Hello and welcome to exampundit. Here are the important Current Affairs Today 8th and 9th March 2020. These are important for the upcoming Exams. Candidates who were preparing for the examination can use these current affairs and also you can download the same as PDF.
Current Affairs Today – 8th and 9th March 2020
NEWS AT A GLANCE
- International Women’s Day is celebrated on the 8th of March every year.
- In less than a month’s time, rating agency Moody’s Investors Service has revised downward its baseline growth projections for India to 5.3% for 2020 from 5.4%
- The second anniversary of the Centre’s Poshan Abhiyaan Poshan Pakhwada was celebrated on 8 March.
- Government is to add more than 14 lakh Self Help Groups (SHG) in order to achieve GoI’s plan to achieve 75 lakhs SHGs by 2022.
- A dedicated monitoring cell was inaugurated under Mission Bhagiratha in Bhongir Circle, Telangana.
- The Centre is to make it mandatory for the sanitary napkin companies to provide bio-degradable disposal bags from January 2021.
- Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju inaugurated the first-ever five-day Khelo India Winter Games at Gulmarg.
- Ukraine parliament approved Denys Shmygal as a new prime minister of Ukraine.
- The 5th edition of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Summit 2020 to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in the month of September 2020.
- Fourth International Diabetes Summit 2020 inaugurated at JW Marriot Hotel Pune.
- Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd in partnership with Paytm has launched a QR-code-based metro ticketing system at Rasoolpura metro station Hyderabad, Telangana.
- State Bank of India has been given additional charge of deputy managing director and chief financial officer (CFO) of the bank to Chalasani Venkat Nageswar.
- Defending champions Australia wins Women’s T20 World Cup 2020.
- West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard has become the 1st player in the history of T20 (Twenty20) cricket to feature in 500 matches during the field against Sri Lanka for the first T20I in Pallekele, Srilanka.
- President Ram Nath Kovind presented Nari Shakti Puraskar or Woman Power Award for the year 2019 on International Women’s Day, which is March 8, at a special ceremony held in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh conferred the Fourth Edition of the Women Transforming India Awards (WTI) on 8 March 2020, the International Women’s Day.
- Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) launched the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF) program in collaboration with the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), GoI, and State Skill Development Missions (SSDMs).
- Yanagundi Matha Manikeshwari passed away at Yanagundi of Kalaburagi district, Karnataka, on 8 March.
- Former Union Law Minister and Congress veteran Hans Raj Bhardwaj died after a cardiac arrest. Hans Raj Bhardwaj was 83.
NEWS IN DETAILS
IMPORTANT DAYS AND THEMES
International Women’s Day observed globally on 8th March
- International Women’s Day is celebrated on the 8th of March every year.
- This day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.
- The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality.
- The theme of International Women’s Day 2020 is, I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights.
- And the campaign theme for International Women’s Day 2020 is #EachforEqual.
- The theme is aligned with UN Women’s new multigenerational campaign, Generation Equality, which marks the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the most progressive roadmap for the empowerment of women and girls, everywhere.
Extra Shots:
UN: The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization that aims to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations.
- Headquarters: New York, New York, United States
- Founded: 24 October 1945, San Francisco, California, United States
- Official languages: Arabic; Chinese; English; French; Russian; Spanish;
- Secretary general: António Guterres
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
Moody’s again slashes India’s growth projection for 2020 to 5.3%
- In less than a month’s time, rating agency Moody’s Investors Service has revised downward its baseline growth projections for India to 5.3% for 2020 from 5.4% earlier, cautioning that an extensive and prolonged slump as a result of COVID-19 outbreak will reduce growth in Asia’s third largest economy to 5% during the same calendar year.
- The rating agency had reduced India’s growth projection to 5.4% from 6.6% earlier for the calendar year 2020.
Extra Shots:
MOODY: Moody’s Corporation, often referred to as Moody’s, is an American business and financial services company. It is the holding company for Moody’s Investors Service, an American credit rating agency, and Moody’s Analytics, an American provider of financial analysis software and services.
