NATIONAL NEWS

BRO and GRSE to Construct 27 Double-Lane Modular Bridges

• Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and state-owned warship building firm Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for constructing 27 carriageway double lane galvanized modular bridges of 7.5 meters with Indian Road Congress (IRC) Load Class 70.
• The two-year contract will include the fabrication, supply, erection, and launching of these 27 modular bridges.
• It is constructed with an outlay of Rs. 60 crore.
• The bridge was constructed on “Flag Hill-Dokala” road in Sikkim at an altitude of 11,000 feet under Project Swastik of BRO.

Nation’s first AI & Robotics Technology Park- ARTPARK

• The country’s first Artificial Intelligence & Robotics Technology Park (ARTPARK) was launched in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
• It is promoted by a not-for-profit foundation set up by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru, with a seed capital of Rs. 230 crore from the State and Central governments.
• ARTPARK intends to use futuristic technologies to connect the unconnected will work with a focus on creating a globally leading Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Innovation ecosystem in India.
• ARTPARK and AI Foundry is going to launch a USD 100 million venture fund to support AI and Robotics innovations in India.

Largest Coal Producing Company in India

• The Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) has crossed 157 million tonne (MT) in coal production in the financial year of 2021-22, to become the leading coal producing company in the country.
• It announced that it has become the largest coal producer in the country.
• On March 12, 2022, the company produced 7.62 lakh tonne of dry fuel which is the highest in a day during the current financial year.
• Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the company, OP Singh congratulated all officers, staff, employees of contracted companies and other stakeholders for their contribution in making MCL the leading coal producing company in the country.

Foundation Course at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the Valedictory Function of 96th Common Foundation Course at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussorie virtually.
• He will also inaugurate the new sports complex and dedicate revamped Happy Valley Complex to the Nation.
• The 96th Foundation Course is the first Common Foundation Course at LBSNAA based on the principles of Mission Karmayogi with new pedagogy and course design.
• The batch comprises 488 Officer Trainees from 16 services and three Royal Bhutan Services Administrative, Police and Forest.
• It focuses on first-level training in Krav Maga and in various other sports and Officer Trainees also visited villages in remote or border areas to understand the challenges faced by people living in these areas.

WOLP and Haryana to set up Warehouses

• Welspun One Logistics Parks (WOLP) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of Haryana to develop large scale warehousing facilities.
• WOLP will invest Rs. 1500 crore for this project.
• Welspun One Logistics Parks (WOLP) is an integrated fund, development, and asset management organization, designed to deliver large format, institutional Grade-A logistics parks across India.
• It aims to explore the available government land parcels for building Grade A warehousing facilities across key warehousing micro-markets.
• The project will cover 5 million square feet to be built over a 3-to-4-year period which will help generate more than 4,500 jobs.
• The development cost of Rs. 180 crore will be executed under WOLP first Alternate Investment Fund.

India Restores e-tourist Visas

• Ministry of Home Affairs has restored all valid five-year e-tourist visas to nationals of 156 countries with immediate effect which was suspended since March 2020 because of the Covid pandemic.
• Nationals of these counties will also be eligible to issue of fresh e-Tourist visas. The government took the step keeping in view the improvement in the COVID-19 situation in the country and considering the need for further relaxation of visa and travel restrictions.
• The Ministry has also restored valid long-duration - 10 years tourist visas for US and Japanese nationals and permit issue of fresh visas to citizens of both countries.

BANKING

RBI Stops Paytm Payments Bank from Onboarding New Customers

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed Paytm Payments Bank to stop accepting new customers with immediate effect as it broke the laws by allowing data to transit to servers in other countries.
• The RBI has directed the Paytm Payments Bank to appoint an audit firm to conduct a comprehensive audit of its IT system.
• Annual inspection by RBI discovered that the Company’s servers were sharing information with China based organization.
• Onboarding of new customers by Paytm Payments Bank Ltd will be subject to specific permission to be granted by RBI after reviewing the report of the IT auditors. This action is based on certain material supervisory concerns observed in the bank.

About Paytm Payment Bank:

• HQ: Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

• CEO: Vijay Shekhar Sharma.

Razorpay Acquires Izealiant Technologies

• Fintech Unicorn Razorpay acquired a leading fintech startup that provides payment technology solutions for banks, IZealiant Technologies.
• This is the Razorpay’s fifth acquisition in four years.
• It will strengthen Razorpay’s banking solutions arm to build innovative payment banking technologies for partner bank.

AWARDS & PRIZES

GD Birla Award for Scientific Research

• Professor Narayan Pradhan has been selected for the 31st GD Birla Award for Scientific Research for his outstanding contribution in the field of material sciences.

• The award recognises eminent Indian scientists below the age of 50 for their original and outstanding contributions to any branch of science. It is instituted in 1991.

• Pradhan’s research work focused on understanding the chemistry and physics of light-emitting semiconductor nanocrystals.
• He is also a recipient of the LNJ Bhilwara Nanoscience award, the DST Swarnajayanti Fellowship award, the DST Nanoscience Young Career award, and the Oxford Nanoscientist award.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS

CEO of Flipkart Health plus

• Ecommerce major Flipkart’s healthcare business Flipkart Health+  appointed Prashant Jhaveri as its chief executive officer.
• Jhaveri previously worked with Apollo Health and Lifestyle Limited as its chief business officer and was responsible for growth and partnership. He also served as CEO of MediBuddy and CBO for the Medi Assist Group in previous stints.
• His is appointed, as Flipkart is scaling up many of its new businesses this financial year.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS

Modi@20: Dreams Meet Delivery

• The book, ‘Modi @ 20: Dreams Meet Delivery’, is a compilation of chapters authored by eminent intellectuals and domain experts.
• It is published by Rupa Publications.
• It is released by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
• The book narrates the political life of PM Narendra Modi’s past 20 years, his tenure as Gujarat CM to Prime Minister of India.

Biography of Rahul Bajaj

• Gita Piramal authored a new book titled “Rahul Bajaj: An Extraordinary Life” first authorized biography of Rahul Bajaj.
• It is published by Penguin Random House (PRHI).
• The book is based on the life of the late iconic industrialist Rahul Bajaj and highlights his life journey and struggle in becoming one of the most well business personalities.
• It will be released on 21 March 2022.

IMPORTANT DAYS

National Vaccination Day 2022

• National Vaccination Day or National Immunisation Day is celebrated every year on 16 March.
• It is celebrated to increase the awareness of vaccinations among Indian citizens.
• The theme for this year 2022 is “vaccine works for all”.
• The day was first observed in the year 1995.
• vaccination or immunization is the most effective way of preventing highly infectious diseases. Vaccination day was celebrated with the aim of making everyone aware of getting vaccinated against polio.

OBITUARY

Former Andhra Pradesh Governor MS Kumudben Joshi

• Former Andhra Pradesh Governor ‘Ms Kumudben Joshi’ passed away. She was 88.

• Kumudben Manishankar Joshi was born on 31 January 1934, in Gujarat.

•  She was the Governor of Andhra Pradesh from 26 November 1985 to 7 February 1990.
• She was the second female Governor of the state after Sharda Mukherjee.
• Her contribution in the field of women empowerment and public service will always be remembered, said PM Narendra Modi.

WWE Legend Scott Hall Known as 'Razor Ramon'

• Legendary wrestler Scott Hall passed away due to heart attack. He was 63.
• He was famously known as ‘Razor Ramon’.
• Scott Hall inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame two-time in 2014 as an individual wrestler and then again in 2020 as NWO.