1) Haryana announces Tirtha Darshan scheme
•Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced that the state government had prepared a Tirtha Darshan scheme under which senior citizens above 60 years of age and of Haryana domicile would be able to go on a pilgrimage within the country at government expense.
•The chief minister made this announcement while replying to the discussion on the Governor’s address during the ongoing budget session of the Haryana Assembly.
•Under the scheme, the government would bear the entire cost of the tour of senior citizens belonging to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families. The senior citizens would be selected for the pilgrimage on the basis of draw of lots. Over 400 destinations can be visited under the scheme.
2) Andhra Pradesh Renames Tirupati Airport and Vijayawada Airport
•The Andhra Pradesh State Cabinet during a meeting chaired by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu approved proposals to rename the Vijayawada Airport and the Tirupati Airport.
•The cabinet proposed to rename the Vijayawada Airport in Gannavaram as ‘Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (NTR) Amaravati Airport’ after the legendary actor and founder of the ruling Telugu Desam Party and the new capital of Andhra Pradesh.
•The Tirupati Airport at Renigunta has been renamed as ‘Sri Venkateswara Airport’ after Lord Venkateswara of the temple town.
3) Centre launches first ever survey in Ganga to determine population of aquatic life
•Centre has launched the first ever across-the-river survey in Ganga to determine the population of aquatic life, including that of the endangered Gangetic dolphin.
•The study is crucial as the animal population in a river indicates the quality of its water. National Mission for Clean Ganga committee has stated that the survey will create a baseline scientific data for the government to take suitable measures to improve a quality of the river water.
•The first leg of the census was launched on March 1, 2017 from Narora to Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh. A study to figure out fish species composition in the 2525 km-long river has also been kick started from Harshil in Uttarakhand.
4) Sri Lanka Wins 'Most Popular Tourism Destination Award'
•Sri Lanka won the 'Most Popular Tourism Destination Award' at the Guangzhou International Travel Fair (GITF) in China.
•The island nation won the prestigious award for the second consecutive year which is a testament to its growing popularity among Chinese travel enthusiasts.
•China has been Sri Lanka's second largest source market for tourism since 2014.The volume of visitors to this event has been increasing annually and this has enabled Sri Lanka to gain greater exposure and visibility for its unique destination brand.
5) To support women founded startups, Facebook launches 'SheLeadsTech'
- Social networking site Facebook launched a new initiative 'SheLeadsTech', to support women-founded or co-founded startups.
- Facebook also aimed at expanding its 'SheMeansBusiness' program that supports women-led small businesses. SheLeadsTech will give women-founded or co-founded start-ups access to a year-long program that provides tools, mentorship and resources.
- The announcement which came ahead of Women's Day aim to bring women on board India's digital revolution in a bigger way.
6) Andy Murray wins Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for first title of 2017
•The Dubai Tennis Championships were held at the Aviation Club Tennis Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Britain’s Andy Murray claimed his first title of the year with a straight-sets victory over Fernando Verdasco despite a soggy start in the high-octane game.
•Men’s Singles: Andy Murray (United Kingdom) defeats Fernando Verdasco(Spain)
•Women’s Singles: Elina Svitolina(Ukraine) defeats Caroline Wozniacki(Denmark)
•Men’s Doubles: Netherlands Pair Jean-Julien Rojer / Romania Horia Tecău defeats Rohan Bopanna (India) / Marcin Matkowski (Poland)
•Women’s Doubles: Ekaterina Makarova(Russia) / Elena Vesnina(Russia) defeats Andrea Hlaváčková (Czech Republic) / Peng Shuai ( China)
