TOP NEWS OF THE DAY:              

                                                                               DATE:22/03/2024

1.  The Election Commission on Thursday made public a data set of electoral bonds including their numbers that can help match their purchasers with the political parties that received the funds. The separate lists of the donors and the recipients were published by the poll body on its website after the details were submitted to it by the State Bank of India after the order of the Supreme Court.

2.  The procurement of mustard in Haryana will commence from March 26 and wheat procurement will start from April 1.  The preparations for the rabi season 2024-25 are complete. The minimum support price (MSP) has been fixed at Rs 5,650 per quintal for mustard and Rs 2,275 per quintal for wheat for this season. 

3.  The sub-orbital launch of India’s second privately developed rocket, which was scheduled for Friday early morning, has been postponed.

Chennai headquartered space startup Agnikul Cosmos has postponed its test launch of the “AGNIBAAN SOrTeD” (Sub Orbital Technology Demonstrator) that was scheduled for March 22, 2024. While the exact reason for postponing was not known immediately. 

4.  The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has commenced snow clearance works to restore access to Ladakh region from Manali side.  A team of highly skilled engineers of 111 Road Construction Company of 753 Border Roads Task Force, equipped with advanced snow-clearing machines, has been employed for this massive task. 

5.  BJP has released a list of nine candidates for Tamil Nadu for the coming Lok Sabha elections. State unit chief K Annamalai has been fielded from Coimbatore and former Telangana Governor Tamilsai Soundrarajan from Chennai South seat.

6.  Telugu Desam president Nara Chandrababu Naidu and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan met again at the former’s residence in Hyderabad on Thursday to sort out issues in candidate- selections. The two discussed names of nominees for the un-announced seats, change of nominees in allotted seats based on chances of win, a common poll strategy and release of a common manifesto.

7.  Manipur CM N Biren Singh has asked the Centre for a “special” financial grant of Rs 2,000 crore to offset the loss in tax revenue due to the unrest since last May. 

8.  Senior JD(S) leader C S Puttaraju on Thursday said the party's state President H D Kumaraswamy will be contesting as the NDA candidate from Mandya Lok Sabha segment. Though there is no official announcement yet, speculations are rife among both alliance partners -- BJP and JD(S) . 

9.  The Congress on Thursday released its third list of candidates for the upcoming elections where it fielded three sitting MLAs for the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra. According to the list, three-time Solapur City Central MLA Praniti Shinde (43), daughter of former Union minister Sushilkumar Shinde, will contest from Solapur, while Kasbapeth legislator Ravindra Dhangekar will fight the polls from Pune. 

10.  Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has reached out to Arvind Kejriwal's family and assured them of his support after the Enforcement Directorate arrested the Delhi Chief Minister on Thursday, as per party sources.

LEGAL REPORT:

Chief Justice of India:

Shri Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud

#Minister Of Law & Justice : Arjun Ram Meghwal

#International Court Of Justice Prz. :  Nawaf Salam

××××××××××××××××××××××

1.  The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday night arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in an excise policy-linked money laundering case, officials said.

2.  Acting on the directions of anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal, the CBI on Thursday registered an FIR against former Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra in the cash-for-query case. 

3.  The National Investigation Agency, NIA chargesheeted three persons engaged in conspiracy, fabrication of explosives and IEDs, and fund-raising for the global terror organisation ISIS. The chargesheet was filed before the NIA Special Court, Patiala House, New Delhi on Thursday.

×××××××××××××××××××××××

            FINANCE 

#Minister: Nirmala Sitharaman.

#Commerce & Industry : Piyush Goyal

#RBI Gvrnr: Shaktikanta Das

#President of the World Bank : Ajay Banga

#IMF MD: Kristalina Georgieva

××××××××××××××××××××××

💰 USD  ₹  83

💷 GBP  ₹ 106

€  Euro : ₹ 91

 🇨🇳 Yen ¥ : ₹ 12

********************

 GDP(PPP ) :

purchasing power parity (PPP)

 $13.119 trillion 

 GDP (nominal) 

: $3.73 trillion 

(Nominal means total market value of all goods and services produced in a country's economy) . 

 

 GDP growth :  7.6%

India is the fifth largest economy in the world. 

 Inflation rate :  Retail Inflation 5.69% in Dec 2023

 Population : 143.86 cr  

(17.7% of the total world population).

