1. India will grow by 6 pc next year: World Bank
i. "India is going to grow by 6 per cent next year and we hope for even more increase in future," World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said today in New Delhi.
ii. The GDP is estimated to have grown 5 per cent in the current fiscal and the growth rate is likely to improve to 6.1-6.7 per cent in 2013-14.
iii. On the positive node, it also had be seen that share of India in global economy almost doubled in five years between 2005 and 2010.
iv. Kim is on his first visit to Indiaafter taking over as President of World Bank Group in July 2012.
2. US and South Korea Started Joint Annual Military Drills
i. The US as well as South Korea started their annual military drills called Key Resolve on 11 March 2013 despite tensions with North Korea in context with the UN sanctions vote.
ii. The annual military drills came just a few days after UN approved the new sanctions on North Korea after it carried out the nuclear test in February 2013.
US-South Korea joint drills
i. The joint drills carried out by US and South Korea are called Key Resolve.
ii. These will last for two weeks and will include over 13000 troops. Apart from Key Resolve, another joint drill called Foal Eagle was on its way since the starting of March 2013.
iii.Both these exercises take place annually which prompt strong reactions from North Korea.
3. UK grants 5.11 billion nepali rupees aid to Nepal
i. The United Kingdom government through its Department for International Development (DFID) has extended a grant assistance. 5.11 billion nepali rupees to Nepal.
ii. The grant assistance is for the for the implementation of the Rural Access Programme-Phase III.
iii. The main objective of the programme is to help secure sustainable rural livelihood for the poor and disadvantaged people for improving income opportunities through employment generation, providing sustainable access to markets and improved access to economic opportunities in the rural programme areas.
4. Five Writers honoured with SAARC Literature Award 2013
i.SAARC Literature Award was presented to five writers at Agra during the two days SAARC Festival of Literature on 10 March 2013.
ii. A poet-diplomat from India Abhay K was among the five writers to be honoured with the prestigious Literature Award.
iii. Other writers to be honoured with this award were Farheen Chaudhary (Pakistan), Abdul Khaliq Rashid (Afghanistan), Suman Pokhrel (Nepal) and novelist Daya Dissanayake (Sri Lanka).
SAARC Literature Award
i. The award is annually presented to the eminent writers of the South Asian region for their contribution in the promotion of literature through their writings as well as literary initiatives.
ii. The SAARC Literature Festival 2013 focused on environment, literature and cultural connectivity.
iii. The First-Ever SAARC Writers Conference was organized in April 2000.
5. Former CBI Director Ashwani Kumar appointed Nagaland Governor
i. 62 year old Former CBI Director, Ashwani Kumar on 9 March 2013 appointed as Governor of Nagaland.
ii. Ashwani Kumar was the Director of the agency from August 2008 to November 2010.
iii.With the appointment of Ashwani Kumar Former Delhi Police Commissioner Nikhil Kumar, who was serving as Governor of Nagaland, has been transferred and appointed as Governor of Kerala for the remainder of his tenure.
iv. 72-year-old Nikhil Kumar is a 1963-batch IPS officer, who was appointed as Governor of Nagaland on 15 October 2009
Other appointments
i. President Pranab Mukherjee also transferred Governor of Tripura D Y Patil to Bihar and shifted Bihar Governor Devanand Konwar to Tripura for the remainder of their five-year terms.
ii. SC Jamir was appointed as Governor of Odhisa.
6. Akhilesh launches free laptop scheme for students
i. Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav launched free laptop scheme for intermediate pass students as promised in the manifesto during assembly elections last year.
ii. Samajwadi Party in its manifesto had promised to distribute free laptops to all intermediate students.
iii. Akhilesh Yadav said: "Laptop and internet has change everything, whether it is government functioning or field of education. We want that tomorrow the world should not say that we have not done internet-based progressive education.
7. Sistema wins telecom spectrum in 8 circles for Rs 3,639 cr
i. Russian conglomerate Sistema's Indian unit on Monday won telecom spectrum in eight circles or zones for Rs 3,639 crore in an auction shunned by all other companies.
ii. Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd (SSTL) bid to recover airwaves it lost when the Supreme Court last year scrapped 122 wireless mobile permits amid graft charges.
iii. "In other words, 40 per cent of the spectrum that was put for auction has been won,"
iv. In all 24 blocks in eight telecom circles or zones were allocated out of 61 blocks that were put for auction.
v. SSTL, which operates on the Code Division Multiple Acces (CDMA) platform, said it won spectrum in 800 MHz band in Delhi, Kolkata, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh (West) and West Bengal.
vi. The company would be required to pay Rs 3,639 crore for the license period and the terms include payment of 25 percent of the final bid amount within 10 days, followed by a payment moratorium until March 2016.
