Today’s top news:

  1. The Ministry of Women and Child Development is celebrating the Poshan Pakhwada from March 16 to March 31, 2021 : Pakhwada are to address the nutritional challenges using the Food Forestry and to organize the Poshan Panchayats. Under it, the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) working under the Ministry of AYUSH, will distribute 4 samplings of the nutritional rich plants to each of the Anganwadi Centers. This will cater to the nutritional challenges.
  2. The Union Health Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, has been appointed as the chairman of “Stop TB Partnership Board”.
    It is to eradicate Tuberculosis (TB) from India by 2025. He will be serving the global body for a three-year term from July 2021.
  3. The Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, has introduced the Vehicle Scrapping Policy in the Lok Sabha which will come into effect from April 1, 2021. 51 lakhs of the light motor vehicles which are 20 years old and more will be scrapped under this policy. 34 lakhs of light motor vehicles are older than 15 years. 17 lakh medium & heavy commercial vehicles are older than 15 years.
  4. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that fugitive businessmen Vijaya Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi are “coming back” to India” to face the law.
  5. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote a letter to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal extending support over the contentious National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 : The Bill was introduced by Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy in Lok Sabha on Monday. It makes it mandatory for the Delhi government to take the opinion of the LG before any executive action in the national capital.
  6. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday (March 18) extended the night curfew in nine worst hit districts by two hours daily, by advancing it from 9 p.m. onwards. The nine districts where the night curfew has been extended were Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala, Mohali, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Ropar, all daily getting 100 plus positive cases.
  7. Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Thursday (March 18) demanded COVID-19 vaccination for the farmers protesting at the Delhi borders against the three contentious farm laws .
  8. The Bombay high court on Thursday directed the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) to look into allegations of irregularities in toll collection on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway .
  9. Toll collection rights for a 15-year period, from August 2004 to August 10, 2019, were awarded for an upfront payment of Rs 918 crore to a private firm with an expected revenue of Rs 4,330 crore. However, the actual revenue by July 31, 2019 was Rs 6,773 crore and the excess revenue of Rs 2,443 crore had been retained by the firm, it was stated. Meanwhile, the state government had decided to continue collecting toll on the Expressway till 2030 in the name of recovering project costs,
  10. Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that in the AatmaNirbhar Bharat Package announced on 12th October, 2020, the Government has earmarked Rs.200 crores each for 8 North EasternStates as a special interest-free 50-year loan to States under Capital Expenditure Boost for States package.
  11. BJP has released the list of candidates for the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth phases of West Bengal assembly elections . A total of 148 candidates have been named in the list.
  12. Arun Govil famous for his portrayal as Lord Ram in Ramayana TV series, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) : Govil started his career in Hindi films in the year 1977 with Tarachand Barjatya’s “Paheli”, which he followed up with other hits like ‘Sawan Ko Aane Do’ and ‘Saanch Ko Aanch Nahin’.
  13. COVID-19: Schools forced to shut again in Gujarat’s eight cities
    have suspended classes from March 19 to stop spread of the coronavirus. All classes which were being held in school premises in – Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Vadodara, Surat, Bhavnagar, Gandhinagar, Jamnagar and Junagadh will now not be held till April 10.
  14. The National Testing Agency (NTA) announced the result of JEE Main Paper 2 February 2021 examinations on Thursday (March 18). NTA has also released the final answer keys on its official portal. Candidates can visit the official website of JEE Main — jeemain.nta.nic.in to check their results.
  15. IndiGo to Commence Flight Operations to Rajkot From Rajkot to Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad as part of its summer 2021 schedule from March 28, 2021.
  16. Indian Naval Landing Craft Utility L58, the eighth and last ship of the Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Mark IV Class, was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 18th March 2021 at Port Blair. Indigenously designed and built by M/s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE), Kolkata.

✈INTERNATIONAL NEWS

  1. Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa says it’s time for India and Pak to bury the past and move forward.
  2. Operation Sankalp : Indian Navy undertakes Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with Royal Bahrain Naval Force. “Enhancing interoperability & strengthening bilateral Maritime cooperation.
  3. India delivers 20,000 litres of pesticide to Iran to fight locust swarms

🌎WORLD NEWS🌍

  1. A MI-17 Helicopter crash kills 9 Afghan troops in central province
  2. US Secretary of State urges China to convince North Korea to denuclearise. North Korea to abandon its nuclear programme, calling it a source of instability and danger.
  3. US Defence Secretary urged to discuss rights issues, Russian S-400 sale during India visit
    An top American Senator has urged US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin to take up with the Indian leaders the issue of India’s plan to purchase Russian S-400 missile defence system and concerns on human rights issues during his visit to New Delhi this week.
  4. The World Bank has approved USD 200 million in order to help Bangladesh. This amount will be used to provide support and services to low-income urban youths who have been impacted by COVID 19 pandemic and the migrants who lost their jobs.
  5. The French capital Paris is set to go into a month-long Covid lockdown as the country fears a third wave
  6. The Biden administration revealed the outlines of a plan to “loan” a limited number of vaccines to Canada and Mexico as the president announced the US is on the cusp of meeting his 100-day injection goal this week.
  7. North Korea cuts diplomat ties with Malaysia over US extradition ,: North Korea says it’ll cut diplomatic ties with Malaysia to protest its recent court ruling that allows a North Korean citizen to be extradited to the United States to face money laundering charges.

