NATIONAL NEWS

First Drone School Established

• Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia along with Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurated the first drone school in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.

• The aim is to create an ecosystem for drone operations in the country and to open employment opportunities in this industry as drones are used for various purposes.
• Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia announced that five Drone Schools will be opened in different cities of Madhya Pradesh including Gwalior, Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur and Satna.

Vintage Car and Bike Exhibition Held at NMIC

• On 13 March 2022, an exhibition of vintage cars and bikes has been held at the National Museum of Indian Cinema premises in the Films Division complex, Mumbai.

• The exhibition has been organized by the National Museum of Indian Cinema (NMIC) in collaboration with The Vintage and Classic Car Club of India (VCCCI) as part of the celebration of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

• Neerja Sekhar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting announced that is a symbolism that helps us to remind the current generation about the struggles and sacrifice rendered by our earlier generations.

Ministry of Rural Development Organizes ‘Gender Samwaad’

• On 11 March 2022, the third edition of ‘Gender Samwaad’ organised by the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), Ministry of Rural Development was launched.

• It is a national virtual initiative under the DAY-NRLM to create awareness on the mission’s interventions across the country with a gender lens.

• The theme for this edition was ‘Promotion of food and nutrition security through women’s collectives.
• The event was organized as a part of Ministry’s Iconic Week celebration theme ‘Naye Bharat ki Naari’ under Amrit Mahotsava.
• Over 3000 State Mission staff and Self-Help Group (SHG) attended the event.

Creation of Record for Road Construction In 100 Hours

• India Book of Records have awarded certificates in creation of record for Highest Quantity of Bituminous Mix laid for road construction in 100 Hours.

• It was awarded to PNC Infratech Ltd for the longest Length of Flexible Pavement (DBM Course) road construction in 100 Hours.

• Union Minister for Road Transport and highways Shri Nitin Gadkari announced that incredible feat was achieved by PNC Infratech Ltd at the Construction of 8-Lane access-controlled expressway starting from junction NH-47 near Bhamiya village and ending at junction SH-175 in Baletiya village in Panchmahal district, Gujarat.

Daily Flight Between Indore-Gondia-Hyderabad Route

• Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia flagged-off daily flight between the Indore-Gondia-Hyderabad route virtually under Regional Connectivity Scheme - Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik, UDAN.

• UDAN scheme is in line with the Prime Minister's dream of providing air services to the common man.

• Under UDAN scheme, 405 routes have already been made operational.
• The Indore-Gondia-Hyderabad route will connect Indore with the two states Maharashtra and Telangana.
• In the last one year, the aircraft operation from Indore has doubled while in Bhopal it has increased by 40 percent.
• The central government announced to bring Small Aircraft Scheme, which will strengthen connectivity in tier 2 and 3 cities.

INTERNATIOANL NEWS

AARC Ties up with CLAWS

• Australian Army Research Centre (AARC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS) to establish academic cooperation and engagement.

• Australia’s Army Chief Lt Gen Richard Maxwell Burr visited India for 3 days from March 8 to March 11, 2022.

• During his visit, he paid visit to the CLAWS, an Indian Army think tank in New Delhi.
• India’s Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, Chief of Air Staff along with other senior military officers and Australia’s Army Chief exchanged views on the present global situation and the situation in the Indo-Pacific.
• CLAWS is a membership-based organisation and is governed by a Board of Governors and an Executive Council, registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.

BANKING

First PPI to Achieve RBI’s PPI Interoperability Guidelines

• Mumbai-based Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) Issuer LivQuik announced to have achieved full Interoperability as mandated by the Reserve Bank of India for their Prepaid payments Instruments (PPI).

• It is also the first PPI Issuer to have achieved full interoperability thereby allowing its customers the choice of issuing a prepaid payment instrument that can be leveraged by a card, wallet or (Unified Payments Interface) UPI.

• RBI, mandated all PPI Issuers to facilitate interoperability for full-KYC (Know Your Customer) wallets by 31 March, 2022.
• It is conferred under Section 18 read with Section 10(2) of the Payment and Settlement Act, 2007.
• With interoperability, customers of LivQuik can able to optimise their payments and spending across wallets by attaching a card on Visa and RuPay networks and can also enable UPI.

About LivQuik:

• HQ: Mumbai, Maharashtra.

• CEO: Mohit Lalvani.

Primary Markets Investment Platform OneUp

• IIFL (India Infoline Limited) Securities launched ‘OneUp,’ India’s first primary markets investment platform for Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), non-convertible debentures (NCDs), and sovereign gold bonds (SGBs), among other things.

• Customers of IIFL Securities and non-IIFL Securities can use the platform without signing up.

• Investors can analyze, research, transact and manage new investment opportunities, all on one single platform.
• The IPO functions 24 ×7 and as much as three days earlier than the IPO bidding opens.
• Users can view live subscription of IPO, application status and payment status of bidding.
• Online orders are not restricted to amounts of up to Rs. 2 lakh only.
• Online IPO bidding for more than Rs. 2 lakh can be done in real-time.

About IIFL:

• Founder: Nirmal Jain.

Odisha and NABARD Signs Agreement

• The Odisha government and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) signed an agreement for the development of fisheries infrastructure to boost fish production in the state.
• Principal Secretary Finance, Vishal Dev and NABARD chief general manager C Udayabhaskar signed an agreement.
• The Fisheries Department aims to boost fish production capacity of India to around 20 million tonnes by 2022-23.
• The Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF) will help in creation of infrastructure facilities in marine and inland sectors of Odisha.
• For the development in the sector Rs.119.8 crore has been sanctioned.

About NABARD:

• HQ: Mumbai, Maharashtra.

• Chairperson: Govinda Rajulu Chintala.

SPORTS

FIH Pro League

• Germany defeated India, in the match of the double-leg FIH Pro League at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

• Indian Women's Hockey team lost 1-2 to Germany in a shoot.

• Germans secured two points, including a bonus.
•  India is placed third in the standings with 10 points from five games while the Germans are in sixth place with two points from three matches.

Women's World Cup

• In the ICC Women's World Cup, India defeated West Indies by 155 runs at Seddon Park in Hamilton.

• West Indies were all out at 162 runs in 40.3 overs.

• Smriti Mandhana, India's opening batter, scored 123 runs and Harmanpreet Kaur scored 109.

APPIONTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS

Chairperson of Chardham Project Committee

• The Supreme Court of India has named Justice AK Sikri as Chairperson of the Chardham project's High-Powered Committee (HPC).

• He succeeds Professor Ravi Chopra.

• The HPC would take care of the environmental concerns and other issues associated with the Chardham project as the cumulative and independent impact of the Chardham project on the whole Himalayan valley.

Chairman of IRDAI

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has appointed former DFS Secretary Debasish Panda, a retired IAS officer, as the Chairperson of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), which is the insurance regulator.

• He succeeds Subhash Chandra Khuntia.

• Panda was 1987 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Glaucoma Day

• World Glaucoma Day is observed every year on 12 March.

• It is celebrated to create awareness about Glaucoma, the one of the most common causes of irreversible blindness.

• World Glaucoma Association (WGA) and World Glaucoma Patient Association Observed World Glaucoma Week (WGW), a global initiative to create awareness.
• WGW is celebrated from March 06 to March 12, 2022.
• The theme of the WGW 2022 is “The World is bright, save your sight”.