1.Narendra Singh Tomar announced that Government plans to achieve  75 lakh SHGs by 2022.

• Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, announced that the Rural Development Ministry plans to add more than 14 lakhs SHGs (Self Help Groups) to achieve 75 lakh SHGs by the year 2022 to enable more women to get livelihood. The Minister announced this during the programme on Women’s Empowerment to mark the International Women’s Day held in New Delhi.
• Women’s SHGs are the backbone of poverty alleviation programmes and the entire focus of the Ministry is towards women’s freedom. Currently, there are 60.8 lakh SHGs across the country comprising about 6 crores 73 lakh women. The government provides training and funds to SHGs for livelihood mission, by linking them through banks for easy credit flows.
• Benefits of schemes: An amount of Rs 2.75 lakh crores has been allocated to SHGs during the last 6 years to make women self-dependent and 5 crore people are annually employed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) and women constituted under 55% of the workforce under MGNREGA.

2. Final exercise of the National level Search and Rescue Exercise (SAREX-2020) conducted by the Indian Coast Guard in the sea at Vasco.

• Final exercise of the National level Search and Rescue Exercise (SAREX-2020) was conducted by the Indian Coast Guard in the sea at Vasco, South Goa district.
• The exercise was carried out and rehearsals for SAREX were conducted on March 4.
• It was observed by observers from 19 countries.ICG conducts this exercise biennially under the aegis of National Maritime Search and Rescue Board (NMSARB) since 2003.

Foot notes:
About Indian coast gaurd:
Motto: वयम् रक्षाम/We protect 
Headquarters : Mangalore
Director General: Krishnaswamy Natrajan 

3. Indian runner Prachi provisionally suspended after testing positive for Doping.

• Indian runner (400m) Prachi has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for the presence of a steroid Oxandrolone.
• The provisional suspension comes into effect from February 20, 2020.
• As per the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) and NADA list, Oxandrolone is a prohibited substance, which is a non-specified substance-Anabolic Androgenic Steroid.
• Prachi's sample was collected in Patiala on December 30, 2019. 

4. Nupur Kulshrestha becomes Indian Coast Guard’s first woman DIG.

• Nupur Kulshrestha becomes the 1st woman to be promoted as Deputy Inspector General(DIG) of Indian Coast Guard. She joined Indian Coast Guard in 1999.
• On August 18, 1978 ICG was established by the Coast Guard Act, 1978 of the Parliament of India as an independent Armed force of India &  is operated under the Ministry of defence.
• It is an armed forces & multi-mission organisation, which conducts real life operations at sea round the year. Maritime zones of India are divided into 5 coast guard regions, namely; North- West, West, East,North-East & Andman & nicobar & are headquartered in Gandhinagar, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolakata& Port Blair.

5. Former Law Minister and former governor of Karnataka & Kerala “H. R. Bhardwaj”  passed away at 83.

• Hansraj Bhardwaj, former Union Law Minister and former governor of Karnataka & Kerala, Senior Congress leader passed away at the age of 83 in New Delhi, India. He was born in Garhi Sampla village in Rohtak district, Haryana. He also holds the record of India’s second longest serving Law Minister.
• He served as Rajya Sabha member for 5 terms from April 1982 to May 2009.
• He served as the Minister of State for Law and Justice in the governments led by Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and P.V. Narasimha Rao and also served as the Cabinet Minister of Law and Justice holding the portfolio between 2004 to 2009 in the Manmohan Singh Ministry. Bhardwaj also introduced the concept of rural courts (gram nyayalayas) during his period.
• He also served as the Governor of Karnataka during the period 2009- 2014 and also appointed as the governor of kerala as the additional charge during the period 2012- 2013.

6. Paytm & Hyderabad Metro tied 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. 
• People now can 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. 

