International News
BRAC: Top NGO of the World
- The Geneva-based organization NGO Adviser publishes the rankings every year based on publicly available data for the top 500 global NGOs.
- The Bangladesh-based international development organization BRAC was founded by Sir Fazle Hasan Abed in 1972.
National News
“Ekam Fest” Inaugurated at New Delhi
- Ekam stands for Entrepreneurship, Knowledge, Awareness, Marketing.
- The fest is being organised by National Handicapped Finance Development Corporation (NHFDC) under M/o Social Justice & Empowerment.
Incredible India Website 2.0
- This is a promotional website with an aim to project India as a ‘must-visit’ destination across the globe.
- The Incredible India 2.0 website aims towards showcasing the varied tourism products of India at a global arena.
Pension Adalat
- The Programme is being conducted by the Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India.
- This is the first time that Pension Adalat is being conducted outside Delhi.
CLW Created World Record in Manufacturing Locomotives
- CLW surpassed their own record of producing 350 locomotives which they had manufactured during the year 2017-18.
- The Indian Railways’ manufacturing unit has also achieved the record of producing highest ever 3-phase Electric locomotive Shells in one calendar year (Jan–Dec) 2019.
Companies (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the bill focuses on removing criminality under the Companies Act, 2013 and the Bill will further ease of living for law-abiding corporates.
- The cabinet approved 72 changes along with the re-categorisation of 23 offences in the new bill to further de-clog the criminal justice system in the country.
Fourth Global Ayurveda Festival
- The theme for the five-day Global Ayurveda Festival (GAF) is “Ayurveda Medical Tourism: Actualizing India's credibility”.
- The 4th edition of the GAF will be the largest Ayurvedic event ever to be held anywhere across the world.
Banking
GST Revenue Collection: Feb 2020
- With this, the total revenue earned by the Central Government and the State Governments after the regular settlement is Rs 43,155 crore for CGST and Rs 43,901 crore for the SGST.
- A growth of 12% is observed in the GST revenue from the domestic transactions in Feb 2020 over the revenue during the month of February 2019.
NABARD Infused Rs 1.46 lakh Crore in Rural Banking
- NABARD has been extending financial support to the banks operating in rural areas to help them deploy their resources effectively for meeting the credit needs of rural people, including farmers.
- The long term credits are aimed at supporting sectors like dairy, poultry, fishery, farm mechanisation, irrigation, and non-farm sector.
RBI Received Rs 1.71 Trillion in LTRO
- RBI said that it has received 66 bids in the LTRO of three-year tenor, which has reversal date on 1st March 2023.
- The total bids imply a bid to cover ratio of 6.9, which is the amount of bids received relative to the notified amount.
SC Lifted RBI Ban on CryptoCurrency
- The bench quashed the central bank's order and said that the curb on cryptocurrency trade is illegal.
- Cryptocurrency is an internet-based medium of exchange which uses cryptographical functions to conduct financial transactions.
EPFO Lowered Interest Rate on Deposits to 8.5%
- The announced of the rate cut is made by the Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar after the meeting of the Central Board of Trustee (EPFO apex decision-making body) on 5th March 2020.
- With the rate cut of 15 basis points, employees will get 0.15% lower returns on their provident fund deposits this year.
Reserve Bank of India Imposes Restrictions on YES Bank
- RBI has imposed restrictions on Yes Bank since the burden of Yes Bank has increased.
- RBI has allowed to Yes bank customers that they can withdraw only Rs 50,000/- from their accounts. However, an account holder can withdraw more than Rs 50,000/- for the following three reasons: A) Medical treatment. B) Educations. C) Marriage. However, it is mandatory to get RBI approval for same.
RBI Deputy Governor N S Vishwanathan Quits Ahead of Retirement
- He was first appointed as RBI deputy governor in 2016 for a term of three years.
- He was given a one-year extension in June 2019 after Shaktikanta Das became the governor.
Appointments
| Name of the Person | Designation |
| Ajay Bhushan Pandey | New Finance Secretary of Committee of the Cabinet |
Important Days
| Date | Day | Theme |
| 3rd March 2020 | World Wildlife Day | Theme: "Sustaining all life on earth" |
| 8th March 2020 | International Women’s Day | Theme: 'An equal world is an enabled world'. |
Books and Authors
| Book | Author |
| “Chronicles of Change Champions” | Smriti Zubin Irani |
Government Schemes
Student Health Card Scheme
- The aim of this Student Health Card (SHC) scheme is to ensure the good health of every school-going children.
- The step is taken to ensure full medical coverage of over 12 lakh students enrolled in government schools from Class I to XII in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Adivasi Mahila Sashaktikaran Yojana
- The Adivasi Mahila Sashaktikaran Yojana is an exclusive concessional scheme for the economic development of eligible Scheduled Tribe Women to enhance their standard of life by providing financial independence.
- Under the scheme, Scheduled Tribes women can undertake loans for any income generation activity.
Defence
RaIDer-X, Explosive Detection Device Unveiled
- RaIDer-X, a new explosive detection device, was unveiled at the National Workshop on Explosive Detection (NWED-2020) in Pune on 1st March 2020.
- RaIDer-X has been co-developed by DRDO arm High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
Science and Technology
NPCI Doubled UPI Transaction Limit to Rs 2 lakh
- The transaction limit will be doubled from the next fiscal year for payments through Unified Payment Interface (UPI).
- It will be beneficial for the digital payment players such as Paytm, Google Pay and PhonePe etc.
Sports
68th All India Police Athletic Championship
- Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju declared the meet open at Basic Training Centre of Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
- The All India Police Athletic Championship-2019 is being conducted by the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
1st Edition of Khelo India Women's Hockey League
- First Phase: 23rd March to 29th March 2020- at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi.
- Second Phase: 13th July to 19th July 2020 – at SAI center Bengaluru.
- Third Phase: 22nd Nov to 29th Nov- at Kalinga Stadium Bhubaneshwar.
Summits and Conferences
35th Edition of AAHAR
- This five-day-long fair AAHAR is being organized by India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) with support of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries and Agriculture and Processed Food Products Development Authority.
- The fair will feature a wide range of food products, machinery, and hospitality etc. from over 750 participants from India and overseas.
Pragyan Conclave 2020
- The conclave brought together cross-domain national and international experts to deliberate on the complex subject of ‘Changing Characteristics of Land Warfare and its Impact on the Military’.
- It provided a platform to deliberate upon the emerging ideas, perspectives and narratives that define the ‘New Age Warfare’.
