| The team which has the 2016-17 Deodhar Trophy cricket tournament defeating Indian B in the finals | Tamil Nadu |
| The 85-year old cinema theatre in New Delhi which has closed down permanently on 30 March 2017 with the screening of Raj Kapoor's films Mera Naam Joker and Sangam | Regal Cinema |
| The first woman to be commissioned as a combat officer in the Border Security Force in its 51-year history | Tanushree Pareek |
| The team which has won the 71st edition of Santosh Trophy football tournament defeating Goa in the finals | West Bengal |
| The Long Range Maritime Patrol aircraft of the Indian Navy which has been de-inducted at a ceremony held at INS Rajali, Arakkonam | TU-142M |
| The venue of World Conference on Environment 2017 organised by National Green Tribunal from 25 to 26 March 2017 | New Delhi |
| The rank of India in the Global Architecture Performance Index 2017 released by World Economic Forum (Switzerland, Norway and Sweden ranked 1, 2 and 3 respectively) | 87 |
| The private sector bank which has launched a mobile banking app for rural customers named Mera iMobile (available in eleven Indian languages) | ICICI Bank |
| The French mathematician who has been awarded the 2017 Abel Prize for his work on wavelets, a mathematical theory with applications in data compression, medical imaging and the detection of gravitational waves | Yves Meyer |
| The city in which the Indian Space Research Organisation has commissioned world's third largest hypersonic wind tunnel which will help in the launch of aerospace vehicles at hypersonic speed | Thiruvanantapuram |
| India's rank in the World Happiness Report 2017 published by United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (with Norway, Denmark and Iceland in the top 3 positions) | 122 |
| The team which has won the 2016-17 Vijay Hazare Trophy defeating Bengal in the finals becoming the only team to win it five times | Tamil Nadu |
| The joint military exercise conducted by the armies of India and Oman at Bakloh in Himachal Pradesh from Mar 6 to Mar 19 was named | Al-Nagah-II 2017 |
| The Indian cricketer who has set a new Indian record for having played the longest innings by facing 525 balls in a test match against Australia (Rahul Dravid held the record of facing 495 balls in 2004) | Cheteswar Pujara |
| The former director of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, (he first proposed a link between the El Nino phenomenon and the Indian monsoon and was known as Father of Indian Meteorology), who passed away on 18 March 2017 | Dev Raj Sikka |
| The venue of 3-day International Conference on Buddhism in the 21st Century – Perspectives and Responses to Global Challenges and Crises held from 17 to 19 Mar 17 (Inaugurated by His Holiness Dalai Lama and closing address by the Indian President Shri Pranab Mukherjee) | Rajgir, Bihar |
| The place in Himachal Pradesh at which India's first Pristine air-quality monitoring station has been dedicated to the nation by National Physical Laboratory | Palampur |
| The Indian cricketer who has been appointed United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Cricket for Good ambassador for the upcoming ICC’s Women’s World Cup 2017 which is scheduled from June 24-23 July | Sachin Tendulkar |
| The rank of India in the Women in Politics (Women in Ministerial Positions) report released by UN Women and Inter-Parliamentary Union recently (first position - Bulgaria) | 88 |
| The rank of India in the Women in Politics (Women in Parliament) report released by UN Women and Inter-Parliamentary Union recently (first position - Rwanda) | 148 |
| The eminent Indian scientist who has been conferred Honorary D. Litt by Mumbai University (presented by the President Shri Pranab Mukherjee) | M.S. Swaminathan |
| The river in New Zealand which has been granted the legal status of a person for the first time in the world | Whanganui River |
| The Chairman of International Cricket Council who has resigned from his post after being in office for less than a year | Shashank Manohar |
| The theme of Commonwealth Day observed on 13 March 2017 (second Monday of March) by Commonwealth of Nations | A Peace-building Commonwealth |
| The Indian golfer who has won the Indian Open Golf tournament for the second successive time | SSP Chawrasia |
| The place in Kerala where NTPC has installed India's largest floating solar photo voltaic plant | Kayamkulam |
| The badminton player from Taiwan who has won the All England Open Badminton Championship Women's Singles title | Tai Tzu-ying |
| The Malaysian player who has won the All England Open Badminton Championships Men's Singles title | Lee Chong Wei |
| The mission launched by the Central Government to achieve Blue Revolution (development of fisheries) is named | Mission Fingerling |