Foot Notes:

About Paytm
Founder: Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Founded: August 2010
CEO: Vijay Shekhar Sharma 
Headquarters: Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

About Hyderabad Metro:
Began operation : 29 November 2017
M.D & CEO : N.V.S Reddy
Headquarters : Metro Bhawan, Begumpet, Hyderabad

7. 15 outstanding women honoured with Nari Shakti Puraskar by President on International Women's Day.

• President Ram Nath Kovind gave away the Nari Shakti Puraskar to 15 women in Rashtrapati Bhawan on the occasion of International Women's Day.
• The awardees are 103 year old athlete Mann Kaur, Indian Air Force’s first women fighter pilots Mohana Singh, Bhawana Kanth and Avani Chaturvedi, Farmers Padala Bhudevi and Bina Devi, Artisan Arifa Jaan, Environmentalist Chami Murmu, Entrepreneur Nilza Wangmo, Automotive research professional Rashmi Urdhwardeshe, Lady Mason Kalavati Devi, Twin Mountaineers Tashi and Nungshi Malik classical vocalist Kaushiki Chakroborty and 98 year old Karthyayini Amma who topped the literacy exam in 2018. 
• Another awardee 105 year old Bhageerathi Amma could not travel to Delhi to receive the award.    
• The National Award is given annually to individuals, groups, institutions in recognition of their exceptional work towards the cause of women empowerment, especially for vulnerable and marginalized women.

Foot Notes:
International Women's Day is celebrated on the 8th of March every year.

8. Pooja Rani and Vikas Krishan become first Indian boxers to qualify for Tokyo Olympics.

• Asian champion Pooja Rani in the 75kg category and Vikas Krishan in 69kg category became the first set of Indian boxers to qualify for Tokyo Olympics 2020. Both boxers advanced to the semifinals of the continental qualifiers at Amman in Jordan.
• While fourth-seeded Rani notched up an easy 5-0 win over Thailand's Pornnipa Chutee while Krishan could win after a tough encounter defeating Japanese Sewonrets Okazawa. 
• Rani secured her maiden Olympic spot while Krishan will be making his third successive appearance at the quadrennial showpiece. Rani will next face the reigning world and Asian champion Li Qian of China, who has the top billing in this category. 

Foot notes:
About Tokyo Olympics:
Location: Tokyo, Japan  
Dates: Fri, 24 Jul, 2020 – Sun, 9 Aug, 2020
Stadium: New National Stadium
Opening: 24 July

About IOC:
Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland
President: Thomas Bach
Director General: Christophe De Kepper
Founded: 23 June 1894, Paris, France
Founders: Pierre de Coubertin, Demetrios Vikelas

9. Odisha becomes the 1st state to introduce department for SHGs called “Mission Shakti”

• Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced that Odisha is the 1st state to owna separate department for Self Help Groups named as ”Department of Mission Shakti”. It is created for the development of women & is dedicated to all the women of Odisha.
• Mission Shakti and Mamata Scheme combinedly benefits 70 lakh women in the state.
• 50% reservation in Panchayati Raj has created a new era for the socio-economic development of women.
• Earlier in the state budget, it has introduced an independent Nutrition Budget, whose primary focus will be on mother-child nutrition.

Foot Notes:
About Odisha
Capital- Bhubaneswar
Governor– Ganeshi Lal
Chief Minister– Naveen Patnaik

10. Annual festival of St Antony’s Shrine in Katchatheevu Island begins.

• The annual festival of St Antony’s Shrine in Katchatheevu Island, Sri Lanka begins. More than 3,000 devotees from India are being transported in country boats. 
• It is notable that the citizens of India are not required to possess an Indian passport or Sri Lankan visa for visiting Kachchatheevu, according to an agreement between the two governments.
• St Antony is worshiped as the patron saint of seafarers. The shrine is the only structure on the island and was built in the early years of the last century.

Foot Notes:
About Sri Lanka
Capitals: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte,Colombo
President: Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Prime Minister: Mahinda Rajapaksa

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Current Affairs 07- 08 March, 2020

Current Affairs 06 March 2020

Current Affairs 05 March 2020