NATIONAL NEWS

NeVA Programme

• Nagaland became the first State Assembly in the country to implement the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) programme to become completely paperless.
• Members of the Assembly can use electronic devices to participate in House proceedings.
• NeVA is a Unicode compliant software having provision for easy access to various documents.

Drone-Based Mineral Exploration

• The Country's largest iron ore producer National Mineral Development Corporation limited (NMDC) company under the Ministry of Steel signed a Memorandum of Understanding with IIT Kharagpur for drone-based mineral exploration.

• This would be the first Central Public Sector Enterprise in the Country to conduct Drone-based geophysical surveys and hyperspectral studies for mineral exploration.

• The collaboration would develop spectral products, methods, and algorithms for exploration using the Drone for mining.
• It aims to develop software spectral tools for mineral excavation and capacity-building programs on mining technology.

India's Arctic Policy

• India’s Arctic Policy, titled "India and the Arctic: building a partnership for sustainable development" was unveiled by Earth Sciences Minister Jitendra Singh in New Delhi.
• It lays down six pillars to strengthen scientific research and cooperation, climate and environmental protection, economic and human development, transportation and connectivity, governance and international cooperation, and national capacity building in the Arctic region.
• India is one of the 13 countries holding the observer status in the Arctic Council.
• It also aims to enhance the understanding of the impact of climate change in the Arctic region on India's climate, economic and energy security.
• Thirteen Non-arctic States have been approved as Observers to the Arctic Council.

HSL Signs MoU with Eker Group, Vaanmoto

• Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) has entered into a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Eker Group of Norway and Vaanmoto of Kerala to explore opportunities in the field of manufacturing speed boats.
• The main objective of the boat is that, it can easily adapt to the roles of search and rescue, surveillance, anti-submarine warfare, mine countermeasures, ambulances, firefighters and harbour control and close protection.
• This is an initiative under AtmaNirbhar Bharat to make the country self-sufficient.
• These boats are high-end boats with smart, flexible solutions with easy motion, which can be operated from the shore up to a maximum speed of 75 knots.
• The boats with a complement of four crew members and four passengers are equipped with navigation and communication equipment.

Dishaank App

• The Government of Karnataka has launched ‘Dishank App’ to ensure easy access of land records to the people.

• This app can be useful in digitizing 'all land records' under the ambitious Bhoomi Project of the Government of Karnataka.
• It has been developed under the Geographic Information System (GIS) program of 'Karnataka State Remote Sensing Applications Center’ (KSRSAC).
• Under this, all the details related to the land, such as the name of the land owner, land ownership and type of land, the extent and category of the land, the status of any legal dispute or active transaction (loan) etc. will be made available.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Japan and India

• Japan announced an investment target of five trillion yen (Rs. 3,20,000 crore) in India in the next five years.

• The two sides inked six agreements for the expansion of bilateral cooperation in a range of areas and clean energy partnership.

• India-Japan ties will not only benefit the two countries but will also help in encouraging peace, prosperity and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
• The agreement was signed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.

India-Australia Virtual Summit

• On 21 March 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison will hold the second India-Australia Virtual Summit.
• External Affairs Ministry announced that the Summit follows the historic first virtual summit which was held on 4th of June in 2020 when India-Australia bilateral relationship was enhanced to a comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
• This Summit highlights the importance of various sectors like trade, minerals, mobility and education.

India - Indonesia security dialogue

• The second India-Indonesia Security Dialogue was held in Jakarta, Indonesia. This year marks the 2^nd edition.
• It was co-chaired by National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval and Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs of Indonesia, Mohammad Mahfud.
• They signed the Memorandum of Understanding for Security Dialogue between the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs of Indonesia and the National Security Council Secretariat of the India.
• It aims to strengthen the cooperation between them to overcome common challenges and identified opportunities for further close collaboration in the field of political and security issues.

SPORTS

Asian Billiards Championship

• Ace Indian palyer Pankaj Advani won his eighth title at the 19th Asian Billiards Championship 2022 in Doha, Qatar.

• He defeated Indian compatriot Dhruv Sitwala with score 6-2.

