1. Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar passes away

• Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had passes away at the age of 63
• Manohar Parrikar (13 December 1955 – 17 March 2019) was an Indian politician and leader of Bharatiya Janata Party who was the Chief Minister of Goa from 14 March 2017 till his death. Previously he was Chief Minister of Goa from 2000 to 2005 and from 2012 to 2014.
• Parrikar led a coalition government, which is supported by the Goa Forward Party (GFP), the Maharashtravadi Gomantak Party (MGP), and three independent lawmakers in Goa.

2. Santosh Jha Appointed Next Ambassador of India to Republic of Uzbekistan

• Shri Santosh Jha presently Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India, Washington, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Uzbekistan.
• A press release from the Ministry of External Affairs stated that Jha, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 1993 batch, was expected to take up the assignment shortly.

3. National convention of 'War Decorated India' commences in Chandimandir

• Several living gallantry award winners and relatives of the deceased awardees attended the two-day National Convention of War Decorated India (WDI), which began at Western Command Headquarters in Chandimandir.
• Among Victoria Cross awardees, the relatives of Late Naib Subedar Nand Singh (Sikh Regiment), Late Subedar Ram Sarup Singh (1 Punjab) and Late Badlu Ram (Cavalry) were felicitated.
• Among Param Vir Chakra awardees, relatives of Late Col. Hoshiar Singh (Grenadiers) and Late Subedar Joginder Singh (Sikh Regiment) were felicitated.

4. first Indian athlete to qualify for Tokyo OlympicsK T Irfan becomes

• National record holder KT Irfan became the first Indian from athletics to qualify for the next year’s Olympics while finishing fourth in the 20 km event of the Asian Race Walking Championships in Nomi, Japan.
• The Olympics qualification period for all other athletics events will start from May 1 this year and will run till June 29, 2020.
• No other Indian from athletics has so far qualified for Tokyo Olympics.

5. SBI ICICI HDFC remain D-SIBs

• SBI, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank continue to be in the Reserve Bank of India’s list of Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs) for 2018.
• D-SIBs are required to maintain higher capital as compared to other banks.
• The additional Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) requirement for D-SIBs has already been phased-in from April 1, 2016, and will become fully effective from April 1, 2019.

6. IIT Kharagpur to Adopt Amazon Web Services Educate Programme To Accelerate Cloud Learning and AI Skills

• The Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur will adopt Amazon Web Services (AWS) Educate programme to help students gain cloud computing skills including hands-on experience in artificial intelligence (AI)
• The programme offers a robust set of no-cost tools, resources and AWS Promotional Credits for students and educators to boost their cloud skills and experience.
• As part of AWS Educate, the students will gain access to 12 Cloud Career Pathways covering topics that are in demand by employers, such as machine learning, cybersecurity.

7. Kotak Mahindra Bank elevates KVS Manian, Gaurang Shah as board directors

• Kotak Mahindra Bank has appointed KVS Manian and Gaurang Shah as whole-time directors for a three-year term effective from the date of approval from the Reserve Bank of India.
• Manian is currently working as the president - corporate, investment bank. Shah is the president- group chief risk officer of the bank.
• The appointment of KVS Manian and Gaurang Shah is also subject to share­holders’ approval.

8. India to host U-17 Women’s World Cup in 2020

• India will host the U-17 Women’s World Cup in 2020, International Football Federation (FIFA) President Gianni Infantino announced.
• This will be the second FIFA tournament India will be hosting, after the U-17 Men’s World Cup in 2017
• The U-17 women’s tournament began in 2008, when New Zealand hosted it. Spain is the current champion and they had beaten Mexico 2-1 in the final in Uruguay last year. The tournament in India will be the seventh edition.

9. Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant to head transformative mobility panel

• Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant will head the National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage, which is being set up to promote clean and sustainable mobility initiatives in the country.
• The Union Cabinet on March 7 had approved setting up of the National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage.
• The panel will also propose and recommend policy guidelines and government interventions and possible strategies for holistic, sustainable and transformative mobility and energy storage in India.

10. Diksha Dagar becomes second Indian to win Ladies European Tour title

• Diksha Dagar became only the second Indian woman to win on Ladies European Tour after clinching the South African Open, eking out a one-shot victory with a bogey-free final round, in Cape Town.
• Dagar, 18, was trailing by two shots, but pipped the much-experienced Lee Anne Pace with a three-under final round.
• A left-hander, Diksha is well-known for brand of aggressive and fearless golf. Her brother, Yogesh, who is also deaf, also plays golf and has been playing in age-group events.