. This programme helps children, adolescents, pregnant women, and lactating mothers by leveraging technology. 

• The Union Government of India has constituted a committee to decide modalities of Kisan Rail. This committee has been formed under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare along with representatives of the Indian Railways. “Kisan Rail” is planned to be set up through the public-private-partnership (PPP) mode and will facilitate a cold supply chain to transport the perishable goods. It was proposed by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her budget speech of 2020-21 to 

set up a seamless National Cold SupplyChain for perishables like fish, milk and meat.

• Uttar Pradesh government has launched three ambitious schemes for skill development and employment generation for youths in the state. The three schemes are Kaushal Satrang, Yuva Hub and apprenticeship scheme in Lucknow. UP government also announced to depute ”Arogya Mitras” at all primary health centres to inform people about govt health schemes.

• Manipur has announced schemes namely ‘Chief Minister’s Akhannaba Sanaroising gi Tengbang(CMAST)’ and Chief Minister Artist Sing gi Tengbang (CMAT)’ scheme for the welfare of sportspersons and artists of the State.

• A “Student Health Card” scheme has been launched in the Union Territory Jammu and Kashmir to check the malnutrition in school going children.

States Current Affairs

• The celebration of festival “Chapchar Kut”, the biggest and the most joyful springfestival of Mizos has commenced in the state of Mizoram.

• ‘Namaste Orchha’ festival begins in Orchha, a town in Niwari district of Madhya Pradesh. 

• The state government of Uttarakhand has lostannounced that “Gairsain” will be the summer capital of Uttarakhand.

• The Arunachal Pradesh Assembly went paperless with the implementation of e-Vidhan, a project under the Digital India programme.

• Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has launched “Suposhit Maa Abhiyan” in his constituency Kota, Rajasthan. It aims to provide nutritional support to pregnant women and adolescent girls.

• Chilli Festival begins at Kasrawad in Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh. 

• Antar Rashtriya Yog Mahotsav has been 

inaugurated in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

• The government of India has declared the National Chambal Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh as an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ)

. Chief Secretary of Punjab, Karan Avtar Singh has launched a mobile application, COVA Punjab. COVA stands for Corona Virus Alert. 

• An exclusive department for Self Help Group (SHGs) called “Mission Shakti” will be openend in Odisha. 

With this, Odisha will become the first state to have such kind of department. It aims for the development of women & is dedicated to all the women of Odisha.

• The traditional ‘Fagli’ festival was celebrated in Yangpa village of Kinnaur district, Himachal Pradesh to observe the “victory of good over evil”.

• The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has launched ‘NIGHA’ app to ensure ‘clean and healthy’ elections. This would be done by curbing the use of money and alcohol in the upcoming local body elections.

• Kamal Nath has resigned as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.

• The Kerala government has launched a mass handwashing campaign named ‘break the chain’ to combat coronavirus.

• Union Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya has launched ‘Ropax’ passenger ferry service between Mumbai and Mandwa, Maharashtra.

• The traditional harvest festival “Phool Dei” which is celebrated on the first day of Chaitra or in mid-March (according to Gregorian calendar), was celebrated in Uttarakhand.

• Uttarakhand government has abolished reservation in promotion in the state government jobs. 

• Shivraj Singh Chouhan was sworn in as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.

• The Gujarat Police is now equipped with taser gunsas a part of their modernization drive to ensure public safety and security. Gujarat becomes the first state in India.

• Odisha’s Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched Mo Jeeban programme in Odisha. The “Mo Jeeban” programme was launched for the containment of COVID-19 pandemic.

• India’s cleanest city, Indore has deployed drones to sanitize city areas against the coronavirus scare. Indore becomes the 1st city in India to use drones to sanitize the city. The Indore Municipal Corporation has hired two drones for that purpose.

• The Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Government Hospital in Jaipur is conducting the series of trials on a humanoid robot to provide services to the COVID-19 patients. 

• Andhra Pradesh State government has set up “Mobile Hand-wash facilities” for the benefit of Slum Dwellers amidst lockdown in the state.

• Rajasthan police have launched a mobile app “RajCop citizens app” to enable individuals and company employees in the state take permission for venturing out in necessary conditions.

• Jharkhand Government has launched a mobile app PRAGYAAM to issue e-passes. The app was launched by the State Chief Minister.