8. Former West Bengal Governor Viren J Shah passed away in Jordan
i. 86 years old Former West Bengal Governor and industrialist Viren J Shah died in Jordan on 9 March 2013 after a heart attack.
ii. Viren Shah went on for holiday to Jordan with his wife where suffered the heart attack.
NOTE: i. Viren Shah was born in Calcutta on 12 May 1926 and was educated at Bombay University. He is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.
ii. He was the Governor of West Bengal from 1999 to 2004.
9. 2014 Mrs India International to take place in Kolkata
i. The 2014 Mrs India International will be held in Kolkata.
ii. The pageant is being held in the US since its inception in 2008 but this year it’s been slated to come down to India
iii. Mrs India International is part of the Mrs International which is being held for over two decades.
iv. Adrita Khanna, the pageant event director, said - "In our appreciation of the variegated roles of women ofBengal , we believe Kolkata will fit the bill perfectly for such an event in 2014,"
10. Vidya Balan re-elected as Brand Ambassador of Indian Film Festival of Melbourne
i. Vidya Balan is all set to serve as the Brand Ambassador of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne for the second time in a row.
ii. Owing to her great popularity and charisma the 35-year-old actress was re-elected for the post at an official function in the entertainment capital Mumbai.
iii. Vidya Balan said: "It gives me great pleasure to be the Brand Ambassador for second term in a row for the Melbourne film Festival, there is a sense of ownership now, not just to do with the festival but I think Melbourne, where any one mentions Melbourne, I feel like they are mentioning home,"
11. Swedish Princess Lilian Davies Died
i. Swedish Princess Lilian Daviesdied in Stockholm on 10 March 2013. She was aged 97 years.
ii. The Swedish Princess Lilian Davies was born in Swansea, Wales in August 1915 in a working class family. The cause of her death is unknown, but she suffered from Alzheimer's disease.
iii. Lilian Davies became the princess of Sweden in 1976as well as the duchess of the southern province of Halland at Drottningholm Palace Chapel in Stockholm
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12. Comet Pan-STARRS to shine brightest this weekend
i. A new treat is awaiting the sky–gazers as Pan-STARRS, a recently discovered comet, will be visible with naked eyes and it will shine its brightest after sunset this weekend and in the week to come.
ii. Comet Pan-STARRS, the brightest comet in several years, will be visible with naked eyes in the evening twilight.
iii. The chances of seeing the comet in broad daylight would be extremely low because of the solar glare, but by March 12 and 13, the comet will be visible after sunset not far from the crescent moon, said C B Devgun, Director of Science Popularisation Association of Communicators and Educators (SPACE).
NOTE: The comet Pan-STARRS, known officially as C/2011 L4, is a non-periodic comet discovered in June 2011.
13. National Carrom:
i. Hyderabad-based Petroleum Sports Promotion Board players K Shrinivas and Rashmi Kumari have bagged the men's and women's titles in the 42nd Senior National and Inter-State Carrom Championships.
ii. In the Men's final at Akola on Sunday, Shrinivas outclassed Pune-based defending champion and world no. 3 Yogesh Pardeshi, also from PSPB 8-25, 25-18, 25-4.
iii. In the women's clash, top-seeded world champion Rashmi Kumari scored a 25-9, 25-18 win over PSPB teammate I Ilavazhaki to win the crown for the fifth time in her career.
14. India lose to South Korea in Azlan Shah Hockey
i. India lost to South Korea, 1-2 in their second round-robin match of the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey tournament at Ipoh in Malaysia yesterday.
ii. With this second consecutive loss, the Indian team will now find it difficult to qualify for the finals.
iii. India had lost 3-4 to defending champions Australia in their opening match on Saturday.
v. India will take on Pakistan tomorrow in their next round-robin fixture
15. Lionel Messi breaks another world record
i. Barcelona forward Lionel Messi broke a record from the 1930s when he scored for a 17th consecutive La Liga game, a 2-0 victory at home to bottom club Deportivo La Coruna.
ii. Messi now has 40 in the Primera Division this term, a total which would have been enough to win the Pichichi prize for the top scorer in every single season except the last one - which he himself claimed.
iii. Ronaldo held the previous record for scoring in consecutive games in La Liga with 10 during his time with Barcelona.
16. Mushfiqur slams Bangladesh's first Test 200
i. Mushfiqur Rahim become the first Bangladeshi player to score a double century in Test match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
ii. Mushfiqur established the highest individual score by a Bangladeshi batsman in the process in a patient knock in the scorching heat of Galle. His stand lasted for seven-and-half hours.
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