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Current Affairs March 12, 2020

Current Affairs Headlines: March 12, 2020
1. Govt sets up a committee on Kisan Rail to finalize its modalities
2. Hola Mohalla’ festival celebrated at Sri Anandpur Sahib in Punjab
3. Week Long 1st “Ekam Fest” held in New Delhi; inauguarted by Thaawarchand Gehlot; 3 intiatives
launched for PwDs
4. HAL set to build base in 4 countries for the purpose of selling aircraft
5. India 2nd largest arms importer in 2015-19, Saudi Arabia tops; US largest exporter of arms
while India at 23rd: SIPRI Report
6. India is positioned 2nd, US tops as most promising source of disruptive technologies : KPMG
2020
7. Mukesh Ambani loses Asia’s richest man title to Jack Ma by $5.8 bn
8. Google India unveils 18-week long skill development programme ‘DigiPivot ‘ for women
9. India 2019 thermal coal imports rise 12.6% to 197.84 million tonnes; coking coal import
declined: Govt Data
10. TCIS signs MoU with The Gambia for MEA’s eVBAB Network Project
11. Indian mountaineer Bhawna Dehariya scales Australia’s highest mountain peak
12. PV Sindhu named as BBC Indian Sportswoman of the year 2019 and PT Usha won Lifetime
Achievement Award
13. Four AAI airports among best aerodromes in world, 2019 Airport Service Quality awards
14. Dr Jaimanti Bakshi, PGI Professor won Best Citizens of India Gold medal Award
15. Women scientists receive international exposure through Indo-U.S. Fellowship : WISTEMM
16. ITBP chief SS Deswal given additional charge of BSF DG
17. PV Sindhu becomes the brand ambassador for anti-graft helpline
18. ARCI develops Fuel Cell Technology for Disaster Management
19. Apurva Purohit, launched her 2nd book – ‘Lady, You’re the Boss!’
20. 51st CISF Raising Day is observed on March 10, 2020
21. Karnataka CM Yediyurappa presents state budget for the FY 2020-21
22. Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh named as ‘Greatest Leader of All Time’ in BBC poll
23. Mission Bhagiratha monitoring cell opened:Telangana
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NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Govt sets up a committee on Kisan Rail to finalize its modalities
The committee has been formed under the aegis of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, consisting of
representatives from Ministry of Railways also, to work out the modalities of ‘Kisan Rail’. During the FY2020-21
budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to set up Kisan Rail through the public-private-
partnership (PPP) mode for a cold supply chain to transport perishable goods.
Initiatives taken for transportation of perishable items are as follows:

-To transport perishable parcel traffic, newly designed Refrigerated Parcel Vans were procured through RCF
(Rail Coach Factory), Kapurthala, Punjab.
-For the movement of fruits and vegetables to different parts of the country, a total of 98 Ventilated Insulated
Containers have been procured, through Container Corporation of India Limited (CONCOR).
-At New Azadpur in Adarsh Nagar, Delhi, Ghazipur Ghat and Uttar Pradesh’s Raja ka Talab, temperature-
controlled perishable cargo centres have been commissioned as a pilot project under the Kisan Vision
Project by CONCOR, a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiative.
-A similar project is also being developed at Lasalgaon, Nasik in Maharashtra. Also, approval has been granted
to CRWC (Central Railside Warehouse Company) to develop temperature controlled storages at Mancheswar
and Fatuha.
-In Sonepat, Fresh & Healthy Enterprise Limited has been redeveloped as Agriculture Logistic Center.
About Kisan Rail:
Kisan Rail having refrigerated coaches in Express and Freight trains will help in bringing perishable
agricultural items such as vegetables, fruits to the market in a short duration of time inclusive of fish, milk, and
meat. It will also build a seamless national cold supply chain for perishables and will contribute to
government’s plan of doubling the income of farmers by 2022.
Hola Mohalla’ festival celebrated at Sri Anandpur Sahib in Punjab

On March 10, 2020 ‘Hola Mohalla’ is the annual Sikh festival celebrated on the following day of the festival Holi
at Sri Anandpur Sahib, Punjab. The festival will be celebrated for 3 days from March 10 to 12, 2020. The festival
aims to physically strengthen Sikh community by holding acrobatic military exercises and mock battles.
Key Points:
i.Hola Mohalla: The festival holds an annual fair which was initiated by Guru Gobind Singh ji, the 10th sikh
guru.
ii.In this festival, the Sikh community performs wrestling, mock sword fights, turban tying, bareback horse-
riding, standing erect on two speeding horses, tent pigging etc., which is then followed by the music and poetry
competition.
iii.On the third day of the celebration a long procession will be led by Panj Pyaras (collective name given to 5
Sikh men), which starts from Takth Keshgarh Sahib & passes through various important gurudwaras like Quila
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Anandgarh, Lohgarh Sahib, Mata Jito Ji and ends at the Takht.