Appointments/Resignations (National & 

International)

• The BCCI’s Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) has appointed Sunil Joshi as the new chairman of the national selection panel. 

• Sanjay Kumar Panda has been appointed as India’s Ambassador to Turkey.

• Government of India has appointed the present Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey as the newFinance Secretary.

• RBI Deputy Governor N S Vishwanathan has 

announced his resignation due to health problems.

• Sudhanshu Pandey has  additional charge 

as Chairman and Managing Director of Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation (MMTC) Ltd. 

• Pekka Lundmark will be the new Chief Executive Officer & President of Nokia.

• Dr Vijay Laxmi Saxena has been elected as general president of the Indian Science Congress, 2021.

• Nupur Kulshrestha becomes the first woman to be promoted as Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Indian Coast Guard. She joined Indian Coast Guard in 1999. 

• Lt Gen KJS Dhillon will assume the charge of Director-General Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) and Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff(Intelligence).

• Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of Haryana cadre Surjit Singh Deswal took over the additional charge of Director General (DG) of Border Security Force (BSF).

• Microsoft founder Bill Gates stepping down from Microsoft’s board of directors. He wants to dedicate more time to his philanthropic priorities including global health, development, education, and his increasing engagement in tackling climate change.

• Arundhati Bhattacharya has submitted her 

resignation from Crisil board.

• Ajay Kumar has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Uganda.

• Google Cloud India has appointed Karan Bajwa as its new Managing Director.

• Rajiv Bajaj has been reappointed as MD & CEO of Bajaj Auto.

• Gita Piramal has been appointed as the independent director of Bajaj Auto.

. Ravinder Singh Dhillon has been appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of Power 

Finance Corporation (PFC).

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) has 

appointed Hirdesh Kumar as the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the Union Territory Jammu and Kashmir.

• The Central Government has nominated Debasish Panda as a Director on the Central Board of Reserve Bank of India.

• Prashant Kumar has been appointed as Chief Executive and Managing Director of the Yes Bank.

• The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet approved the appointment of two Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officers Krishan Mohan Prasad and Satish Kumar 

Gupta as members of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Board.

Sports Current Affairs

 .Tasnim Mir and Mansi Singh of India has won the bronze medal each in the girls’ singles Badminton event at the Yonex Dutch Junior International 2020held in Haarlem, Netherlands.

• All India Police Athletic Championship 2019 Kohas commenced in the Panchkula District of Haryana.

• Punjab University, Chandigarh topped the medals tally of the Khelo India University Games concluded in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

• Rafael Nadal defeated Taylor Fritz to win the men's ATP Mexico Open.

• West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard has become the 1st player in the history of T20 (Twenty20) cricket to feature in 500 matches during the field against Sri Lanka for the first T20I in Pallekele, Srilanka. 

• American golfer Tiger Woods will be elected in the World Golf Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2021.

• Saurashtra won their maiden Ranji Trophy title.

. Former Czechoslovak Olympic javelin champion Dana Zatopkova passed away. She was an Olympic javelin champion won gold in the Helsinki Olympics in 1952 and won the Olympic silver in Rome in 1960.

• Vrinda Rathi and Janani Narayanan have been named in the International Panel of ICC 

Development Umpires.

• ATK Football Club (FC) defeated Chennaiyin FC in the finals by 3-1 to won the ISL (Indian Super League) trophy. 

• Viktor Axelsen of Denmark defeated Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien-chen by 21-13, 21-14 to win the men’s singles title of All England Championship.

• Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei defeated Chinese Chen Yu Fei by 21-19, 21-15 to win the women’s singles title of All England Championship.

• Indian shot-putter Navin Chikara was suspended for four years by World athletics body’s (formerly known as International Association of Athletics Federations-IAAF), Athletics Integrity Unit for failing an out-of-competition dope test in 2018. 

• The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 have been 

postponed by one year and will be held from 23 July to 8 August, 2021.

Important Days 

• India celebrates 7th of March every year as Jan Aushadhi Diwas to create awareness and providing thrust to the use of generic medicines.

• National Safety Day is celebrated on 4 March to commemorate the foundation of the National Safety Council & to raise awareness about the safety measures to prevent mishaps and accidents due to lack of awareness.

• World Hearing Day is observed globally on 3rd of March every year to raise awareness on how to prevent deafness and hearing loss and promote ear and hearing care across the world. The theme for 2020 is “Hearing for life. Don’t let hearing loss limit you”.

