1. Asian Development Bank To Lend $926 Million For Mumbai Metro Rail Project

• Marking its single largest infrastructure loan ever, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $926 million loan agreement with India to operationalise two lines for the Mumbai metro rail system.
• It aims to ease the distress of millions of commuters each day and help provide a cleaner and less congested city
• The project will fund 63 six-car trains, signalling and safety systems and help establish a new dedicated metro operations organisation to manage the entire metro network in Mumbai.

2. Textile Ministry launches scheme to develop knitting and knitwear sector

• The Union Textile Ministry has launched a comprehensive Scheme for the development of the knitwear sector under PowerTex India.
• Apart from financial incentives the two key interesting elements are Yarn Bank and financial assistance for the solar energy scheme. The scheme was launched simultaneously in three major clusters, Tirupur, Ludhiana and Kolkata.
• The yarn bank scheme for knitting and knitwear units will provide an interest-free corpus fund of a maximum of up to Rs 2 crore per yarn bank to a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).

3. Russian Nobel Prize winner for physics Alferov dies aged 88

• Zhores Alferov, a Russian scientist who won a Nobel prize in physics, has died.
• The physicist was also a Communist deputy in the lower house of parliament, where Alferov had been a deputy since 1995.
• In his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Alferov noted that physics had brought both benefits and disasters to mankind in the 20th century and warned that the mass media could be abused in the wrong hands.

4. World Wildlife Day 2019 Observed on 3 March

• World Wildlife Day is observed on 3rd March every year to spread awareness about wildlife.
• This date was designated as the World Wildlife Day on20 December 2013 at the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
• World Wildlife Day is an opportunity to celebrate the many beautiful and varied forms of wild fauna and flora and to raise awareness of the multitude of benefits that conservation provides to people.

5. Federer claims the 100th ATP title of his career

• Roger Federer claimed the 100th ATP title of his career by beating 20-year-old Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 6-4 in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
• The 20-times Grand Slam champion became the second man in the Open Era to claim 100 titles after American Jimmy Connors who won 109.
• Swiss Federer also avenged his shock defeat by Tsitsipas in the Australian Open fourth round in January.

6. Hasmukh Adhia Appointed as Non-Executive Chairman of Bank of Baroda

• Former finance secretary Hasmukh Adhiawas appointed as the non-executive chairman of Bank of Baroda.
• Adhia, a 1981-batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre who was known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, retired in November 30, 2018.
• As per the Scheme of Amalgamation, shareholders of Vijaya Bank will get 402 equity shares of Bank of Baroda for every 1,000 shares held.

7. FM Arun Jaitley releases the book ‘Mann Ki Baat – A Social Revolution on Radio’

• Shri Arun Jaitley, Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs, released a book titled ‘Mann Ki Baat – A Social Revolution on Radio’ in a function organized in National Media Centre, New Delhi.
• The book is based on 50 episodes of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s heart to heart talk with the citizens of India broadcast on All India Radio.
• The book has been collated by BlueKraft Digital Foundation, a not for profit organization, and brought out by Rupa Publication, India, a reputed publishing house.

8. DRDO chief Satheesh Reddy conferred Missile Systems Award by AIAA

• India's aerospace scientist and Chief of the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), G Satheesh Reddy, has been conferred the Missile Systems Award 2019 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
• Satheesh is the first Indian to win the award, which recognises his leadership role in the Indian missile programme.
• AIAA is the world's largest and reputed aerospace technical society.

9. Cabinet approves ‘Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN yojana’ for financial support to Integrated Bioethanol Projects

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the ‘Pradhan Mantri Jaiv Indhan- Vatavaran Anukool fasal awashesh Nivaran (JI-VAN) Yojana’ for providing financial support to the Integrated Bioethanol Projects.
• The scheme aims to incentivise 2G Ethanol sector and support the industry by creating a suitable ecosystem for setting up commercial projects and increasing Research & Development in this area.
• The Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana will be supported with the total financial outlay of Rs 1969.50 crore for the period 2018-19 to 2023-24.

10. Bharti AXA General wins 'Assocham Non-Life Insurer of The Year Award'

• Bharti AXA General Insurance has been conferred with the ‘Non-Life Insurer of The Year Award 2019 by the Assocham, one of the apex trade associations of India.
• The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) honored Bharti AXA General Insurance with this recognition for its excellence and contribution to the non-life insurance sector during the recently-held Insurance Leaders Meet 2019 and Excellence Awards in Kolkata.
• The company has achieved significant distribution scale with a sharp focus on profitability. It posted its maiden profit in the first nine months of the current financial year 2018-19.