About Punjab:
Capital- Chandigarh.
State Animal- Blackbuck.
State Bird- Northern goshawk.
Week Long 1st “Ekam Fest” held in New Delhi; inauguarted by Thaawarchand Gehlot; 3
intiatives launched for PwDs
A week long Exhibition-cum-Fair, the first “EKAM Fest” organized by National Handicapped Finance
Development Corporation (NHFDC) under Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment held in Emporia
Complex, Baba Kharak Singh Marg, New Delhi-1 from 2nd March to 9th March 2020.It was inaugurated by
Union Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot.
• EKAM, an acronym for Entrepreneurship, Knowledge, Awareness, Marketing, was aimed to
showcase products made with extra ordinary determination by the divyang (differently-abled)
crafts persons and entrepreneurs.
• 82 Divyang artisans and entrepreneurs from 17 States/ UTs showcased their products. They include
44 Men and 38 Women Divyang artisans and entrepreneurs.
Three New Initiatives for PwDs launched during fest:

• NHFDC Swavalamban Kendra (NSK): NHFDC has taken an initiative to establish PWD owned
micro skill training Centers throughout the country for skill training of Persons with Disabilities
(PwDs). These NSKs will have a capacity to provide quality skill training to around 120 PwDs per
year. The PwD owner of the NSK is expected to earn around Rs 20,000 per month.
• Safe Cabs in Delhi and Indore: NHFDC has made arrangement with Sakha Cabs where the PwD
owned commercial vehicles will be driven by the Women drivers to provide safe taxi option for the
women, children and senior citizen commuters. The vehicles here are financed by NHFDC.
• Safe Drinking Water E Carts: NHFDC will finance E-carts fitted with RO water dispensing vending
machines. These carts will sell water in paper glasses maintaining the hygiene. The carts will be
supported in operation by Bharat Jal. The PwD owner is expected to earn Rs 10,000/- to Rs 15,000/-
per month in the operation of these carts.
Key Highlights of fest:
i.The fest displayed the products ranging home Décor and Lifestyle; Textiles; Stationery and Eco Friendly
products; Packed Food and Organic Products; Toys and Gifts; and Personal Accessory –Jewellery, Clutch Bags
etc.
ii.There were astrological consultations and foot massage by Divyang professionals along with number of
activities like cultural extravaganza including performances by Divyang artists and well known professionals.
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iii.On the occasion of International Women Day (8th March), a free camp was ogranised by NAB (National
Association for the Blind), Hauz Khas, New Delhi for examination for early breast cancer by trained visually
impaired women.
iv.The fest had a collective sales of more than Rs. 8 lakhs
v.Krishan Pal Gurjar, Minister of State (MoS) for Social Justice & Empowerment presented awards to Divyangs
artisan and entrepreneurs who participated in the fest.
Key Participants during fest:
Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways (RT&H) and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
(MSME) Nitin Jairam Gadkari, and Union Minister for Women and Child Development and Textiles Smt.
Smriti Zubin Irani attended the inaugural event.
About NHFDC:
Established in 1997, NHFDC is an Apex corporation under the aegis of Department of Empowerment of Persons
with Disabilities (Divyangjan), Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.
Chairman-cum-Managing Director– Rajan Sehgal
HAL set to build logistics base in Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Sri Lanka for the purpose of
selling aircraft
On March 9, 2020, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL),an Indian state-owned aerospace and defence
company, is exploring possibilities to build a logistics base in 4 countries (Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and
Sri Lanka) as part of its efforts to entice those nations to buy Tejas and light helicopters manufactured in India.
Key Points:
i.HAL chose these countries because they use many military aircraft and helicopters of Russian origin, which
have “very poor” service capacity.
ii.It is noteworthy that the Indian Air Force (IAF) has already placed an order to make 40 Tejas, which has a
high lifespan of 30 years& is developed by Aeronautical Development Agency & HAL.It is going to make an
agreement soon in this regard. Under this, HAL has got orders to build 83 more aircraft for Rs 38,000 crore
very soon.
iii.Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2020 set an ambitious target of $5 billion for defense exports
over the next five years and asked all military manufacturers to work hard to achieve this goal.
iv.In line with the Indian government’s priorities, HAL is now focusing on promoting exports and identified
South East Asia, West Asia and North Africa to sell key platforms such as Tejas, Rudra-Attack Helicopters and
advanced light helicopter Dhruv.
v.It will also help India achieve its Defence target of Rs 35,000 crores by 2024. Currently India is exporting
Defence products of worth Rs 17,000 crores.
About Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL):
Headquarters– Bengaluru, Karnataka
Chairman & Managing Director– R Madhavan