• World Wildlife Day is observed globally on 3rd of March every year to celebrate the beautiful and varied forms of wild fauna and flora present on earth. Theme for 2020 is "Sustaining all life on Earth".

. Zero Discrimination Day is observed globally on March 1st. Theme for 2020 is "ZERO DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS".

• International Women’s Day is celebrated on the 8th of March every year. This day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The theme of International Women’s Day 2020 is, I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights. 

• World Kidney Day is observed globally on the second Thursday of March every year. This year World Kidney Day is observed on 12th March 2020. The theme of the 2020 World Kidney day is “Kidney Health for Everyone Everywhere–from Prevention to Detection and Equitable Access to Care.”

• The Ordnance Factories’ Day is observed on the 18th of March every year. 

• International Nowruz Day is being celebrated globally on 21 March every year.

• World Poetry Day is observed globally on 21 Marchevery year to support linguistic diversity through poetic expression and to offer endangered languages the opportunity to be heard within their communities.

• World Down Syndrome Day is observed every year on 21 March. The theme of World Down Syndrome Day 2020 is “We Decide”.

• The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed globally on 21 March every year. International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination 2020 is focused on the midterm review of the "International Decade for People of African Descent".

• International Day of Forests is celebrated every year on 21 March to raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests. The theme for International Day of Forests 2020: Forests and Biodiversity.

• International Day of Happiness was celebrated on 20th March with theme ‘Happiness For All, Together’.

• Global Recycling Day was observed on 18th Marchwith the theme “Recycling Heroes”. 

• India observes National Vaccination Day every year on 16th March. The day is also known as National Immunization Day.

• World Consumer Rights Day was celebrated 

globally on March 15 with the theme “The 

Sustainable Consumer”.

• World Water Day observed globally on 22nd Marchevery year. This year, World Water Day 2020 theme: “Water and Climate Change”.

• World Meteorological Day observed globally on 23rd March every year.This year, World Water Day and World Meteorological Day share the same theme: “Water and Climate Change”. The focus is on managing climate and water in a more coordinated and sustainable manner because they are inextricably linked.

• World Tuberculosis (TB) Day is observed globally on 24th March every year. The theme of World TB Day 2020: ‘It’s time’.

• International Day for the Right to the Truth 

Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims is observed annually on 24th March every year.

• International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade is observed annually on 25th March every year. 2020 

Theme: “Confronting Slavery’s Legacy of Racism Together”.

• The International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members is observed annually on 25 March by the United Nations.

• World Theatre Day is observed globally on 27th March every year. World Theatre Day was initiated in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute (ITI), France.

Summits And Conferences.

st” in New Delhi to promote Craftsmanship & Products of Divyang Artisans and Entrepreneurs.

• The ‘Pension Adalat’ and National Pension System (NPS) Awareness and Grievance Redressal Programme have beeninaugurated in Jammu.

• India has bagged a deal of worth 40 million USD, to supply 4 indigenously built radars (capable of locating weapons) to Armenia in Europe.

• Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Zubin Irani has inaugurated the “National Conference on Women in Police and CAPFs (Central Armed Police Forces)”.

• Government of Indian is planning to have at least one Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya JanAushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) Kendra in each block of India. The above plans are to be executed successfully by the end of year 2020. The above announcement was made 

during the ‘Jan Aushadhi Diwas’ celebrations held in Kathua, Jammu & Kashmir.

• The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 

celebrated its 35th Inception Day on 12th March 2020. On the occasion of inception day of NCRB, Union Minister of State for Home Shri Nityanand Rai launched Crime Multi Agency Centre (Cri-MAC) and National Cybercrime Training Centre (NCTC).

• Indian mountaineer Bhawna Dehariya has 

successfully scaled Mount Kosciuszko (2,228-metres), the highest mountain peak in Australia on the occasion of Holi.

• The Department of Posts, Kolkata (West Bengal circle), has launched free digital parcel locker service in 2 post offices Nabadiganta IT post office of Salt Lake City & post office in New Town’s Action Area.

• The government of India has declared face masks and hand sanitizers as essential commodities for the next 100 days. Both masks (2ply & 3 ply surgical masks, N95 masks) and hand sanitisers have been 

brought under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.

• Four convicts in Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Kumar and Mukesh Kumar were hanged to death at Tihar jail in Delhi.

