1. Ajay Bhushan Pandey Appointed As New Finance Secretary of India, Succeeding Rajiv Kumar
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Current Affairs - Mar 2020 Month All Type All 116 Current Affairs were found in Period - March 1 - 10, 2020 for Type - All Appointments 1. Ajay Bhushan Pandey appointed as new Finance Secretary of India, succeeding Rajiv Kumar. 2. Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) appointed Sunil Joshi as new Chief Selector of Indian Cricket Team. 3. Ford India MD Anurag Mehrotra is appointed as CEO for New joint venture formed by Mahindra and Ford. This JV will sell Ford branded cars in India and other emerging markets. Mahindra will own controlling stakes of 51 %, while Ford will having 49 %. 4. Ivan Janša (Janez Janša) has been appointed as New Prime minister of Slovenia. 5. Muhyiddin Yassin appointed as new Prime Minister of Malaysia. He replaced Mahathir Mohammad who had resigned recently. At 94 years of age, he was World’s Oldest govt leader. 6. Pekka Lundmark appointed President and CEO of Finnish Tech firm Nokia. He will Rajeev Suri for the post. 7. Singapore’s Daren Tang elected as Director General of World Intellectual Property Organisation(WIPO), succeeding Australia’s Francis Gurry. 1. WIPO is one of 15 specialized agencies of United Nations (UN). List - 1. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 2. International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) 3. International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) 4. International Labour Organization (ILO) 5. International Maritime Organization (IMO) 6. International Monetary Fund (IMF) 7. International Telecommunication Union (ITU) 8. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 9. United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) 10. Universal Postal Union (UPU) 11. World Bank Group 1. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) 2. International Finance Corporation (IFC) 3. International Development Association (IDA) 12. World Health Organization (WHO) 13. World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) 14. World Meteorological Organization (WMO) 15. World Tourism Organization (UNWTO or WTO) 2. WIPO was created in 1967, headquartered at Geneva (Switzerland). 8. Ukraine's parliament appointed Denys Shmygal as new prime minister, after his predecessor Oleksiy Honcharuk resigned. Top Awards 1. Assam based Environmental activist Jadav Payeng (popularly called Forest Man) is named winner of 128th Commonwealth Points of Light Award, conferred by British Queen Elizabeth II. 1. Payeng has transformed a treeless sandbar along the Brahmaputra river into a 1,360-acre vibrant wildlife haven. 2. Points of Light Award recognises people across 53 Commonwealth nations for the difference they are making in their communities and beyond. 2. BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee) topped list of top 500 Global Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), for 5th consecutive year. List is released by Geneva-based organization NGO Adviser. 1. BRAC was found in 1972 by Sir Fazle Hasan Abed to facilitate the returning war refugees with small-scale relief and rehabilitation project. Currently, It has presence in 11 countries of Asia and Africa, working in various fields including poverty alleviation. 3. Irish Architects Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara are named as winners of Pritzker Architecture prize 2020. Awardees co-founded Grafton Architects in 1978 at dublin. 1. It is an annual award sponsored by Hyatt foundation, consisting USD 100000 and a bronze medallion. 2. It is often referred to as “architecture’s Nobel” & “the profession’s highest honor.” 4. President Ram Nath Kovind Conferred 61st Lalit Kala Akademi Awards on 15 artists - 1. Anoop Kumar Manzukhi Gopi 2. David Malakar 3. Devendra Kumar Khare 4. Dinesh Pandya 5. Faruque Ahmed Halder 6. Hari Ram Kumbhawat 7. Keshari Nandan Prasad 8. Mohan Kumar T 9. Ratan Krishna Saha 10. Sagar Vasant Kamble 11. Satwinder Kaur 12. Sunil Thiruvayur 13. Tejaswi Narayan Sonawane 14. Yashpal Singh 15. Yashwant Singh 5. Swarajya Awards 2020 conferred at 6th India Ideas Conclave in Gujarat, Instituted by India Foundation & Indic Academy- Awardee Category Field Sarbananda Sonowal Dr S P Mukherjee Award Politics K Parasaran Sree Narayana Guru Award Social Work Bharatbala Ustad Bismillah Khan Award Culture N K Singh Dr B R Shenoy Award Economics 6. Times of India (TOI) Sports Awards 2019 - 1. S. No. Award Award Winner 1 Sports person of the Year P.V. Sindhu (Badminton) 2 Cricketer of the year Rohit Sharma 3 Team of the year Indian men’s Hockey Team 4 Coach of the year Jaspal Rana (Shooting) 5 Youth Icon of the year Vijendra Singh (Boxer) 6 Lifetime Achievement Bhaichung Bhutia (Football) 7 Icon of the year Balbir Singh (Hockey) Top Books 1. Minister of Women & Child Development Zubin Irani released book titled Chronicles of Change Champions, as compilation of 25 innovative initiatives taken under Prime Minister’s flagship scheme of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP). Top Committees 1. Government reconstituted National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR), with Home Minister Amit Shah as chairperson. NPDRR will review progress in field of disaster management and advise on coordination between central and state governments. 