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
India 2nd largest arms importer in 2015-19, Saudi Arabia tops; US largest exporter of arms
while India at 23rd: SIPRI Report
In accordance with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s (SIPRI) annual report titled “Trends
in international arms transfers, 2019”, India is the world’s second largest arms importer during 2015-19
with its global share of 9.2% after Saudi Arabia, who has topped the ranking with global share of 12%. On the
other hand, India ranked 23rd in terms of world’s largest arms exporters with global share of 0.2% and its main
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clients being Myanmar (46%), Sri Lanka (25%), and Mauritius (14%). United States (US) topped the list in this
section with a share of 36%.
• On the global front, the volume of international transfers of major arms in 2015–19 has increased
by 5% as compared to 2010–14.
• Largest Suppliers of arms to India: Russia is largest supplier of arms to India; however, share of
weapons purchased has declined from 72% to 56% during 2015-19, which accounted 25% of total
Russian arms exports. Contrarily, Israel and France’s share increased, by 175% and 715%
respectively, which have become second and third largest suppliers to India during 2015-19.
• It should be noted that India’s arms import declined by 32% since 2015 due to “Make in India”
initiative.
Following table showing the top 5 in different sections along with their global share during 2015-16:
Exporters (Share of arms Importers (Share of arms Importers-Region Wise (Share of arms
Rank exports) imports) imports)
1 United States (36%) Saudi Arabia (12%) Asia and Oceania (41%)
2 Russia (21%) India (9.2%) Middle East (35%)
3 France (7.9%) Egypt (5.8%) Europe (11%)
4 Germany (5.8%) Australia (4.9%) Africa (7.2%)
5 China (5.5%) China (4.3%) Americas (5.7%)
23 India (0.2%)
Key Points from Report:
i.SIPRI has identified 68 states as exporters of major arms in 2015–19 and 160 states as importers of major
arms.
ii.The 5 largest arms importers together accounted for 36% of all arms imports. Saudi Arabia, India and China
were also among the top five importers during 2010–14.
iii.The five largest arms exporters together accounted for 76% of all arms exports in 2015–19. The top five in
2015–19 were the same as in 2010–14, but their combined total exports of major arms were 9.5% higher.
iv.The military hardware acquired by India from other countries includes Apache, Chinook helicopters, and P8I
maritime aircraft from US; S400 anti-air system, T90 Tanks & helicopters from Russia; Scanter-6000 radars
from Denmark, Embraer ERJ-145 jets for a home-grown airborne early warning and control system, ACTAS
(ATLAS ELEKTRONIK Active Towed Array Sonar) systems from Germany; Super Rapid 76mm naval guns from
Italy; and K-9 Thunder 155mm artillery guns from South Korea.Click Here for Full Report
About SIPRI:
Establishment-1966, Headquarter– Stockholm, Sweden
Chair– Ambassador Jan Eliasson
Director– Dan Smith
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India is positioned 2nd, US tops as most promising source of disruptive technologies : KPMG
2020
On March 11, 2020 Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG)’s global Technology(Tech) industry innovation
survey ranked India in 2nd position which is shared with China as the most promising country for developing
globally impactful disruptive technologies. The United States (US) topped the survey.
• According to the survey findings, India dropped a rank last year, but now it is tied up to China in the
2nd position.
• The Potential innovation is faced reversely by China & US policies encouraging more tech
professionals to return or remain in India, this is suitable for future innovation in India.
• This is further increased by urbanization & younger demographic trends moving in the right
direction, this is further compounded by the increase in the venture capital of India over the last 2
years.
Rank Table
Rank Country
2(Tie) India,China
1 US
4(Tie) Japan, Uk
Bengaluru ranked 9th, Singapore tops in Cities which leads the tech innovation hubs
KPMG’s also surveyed which cities in addition to global leader Silicon Valley/San Francisco, will be leading
technology innovation hubs over the next 4 years. Bengaluru ranked 9th & Singapore topped the
position.Bangalore last year was at the 18th position
Last year Tel Aviv was at 15th position now it rocketed to third place & Singapore was at 7th position but now
is at top rank. Singapore offers an advanced IT infrastructure, strong government support, IP protection laws &
a deep pool of talent. London moved up one notch to second.
Rank Table
Rank Cities
9 Bengaluru, India
1 Singapore
2 London, UK
3 Tel Aviv, Israel
About KPMG:
Headquarters– Amstelveen, Netherlands
CEO– William B. Thomas
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Jack Ma overtakes Mukesh Ambani & becomes Asia’s richest man with networth of $44.8
billion:Bloomberg Billionaires Index
On March 10, 2020, as per Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Founder Jack Ma has
grabbed the title of Asia’s richest man with a net worth at $44.8 billion from Mukesh Ambani, Chairman &