• Former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi took oath as a nominated member of Rajya Sabha. 

• Indian Navy has established a Quarantine Camp atINS Vishwakarma in Eastern Naval Command (ENC) for Indian nationals being evacuated from COVID-19 affected countries.

• The Supreme court of India bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud has cleared permanent commission for women officers in the Indian Navy.

• Innovate for Accessible India campaign has been launched jointly by Microsoft India and NASSCOM Foundation to empower people with disabilities.

• Government of India pledged $10 million toward a Covid-19 emergency fund.

• India celebrates “Shaheed Diwas” annually on 23 March to pay tribute to martyrs Bhagat Singh, 

Sukhdev Thapar, and Shivaram Rajguru. This day has a very important significance in the Indian freedom struggle.

• The United Kingdom has been confirmed as the first co-chair of the Governing Council of Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). 

• “Mylab PathoDetect COVID-19 Qualitative PCR kit”has become the first ‘Made in India’ COVID19 Test Kit to get the CDSCO approval. Mylab Discovery Solutions Pvt Ltd is a Pune-based molecular diagnostics company which has developed the first made-in-India diagnostic test kit for COVID-19. 

• India’s biggest oil firm, Indian Oil Corporation 

Limited has started supplying BS-VI fuel across India. With this, Indian Oil Corporation Limited has become 1st company to begin supply of BS-VI fuel across its 28,000 petrol pumps.

• Indian Institute of Technology Madras is 

organising India’s first Global Hyperloop Pod 

Competition named as ‘Indian Hyperloop Pod 

Competition’ to increase awareness and enthusiasm about Hyperloop in India.

• Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) has designated 285 beds for isolation wards in handling Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases. 

• Government of India banned the export of anti-

malarial drug Hydroxychloroquine and formulations made up of it within the wake of COVID-19 outbreak.

. India’s flagship fitness movement “Fit India” has teamed up with Bollywood actress and fitness icon Shilpa Shetty Kundra. 

• The Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar (IITGN) has launched ‘Project Isaac’ to engage students in creative projects during the COVID-19 lockdown. The project aims to enhance the student’s skills while they are confined in their homes.

• The Government of India has launched a 

coronavirus risk-tracking app called ‘Corona 

Kavach.’ Jointly developed by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. 

INTERNATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS

. Janez Jansa will replace Marjan Sarec as Prime Minister of Slovenia.

• Luxembourg has become the 1st country in the 

world to abolish fares for trains,trams andbuses.

• Indian-American health policy consultant Seema Verma has been appointed as one of the key members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force constituted by US President.

• Muhyiddin Yassin has become the new Prime 

Minister of Malaysia. He has been appointed after the resignation of Mahathir Mohamad.

• Ukraine parliament approved Denys Shmygal as a new prime minister of Ukraine. He is the nominee of Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine.

• Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani was sworn in for a second term as his rival Abdullah Abdullah held a parallel inauguration that could plunge the country deeper into crisis ahead of peace talks with the Taliban.

• “COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator” is a new fund which has been launched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome and Mastercard. The $125 Million fund has been launched to accelerate technologies to fight against the COVID-19 epidemic and has been designed to identify, assess, develop and 

scale treatments to the COVID-19 disease outbreak. 

• The High Court of Bangladesh has declared ‘Joy Bangla’ as the national slogan of Bangladesh. The court has directed the authorities to ensure that teachers and students use the slogan after assembly.

• Iraqi President Barham Salih has appointed Adnan al-Zurfi as the country’s new prime minister.

• The Phillipines has become the first country of the world to suspend all financial markets in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

• Niue has become the world’s first whole country recognised as a ‘Dark Sky Place’ by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA).

• Canada has become the first country in the world to withdraw from Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

• Indian footballer Sunil Chhetri chosen for FIFA 

campaign against Covid-19. 

• The United Nations Space Force has launched an Advanced Extremely High-Frequency satellite 

(AEHF-6) for its military communications. With the launch of the satellite, the United States has begun its first National Security Mission. The Lock HeedMartin AEHF-6 (Advanced Extremely High Frequency) satellite was launched on the Atlas V551 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Defence Current Affairs

• A unit of Indian Army has organized a Self Defence Training demonstration for Women with a theme of “Stronger You Stronger Society” in Nalbari district of Assam. 