- Headquarters: New York, New York, United States
- CEO: Raymond W. McDaniel Jr.
NATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS
Poshan Abhiyaan celebrated its second anniversary
- The second anniversary of the Centre’s Poshan Abhiyaan Poshan Pakhwada was celebrated on 8 March.
- The focus of the two-week-long Poshan Pakhwada 2020 is ‘Men for Nutrition.’
- The aim is to increase male engagement in Poshan Abhiyaan. It aims to improve Nutritional Indicators.
- NITI Aayog’s data states that Andhra Pradesh ranked first in the overall implementation of Poshan Abhiyan.
- Tamil Nadu State has topped the list of the states in terms of the number of participants in the program.
Extra Shots:
POSHAN Abhiyaan:
- Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition (POSHAN) Abhiyaan or National Nutrition Mission is the Government of India’s flagship program. It improves nutritional outcomes for children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers. The scheme reduces malnutrition in the country in a phased manner, through a life cycle approach, by adopting a synergized and result oriented approach.
- The program was launched by Prime Minister Modi on the occasion of International Women’s Day on 8 March 2018. The scheme will address the problem of malnutrition and addresses it in a mission-mode. The goals of Poshan Abhiyan are to achieve improvement in the Nutritional status of children from 0-6 years, adolescent girls, pregnant women, and lactating mothers in a time-bound manner.
Centre to add more than 14 lakh Self Help Groups
- Government is to add more than 14 lakh Self Help Groups (SHG) in order to achieve GoI’s plan to achieve 75 lakhs SHGs by 2022.
- The announcement was made by Narendra Singh Tomar, the Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare on 8 March.
Women’s Self Help Groups (SHGs):
- Women’s SHGs are the backbone of poverty alleviation programs. It focuses on the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation, and Farmers’ Welfare and Departments of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj and oriented towards women’s emancipation. SHGs play a major role as in the development process sweeping across the rural landscape.
- Over 60.8 lakh SHGs across the country mobilizes more than six crore 73 lakh women. The Rural Development Ministry aims to create a total of 75 lakh SHGs by 2022 in order to enable more women to get a livelihood.
Other measures by GoI:
- Government provides several funds and training to SHGs for livelihood missions, linking them with banks for easy credit flow.
- Ministry of Rural Development has instituted awards for SHGs to encourage them to perform better.
- In the past six years, more than Rs.2.75 lakh crores have been provided to SHGs to make women self-dependent.
- Under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, more than five crore people are annually employed. Women constitute 55% of the workforce under the MGNREGA.
- Under the scheme, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), over 4.66 lakh women are involved.
- Also, Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) was restructured and subsumed into the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana (DAY)-National Rural Livelihood Mission (Ajeevika) (NRLM). Under the Mission, GoI aims to reach out to about ten crore poor rural households.
- The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) gave dignity to women and also enhance safety for women by constructing of 9.5 crore toilets across the country.
Monitoring cell inaugurated under Mission Bhagiratha
- A dedicated monitoring cell was inaugurated under Mission Bhagiratha in Bhongir Circle, Telangana.
- It was inaugurated by the Superintending Engineer of Mission Bhagiratha.
- The cell invites grievances and issues in the supply of the tapped drinking water.
Monitoring cell:
- The aim of the cell is to prevent water scarcity and increase preparedness for summer.
- The officials in the cell will record complaints and redress them in a time-bound manner.
- Consumers and local representatives in the area can report the issue, along with sufficient details, directly to the staff of the cell.
Extra Shots:
Mission Bhagiratha:
- Mission Bhagiratha was implemented in 1998 by Chief Minister Shri K. Chandrasekhar Rao. The Mission aims to ensure safe and sustainable piped drinking water supply from surface water sources. It also aims to provide each household with a tap connection. Under the Mission, 10% of the water in all Irrigation sources reserved for Drinking Water.
Centre to make Sanitary pad disposal bags mandatory from 2021 January
- The Centre is to make it mandatory for the sanitary napkin companies to provide bio-degradable disposal bags from January 2021.