Managing Director (CMD) of Reliance Industries. The latter’s share has dropped by $5.8 billion to $41.8 billion
due to coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic which led to collapse in oil markets.
• Mukesh Ambani continues to be India’s richest man and globally he is ranked at number 19 and
Jack Ma at 18th.
• On March 9, 2020, Reliance Industries faced its biggest single-day fall in at least 10 years, which hit
an intra-day low of 1,096.65. RIL’s market-cap is down from ₹10-lakh crore to ₹7,36,559.49 crore.
• Amazon CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Jeff Bezos continues to be the world’s richest man even
though he lost $5.6 billion.
Key Points:
i.The major reason behind this position change is the sharp decline in crude oil exploration business in
international markets since 1991 due to falling demand because of the coronavirus outbreak. The oil prices
dipped below $30 a barrel.
ii.It should be noted that on March 9, 2020, Global stock markets got a glimpse of the much feared ‘black swan
event’, a rarely seen extreme situation which can have severe impact on the economy.
About Bloomberg Billionaires Index:
Launched in 2012, it is a daily ranking of the world’s richest people and tracks the net worth of 500 wealthiest
people. The figures are updated at the close of every trading day in New York, United States (US).
ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Google India unveils women skill development programme ‘DigiPivot’ in association
with Avtar & ISB
On March 7, 2020, Google India has launched a skilling programme for women called ‘DigiPivot’, where the
woman who wishes to return to their company careers after a break or just planning to make mid-career shifts
to digital advertising and marketing. The programme will end on August 28,2020 with a day-long graduation
occasion on the Google Hyderabad (Telangana) Campus.
Key Points:
i.The skilling programme has been developed jointly in partnership with a career portal service for women–
Avtar & the Indian School of Business (ISB) with the aim to help the general gender mix within the digital
advertising and marketing panorama in India and can offer an opportunity for 200 girls professionals to re-skill
themselves.
ii.Woman who’re at present working and those that are ready to return to the workforce with 4-10 years of
expertise in consulting, analytics, branding and sales and support are eligible to attend this programme.
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iii.The selected woman will undergo a curated 18-week studying program and engagement (each offline & on-
line) that aims to empower them with digital advertising and marketing data and instruments in addition to
mentorship on strategic management abilities.
About Google Inc:
Headquarters– California,US
CEO– Sundar Pichai
India’s 2019 thermal coal imports rose 12.6% to 197.84 million tonnes; coking coal import
declined: Govt Data
In accordance with the government data, in 2019, India’s thermal coal imports rose 12.6% to 197.84 million
tonnes stating a consecutive 2nd year growth despite attempts to cut imports. Thermal coal is mainly used for
power generation. Importantly, India is world’s largest consumer, importer and producer of the fuel where coal
is among the top five commodities imported.
• Imports of coking coal, which is used mainly in the manufacturing of steel – fell marginally to 51.33
million tonnes from 51.63 million tonnes in 2018.
• As per govt data, Indonesia accounted around 60% of India’s thermal coal imports in the April-
December, 2019 period while South Africa accounted for 22%
and Russia and Australia accounting for over 5% each.
Key Points:
i.The higher coal imports by Indian Government is benefitting international miners such as Indonesia’s Adaro
Energy, U.S. coal miner Peabody Energy Corp and global commodity merchants such as Glencore.
ii.Indian coal imports grew largely due to lower production by Coal India Ltd, whose output fell for five
consecutive months ending November due to the highest annual rainfall in 25 years and frequent outages
including strikes by workers and locals.
About Ministry of Coal:
Minister of Coal,Mines and Parliamentary Affairs- Shri Pralhad Joshi
TCIL signs MoU with The Gambia for MEA’s eVBAB Network Project
On march 9, 2020, Telecommunications consultants India Limited (TCIL) under the Ministry of
Communications and Information Technology signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with
Gambia. This MoU is signed for the participation in MEA’s (eVBAB) e-VidyaBharati and e-ArogyaBharati
Network Project for tele-medicine and tele-education in Africa.
• It is signed by the High commissioner of Gambia, Jainaba Jagne to the Director-Technical at the
TCIL, Kamendra Kumar India at New Delhi.
• Gambia remains the 16th country to participate in this e-Network project.
About Ministry of External Affairs(MEA):
Headquarters- New Delhi
Founded- 1946
External Affairs Minister- DR. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
About Gambia:
Capital: Banjul
Currency: Gambian dalasi
President: Adama Barrow
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AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