Sports:

Ind vs Eng

Ind – 185/8 (20 overs)
Eng – 177/8 (20 Overs)

India won by 8 runs

$USD 72.67 💷GBP 101.18
In Hyderabad (Telangana)
🥇Gold ₹46,040@10 gm 24 (Krt)
🥈 Silver ₹72,500@ Kg
⛽ Petrol ₹ 94.79
⛽ Diesel ₹ 88.87

LPG : ₹ 871.50 /14.2 Kg

BSE Sensex
Current 49,216.62

Facts about India

The Kohinoor diamond (originally 793 carats), mined from the Golconda region of Andhra Pradesh during the Kakatiya dynasty’s reign.

In 1852, Queen Victoria decided to reshape the diamond and it was cut down to 108.93 carats.

After the subjugation of Punjab in the Second Sikh War in 1849, Duleep Singh, the last Sikh ruler of Punjab, was ordered by the then governor general of India, Lord Dalhousie, to personally hand over the Kohinoor to the British Queen.

After Queen Victoria’s death, the Kohinoor was set in the crown of Queen Alexandra, the wife of Edward VII, that was used at their coronation in 1902. The diamond was transferred to Queen Mary’s crown in 1911, and finally to Queen Elizabeth’s crown in 1937.

Thought of the day

Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.

Joke of the day

Pappu Rishte Ke Liye Tasveer Khichwa Raha Tha
Peeche Gadha (Donkey) 🐴Bhi Tasveer Me Aa Gaya
Tho Pappu Ne Ye Likh Kar Tasveer Bheji-
‘I AM ON RIGHT”

GK Today💤

India’s First Open University Andhra Pradesh Open University

Why❓❓❓

Fatigue: Why do people get tired while travelling?

Travelling is stressful on the body, and stress can make you tired or fatigued. … Noise activates our stress hormones . So just sitting there is no longer a relaxing, low stress activity. Instead, your body is in a prolonged stressful state which takes it toll after a while.

Travel breaks routines – People have daily routines. Traveling almost always upsets that routine. The result of their routines changing causes them to become tired.

LEARN Sanskrit🙏🏻

ghee = घृतं | ghrutn,
धृत | dhrut

How it works ⁉

How Shoe Polish is prepared

Shoe polish (or boot polish), usually a waxy paste or a cream, is a consumer product used to shine.

Various substances have been used as shoe polish for hundreds of years, starting with natural substances such as wax and tallow. Modern polish formulae were introduced early in the 20th century and some products from that era,

It is usually made from a mix of natural and synthetic materials, including naphtha, turpentine, dyes, and gum arabic, using straightforward chemical engineering processes.

Shoe polish is manufactured in large, thermostated, stirred reactors. Steps are taken to ensure that volatile solvents do not evaporate. Typically, low-melting paraffin wax is melted, followed by the higher melting waxes, and finally the colorant-stearate mixture.

🛕 VEDIK GNAN

The Mahamrityunjaya Mantra, also known as the Rudra Mantra or Tryambakam Mantra, is a verse of the Rigveda. The sūkta is addressed to Tryambaka, “The Three-eyed One”, an epithet of Rudra who is identified with Shiva in Shaivism

ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम्‌। उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय माऽमृतात्।।

Aum Tryambakam yajaamahe sugandhim pushtivardhanam |
Urvaarukamiva bandhanaan-mrityormuksheeya maamritaat ||

I worship that fragrant Shiva of three eyes, the one who nourishes all living entities.
May he help us severe our bondage with samsara by making us realise that we are never separated from our immortal nature.

Source: Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra, Rigved 7.59.12

🧬 HEALTH CARE: HOME REMEDIES🩺

( Note : These home tips followed in villages/ancient traditions, it is up to you to use it or not🙏🏻)

Lemongrass contains several antioxidants, tea may help treat oral infections and cavities

lemongrass is a known diuretic. A diuretic makes you urinate more often, ridding your body of excess fluid and sodium. Diuretics are often prescribed if you have heart failure, liver failure, or edema.

Regards
CH. Naveen Kumar

🙏PLZ FOLLOW GOVT. NORMS, MAINT SOCIAL DISTANCE, KEEP YOURSELF & YOUR FAMILY SAFE🌼