• The Defence Research and Development 

Organisation (DRDO) has designed a casualty 

evacuation bag to transport or isolate persons 

infected with Covid-19. The bag is water and air-proof and treated to deal with biological agents.

• The Indian Army’s International Seminar “Pragyan Conclave 2020” was held at Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi, organised by Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS).

• High Energy Materials Research Laboratory

(HEMRL), Pune has organised the National Workshop on Explosive Detection (NWED-2020) at Pune, Maharashtra.

• RaIDer-X, an explosive detection device capable of detecting the explosives from a stand-off distance has been jointly developed by IISc, Bangalore and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune.

• The Ministry of Defence has signed the capital 

acquisition contract of worth Rs 880 crore with

Israel Weapons Industries for the procurement of

Negev 7.62 X 51 mm Light Machine Guns.

• The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has 

approved the procurement of 83 advanced Mk1A 

version of indigenous Tejas fighter aircrafts for 

Indian Air Force.

• US Marines and UAE Emirati forces conducted the biennial exercise, named Native Fury at Abu Dhabi. The biennial exercise, called Native Fury, shows the close ties between American forces and the United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula home to Abu Dhabi.

• Army Chief Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane has 

launched ‘Operation Namaste’ to extend assistance to the govt in containing the spread of coronavirus and insulate the force from the pandemic.

Ranks and Reports

• Andhra Pradesh has been ranked 1st in the country for the overall implementation of Prime Minister’s Overreaching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment (POSHAN) Abhiyaan. 

• Gujarat has topped the list for domestic solar 

rooftop installations with 64% of domestic solar 

installations.

• Google has shared the data on the most looked-up women on the Internet on the occasion of International Women’s Day i.e. on 8th of March 2020. Here is the complete list released by Google:

1. Google’s most-searched for woman in Music of 2020: Taylor Swift.

2. Google’s most-searched for woman in Sports of 2020: Serena Williams.

3. Google’s most-searched for woman in Comedy of 2020: Awkwafina.

4. Google’s most-searched for woman in Novelists of 2020: Toni Morrison.

Agreement/Memorandum Of Understanding 

(MoU)/ Awards.

• Amazon has partnered with the Deendayal 

Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods 

Mission (DAY-NULM) under Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to facilitate e-marketing of products made by Self Help Groups across the nation in urban areas.

• IIT Mandi & Enabling Women of Kamand (EWOK) Society has inked a tripartite deal with the National Bank For Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to set up 3 Farmer Producer Organization in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh.

• RBL Bank has partnered with online food ordering and delivery app Zomato to launch co-branded credit cards which will be powered by Mastercard.

• The Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi has signed an MoU with the Patanjali Bio Research Institute, Haridwar to develop work plans to work on the collaborative research programmes in the areas of national interest related to sustainable agriculture development.

• The Indian Air Force and Savitribai Phule Pune 

University has signed an MoU to establish a “Chair of Excellence”. It will be named as “Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh Chair of Excellence“.

• Airport Authority of India & Tripura State 

Government has signed an MoU for the construction of 6 equipment hiring centres in Manu Block under the Dhalai District, Tripura.

• Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd in partnership with 

Paytm has launched a QR-code-based metro ticketing system at Rasoolpura metro station Hyderabad, Telangana.

• PhonePe has tied up with ICICI Bank for UPI 

transactions. PhonePe earlier partnered with Yes 

Bank, but after YES Bank has been placed under moratorium by Reserve Bank of India due to which UPI transactions at PhonePe got disrupted.

• An Indian low-cost airline, SpiceJet has signed a pact with GMR Hyderabad Aviation SEZ Limited (GHASL). According to the pact, SpiceJet will set up warehousing, distribution and trading facility in the aerospace and industrial park of GHASL. "Ready-to-Use" industrial infrastructure is offered by the park 

with the flexibility of choosing land within SEZ for 

business purposes.

• Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd (TCIL)signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)with The Gambia. This MoU is signed for the participation in MEA’s(eVBAB)e-VidyaBharati and e-ArogyaBharati Network Project for telemedicine and tele-education in Africa.

• The Government of India, Government of 

Himachal Pradesh have signed a US$80 million 

loan agreement with the World Bank. The loan 

agreement aims to enhance water management 

practices and to improve agricultural productivity in 428 Gram Panchayats of Himachal Pradesh.

• Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority and Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium has signed an MoU the development of agriculture and allied sectors as well as its exports for bringing better value to the stakeholders.