Indian mountaineer Bhawna Dehariya scales Australia’s highest mountain peak
On March 10, 2020 Indian Mountaineer Bhawna Dehariya hails from Madhya Pradesh (MP) has successfully
scaled Mount Kosciuszko [2, 228 meters], the highest mountain peak in Australia on the occasion of Holi.
Key Points:
i.Dehariya had scaled Mount Kilimanjaro [5, 895 meters] on the occasion of Diwali in the year 2019 and also
felt fortunate that she had celebrated 2 biggest festivals of India at the mountain peaks.
ii.Dehariya also thanked MP Chief Minister (CM) Kamal Nath for supporting and motivating her to climb the
summit.
PV Sindhu named as BBC Indian Sportswoman of the year 2019 and PT Usha won Lifetime
Achievement Award
On March 8, 2020 Pusarla Venkata Sindhu, 24 years old, won BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) Indian
Sportswoman of the year award 2019 and former sprinter Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha was
awarded with Lifetime Achievement award. The BBC award ceremony was held in New Delhi. Union Sports
Minister Shri Kiren Rijiju was the guest of honour and Tony Hall, BBC Director General hosted the awards
ceremony event.
Key Points:
i.Nominees of the award: PV Sindhu was selected from the shortlist of 5 players which includes Sprinter
Dutee Chand, Boxer Mary Kom, Wrestler Vinesh Phogat and Para-badminton player Manasi Joshi. The award
was selected through the public vote to celebrate female athletes across India.
ii.Achievements of PV Sindhu: Sindhu was the first Indian to win badminton World Championship gold in
Basel, Switzerland and has 5 World Championships medals.
iii.She is the first Indian badminton player to win a Olympic silver medal. Sindhu, at the age of 17, entered top
20 of the World rankings and has been in the top 10 for the past 4 years.
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iv.About PT Usha: The Lifetime Achievement award was awarded for her contribution to Indian sports &
inspiring generations of players.
v.The Indian Olympics Association also named PT Usha as “Best Sportswoman of the Century” and she also won
100 international medals and awards during her career.
Four AAI airports among best aerodromes in world, 2019 Airport Service Quality awards
Annual Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards recognize and reward the best airports in the world according to
ACI’s ‘ASQ Departure Survey’ and the ‘ASQ Arrivals Survey’. 34 key performance indicators under eight
major categories were assessed during the survey & Indian Airports under the Airport Authority of India(AAI)
have won many awards under Asia-Pacific region in “2019 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) awards”. The
award is given by the Airports Council International (ACI).
KeyPoints:
i.The ACI-ASQ survey is conducted in 356 airports and the survey is monitored by AERA, NITI Aayog and
MoCA.
ii.Indian airports have been chosen as the best in the Asia Pacific Region for its size and region, environment
and ambience by size, customer service by size and infrastructure and facilitation by size.
2019 ASQ Departures Winners
In the ASQ Departure Survey, Indian Airports has won 19 Awards under 4 main categories in Asia-Pacific
Region.They are as follows,
2019 Awards for Best Airport by Size and Region (Asia-Pacific):
CATEGORY AIRPORT NAME
Chandigarh International Airport (Chandigarh, India)
Mangalore International Airport (Mangalore, India)
Between 2 and 5 million passengers Trivandrum International Airport (Thiruvananthapuram, India)
Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport (Lucknow, India)
Between 5 and 15 million passengers Cochin International Airport (Cochin, India)
Between 15 and 25 million passengers Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (Hyderabad, India)
Between 25 and 40 million passengers Kempegowda International Airport (Bangalore, India)
Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (Mumbai, India)
Over 40 million passengers Indira Gandhi International Airport (Delhi, India)
2019 Awards for Best Environment and Ambience by Size (Asia-Pacific):
Between 2 and 5 million passengers Chandigarh International Airport (Chandigarh, India)
Between 5 and 15 million passengers Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport (Lucknow, India)
Between 15 and 25 million passengers Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (Hyderabad, India)
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2019 Awards for Best Customer Service by Size(Asia-Pacific):