- The information was announced by the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar at an International Women’s Day event in Pune on 8 March.
- Also, the sanitation norms for Corporations and municipalities will now be applied to villages with a population of more than three thousand. 50 small and 50 large waste classification centres will be set up in Pune, and financial support for this will be made through the MPs fund.
STATE CURRENT AFFAIRS
First ever Khelo India Winter Games begin at Gulmarg in Kashmir
- Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju inaugurated the first-ever five-day Khelo India Winter Games at Gulmarg.
- Jammu and Kashmir’s Gulmarg hosting Khelo India Winter Games 2020 from March 7th to 11th.The sports shall be organized every year at Gulmarg.
- The training academy should be established on the standards of the International level in which international coaches shall impart training to sportspersons.
- The interactive session with youth at National Integration Camp hosted by Government Physical Education College Gadoora, Ganderbal.
- The camp was hosted to motivate and guide the youth for their active participation in the promotion of unity, communal harmony, national integration, FIT India.
Extra Shots:
Jammu & Kashmir:
- Capitals- Jammu (Winter), Srinagar (Summer)
- Lt Governor- Girish Chandra Murmu
- National Parks: City Forest (Salim Ali) National Park, Dachigam National Park, Hemis National Park, Kishtwar National Park
- Wildlife Sanctuaries: Baltal-Thajwas WLS, Changthang Cold Desert WLS, Gulmarg WLS, Jasrota WLS, Karakoram (Nubra Shyok) WLS etc
INTERNATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS
Denys Shmygal becomes Ukraine’s new prime minister
- Ukraine parliament approved Denys Shmygal as a new prime minister of Ukraine.
- He is the nominee of Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine.
- He won by majority, previously he held the post as the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of regional Development & before that was governor of the western Ivano-Frankivsk region.
Extra Shots:
Ukraine (Capital/Currency): Kyiv/ Ukrainian hryvnia
- President of Ukraine: Volodymyr Zelensky.
5th BIMSTEC Summit 2020 to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in September
- The 5th edition of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Summit 2020 to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in the month of September 2020.
- This was informed by BIMSTEC Secretary General (SG) Mohammad Shahidu Islam during his meeting with Sri Lankan Prime Minister (PM) Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Extra Shot
Sri Lanka(Capitals/Currency): Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte/Sri Lankan rupee.
- Prime minister: Ranil Wickremesinghe
- President: Maithripala Sirisena
BIMSTEC: The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation is an international organisation of seven nations of South Asia and South East Asia, housing 1.5 billion people and having a combined gross domestic product of $3.5 trillion.
- Headquarters location: Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Founded: 6 June 1997
SUMMITS AND CONFERENCES
Fourth International Diabetes Summit 2020 started in Pune by Chellaram Diabetes Institute
- Fourth International Diabetes Summit 2020 inaugurated at JW Marriot Hotel Pune.
- Lt Gen Dr. Madhuri Kanitkar (Deputy Chief of Integrated Defense Staff under the Chief of Defense Staff) was the Chief Guest, and Dr. Bhushan Patwardhan (Vice-Chairman, University Grants Commission, New Delhi) was the Guest of Honour.
- The three-day conference was started with Shree Ganesh Aarti and Lamp Lighting Ceremony.
- AG Unnikrishnan (Endocrinologist and CEO of Chellaram Diabetes Institute) Prakash Bhoopatkar (Trustee and Vice-Chairman of Chellaram Foundation and Group), Lt General Dr. Madhuri Kanetkar (Deputy Chief of Integrated Defense Staff under the Chief of Defense Staff), Dr. Bhushan Patwardhan (Vice-Chairman, University Grants Commission, New Delhi), Vikram Chellaram (CEO of Mordril Properties), Dr. Brig A P Pandit (Chief Medical Director of Chellaram Diabetes Institute).
AGREEMENTS AND MOU SIGNED
Paytm & Hyderabad Metro tie up for QR-based tickets
- Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd in partnership with Paytm has launched a QR-code-based metro ticketing system at Rasoolpura metro station Hyderabad, Telangana.