| The Konkani writer who has been awarded the Saraswati Samman 2016 for his novel Hawthan | Mahabaleshwar Sail |
| The only black woman to be nominated for three Academy Awards who has been named Harvard's Artist of the Year 2017 | Viola Davis |
| The period of maternity leave which has been allowed under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 with the Materntiy Benefits (Amendments) Bill, 2016 passed by the Parliament recently | 26 weeks |
| The theme of International Women's Day observed on 08 March 2017 | Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030; #Be Bold for Change |
| The Bengaluru based institution which has become the first Indian institute to be ranked (at 8th position) in the Top-10 list of Times Higher Education list of best small universities | Indian Institute of Science |
| The place in gujarat where India's longest Extra-dosed bridge (across Narmada) was dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi | Bharuch |
| The 11th edition of 14 day Indo-Nepal Joint Military Exercise being conducted at Pithoragarh (Uttarakhand) with the participation of elite DURGA BAKSH Battalion of Nepal and the EKTA SHAKTI Battalion of The Punjab Regiment | Surya Kiran - XI |
| The place in Punjab where country's largest national flag measuring 120 x 80 feet has been hoisted atop a 360-feet tall flag post | Attari (Amritsar) |
| The venue of 3 day festival Destination North East 2017 being organised by Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region from 6 to 8 March 2017 | Chandigarh |
| The American physician and researcher who passed away on 04 March 2017 (He had performed the first human liver transplant in 1963, and the first successful human liver transplant in 1967) | Thomas E Starzl |
| The Weapon Locating Radar (WLR) developed by DRDO and handed over to Indian Army for induction is named | SWATHI |
| The State which is scheduled to hold India's biggest river festival Namami Brahmaputra from March 31 to April 4 | Assam |
| The Pakistan diplomat who has been elected to the post of Secretary General of SAARC succeeding Nepal's Arjun Bahadur Thapa | Amjad Hussein B Sial |
| The former Portuguese footballer who has been appointed the head coach of India's U-17 football team by the All India Football Federation | Luis Norton De Matos |
| The Telecom Secretary who has been chosen to be India's permanent representative to the World Trade Organisation with effect from 01 June 2017 | J.S. Deepak |
| The place in Haryana from which Swachh Shakti Saptah was launched by Union Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar | Gurugram |
| The columnist, humorist, writer and playwright famous for his column Duniya Ne Undha Chasma in Gujarati who passed away on 01 Mar 2017 | Tarak Mehta |
Rekha - The Untold Story - Yasser Usman
The Rise of Sivagami: Book 1 of bahubali - Anand Neelakanthan
Designated by: UNAIDS
Theme: Make Some Noise for #Zero Discrimination
First Observed in: 2014
Designated by: United nations General Assembly
Theme: Listen to the Young Voices
First Observed in: 2014
Designated by: W.H.O.
Theme: Action for Hearing Loss, Make a Sound Investment
First Observed in: 2007
Designated by: International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and the International Federation of Kidney Foundations (IFKF)
Theme: Kidney Disease and Obesity
First Observed in: 2006
Designated by: Consumers International
Theme: Building a Digital World Consumers can Trust
First Observed in: 1983
Designated by: UN General Assembly
First Observed in: 2013
Designated by: UN General Assembly
Theme: Racial profiling and incitement to hatred, including in the context of migration
First Observed in: 1966
Designated by: UN General Assembly
Theme: Forests and Energy
First Observed in: 2013
Designated by: UNESCO
First Observed in: 2000
Designated by: UN General Assembly
Theme: MyVoiceMyCommunity – Enabling people with Down syndrome to speak up, be heard and influence government policy and action, to be fully included in the community
First Observed in: 2012
Designated by: UN General Assembly
Theme: Why Waste Water
First Observed in: 1993
Designated by: WHO
Theme: Unite to end TB: Leave no one behind
First Observed in: 1982
Designated by: UN General Assembly
First Observed in: 2011
Designated by: UN General Assembly
Theme: Remember Slavery: Recognising the Legacy and Contributions of People of African Descent
First Observed in: 2008
For the complete list of recipients of Nari Shakti Puraskar 2016 visit this page.
Visit this page for a detailed article on Objectives of National Health Policy 2017.
Visitor’s Award for the Best University 2017 - Jawaharlal Nehru University
Visitor’s Award for Innovation - Dr. Deepak Pant from Central University of Himachal Pradesh
Visitor’s Award for Research - Dr. Shyam Sunder from Banaras Hindu University and Prof. Niranjan Karak from Tezpur University.