2019 Awards for Best Infrastructure and Facilitation by Size(Asia-Pacific):
2019 ASQ Arrivals Award
Kempegowda International Airport (Bangalore, India) was adjudged as the Best Airport.
About Airports Council International (ACI):
Director General -Angela Gittens
Head quarters -Montréal, Québec
Dr Jaimanti Bakshi, PGI Professor won Best Citizens of India Gold medal Award
On March 8, 2020 Dr Jaimanti Bakshi, Professor & Unit Head II, Department of Otolaryngology and Head Neck
surgery at PGIMER (Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research), Chandigarh was awarded with
“Best Citizens of India”. The award was given by “GEPRA” (Global Economic Progress and Research
Association) during the National Unity conference held in Chennai, Tamil Nadu (TN) .
Key Points:
i.Award Contribution: Dr Bakshi was awarded for her contribution and individual achievements towards the
National Development by her services to the people suffering from many ENT (Ear Nose Throat) diseases, head
and neck cancer.
ii.GEPRA functions under Government of India (GOI).
Women scientists receive international exposure through Indo-U.S. Fellowship : WISTEMM

Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India & Indo-U.S. Science & Technology Forum’s
(IUSSTF) program, Indo-U.S. Fellowship for Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics &
Medicine (WISTEMM) provides international exposure to several women scientists.
Gist about WISTEMM
i.Aim- To provide opportunities to Indian Women Scientists, Engineers & Technologists to undertake
international collaborative research in premier institutions in the United States of America(USA), so they could
enhance their research capacities & capabilities.
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ii.Categories– It comprises 2 categories of women scientists namely; Module I – Women Overseas Student
Internship for students pursuing PhD & Module II- Women Overseas Fellowship for PhD holder & also who
is present in regular position at any recognized institution/laboratory in India.
iii.Batch– The 1st batch of women scientists comprising 20 women has completed their visit to 20 leading
institutions across the USA. A 2nd batch of 20 women is undergoing visits across premier institutions of the
USA this year.
iv.Age & Funds– For Module I the age bracket is 21 to 35 years & for Module II it is 27 to 45 years.The funding
support includes stipend, airfare, health insurance, contingency & conference allowances.
DST’s major initiatives for promoting women in science
i.KIRAN
In 2014, it restructured all women specific programmes within the framework named as, Knowledge
Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing (KIRAN) to bring gender equality & aims to
encourage their career in undertaking research in Science and Technology (S&T) as well as to focus on S&T
solutions of issues & challenges at the grassroots level for social benefits.
ii.Women Scientist Scheme (WOS)
It provides a platform to women scientists & technologists for pursuing research in basic or applied sciences in
frontier areas of science & engineering & also addresses the challenges faced by S&T qualified women
primarily due to social responsibilities.
It has 3 components namely WOS-A and WOS-B is directly implemented by KIRAN Division & WOS-C or
KIRAN Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) is implemented byTechnology Information Forecasting & Assessment
Council (TIFAC) with grant-in-aid from DST.
About DST:
Headquarters– New Delhi, India
Minister– Harsh Vardhan
About IUSSTF:
Headquarters – New Delhi, India
Executive Director– Nandini Kannan
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

ITBP chief SS Deswal given additional charge of BSF DG
On March 10,2020, Director General Indo Tibetian Border Police(ITBP), Shri Surjeet Singh Deswal was given
an additional charge by the Ministry of Home Affairs to serve as a Director General of Border Security
Force(BSF). He will succeed Vivek johri repatriated by Government of India who has now taken over a charge
as a Director General of Police at Madhya Pradesh.
• Shri Surjeet Singh Deswal an IPS officer 1984 – batch, Haryana. Vivek johri an IPS officer 1984 –
batch, Madhya Pradesh. He is the first senior police officer who moved from Central Paramilitary
Force to state.
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About Border Security Force(BSF):

Established – 1965
Headquarters – New Delhi
Moto – Duty Unto Death
PV Sindhu becomes the brand ambassador for anti-graft helpline

Badminton world champion PV Sindhu is appointed as the brand ambassador for Andhra Pradesh
government’s anti-graft helpline or anti-corruption helpline– 14400
She has featured along with Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in a video titled ‘stop corruption’ which
states people keep their eyes & ears open against corruption.
Other ambassador Appointment:
i.The Washington Apple Commission appoints Actor Disha Patani & celebrity chef Sanjeev
Kapoor as brand ambassadors in India & the Commission launched a campaign called
#WashingtonApplesKuchKhaasHai featuring its brand ambassadors. India is a key market for Washington
apples.
ii.Cricketer Harbhajan Singh becomes brand ambassador of Indian online leather accessory brand Brune &
Bareskin as the company goes into offline retail with its first store in Jalandhar.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

ARCI develops Fuel Cell Technology for Disaster Management
On March 9, 2020 Scientist of International Advanced Research for Powder Metallurgy & New Materials (ARCI)
an autonomous Research & Development(R&D) centre of Department of Science and Technology (DST),
developed Fuel Cell Technology named as Polymer Electrolyte Membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) for Disaster
Management.
PEMFC Advantage
It has operational capability even at low-temperatures with applications in decentralised power
generation systems.
About ARCI
To avert future emergencies :
i.It developed in-house PEMFC systems in the power range of 1 to 20 kiloWatt (kW) & demonstrated the same
in stationary (1-20 kW) & transport applications (1,3,5 kW), at its Centre for Fuel Cell Technology, Chennai.
ii.It has planned a natural disaster management measure, Emergency Operation Centres (EOC)
which is backed with a 10 kW system along with fuel cell stack (providing sustainable electricity using
hydrogen gas without the need of grid power), air moving sub systems, power control devices & control &
monitoring system.
iii.It also planned to set up a PEMFC system up to 10 kW capacity at Tamil Nadu State Emergency Operation
Centre (TN SEOC) to operate the systems like early warning systems, VHF set, IP phone, BSNL Ethernet &
office equipment like scanner, computers, printers, phone, FAX & normal requirements like lighting and fan.
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BOOKS & AUTHORS