• DBS Bank India has teamed-up with Bharti AXA to launch a complimentary insurance plan which will cover all medical conditions, including Covid-19.

• IIT Kanpur and L&T Technology Services have 

collaborated to carry out joint research in industrialand infrastructure cybersecurity.

• Manikaran Power Ltd has become the first member of India’s first gas trading platform which is called theIndian Gas Exchange (IGX).

• The Central Reserve Police Force has inked a deal with Aditya Mehta Foundation (NGO) to train its troops who lost their limbs in operations, in various skills including cyber operations, artificial intelligence and para-sports.

• Oil India Limited has inked the Crude Oil Sales 

Agreement (COSA) with Numaligarh Refinery for 

sale and purchase of crude oil.Awards & Recognition

• Women Entrepreneurship Platform of the NITI Aayog 

(National Institution for Transforming India) will 

organize the Women Transforming India Awards 

2019 on the occasion of International Women’s Day i.e. on 8 March 2020.

• Assam’s Environmental activist Jadav Payeng who is popularly called the ‘Forest Man of India’ has been named the winner of 128th Commonwealth Points of Light Award for his exceptional voluntary service to environmental conservation.

• Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University Vice-Chancellor V Praveen Rao has won the 7th Dr MS Swaminathan Award. He has won the 

award for the period 2017-2019.

• PV Sindhu has won the inaugural edition of BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year Award for 2019.BBC has also conferred former Indian sprinter PT Usha with the Lifetime Achievement award. 

• Maharaja Ranjit Singh has been named as the 

“Greatest Leader of All Time” in a poll conducted by ‘BBC World Histories Magazine’. He was the 19th-century ruler of the Sikh Empire in India.

• Arfa Khanum Sherwani of “The Wire” and 

Bengaluru-based freelancer Rohini Mohan have been jointly awarded Chameli Devi Jain Award for outstanding woman journalist.

• The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters named Hillel Furstenberg from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel and Gregory Margulis from Yale University, the USA as winners of the Abel Prize 2020. They share the prize & the amount ofNorwegian Krone 7.5 Million (USD 8.3400).

• Critically-acclaimed debut novelist Ruchika Tomar is the winner of the 2020 PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel, for “A Prayer for Travelers”.

• Indian filmmaker Zoya Akhtar has been honoured with IIFTC Tourism Impact Award 2020 for her outstanding contribution to world tourism through her cinema. She has promoted tourism through her films like 2011 ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ which was shot in Spain, and 2015 comedy-drama ‘DilDhadakne Do’ shot in Turkey. Asia’s largest film tourism event,8th India International Film Tourism Conclave (IIFTC) 

was held in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Science and Technology

• The International Advanced Research for Powder Metallurgy & New Materials (ARCI), Hyderabad has developed a fuel cell technology called Polymer Electrolyte Membrane fuel cells (PEMFC).

• NASA (National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration) announced the name of the 5th 

Mars (red planet) rover as Perseverance. Previously the rover was known by its codename as Mars 2020.

• A starch-based ‘hemostat’ material which

concentrates the natural clotting factors in blood that are critical for stopping the blood flow, has been developed by the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST).

• A new space capsule from SpaceX has been picked up by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to ferry cargo and supplies to the agency’s planned lunar space station. Hence, with a $7 billion NASA contract, SpaceX will use its biggest rocket, 

Falcon Heavy to send spacecraft named as “Dragon XL” to the Lunar Gateway.

Books & Authors

• A book titled “Chronicles of Change Champions” is a compilation of 25 innovative initiatives taken at the state and district levels under the Prime Minister’s flagship scheme of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao. Released by union minister Smriti Zubin Irani.

• A comic book titled “The Adventures of the 

Daredevil Democrat’ has been released by the chief minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik on the occasion of the 104th birth anniversary of former Odisha CM Late Biju Patnaik in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

• The book titled “My Encounters in Parliament”

authored by Bhalchandra Mungekar was released.

• The book titled “Invincible: A Tribute to Manohar Parrikar” has been authored by Tarun Vijay.

• The book titled “An Extraordinary Life: A biography of Manohar Parrikar” is co-authored by veteran journalists Sadguru Patil and Mayabhushan Nagvenkar.

• A book entitled ‘Messiah Modi: A Great Tale of 

Expectations’ penned by senior journalist & author Tavleen Singh has been released.