- The new service will enable commuters to travel seamlessly and avoid queues to buy tokens at the metro stations.
- They can now simply purchase a QR ticket on their Paytm app, which can be displayed at the Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) gates to proceed for the journey.
- The feature will help over 14 lakh smartcard holders using the metro service.
- The company plans to extend the service to metro-feeder buses to ensure last-mile connectivity in the city.
- The QR-code-based ticket booking on our app will help in reducing congestion at the ticket counters.
Extra Shots:
Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited:
- Managing Director: NVS Reddy
Paytm:
- Founder: Vijay Shekhar Sharma
- Senior vice–president: Abhay Sharma
- Headquarters: Noida, Uttar Pradesh
APPOINTMENT
Chalasani Venkat Nageswar gets additional charge of DMD, CFO of SBI
- State Bank of India has been given additional charge of deputy managing director and chief financial officer (CFO) of the bank to Chalasani Venkat Nageswar.
Extra Shots:
SBI: The State Bank of India is an Indian multinational, public sector banking and financial services statutory body. It is a government corporation statutory body headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. SBI is ranked as 236th in the Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s biggest corporations of 2019.
- Chairperson: Rajnish Kumar
- Headquarters: Mumbai
SPORTS CURRENT AFFAIRS
Defending champion Australia wins Women’s T20 World Cup title
- Defending champions Australia wins Women’s T20 World Cup 2020.
- Australia bowled India out for 99 runs to clinch the final by 85 runs for a record-extending fifth Women’s T20 World Cup title at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Australia.
- Beth Mooney has been adjudged Player of the Tournament & Alyssa Healy has been adjudged the Player of the Match.
- The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 was the seventh edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup tournament.
- It was held in Australia from 21 February to 8 March 2020.
- The final match of the tournament was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
- The schedule of the final match of the tournament coincided with the occasion of International Women’s Day.
- The tournament featured 10 teams namely: India, Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa, England, West Indies, Pakistan &
West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard becomes 1st player to play 500 T20s
- West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard has become the 1st player in the history of T20 (Twenty20) cricket to feature in 500 matches during the field against Sri Lanka for the first T20I in Pallekele, Srilanka.
- The jersey had the all-rounder’s name at the back along with the number 500.
- Dwayne Bravo is second in the list with 453 matches under his belt so far.
- Chris Gayle is at the third spot in the list as he has featured in 404 T20 matches.
AWARDS
President Ram Nath Kovind conferred 2019 Nari Shakti Puraskar
- President Ram Nath Kovind presented Nari Shakti Puraskar or Woman Power Award for the year 2019 on International Women’s Day, which is March 8, at a special ceremony held in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.
- 15 eminent women were awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar 2019.
- The award recognized the significant efforts of the women who rendered distinguished services towards the emancipation of women, especially vulnerable and marginalized women.
Awardees:
- The winners of the Nari Shakti Puraskar for the year 2019 are from various areas, including agriculture, sports, handicrafts, afforestation and wildlife conservation, Armed Forces, and education. The awardees are Padala Bhudevi, Bina Devi, Arifa Jan, Chami Murmu, Nilza Wangmo, Rashmi Urdhwareshe, Sardarni Mann Kaur, Kalavati Devi, Tashi, and Nungshi Malik, Kaushiki Chakroborty, Bhageerathi Amma, Karthyayini Amma, Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawna Kanth, Mohana Singh.
Nari Shakti Puraskar:
- Nari Shakti Puraskar was initiated by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. The award acknowledges the exceptional contribution made by individuals and institutions. The award was first conferred in 1999. The Nari Shakti Puraskar award carries a cash prize of Rs.1 lakh and a citation.
- It celebrates women as game changers and catalyst of positive change in the society. These outstanding women have contributed towards safeguarding women’s rights along with pushing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). It recognizes women as equal partners in the advancement of society.
Minister Rajnath Singh conferred WTI Awards on 8 March
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh conferred the Fourth Edition of the Women Transforming India Awards (WTI) on 8 March 2020, the International Women’s Day.