2. Ministry of Tribal Affairs constituted a committee under NC Saxena, former member of Planning Commission of India. Committee will examine and recommend Community Forest Resources (CFR) Guidelines, under Forest Rights Act 2006. Top Days 1. Mar 10 is foundation day of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which was set up on Mar 10, 1969. 2. Mar 3 is observed as UN World Wildlife Day. 2020 Theme is Sustaining all Life on Earth. It was proclaimed in 1973. 1. Mar 3 is also observed as World Hearing Day. 2020 theme is Hearing for life, don’t let hearing loss limit you. 2. On occasion of World Wildlife Day 2020 (Mar 3), European Commission launched in Monaco a new global coalition for biodiversity, calling for stronger mobilisation in raising awareness about need to protect biodiversity. Also, 2020 UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 15) will be held in Kunming (China) in October 2020. 3. Mar 4 is observed as National Security / Safety Day in India, as a tribute to all security forces of country. National Safety Council was set up on 4 March 1966. 4. Mar 7 is observed as Jan Aushadi Diwas, to commemorate achievements of Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadi Pariyojana. Mar 1 - 7 is also observed as Jan Aushadhi Week. 5. Mar 8 is observed as International Women's Day. 2020 Theme is I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights. United Nations began celebrating the day in 1977. 1. Environment Minister Prakash Javedekar announced that sanitary napkin disposal bags are to be made mandatory from 2021. Sanitary napkin manufacturers will have to supply a biodegradable bag along with every napkin from January 2021. 2. Govt. launched a new Helpline 011-26565285, for use of women students / researchers / entrepreneurs to get their queries answered related to programs of Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST). 3. Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat released a study by UNICEF and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) on impact of Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) on rural women. It stated that increased access to household toilets has led to improvement in Suvidha, Suraksha and Swabhimaan of women in rural India. 4. President Ram Nath Kovind presented Nari Shakti Puraskar to Awardees, instituted by Ministry of Women and Child Development - 1. Padala Bhudevi (Andhra Pradesh) 2. Bina Devi (Bihar) 3. Arifa Jan (J& K) 4. Chami Murmu (Jharkhand) 5. Nilza Wangmo (Ladakh) 6. Rashmi Urdhwardeshe (Maharashtra) 7. Mann Kaur (Punjab). At 103 years age, she is among oldest women athletes of India. 8. Kalavati Devi (Uttar Pradesh) 9. Tashi and Nungshi Malik (Uttrakhand) (Noted mountaineers) 10. Kaushiki Chakroborty (West Bengal) - Noted vocalist. 11. Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawanna Kanth, Mohana Singh Jitarwal - Indian Air Force’s first women fighter pilots 12. Bhageerathi Amma and Karthyayini Amma (Kerala) 5. NITI Aayog organized Fourth Edition of the Women Transforming India Award, honoring 16 awardees. 6. Indo-U.S. Fellowship for Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (WISTEMM)”program of Department of Science and Technology(DST) in association with Indo-U.S. Science & Technology Forum (IUSSTF) provides international exposure to several women scientists. 7. Maldives' Parliament introduced a motion to launch an inquiry into systemic gender discrimination, seeking to identify policies, laws and systems that are detrimental to women. 8. Cab aggregator Uber launched a diversity and inclusion sponsorship programme for women in India. 9. CRPF instituted a special Shakti Award', to be annually given to a chosen personnel who works for empowerment of women. Award will carry a reward of Rs 1 lakh. 10. Odisha government approved a separate Mission Shakti department that would exclusively work for around 70 lakh rural women associated with nearly six lakh women self-help groups (SHGs). 11. University of Ranchi launched its own Community Radio Station named as RADIO KHANCHI 90.4 FM with slogan Aap Sabka Radio. 6. March 1 is observed as Zero Discrimination Day Globally, being observed since 2014. 2020 Theme is Zero Discrimination against Women and Girls. 1. Mar 1 is also observed as World Civil Defence Day. Top Defence 1. A new Explosive Detection device called RalDer-X launched during National Workshop on Explosive Detection in Pune. 1. It can detect explosives that are in pure form and also those that are added with contaminants. It is also capable of detecting explosives at a distance. 2. It can also detect several other elements that are non-explosive in nature, such as narcotics. 2. As per report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) - 1. India continues to be world’s second-largest arms importer, just behind Saudi Arabia. India accounts for 9.2% of total global arms imports during 2015-2019, while Saudi Arabia registered 12%. Saudi Arabia, India, Egypt, Australia and China are top 5 arms Importers. 2. In Terms of Arms Exports, India ranks 23rd, with .2% share of total global arms expors and Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Mauritius as India's biggest clients.