• Award-winning businesswoman Savita Chhabra has launched her first novel titled ‘Legacy of Learning’. 

• Senior Journalist Chander Suta Dogra has launched a book titled “Missing in Action: The Prisoners Who Never Came Back”. It is published by Harpercollins.

Miscellaneous events.

• An exhibition titled “Jallianwala Bagh” is scheduled to be held in New Delhi. 

• The International Day of Yoga event will be 

organized in the capital of Ladakh i.e. Leh on the 

occasion of International Day of Yoga. The 

International Day of Yoga is observed globally every year on 21st of June.

• Google India has launched a skill programme for women called ‘DigiPivot’ which is designed for women who are looking to return to their corporate careers after a break or simply planning to make mid-career shifts to digital marketing.

• A "Bi-Luminescent Security Ink" has been 

discovered by the CSIR-National Physical 

Laboratory. The new ink developed by CSIR-National Physical Laboratory glows in two colours: green and red when illuminated by two different excitation sources at 365 nano meters (nm) and 254 nm.

• IDFC FIRST Bank has signed Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador. 

• Facebook India has launched its (corporate social responsibility) CSR initiative, Facebook "Pragati" to promote women entrepreneurship in India.

• Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel 

Administration (WGSHA) of Manipal Academy of 

Higher Education (MAHE) entered the Limca Book of Records (LBR) for establishing “India’s First Living Culinary Arts Museum” at WGSHA, Manipal, Karnataka.

• PUMA has signed bollywood actor Kareena KapoorKhan as its new brand ambassador.

• The 4th Global Ayurveda Festival will be held at 

Kochi, Kerala with the theme "Ayurveda Medical 

Tourism: Actualizing India’s credibility".

• A “Student Health Card” scheme has been launched in the Union Territory Jammu and Kashmir to check the malnutrition in school going children.

• Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) agency of the Government of India, under the Ministry of Power, has launched star rating programme for Light Commercial Air Conditioners (LCAC) and Deep Freezers.

• The historic City Chowk in old Jammu was renamed as ‘Bharat Mata Chowk’.

• The Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela-2020 was inaugurated in New Delhi.

• Indian Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air 

Conditioning Engineers has organized “ACREX India 2020” at India Expo Mart Limited, Greater Noida.

• The Judicial Officers from Supreme Court of Nepalhas started their training programme on “Case Management and Court Management” at the National Law University, Jodhpur in Rajasthan.

• Indian Railways has launched its first”Restaurant on Wheels” at the circulating area of Asansol railway station, West Bengal.

• World’s first commercial flying car named ‘PAL-V Liberty (Personal Air-Land Vehicle)’ will be developed in Gujarat, India.

• The Mumbai Central station is going to be renamed as Nana Shankarseth Mumbai Central railway station. 

• Microsoft’s Bing team has launched a web portal“bing.com/covid” to track the spread of COVID-19 worldwide.

• Actor Priyanka Chopra works jointly with the 

World Health Organisation (WHO) to spread 

awareness over COVID-19.

• Indian mountaineer Satyarup Siddhanta entered ‘Limca Book of Records’ (LBR) for his extraordinary achievements, as the first Indian to climb the highest volcanoes of each of the 7 continents. 

• The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention (CDC) has introduced an AI bot called ‘Clara’ to help people assess potential symptoms of 

COVID-19. 

• The first prototype of hospital isolation coach have been created successfully by the Northern Railways.

Obituaries

• Former UN Chief Javier Perez de Cuellar has passed away .

• The head of the Bangladesh Bouddha Kristi Prachar Sangha Sanghanayaka Suddhananda Mahatheropassed away in Dhaka.

• Max von Sydow, the Swedish actor who was 

nominated for two Oscars during his career passed away. 

• Former world champion boxer Roger Mayweatherpassed away. 

• Veteran journalist and former Rajya Sabha memberPatil Puttappa passed away.

• Padma Vibhushan award winning artist, architect, sculptor and writer Satish Gujral passed away. 

• The chief of Brahmakumaris Sansthan, Rajyogini Dadi Janki passed away. The Government of India appointed her the brand ambassador of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan for her works in the field of maintaining cleanliness.

• Veteran US civil rights leader Joseph Lowery passed away.

Extra Cover

• Lt. Governors & Administrators Jammu and Kashmir: Girish Chandra Murmu.