 Unemployment : 6.8%

 Per capita: This income is also known as average income as it is calculated by dividing the total income of the country by the total population of the country.

 GDP per capita 

 $2,845 (Nominal; 2024) 

 $9,983 (PPP; 2024)

************************

 BSE SENSEX 

72,641.19 +539.50 (0.75%)🌲

 NIFTY

22,011.95 +172.85 (0.79%)🌲

 ***********************

 Rates in Financial Capital Mumbai 

 GOLD : ₹ 65,600/10gm (24 krt) 

 SILVER : ₹ 77,000/KG

**************************

 ⛽ FUEL in DELHI 

**************************

 PETROL : ₹ 95/Ltr

 DIESEL : ₹ 88/Ltr 

 CNG  : ₹ 76/Ltr

 LPG : ₹ 903/14.2 Kg 

******************

 ⛽ FUEL in MUMBAI 

********************

 PETROL  : ₹ 104/Ltr

 DIESEL   : 93/Ltr

 Auto Gas : ₹ 60/Ltr

 CNG    : 76/Kg

 LPG    : ₹ 903/14.2 Kg 

1.  In January 2024, the index of mineral production in the mining and quarrying sector stood at 144.1, indicating a 5.9% increase compared to January 2023. The cumulative growth for April-January 2023-24 over the corresponding period of the previous year is recorded at 8.3%.

2.  The National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) is gearing up to introduce the BhashaNet portal during the upcoming Universal Acceptance (UA) Day. This initiative aims to advance digital inclusion and linguistic diversity in India, showcasing collaborative efforts between NIXI and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

3.  Top donors  to BJP since 2019 under an opaque funding scheme that has now been scrapped included Megha Engineering, Reliance affiliate Qwik Supply Chain, MKJ Enterprises and Vedanta, data made public on Thursday showed.

The data, released by the Election Commission of India under orders of the country's Supreme Court, showed top donors to the main opposition Congress party also included Megha Engineering and its affiliates, Vedanta and MKJ Enterprises. 

4.  The State Bank of India told the Supreme Court on Thursday it has provided the Election Commission all details of electoral bonds, including the unique bond number that would reveal the link between the purchaser and the recipient political party. 

×××××××××××××××××××××××

DEFENCE:....

#Supreme Commander of Armed Forces: The President

#Def Minister: Rajnath Singh

#Def Minister of State :

Ajay Bhatt

#Union Home : Amit Shah

#National Security Advisor : Ajit Doval

#Chief of Defence Staff:  

Gen Anil Chauhan, PVSM UYSM AVSM SM VSM

×××××××××××××××××××××××

1.  Exercise 'Tiger Triumph 2024', a bilateral, tri-service exercise between India and the US, entered day 3 of its Harbour phase on Wednesday.  The opening ceremony of the exercise took place onboard INS Jalashwa on 19 March.

"The exercise represents the robust strategic partnership between both countries and aims to share best practices and Standard Operating Procedures in undertaking multinational HADR operations," the Ministry of Defence said in an official release. 

2.   India's 21st Century Pushpak 'Viman',  a reuseable launch Vehicle is Set for Launch. A sleek, SUV-sized winged rocket is ready for its experimental flight at a defence airfield in Karnataka. The rocket will be launched at 7 am today from the Chalakere Runway.

3.  The MQ9-B Sky Guardian Aircraft being sold to India by the US would be equipped with highly sensitive surveillance and lethal attack equipment including hellfire missile, and laser small diameter bombs. 

4.  One Helicopter Unit has been inducted at Air Force Station Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, a move that will ensure availability of sufficient resources with the Southern Air Command's headquarters to enhance operational capabilities as well as meet peacetime tasks. The Southern Air Command (SAC) is based in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

5.  The Indian Army has taken a significant step by introducing an initial lot of seven indigenous integrated drone detection and interdiction systems (IDD&IS) for deployment along the northern borders with China. These systems, produced by DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organization) and Bharat Electronics, serve a crucial role in countering hostile drones. 

××××××××××××××××××××××

INTERNATIONAL AND WORLD NEWS:...