• By winning this championship Advani has lifted 24th international title and 8th Asian crown.

Golf Hall of Fame 2022

• American Golfer, Tiger Woods was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame 2022.

• He won 82 all-time Professional Golfers Association (PGA) and 15- time major PRO champions.
• He also is a two-time winner of THE PLAYERS Championship (2001, 2013) and became the first two-time winner of the FedExCup (2007, 2009).
• Additionally, The World Golf Hall of Fame presented two new distinguished service awards for the first time.

RANKS, INDICES & REPORTS

World’s Happiest Nation

• Finland secured top position as the World’s Happiest Nation in an annual United Nations (UN) sponsored World Happiness Report.

• Finland has been named happiest country for the five consecutive years with score of 7.821.
• India ranked 136th among 146 countries with a score of 3.777.
• Afghanistan ranked as the unhappiest nation by the report with score of 2.404.
• The index assigns a happiness score on a scale of 0 – 10, based on an average of data over 3-year period.
• The top five rankings were occupied by Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

AWARDS & PRIZES

5th Edition of Women Transforming India Awards

• Women Transforming India Awards is organized by NITI Aayog. This marks the 5th edition.
• As part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav to celebrate 75 years of India’s independence, the Awards will be conferred on seventy-five women achievers to recognize their contribution towards a Sashakt Aur Samarth Bharat.
• The Women Transforming India Awards is NITI Aayog’s annual initiative to highlight the commendable and ground-breaking achievers of India’s women leaders and change-makers.

Pritzker Architecture Prize 2022

• The 51^st Pritzker Architecture Prize 2022, is given to Diebedo Francis Kere from Burkina Faso, West Africa.

• He became the first African to win the most prestigious honour in the field of architecture.
• He is known for his sustainable designs of schools, health facilities, housing, civic buildings and public places in Africa.
• He is a receipient of Aga Khan Award for Architecture and Global Award for Sustainable Architecture.
• Pritzker Architecture Prize is also known as “Architecture’s Nobel”.

ASSOCHAM’s Excellence Awards

• The 8th edition of the MSMEs Excellence Awards Ceremony and Summit organized by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) at New Delhi.
• Karnataka Bank has bagged “Best MSME Bank of the year” award among private sector Banks.
• Gopalakrishna Samaga B, DGM, Credit Marketing Department on behalf of Karnataka Bank Ltd received the award in the presence of Narayan T Rane, Unoin Minister of MSME, Government of India.
• The theme of the summit is “Enabling India MSMEs to Go Global”.
• Best MSME Bank of the Year under PSU category – Punjab National Bank.
• Best Technology Enabler of the Year – Karur Vysya Bank.
• Excellent Services of the Year – Satya MicroCapital Ltd.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

CM of Manipur

• N Biren Singh was appointed as Chief Minister of Manipur for the second term.
• He has been serving as the Chief Minister of the state since 2017.
• BJP won majority with 32 seats out of 60 seats.
• The BJP had formed government in the state with the support of the Naga People's Front (NPF) and the National People's Party (NPP) with Biren Singh as chief minister.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Oral Health Day

• World Oral Health Day (WOHD) is celebrated every year on 20 March.

• Oral Hygiene is described as the practice of keeping one's mouth clean and free of diseases and other health problems.
• The day is aimed to promote awareness around healthy mouth and oral hygiene.
• The theme for this day 2022 is 'Say Aah: Think Mouth, Think Health'.
• The World Dental Federation launched World Oral Health Day in 2013.

World Sparrow Day

• World Sparrow Day is observed every year on 20 March.

• It is celebrated to raise awareness and protect sparrows.

• The theme for this day 2022 is “I Love Sparrows”.
• The first World Sparrow Day was celebrated in 2010.
• The Nature Forever Society of India and Eco-Sys Action Foundation of France launched the day.

International Day of Happiness

• International Day of Happiness is celebrated every year on 20 March.

• It was established by the United Nations General Assembly on 28 June 2012.

• The International Day of Happiness aims to make people around the world realize the importance of happiness within their lives.
• The day was initiated by Bhutan.
• Bhutan initially prioritized the value of National Happiness over National Income.