1. India-Seychelles joint military exercise ‘Lamitie-2026’ begins in Seychelles
A contingent of the Indian Armed Forces has arrived in Seychelles to participate in the 11th edition of the joint military exercise “Lamitie-2026” with the Seychelles Defence Forces . The joint exercise is being conducted at the Seychelles Defence Academy from March 9 to March 20, 2026. ” Lamitie ” means ” friendship ” in Creole . This biennial training event has been held in Seychelles since 2001. The joint military exercise involves personnel from the Assam Regiment, along with personnel from the Indian Navy and Air Force. The Indian Navy warship INS Trikand and the Indian Air Force’s C-130 aircraft are also part of the exercise.
Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupendra Yadav on Monday announced that Namibian cheetah Jwala, who has successfully become a mother for the third time , has given birth to five cubs in Kuno National Park . In a post on the social media platform X, the minister stated that with this birth, the number of healthy cubs born in India has risen to 33, marking the 10th successful breeding of cheetahs on Indian soil and another significant milestone in India’s cheetah conservation journey. The Union Minister described this as a moment of immense pride for Project Cheetah and said that this achievement reflects the dedicated efforts, skills, and commitment of veterinarians, field staff, and everyone associated with the project, who have been working tirelessly on the ground. He also stated that with the arrival of these cubs, the total number of cheetahs in India has reached 53.
3 Nepal: Balendra Shah set to be the next Prime Minister
In Nepal, rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah , a prominent figure in the Zen-Zi movement that emerged in September last year, is set to become the next Prime Minister . His party, the Rashtriya Swatantra Party, has won a landslide victory in the parliamentary elections . The party has won 122 of the 165 directly elected seats in the House of Representatives and is leading in three seats. This is the largest electoral majority since Nepal’s democracy was established. The Election Commission has so far declared results for 159 of the 165 seats. 35-year-old Balendra Shah defeated four-time Prime Minister of Nepal and CPN-UML Chairman K.P. Sharma Oli by about 50,000 votes.
A major joint military exercise between the United States and South Korea has begun. Thousands of soldiers are participating in it. This exercise is taking place during America’s involvement in the West Asia war. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff stated that approximately 18,000 South Korean soldiers will participate in the Freedom Shield exercise . This exercise will continue until March 19. The US military has not specified the number of American soldiers involved. Allied countries have stated that this exercise is defensive in nature.
5 National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) releases first Annual Report on National Highways – Green Cover Index (NH-GCI) for the year 2025-26
With the aim of providing a quantitative assessment of tree cover along national highways , the National Highways Authority of India (NHAE) has released the first-of-its-kind annual report on the National Highway Green Cover Index (NH-GCI) 2025-26 . The report was prepared in collaboration with the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) . This initiative aims to provide a scientific and quantitative assessment of green cover within the right-of-way (ROW) of the national highway network by leveraging advanced space-based technologies. This assessment is derived from chlorophyll content detected by high-resolution satellite sensors, allowing for an objective, technology-based measurement of the presence of vegetation on the left and right sides of highways. The NH-GCI is expressed as a percentage value, representing the proportion of land covered by green cover within the ROW of national highways at the kilometer level. Its first assessment cycle covers approximately 30,000 km of national highways spread across 24 states for the period July-December 2024. Year-on-year changes will be followed in subsequent annual cycles to monitor gradual improvements in green cover.
Hurun Research Institute released the 15th edition of the Hurun Global Rich List 2026 , in which Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Mukesh Ambani emerged as the richest person in India and Asia with a net worth of ₹ 9.8 lakh crore . India now has 308 billionaires, with the new additions taking India to the third position globally in terms of the number of billionaires. India added 57 new billionaires this year, the highest number outside the two largest economies, but 27 people also dropped out of the list. The total wealth of Indian billionaires increased by 10 percent year-on-year to ₹112.6 trillion, with 199 individuals seeing an increase in their wealth. Around 109 individuals saw their wealth either decrease or remain the same. Seven percent of Indian billionaires were women. Gautam Adani , head of the Adani Group, remained the second richest Indian despite a 14 per cent decline in his wealth, bringing his net worth down to ₹7.5 trillion .