Apurva Purohit, launched her 2nd book – ‘Lady, You’re the Boss!’
On September 28, 2019 Apurva Purohit the President of the Jagran Group, one of India’s largest multi-media
conglomerates launched her 2nd book- ‘Lady, You’re the Boss!’, which aims to address the challenges faced by
women climbing the corporate ladder.It is published by Westland Publications (an Amazon company).
Key Points
i.The book is drawn from her personal experiences where she talks about how women minimise themselves,
suffer from the imposter syndrome, & settle for less than they are capable of, because of feelings of inadequacy
& a desire to feel needed and liked.
ii.Her 1st book, ‘Lady, You’re Not a Man!: The Adventures Of A Woman At Work’ which turned out to be
national best selling book & is published by Rupa Publications Private Limited.
iii.The author is named as one of the Most Powerful Women in Business as per Fortune India in 2018 & 2019
& India Today Group 2016, 2018 & 2019, & also featured in Fortune India’s Most Powerful Women in
Business list 2018 & 2019
IMPORTANT DAYS
51st CISF Raising Day is observed on March 10, 2020
The CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) Raising Day is observed every year on 10th March under the
Ministry of Home Affairs. The 51st CISF Raising Day is celebrated on March 10, 2020, for better protection and
security throughout the country and to create awareness among the public regarding the role and functions of
CISF.
• CISF provides security to all the government infrastructure projects all over the country.
Central Industrial Security Force(CISF):

CISF was established on 10th march 1969 under an Act of the Parliament of India with a Motto – Protection
and Security. Its Headquarters is situated at New Delhi.
15 | P a g e
STATE NEWS
Karnataka CM Yediyurappa presents state budget for the FY 2020-21
On March 05, 2020, Karnataka Chief Minister (CM), Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yediyurappa ,who also
holds the finance ministry portfolio, has presented the state budget for the fiscal year 2020-21 at Vidhana
Soudha, the Karnataka State Legislative Assembly. It is his 7th budget as the CM.
Highlights of the budget speech:

i.The State government will soon write to the Centre on financial allocation to the Centre being cut in the
15th Finance Commission.
Petrol and diesel prices to go up
• The state Government has increased the Petrol and diesel prices with effect from April 1,2020 as the
budget has proposed 3% increase in VAT(value-added tax) on both the most consumed fuels (VAT
on petrol increased to 35 % from 32 % and on diesel to 24% from 21 %).
With this, there will be an increase in the price of petrol by Rs 1.60 per litre and that of diesel by Rs
1.59 per litre.
• Similarly, the budget has also proposed to increase existing rates of Additional Excise Duty on Indian
Made Liquor (IML) by 6 % in all 18 slabs with the aim to increase the revenue.
Government schemes
Rs 2600 crore for Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Yojana(PM-KISAN), Rs 900 crore to implement crop
insurance scheme- Fasal Bima Yojana, Rs 500 crore for Kalasa Banduri Project and Rs 2 Crore for Mahila
Meenugarike Sabalikarana Yojana.
An outlay of Rs.8,772 crore has been allocated for Bengaluru development during the fiscal year-FY 2020-21.
A child budget for the first time
• In a 1st, the Karnataka state government has come up with a child budget.
• For the welfare of the children below the age of 18 years, the state will consolidate all policies and
programmes (a total of 279 programmes involving Rs. 36340 crore) relating to them ,which consists
of Rs. 15.28 % of the total volume of the budget.
• For this, a total of 7 new vala mandiras will be deployed in cooperation with the central government.
Women safety portal:
• The state will launch a woman safety portal with the aim to check all the programmes of the
Department of Women and Child Development (WCD) are delivered in a better & transparent
manner.
• A baseline survey of transgenders will also be conducted across the state by the Karnataka State
Women Development corporation at the cost of Rs. 70 lakh.
Proposals in the education sector
The state announced that Saturdays to be no-bag days for students & English medium sections will be opened
16 | P a g e
at 400 Urdu medium schools in the state soon.

