- National People’s Party President Conrad Sangma takes oath as the Chief Minister of Meghalaya.
- India’s first helicopter taxi service was launched in Bengaluru to fly passengers from Kempegowda International Airport to Electronic City.
- Out of 133 countries, India is ranked fourth on a global index for its military strength. Only the United States, Russia and China are ranked above India on the list, according to the latest report of the Global Firepower index 2017.
- The Marshall Islands is creating its own digital currency in a bid to raise money. In doing so it becomes the first country in the world to recognize a cryptocurrency as legal tender. The small Pacific Island nation passed the Sovereign Currency Act to create the ‘sovereign’, or SOV. The cryptocurrency will have equal status with the US dollar and, unlike many cryptocurrencies, users will have to reveal their identity in order to use SOV.
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a penalty of Rs.3 crore on private sector Axis Bank for violation of non-performing asset (NPA) classification norms, and Rs.2 crore on state-run Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) for not complying with the Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations.
- Mahendra Singh Dhoni has become a brand ambassador of gaming platform Dream11.
- Veteran Bollywood actor, who was fondly called ‘Shammi aunty’ by many in the film fraternity passed away at the age of 89.
- Nagaland Governor PB Acharya has appointed Neiphiu Rio as the new Chief Minister of the state.
- Iraq has become India’s biggest crude oil supplier by overtaking Saudi Arabia in this current financial year.
- Washington has become the first state to enact its own net-neutrality requirements after U.S. regulators repealed Obama-era rules designed to keep the internet an even playing field.
- India is all set to become the 69th member of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) after shareholders of the international financial institution gave their nod to the country’s candidature. Suma Chakrabarti is the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
- With a fortune worth $110 billion, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is the world’s richest man and tops a 2018 Forbes Magazine list of billionaires. According to the Forbes, Bezos is the first person to top $100 billion as number one on the Forbes list of the World’s Billionaires. Indian industry titan Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries Limited, is 19th on the list.
- The Buddhist Community of Itanagar celebrated the silver jubilee of the Losar Festival in Arunachal Pradesh. For the Buddhist community, the festival is termed as the ‘New Year’ according to their Buddhist calendar.
- International Women’s Day was observed on 8th March. International Women’s Day 2018 campaign theme is #PressforProgress.
- Architect Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi has become the first Indian to win the Pritzker Prize, the highest award in architecture. Doshi’s most noted works include a low-cost housing project in Indore which accommodates 80,000 people.
- The government launched a biodegradable sanitary pad ‘Suvidha’ to mark International Women’s Day. The oxo-biodegradable sanitary pads priced at Rs.2.50 per pad will be available at Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi centres.
- Haryana’s first cyber police station, equipped with a digital forensic laboratory, was inaugurated in Gurugram.
- Diu has become the first Union Territory in India to run 100 percent on solar power generated energy.
- Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, on International Women’s day, announced ‘Mukhyamantri Mahila Kosh’ scheme. Under this scheme, the women who aren’t married and are above the age of 50 will be given pension.
- In another first for women, 25-year-old Prakriti has been inducted as the first direct-entry combat officer in the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. The ITBP is the last of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to induct women officers in combat roles after the government first allowed it to enrol them in 2016.
- Biplab Kumar Deb was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tripura’s first Bharatiya Janata Party government in Agartala. He has replaced Manik Sarkar. Jishnu Deb Burman took oath as the Deputy CM of the State. Governor- Tathagata Roy.
- The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs.40 lakh on State Bank of India for non-compliance of its directions on detection and impounding of counterfeit notes. SBI Chairman- Rajnish Kumar, Headquarters- Mumbai, Established on- 1st July 1955.
- Central Banking’s fifth annual awards 2018 were announced. The Bank of Canada, this year’s Central Bank of the Year, emerged as a beacon of best practice for much of the community.
Below is the complete list of Winners-
1. Transparency:Central Bank of Ireland.
2. Reserve manager of the year: Bank of Korea.
3. Banknote and currency manager of the year:Norges Bank.
- The government of Telangana launched Women Entrepreneurship Hub (WE-Hub),India’s first state-led incubator for women entrepreneurs. The incubator will help women entrepreneurs establish their own enterprises by providing services including seed funding, mentoring, and business guidance. Deepthi Ravula is heading the incubator as its Chief Executive Officer.
- Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA)and Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport have beaten 1,952 other airports from 176 countries to tie at number one for world’s best airports, as per Airports Council International (ACI) ASQ 2017 rankings.
- The International Solar Alliance (ISA)and the African Development Bank (AfDb), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the Green climate fund (GCF), and the New Development Bank (NDB) signed Joint financial partnership Declarations in New Delhi.
- The Karnataka government unveiled the State flag (nada dhwaja) for the state. If approved by the Centre, Karnataka will be the second State to have a flag after Jammu and Kashmir.
- Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli has been named cab-hailing startup Uber’s first Brand Ambassador in India. Dara Khosrowshahi is the CEO of Uber.
- Financial services platform Paytm has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Paytm Money, has received approval of market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to become a registered investment advisor. Paytm is run by One97 Communications Ltd.
- Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Rajuand Minister of State for Science and Technology Y S Chowdary have submitted their resignations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Commerce minister Suresh Prabhu got additional charge of Civil Aviation ministry.
- The multi-nation naval exercise at sea, MILES-18, began at the Andaman sea. 11 naval ships of 8 countries and nine Indian ships are participating in the three-day exercise.
- The government has made providing passport details mandatory for taking loans of 50 crore rupees and above to ensure a SWIFT action in case of fraud and prevent fraudsters from fleeing the country. SWIFT stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. SWIFT provides a network that enables financial institutions worldwide to send and receive information about financial transactions in a secure, standardized and reliable environment. Headquarters of SWIFT- La Hulpe, Belgium.
- China’s Parliament has abolished the decades-old two-term limit for the President, allowing Xi Jinping to remain as the country’s leader for life.
- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International Solar Alliance (ISA) has signed a cooperation arrangement to promote solar energy deployment in Asia and the Pacific.
- World champions Australia have lifted the coveted Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey title. In the final at Ipoh, Malaysia, they defeated defending champions England.
- The Union Housing Ministry has launched ‘I-Metros’, an association of all-India metro rail companies, which will act as a forum of exchange of ideas and innovations.
- Rajasthan assembly has passed an amendment bill awarding death penalty for convicts involved in the rape of girls below 12 years of age.
- For intra-State movement, the e-way bill will be rolled out in a phased manner beginning April 15 and will cover all the States by June 1.