1.World Wildlife Day, also known as WWD observed  across the world on 03 March.

• World Wildlife Day, also known as WWD, is celebrated annually across the world on 03 March.The aim of World Wildlife Day is to acknowledge the importance of wildlife species in maintaining the ecological balance on earth.
• It also aims to create awareness among humans about the importance of wildlife and tries to curb the various dangers directed towards the flora and fauna.
• On March 3 of every year, the UN observes World Wildlife Day as proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2013.
• The theme for World Wildlife Day 2020 will be “Sustaining All Life on Earth”

2.India beats Poland And Russia to $40 million defence deal with Armenia.

• In a major win, India has managed to bag a $40 Million defence export deal.Under the $40 Million contract, India is required to supply four Swathi weapons-locating radars.
• The radars provide fast, automatic, and accurate location of enemy weapons like mortars, shells, and rockets in its 50-km range. It can also simultaneously handle multiple projectiles fired from different weapons at different locations. Russian and Polish firms were also in the race to bad the mega-deal.
• The deal is for supplying four Swathi weapon locating radars developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) to Armenia in Europe.

3.Arunachal Pradesh Assembly went paperless for  the implementation of e-Vidhan under Digital India Program.

• The 7th Budget session of the Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly began.The Arunachal Pradesh Assembly went paperless on with the implementation of e-Vidhan, a project under the Digital India programme.
• With the implementation of the e-Vidhan project, MLAs can access every information regarding the Assembly, see the list of business and read questions and other documents pertaining to House proceedings through their laptops and tablet computers.
• The initiative will make all the proceedings in the house paperless.

4.Tripura Govt and AAI signed  MoU for construction of 6 equipment hiring centers.

• Tripura State Government and Airport Authority of India has signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of six equipment hiring centers in Manu Block under the Dhalai District of Tripura.
• The project has been taken as part of AAI’s Corporate Social Responsibility scheme.
• In the equipment hiring centers, equipment related to agriculture, animal husbandry and fisheries will be kept.
• The types of equipment will be rented out to the needy farmers, Self Help Groups and to any other needy at a minimal cost.

5. Jammu’s Historic city square renamed as ‘Bharat Mata Chowk’.

• The historic City Chowk, the commercial hub in old Jammu, was renamed as ‘Bharat Mata Chowk’.
• The renaming of the chowk drew mixed reactions from the people with most of them welcoming the decision but urged the JMC to focus more on development and cleanliness rather than changing names.
• Every year people are hoisting the tricolour on Republic and Independence days in this chowk.The starting point of the circular road near Panjtirthi in the city was named by the JMC as ‘Atal Chowk’ in the memory of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

• The Government of India has submitted two nomination dossiers namely ‘Dholavira: A Harappan City’ and ‘Monuments and Forts of Deccan Sultanate’ for inclusion in the World Heritage List for the year 2020.
• Govt of Madhya Pradesh has submitted the proposal of ‘Group of Monuments at Mandu’ in the year 2019.The dossier was further forwarded to the World Heritage Centre (WHC) for completeness check.
• Dholavira is an archaeological site in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch District, in the state of Gujarat.

7. Fitch lowerd India’s economic growth forecast for FY20 to 4.9% from 5.1 %.

• Fitch Ratings Inc, an American credit rating agency, has lowered India’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth forecast to 4.9% for the fiscal year –FY20 (2019-2020) ending March 31,2020. It cuts the rate from 5.1% predicted earlier, due to coronavirus, weak domestic demand and supply disruptions ,which put pressure on the manufacturing sector.
• However, it estimates a slight improvement in GDP growth in FY2020-21 &  forecasts that the pace of economic growth of the country could remain at 5.4% (from 5.9 % previously).
• India’s real GDP growth rate has come down to 4.7% in the third quarter (October-December) of the current fiscal, from 5.1 % in the second quarter due to slower government consumption, a steeper contraction in gross fixed capital formation and a smaller net exports contribution.

8.Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament in Malaysia postponed due to coronavirus

• The 29th edition of the prestigious Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament was pushed from April to September in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak across the world.
• The Azlan Shah Cup, which was scheduled to be held in Ipoh, Malaysia from April 11 to 18, will now be held from September 24 to October 3.
• The Azlan Shah Cup is the latest sporting event to be affected by the deadly coronavirus, which has claimed more than 3,000 lives and infected 86,000 people.

9. Pekka Lundmark appointed as President and  CEO of Nokia.

• Nokia appointed Pekka Lundmark as CEO (Chief Executive Officer) and he will take charge from September 1, 2020. He will be the successor of Rajeev Suri, who was more than a decade in charge of Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks.
• Pekka Lundmark is currently serving as the CEO of Fortum since 2015 and also served as executive  positions at Nokia between 1990 & 2000 including Vice President (VP) of strategy & business development at Nokia networks.
• Nokia faces intense competition from Sweden’s Ericsson & China’s Huawei in the race to deliver 5G (5th generation) telecom networks to operators around the world.

10. Punjab prohibited online supply of food from FBOs not possessing hygiene rating.

• Punjab government’s Food and Drug Administration has prohibited Online Food Supply Aggregators (OFSAs) related to  those Food Business Operators (FBOs) who are not possessing hygiene rating, by invoking provisions under Section 18(1)(a) of food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 to ensure safe food to public.
• It also prohibits OFSAs from sourcing the food from FBOs where rating is less than three out of five.
• The prohibition orders would be effective for one year beginning April 30, 2020.

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