276 Karnataka public schools will receive Rs 100 crore for infrastructure development.
Allocation for peripheral ring road:
In order to reduce the traffic pressure in the state,the state allocated Rs 14,500 crore towards developing the
peripheral ring road in the city.
Allocation for Bengaluru city:
• The state allocated an outlay of Rs.8344 crore for implementation of “Mukhyamantrigala Nava
Nagaroththana” scheme for the development of Bengaluru city, Rs.999 crore for Solid Waste
Management of Bengaluru under “Shubhra Bengaluru Scheme”, Rs.417 crore for comprehensive
development of lakes of Bengaluru under “Shubhra Bengaluru” and “Mukyamanthrigala
Navanagarothana” scheme.
• Allocation of Rs.200 crore to finish the major stormwater drain network, Rs.1,000 crore for
restoration of deteriorated roads of 110 villages that will be merged in Bengaluru in 2 years.
• The state will set up 4 electric crematoriums across Bengaluru.
• A new fleet of 2390 new buses including 890 electric buses to be added to Bengaluru Metropolitan
Transport Corporation.
• Allocation of Rs.200 crore to Road Safety Fund has been made to implement various road safety
activities.·
• Deploying Vehicle Location Tracking System in passenger and goods transport vehicles with a cost
of Rs.20 crore.
• The state will get finish the rejuvenation of T.G. Halli Water Resources by the end of September
2021.
• A total of 24 metro stations in this city will be deployed with road cross-over facility for pedestrians
other than metro commuters.
Honour for founder of Bengaluru – ‘Nadaprabhu Kempegowda’:
In order to honor the founder of Bengaluru “Nadaprabhu Kempegowda” , a bronze statue will be installed with
a cost of Rs 66 crore on the premises of the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), in Bangalore.
Promoting AI research:
The State Budget has allocated an amount of Rs 60 crore to promote the research based on Artificial
Intelligence (AI) in the famous Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore.
Financial Assistance:
The state will provide Rs 25,000 to unemployed Scheduled Castes (SC)/ Scheduled Tribes (ST) youth to aid
them to get purchase bikes to equip them to work as delivery boys.
Other key Highlights:
• Rs 500 crore has been allocated to Shivamogga City for the development of Jog Falls, which is one of
the highest waterfalls in India.
• The state will remove the film city project from Mysuru city
• Proposal to provide free land for Belagavi-Dharwad new rail line project via Kittur with the state
bearing 50% of expenditure.
• Two metro lines of a total length of 12.8km on Mysuru Road up to Kengeri & on Kanakapura Road,
up to Anjanapura township will be extended.
• Allocation of Rs 1,500 crore for the Yettinahole project,which involves the transfer of water of the
Nethravati river located in Hassan district to other districts including Chikkaballapur, Tumakuru.
• The state University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences(UAHS), Shivamogga will start
functioning from its own campus soon.
• The budget reduced the flat costing less than Rs 20 lakh from 5 % to 2%.
• Twin towers building will be constructed with 25 floors at a cost of Rs 400 crores for all govt
departments to function in one building
17 | P a g e
• Allocation of Rs 25 crore for Vishwakarma Development Board, Rs 10 crore for Arya Vaishya
Development Board, Rs 9,000 crore for farmers’ welfare & Rs 200 crore assistance for organic
farming & Rs 100 crore to develop lakes has been made.
• The state allocated Rs 600 crores (Rs 100 crore each for 6 years period) to procure new diesel buses
for Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC).
• Allocation of Rs 1,000 crore to 110 villages in the outskirts of capital city Bengaluru, which has been
under the limits of civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
• The state will consider horticulture sector as an industry with the aim to improve this sector in near
future.
• The state will prove compensation to 6.45 lakh farmers in the state affected by the devastating
floods.
About Karnataka:
Capital– Bengaluru (Executive Branch).
Governor– Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala.
National parks(NP)– Nagarhole NP, Bandipur NP, Bannerghatta NP, Kudremukh NP
AC GAZE
Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh named as ‘Greatest Leader of All Time’ in BBC poll
Maharaja Ranjit Singh was named the “Greatest Leader of All Time” in a poll conducted by ‘BBC World Histories
Magazine’, who is the 19th century ruler of the Sikh Empire in India, has beaten competition from around the
world. African Independence Fighter Amílcar Cabral spots second, which is followed by Britain’s war-time
Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
Mission Bhagiratha monitoring cell opened:Telangana

In order to prevent water scarcity and increase preparedness for summer, Mission Bhagiratha monitoring cell
was opened by Superintending Engineer of Mission Bhagiratha (Bhongir Circle). The main aim of the mission is
to ensure safe and sustainable PIPED drinking water supply from surface water sources.
18 | P a g e
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Current Affairs March 12, 2020

Initiatives taken for transportation of perishable items are as follows:

Hola Mohalla’ festival celebrated at Sri Anandpur Sahib in Punjab

Anandgarh, Lohgarh Sahib, Mata Jito Ji and ends at the Takht.

Three New Initiatives for PwDs launched during fest:

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

2019 Awards for Best Customer Service by Size(Asia-Pacific):

Women scientists receive international exposure through Indo-U.S. Fellowship : WISTEMM

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

About Border Security Force(BSF):

PV Sindhu becomes the brand ambassador for anti-graft helpline

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Central Industrial Security Force(CISF):

Highlights of the budget speech:

at 400 Urdu medium schools in the state soon.

Mission Bhagiratha monitoring cell opened:Telangana

• GA Questions Asked in IBPS Clerk Mains Exam 2020 – 90% Questions

All The Best for Your Exams!!!

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