Col. CK. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award: Rajinder Goel, Padmakar Shivalkar
BCCI Lifetime Achievement Award for Women: Shantha Rangaswamy
BCCI Special award: VV Kumar, Late Ramakant Desai
Polly Umrigar Award: Virat Kohli
Dilip Sardesai award (For India’s best cricketer in the West Indies series 2016): Ravichandran Ashwin
Jagmohan Dalmiya Award [Best Woman cricketer (Sr.) of 2015-16]: Mithali Raj of Railways
Jagmohan Dalmiya Award [Best Woman cricketer (Jr.) of 2015-16]: Deepti Sharma of Uttar Pradesh
Best Umpire in Domestic cricket in 2015-16: Nitin Menon
Best performance in BCCI Domestic tournaments of 2015-16: Mumbai Cricket Association
Click to see more BCCI Awards
Lala Amarnath Award for the best all-rounder in the Ranji Trophy 2015-16: Jalaj Saxena of Madhya Pradesh
Lala Amarnath Award for the best all-rounder in domestic limited-overs competitions, 2015-16: Axar Patel of Gujarat
Madhavrao Scindia Award (Highest scorer in the Ranji Trophy 2015-16): Shreyas Iyer of Mumbai
Madhavrao Scindia Award (Highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy 2015-16): Shahbaz Nadeem of Jharkhand
M.A. Chidambaram Trophy (Highest scorer in (U-23) Col. CK. Nayudu Trophy 2015-16: Jay. G. Bosta of Mumbai
M.A. Chidambaram Trophy (Highest wicket-taker in (U-23) Col. CK. Nayudu Trophy 2015-16: Satyajeet Bachhav of Maharashtra
NKP Salve Award (Highest scorer in (U-19) Cooch Behar Trophy in 2015-16: Arman Jaffer of Mumbai
NKP Salve Award (Highest wicket-taker in (U-19) Cooch Behar Trophy in 2015-16: Ninad Rathva of Baroda
Raj Singh Dungarpur Award ( Highest scorer in (U-16) Vijay Merchant Trophy in 2015-16): Abhishek Sharma of Punjab
Raj Singh Dungarpur Award ( Highest wicket-taker in (U-16) Vijay Merchant Trophy in 2015-16): Abhishek Sharma of Punjab
Lifetime Achievement Award: Shri Raghu Rai
Professional Photographer of the Year: Shri K.K. Mustafah
Amateur Photographer of the Year: Shri Ravinder Kumar
National Photography Award is an annual event organized by Photo Division a media unit under Ministry of I&B. The theme for this year’s awards for Professional category was Skilled India, while in the Amateur category the topic was Swatch Bharat.
The Government has designated the following Olympians as National Observers who will play a key role in implementation of action plans for Mission Olympics 2020, 2024 and 2028.
| Sports | National Observers |
|---|---|
| Athletics | Ms. P.T. Usha and Ms. Anju Bobby George |
| Archery | Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Singh |
| Badminton | Ms. Aparna Popat |
| Boxing | Ms. Mary Kom and Shri Akhil Kumar |
| Hockey | Shri Jagbir Singh |
| Shooting | Shri Abhinav Bindra |
| Tennis | Shri Somdev Devvarman |
| Weightlifting | Ms. Karnam Malleshwari |
| Wrestling | Shri Sushil Kumar |
| Football | Shri I.M. Vijayan |
| Swimming | Shri Khajan Singh |
| Table Tennis | Shri Kamlesh Mehta |
On March 18, 2017 the Railway Minister Shri Suresh Prabhu flagged off the first made-in-India rake, Medha from Dadar to Borivali.
Medha rake costs Rs .43.23 crore, which is approximately Rs. 1 crore less than German-made Bombardier rake, which is Rs. 44.36 crore.
Medha has been manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, which has installed LED lighting to reduce energy consumption.
The rake can run at a speed of 110 kmph, whereas local trains don’t run above 90 or 100 kmph. Like the existing rakes, this train has cushioned seats in first class and stainless steel seats in general compartments. The rake has a capacity of 6,050 passengers and the number of seats is 1,168.
Uttar Pradesh : Yogi Adityanath
Uttarakhand : Trivendra Singh Rawat
Punjab : Capt Amarinder Singh
Goa : Shri Manohar Parrikar
Manipur : Biren Singh
Operation Thunder Bird was an initiative launched by INTERPOL. It involved police, customs, border agencies, environment, wildlife and forestry officials from 43 countries and territories. It resulted in a range of seizures including, 60 tonnes of wood and timber, 4,770 birds, 1,240 reptiles including at least 560 turtles and tortoises, 100 wild cats, 2.75 tonnes of pangolin scales, 2.54 tonnes of raw and processed ivory and 25 tonnes of various animal parts, including meat, horns and feathers.
In India, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, coordinated Operation Thunder Bird, from January 30 to February 19, 2017.