+++++++++++++++++++

#External affairs Minister:  S Jaishankar

×××××××××××××××××××××××× 

1.  PM Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin today as he congratulated the Russian leader on his re-election and reiterated that dialogue and diplomacy are the way forward in resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict.Both leaders in their telephonic conversation reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on regional and global issues. 

2.  The United States recognises Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory and "strongly opposes" any unilateral attempts to advance territorial claims by China across the Line of actual Control, State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said.

3.  The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday signed a Working Arrangement with Europol, the law enforcement authority of the European Union countries, to combat crime and enhance cooperation between the two agencies. 

4.  A seven-member parliamentary delegation led by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh left on Thursday to attend the five-day 148th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) being organised in Geneva, Switzerland.The delegation, attending the event scheduled between March 23 and 27, will raise issues like parliamentary diplomacy, and building bridges for peace and understanding. 

5.  Indian diplomat Prashant Pise has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Slovenia, the Ministry of External Affairs said. 

6.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday expressed gratitude for India's support for Kyiv's sovereignty and territorial integrity amid its war against Russia, adding that India's participation at the peace formula meetings is very important for Ukraine. 

7.  Indian government has initiated operation INDRAVATI to evacuate its citizens from the violence hit nation of Haiti. S. Jaishankar, the Minister of External Affairs, said. 

××××××××××××××××××××××××

🌎 WORLD NEWS 🌍

UNO Gen. Secy : António Guterres. 

========================

1.  Several Japanese lawmakers belonging to the ruling and opposition political parties have urged Prime Minister Fumio Kishida-led government to investigate links between carmakers and forced labour in the aluminium industry in China's Xinjiang area, a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated.

2.  ACTIVIST SAMMI BALOCH BLAMES PAKISTAN FOR ALLEGED ATROCITIES ON BALOCH PEOPLE: Baloch rights activist Sammi Deen Baloch virtually participated and presented her views in the 38th meeting of the ongoing 55th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council on Thursday.Sammi spoke on Pakistan's alleged atrocities against the Baloch community during her intervention at the meeting. 

3.  A political activist from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir criticized Pakistan at the United Nations for disregarding human rights and failing to maintain law and order in the occupied region.During the 55th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, Mahmood Kashmiri, President, UK Europe Zone of United Kashmir People's National Party, expressed deep concern about the state of human rights. 

4.  The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Thursday (Mar 21) unanimously adopted the first global resolution on artificial intelligence (AI). The resolution is aimed at encouraging personal data protection, monitoring AI for risks, and safeguarding human rights. 

************************

SPORT:..

Minister: Anurag Singh Thakur

#BCCI president: 

Roger Binny 

#Hockey India President:

Dilip Tirkey

#16th President of the Indian Olympic Association : P. T. Usha

*************************

1.  Veteran table tennis player and CWG champion Sharath Kamal will be India's flag bearer at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games while legendary boxer MC Mary Kom was on Thursday appointed the chef de mission of the country's contingent. 

2.  Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) decision to ban Russia's athletes from the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics in July was unjust and unacceptable.

3.  The 2024 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad. The Olympic Games Paris 2024 will take place in France from 26 July to 11 August.   

4.  In Nagaland, the 3rd edition of the North East Games 2024 kick-started with a glittering opening ceremony at the Regional Centre for Sporting Excellence, Sovima. The Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio officially declared the games open.

More than 3000 athletes from eight North Eastern states are competing in 15 disciplines being held across 12 venues in three districts – Chumoukedima, Dimapur, and Kohima.

5.  UPCOMING INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE @2024 

(IPL 17/ TATA IPL 2024) 

 17th edition of the Indian Premier League, a franchise Twenty20 cricket league in India, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India. 

The tournament will feature ten teams and will be held from 22 March to 26 May 2024.

Participants: 10

Matches: 74

""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

 TEAMS & Captains

 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

Chennai Super Kings 

 MS Dhoni 

Delhi Capitals 

Rishabh Pant 

Kolkata Knight Riders 

Shreyas Iyer 

Gujarat Titans  

Shubman Gill 

Lucknow Super Giants 

KL Rahul 

Mumbai Indians 

Hardik Pandya 

Punjab Kings  

Shikhar Dhawan 

Rajasthan Royals  

Sanju Samson 

Royal Challengers Bengaluru 

Faf Du Plessis 

Sunrisers Hyderabad 

Pat Cummins.