• Jagdeep Dhankhar is the governor of West Bengal.

• India Trade Promotion Organisation(ITPO) Chairman: LC Goyal.

• India Trade Promotion Organisation(ITPO) 

Headquarters: New Delhi.

• India Trade Promotion Organisation(ITPO) Formed: 1 April 1977.

• President of ADB: Masatsugu Asakawa.

• Headquarters of ADB: Manila, Philippines.

• President of World Bank: David Robert Malpass; Headquarters: Washington DC.

• Prime Minister of Luxembourg: Xavier Bettel; Capital: Luxembourg City.

• President of Slovenia: Borut Pahor; Capital: Ljubljana.

• Headquarters of Punjab National Bank: New Delhi.

• Chief Executive Officers of Punjab National Bank: SS Mallikarjuna Rao

• Headquarters of Canara Bank: Bengaluru

• Chief Executive Officers of Canara Bank: Lingam Venkat Prabhakar

• Headquarters of Indian Bank: Chennai

• Chief Executive Officers of Indian Bank: Padmaja Chunduru

• Headquarters of Union Bank of India: Mumbai

• Chief Executive Officers of Union Bank of India: 

Rajkiran Rai G

• Headquarter of Metals and Minerals Trading 

Corporation (MMTC) Ltd: New Delhi.

• President of Turkey: Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

• Capital of Turkey: Ankara; Currency of Turkey: 

Turkish lira.

• BCCI President: Sourav Ganguly; Headquarter of BCCI: Mumbai.

• CEO of NITI Aayog (National Institution for 

Transforming India) : Amitabh Kant.

• World Confederation of Productivity Science (WCPS) Headquarters: Montreal, Canada.

• Indian Science Congress Association President: K.S.Rangappa.

• Indian Science Congress Association Headquarters: Kolkata, West Bengal.

• Chairman of Airport Authority of India: Arvind Singh.

• Chief of the Air Staff: Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria.

• Chief Executive Officer of Amazon: Jeff Bezos.

• The parent organization of Paytm: One97 

Communications, Headquarters: Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

• Chairman of SEBI: Ajay Tyagi; Headquarter: Mumbai.

• Chairman of Defence Research & Development 

Organisation: G Satheesh Reddy.

• United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.

• UNAIDS Executive Director: Winnie Byanyima.

• Prime minister of Nepal: KP Sharma Oli; President: Bidhya Devi Bhandari.

• Capital of Nepal: Kathmandu; Currency: Nepalese rupee.

• Bureau of Energy Efficiency(BEE) Director-General: Shri Abhay Bakre.

• Bureau of Energy Efficiency Headquarters: New Delhi.

• RBI 25th Governor: Shaktikant Das; Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata.

• Paytm founder: Vijay Shekhar Sharma.

• Paytm Headquarters: Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

• Paytm founded: 2010.

• Secretary General of United Nations: Antonio 

Guterres.

• United Nations founded: 24 October 1945.

• Headquarters of United Nations: New York, United States.

• Director-General of Indian Coast Guard: 

Krishnaswamy Natarajan.

• Headquarters of Indian Coast Guard: New Delhi.

• Sri Venkateswara National Park is located in the Chittoor and Cuddapah districts of the state of Andhra Pradesh.

• Gir Forest National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, also known as Sasan Gir, is a forest and wildlife sanctuary near Talala Gir in Gujarat, India.

• The Sardar Sarovar Dam is a gravity dam on the Narmada river near Navagam, Gujarat.

• Headquarters of NASA: Washington D.C., United States.

• Administrator of NASA: Jim Bridenstine.

The Most Important Current Affairs March 2020

Mega Merger of 10 PSBs to be effective from 1st April 2020 Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a big consolidation of public sector banks in 2019. As per the scheme of amalgamation, 10 public sector 

banks are to be merged into 4 banks. They 1st April 2020.

As per the recent RBI circular, 10 PSBs will be merged into 4 in the following manner:

•  From 1st April, 2020, all branches of Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India will operate as branches of Punjab National Bank. 

• From 1st April, 2020, all branches of Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank will operate as branches of Union Bank of India. 

•  From 1st April, 2020, all branches of Allahabad Bank will operate as branches of Indian Bank.

• From 1st April, 2020, all branches of Syndicate Bank will operate as branches of Canara Bank.

•  After the amalgamation, the total number of Public Sector Banks in the country will come down to 12 banks