A total of 2, 524 Live species of scheduled animals, 19.2 kg of elephant ivory, 1 tiger skin, 9 carcasses of wild animals, 1 organ pipe coral, 1 jar snake venom, 8 leopard skins and 1 Indian Mujtac skin was seized and 71 persons were arrested during the operation.
The operation saw an overwhelming response from the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Uttrakhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
In-Residence Programme was launched by the President of India on December 11, 2013, to encourage the creative and innovative potential of people and open up Rashtrapati Bhavan for greater participation and involvement of citizens in its activities.
Ten Innovation Scholars, two Writers and two Artists selected commenced their stay in Rashtrapati Bhavan on March 3, 2017. They will be in residence till March 18, 2017.
| Person | Innovation |
|---|---|
| Shri Surjeet Singh (Haryana) | Surjeet Basmati 1- a high yielding and salt tolerant paddy variety) |
| Shri Moa Subong (Nagaland) | Bamhum – an innovative wind musical instrument |
| Shri Ajay Kumar Sharma (Uttar Pradesh) | Farmer friendly compressor for biogas bottling |
| Shri Akash Manoj (Tamil Nadu) | A non-invasive self diagnosis of silent heart attack |
| Shri Girish Badragond (Karnataka) | Low cost bore-well scanners |
| Shri Mansukhbhai Prajapati (Gujarat) | Mitti cool refrigerator, non-stick clay tawa and clay cooker |
| Shri Subhash Ola (Rajasthan) | Modified milk boiler |
| Ms. Shalini Kumari (Bihar) | Modified walker with adjustable legs |
| Shri Paresh Panchal (Gujarat) | Bamboo strip, incense stick and incense making machine |
| Smt. Santosh Pachar (Rajasthan) | Laxmangarh selection: improved carrot variety |
Writers who are staying at the Rashtrapati Bhavan are Dr. Ashok Kumar P. Chavda from Gujarat who is recipient of Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar and Bengali poet, Shri Prabal Kumar Basu who received Gouri Bhattacharjee Memorial Award for his first book of poems ‘Tumeei Pratham’.
Artists who are staying at Rashtrapati Bhavan are Shri Rahul Shailendra Kokaste winner of 50th Maharashtra State Award, 2010 and Shri Dheeraj Yadav winner of 57th Lalit Kala Academy 2016 Award.
Formerly known as HMS Hermes
Recommissioned in Indian Navy: 12 May 1987
Decommissioned : 06 March 2017
Guests of Honour at the ceremony: Admiral Sir Philip Jones, KCB, ADC, First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff of Royal Navy and Vice Admiral Vinod Pasricha, PVSM, AVSM, NM the commissioning Commanding Officer of INS Viraat.
Chief Guest: Admiral Sunil Lanba, PVSM, AVSM, ADC, Chief of the Naval Staff
A Special Postal Cover released to commemorate 30 years of Glorious Service to The Nation by INS Viraat
INS Viraat holds the world record as mentioned in the Guinness Book of records for being the longest serving warship of the world.
Under the Indian Flag, the ship has clocked more than 22,622 flying hours by various aircraft in the past three decades and has spent nearly 2252 days at sea sailing across 5,88,287 nautical miles (10,94,215 KM). This implies that Viraat has spent seven years at sea, circumnavigating the globe 27 times.
Aircraft carriers now in Indian Navy: INS Vikramaditya.
To be inducted shortly: INS Vikrant.
1. Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences is a laboratory of the
2. Operation Save Kurma was launched by Wildlife Crime Control Bureau to save which of the following?
3. Sri Venkateswara Airport is the new name of airport at which of the following cities?
4. With which sport is Jitu Rai associated?
5. Copernicus is an earth observation program launched by -
6. Which country is the largest producer of cotton?
7. Who was the first woman President of South Korea?
8. Who was the Chairman of the Committee constituted to suggest ways to strengthen border protection and address vulnerabilities in fencing along the Indo-Pakistan border?
9. The first officially recognised cricket test match was played between which two countries?
10. Which country has launched its population census after a gap of 19 years?
11. On which day in March is the World Sparrow Day observed?
12. Which High Court recently ruled that parents can evict their abusive adult children from their house?
13. Which High Court recently declared Indian rivers, the Ganga and Yamuna as living entities, bestowing on them same legal rights as a person?
14. On which day is the Bihar Diwas observed?
15. Which country is also called the Hellenic Republic?
16. Which neighbouring country observes March 26 as its National Day?
17. Which organisation founded the Earth Hour in 2007?
18. From which of the following countries does India import electricity?