7 Chile became the first country in the Americas to eradicate leprosy.
The World Health Organization (WHO) , in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), officially verified that Chile has eliminated leprosy as a public health problem . With this milestone, Chile becomes the first country in the Americas and the second in the world, after Jordan , to achieve this recognition . According to the WHO and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Chile has been without a local leprosy case for more than 30 years, with the last detected case in 1993. Chile is now the 61st country worldwide and the sixth in the Americas to have eliminated at least one Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD). This supports PAHO’s Disease Elimination Initiative, which targets more than 30 communicable diseases by 2030.
The Central Government has launched a social media campaign called ‘ Say No To Proxy Sarpanch ‘ on March 8, 2026. This campaign is to create awareness about the practice of ‘ Sarpanch Pati ‘. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) has announced this. This campaign has been launched on the occasion of International Women’s Day (March 8). Its aim is to give real power to women Sarpanches in Gram Panchayats. When a woman is elected Sarpanch but her husband or a male relative runs all the work and takes decisions in her name, this system is called Sarpanch Pati system. In this, the woman Sarpanch is sidelined. This is called proxy leadership. The Ministry says that this practice is against democracy and undermines the purpose of women’s reservation.
9 R. M. Nachammai becomes the first woman Chief Superintendent of NPCIL
On March 9 , nuclear engineer R. M. Nachammai was appointed the first female Chief Superintendent of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) . Nachammai will take charge of Units 3 and 4 of the Kaiga Generating Station in Karnataka on March 15. Nachammai has over 35 years of experience in nuclear power plant operations. Nachammai joined NPCIL in 1991 and received the Vikram Sarabhai Award for topping her engineer trainee batch. Nachammai will oversee the operation, maintenance, and engineering support of the nuclear reactor complex. Nachammai studied electrical and electronics engineering at the University of Madras and was a top student at the university. One of India’s major nuclear power plants, the Kaiga Atomic Power Station in Karnataka currently operates four 220-megawatt pressurized reactors with a total installed capacity of 880 megawatts. India aims to reach 100 gigawatts of nuclear power by 2047.
10 RBI approves Ketan Merchant as interim CEO of Fino Payments Bank
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the appointment of Ketan Merchant as the interim CEO of Fino Payments Bank . The appointment is for a temporary period of three months. The decision was announced on March 6, 2026. This decision comes after the bank’s Managing Director and CEO, Rishi Gupta, was arrested in a GST-related case. Merchant currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Fino Payments Bank.
11 Railways launches SHINE app for women employees
On March 8 , Indian Railways launched the SHINE app for its female employees . This app is designed to file complaints of workplace harassment . It is designed under the Internal Complaints Committee Rules of 1997. Complainant information remains confidential. Through the SHINE app, female employees can file complaints through the Human Resource Management System (HRMS). Any complaint filed by a woman will reach the Internal Complaints Committee directly.
George Russell secured the first victory of the new Formula 1 season by winning the Australian Grand Prix 2026. The race was held at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit . The race started with a close contest between Russell and Charles Leclerc, with the lead changing hands several times in the opening laps. Ultimately, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team’s strategy paid off, with Kimi Antonelli finishing second. Scuderia Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished third and fourth respectively.
13 Indo-Pak war hero KG George passes away
On March 8, Lance Havildar K.G. George, a recipient of the Vir Chakra in the Indo-Pakistani War , passed away. Born in February 1931 , K.G. George served in the Indian Army’s Signal Corps . He was awarded the Vir Chakra and a commendation for his gallantry in the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War . From September 6 to September 10, 1965, Lance Havildar (Lineman Field) K.G. George maintained communications in the Wagah sector amid continuous Pakistani shelling. On September 9, despite the risk to his life, he restored a line of communication from brigade headquarters to forward battalions. The Vir Chakra is the third-highest wartime gallantry award, after the Param Vir Chakra and the Mahavir Chakra . The Indian Army’s Signal Corps is responsible for maintaining secure communications within the army. It was established in 1911.