1) International Women’s Day 2022 Celebrates on 8th March
•International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated globally on March 8 every year. The day recognises the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The event celebrates women’s achievements and raises awareness about women’s equality and lobbies for accelerated gender parity.
•The theme of 2022 International Women’s Day is “gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”.
2) 2000 km network to be brought by Indian Railways under ‘KAVACH’ in 2022-23
•The trial of the ‘Kavach’ functioning system between Gullaguda and Chitgidda Railway stations was examined by Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of Railways, Communication, Electronics and Information Technology. 2,000 km of railway network will be brought under Kavach for safety and capacity augmentation in 2022-23, as a part of Prime minister’s Atmanirbhar Bharat.
3) Ministry of Labour launches ‘Donate-a-Pension’ initiative
•Union Labour and Employment Minister, Bhupender Yadav has launched the ‘Donate-a-Pension’ campaign under Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-Dhan (PM-SYM) scheme, on March 07, 2022, from his residence and donated the same to his gardener. Under the new initiative, citizens can contribute to the pension fund of their immediate support staff such as domestic workers, drivers, helpers etc, by donating the premium amount.
•The ‘Donate-a-Pension’ program is part of various initiatives to be launched in the ‘Iconic Week’ celebrations by the Labour Ministry from March 7 to 13, 2022. It is an initiative under (PM-SYM) pension scheme where citizens can donate the premium contribution of their immediate support staff such as domestic workers, drivers, helpers etc.
4) Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveils the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unveiled a tall statue of great Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Pune, Maharashtra. The Statue is made up of 1,850 kg of gunmetal and is about 9.5-feet tall. He also launched a 12-km stretch of 32.2-km-long metro rail project at a total cost of more than ₹ 11,400 crores in Pune. Pune Metro is the first project in India to have aluminium body coaches, indigenously manufactured under the ‘Make in India’.
•PM Modi also laid the foundation stone for the rejuvenation and pollution abatement of the Mula-Mutha River projects in Pune. The rejuvenation will be done in a 9 km stretch of the river under the project which will cost more than Rs 1080 crore.
5) T Raja Kumar named President of the Financial Action Task Force
•T Raja Kumar, a Singaporean, has been named president of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the world’s anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing agency. His appointment is for a set two-year term, which begins on July 1. During the FATF plenary, he was chosen to succeed Dr Marcus Pleyer of Germany.
6) 9th India-Sri Lanka Bilateral Maritime Exercise SLINEX begins
•The 9th edition of India – Sri Lanka Bilateral Maritime Exercise named SLINEX (Sri Lanka–India Naval Exercise) is held at Visakhapatnam from 07 Mar to 10 Mar 2022. The aim of the exercise is to enhance interoperability and improve mutual understanding between the navies of the two neighbouring countries in the strategically significant Indian Ocean Region.
7) MSME Ministry launches “SAMARTH” Special Entrepreneurship Promotion Drive for Women
•Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises has launched a Special Entrepreneurship Promotion Drive for Women named –“SAMARTH”. The drive was launched by Union Minister for MSME, Shri Narayan Rane along with Minister of State for MSME, Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma in New Delhi.
8) Pakistan again placed on FATF’s grey list
•The global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog, Financial Action Task Force (FATF), retained Pakistan in the grey list and asked the country to work on money laundering investigations and prosecutions. FATF also added the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to its grey watchlist.
•The decision has been taken after the conclusion of the four-day FATF Plenary from March 1-4, 2022. The event took place in hybrid mode from Paris, France. Pakistan has been on the grey list of FATF since June 2018 for failing to check money laundering and terror financing. It was given a plan of action to complete it by October 2019 but it fails to comply with the FATF mandates.
9) Microsoft will set up India’s largest Data Center region in Hyderabad
•Tech giant, Microsoft has announced to set up its fourth data centre in India in Hyderabad, Telangana. Hyderabad Data centre will be one of the largest data centres in India and will be operational by 2025. Microsoft already has a data centre in three Indian regions across Pune, Mumbai, and Chennai. The new data centre will add to the growing demand for Microsoft’s cloud services from both the private enterprises as well as the government sector.
10) Hybrid form United Nations Environment Assembly held in in Nairobi, Kenya
•The United Nations Environment Assembly was hosted by the UN Environment Programme. It brings together representatives from the UN’s 193 member countries, corporations, civil society, and other stakeholders to agree on policies to address the world’s most serious environmental concerns.
11) India Global Forum annual summit held in Bengaluru
•India Global Forum’s (IGF) annual summit is being organized in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The summit will bring together eminent faces of tech-driven disruption and those who have joined the unicorn club along with Union ministers, policymakers, and global business leaders. The previous editions were hosted in Dubai and the UK and addressed by esteemed speakers like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the PM of the UK Boris Johnson amongst other leaders from Governments and industry across the globe.
•This is the first-ever edition of IGF at Bengaluru. The agenda-setting forum for international business and global leaders, IGF, offers a selection of platforms that corporates and policymakers can leverage to interact with stakeholders in their sectors and geographies of strategic importance.
12) DN Patel named as Chairperson of TDSAT 2022
•The Central Government has appointed Justice Dhirubhai Naranbhai Patel, Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, as the Chairperson of Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal(TDSAT). He was appointed as Chief Justice of Delhi High Court on June 7, 2019, and is now given the Chair of TDSAT, days before his retirement on March 12, 2022.
•Ministry of Law and Justice issued a notification regarding the approval of his appointment by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), stating that he will serve the Chair for a period of 4 years from the date of assumption of charge of the post, or till attaining the age of 70 years, or until further orders, whichever is the earliest. The conditions of his service will be governed by the provisions of the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 and the Tribunal (Conditions of Service) Rules, 2021.
13) NMDC receives 1st prize in Ispat Rajbhasha Award for 2018-19 and 2020-21
•National Mineral Development Corporation Ltd Country’s largest Iron Ore producer, a CPSE under Ministry of Steel received 1st prize in the Ispat Rajbhasha Award for 2018-19 and 2020-21 and company also received the Ispat Rajbhasha Prerna Award for 2019-20. The award ceremony was held in the meeting of the Hindi Salahakar Committee of the Ministry of Steel held in Madurai on 3rd March 2022. The Union Minister of Steel, Shri Ram Chandra Prasad Singh, presented the accolades to Shri Sumit Deb, Chairman and Managing Director, NMDC.
14) Priyanka Nutakki becomes the 23rd Woman Grandmaster of India
•19-year-old Priyanka Nutakki has secured her final WGM-norm at MPL’s forty-seventh National Women Chess Championship. She became India’s twenty-third Woman Grandmaster. She is from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. Priyanka Nutakki scored her first WGM-norm in January 2019 and crossed the 2300 rating criteria in the next two months. However, much like a lot of players, the Covid-19 pandemic delayed her title hopes.
•Priyanka braved the odds, resumed playing over-the-board tournaments in October 2021 at ChessMood Open. In her third over-the-board tournament of the year, she scored her second WGM and maiden IM-norm at the 7th Sunway Sitges Open 2021.