- The award ceremony was organized by NITI Aayog’s Women Entrepreneurship Platform.
- The awards recognized women from diverse fields, including healthcare, education, and food tech, amongst other fields.
Winner list:
WTI recognized 30 finalists, and 15 winners were awarded. The winners of the award are:
♦ Dr. Priyanka Mokshmar, Co-founder of Vaayu Home Appliance
♦ Ramya Venkataraman, Founder of Centre for Teacher Accreditation (CENTA)
♦ Shilpi Kapoor, Founder of BarrierBreak
♦ Rinka Banerjee, Founder of Thinking Forks
♦ Nidhi Pant, who combats the issue around waste and farmer living standard through her Science for Society team
♦ Anupriya Balikai, Founder of Spookfish Innovations
♦ Kalpana Sankar, Founder of Hand in Hand
♦ Khushboo Jain, Founder of ImpactGuru
♦ Sneha Sundaram, Founder of Kutuki
♦ Jayanti Pradhan, an agro-processor and farmer from Odisha
♦ Jugnu Jain, Founder of CSO
♦ Pratyusha Pareddy, Founder of NemoCare
♦ Poonam Bir Kasturi, Founder of Daily Dump
♦ Ruchi Jain, Founder of Taru Naturals
♦ Sujata Sahu, Founder of 17000 ft Foundation
♦ Dr. Praveen Nair, Founder Trustee of Salaam Baalak Trust, was awarded a Special Jury Award. WTI Awards:
Extra Shots:
WTI Awards was initiated in the year 2018. It is awarded under the support of the Women Entrepreneurship Platform. The theme for the year is “Women and Entrepreneurship.” The Platform identifies inspiring stories of successful women entrepreneurs. It processes a review of applications, jury, and super jury rounds with assistance from mentors and partners of the Women Entrepreneurship Platform.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
IIM-Bangalore launched the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship program
- Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) launched the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF) program in collaboration with the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), GoI, and State Skill Development Missions (SSDMs).
- There are over 75 students in the first batch of the program. The batch has 44% women candidates.
- IIMB undertook the program in support of the launch of Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for the Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) project.
Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship:
♦ MGNF is a two-year academic program. It is a unique opportunity for young, dynamic individuals to enhance skill development and promote rural employment at the district level. The program aims to strengthen the district-level skill ecosystem for decentralized skill development governance.
♦ MGNF will provide academic inputs and a field immersion component that will raise economic output and promote livelihood in rural areas. The implementation of the program at IIMB will be monitored by Prof. Arnab Mukherji, from the Public Policy area, and Professor Sankarshan Basu, from the Finance and Accounting area as Programme Directors.
♦ MGNF fellows will be placed in 75 districts across the states of Gujarat, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. After completing the program successfully, the Fellow will be awarded a Certificate.
OBITUARIES
Yanagundi Matha Manikeshwari passed away
- Yanagundi Matha Manikeshwari passed away at Yanagundi of Kalaburagi district, Karnataka, on 8 March.
- She died due to prolonged illness.
- She was 87 years old. Matha Manikeshwari had millions of devotees in various states, including Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
Extra Shots:
Sri Matha Manikeshwari:
- Sri Matha Manikeshwari was born to Buggappa and Ashamma at Mallabad village, Kalaburagi district, Karnataka, on 27 July 1934. She was involved in spiritual life deeply and did not show any interest in married life. She started practising yoga and dhyana and said prayers to Sri Mallikarjun Swamy of Srisailam. She lived in a cave on top of the hillock at Yanagundi. She has established a total of 108 ashramas in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.
Former Union Minister Hans Raj Bhardwaj Passes Away
- Former Union Law Minister and Congress veteran Hans Raj Bhardwaj died after a cardiac arrest. Hans Raj Bhardwaj was 83.
- Hans Raj Bhardwaj was born in Garhi Sampla village in Rohtak district of Haryana.
- He was a Rajya Sabha member for five terms from April 1982 to June 2009.
