1 India won a total of 33 medals including eight gold, 18 silver and seven bronze at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Italy
India finished its campaign at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Italy by winning a total of 33 medals including eight gold, 18 silver and seven bronze . In snowshoeing, Vasu Tiwari, Shalini Chauhan and Tanya won silver medals in the 25m snowshoeing event and Jahangir won bronze in the same category. In the alpine skiing category, Radha Devi and Nirmala Devi won silver medals in the intermediate slalom and Abhishek Kumar won another silver medal in the novice slalom. Akriti won a bronze medal in the 100m classical technique in cross-country skiing. The Indian women’s team won a bronze medal in the floorball event.
2 New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon arrived in New Delhi today on a five-day visit to India
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon arrived in New Delhi on a five-day visit to India. He is accompanied by a high-level delegation, which includes ministers, senior officials, business, media and members of the Indian diaspora community. Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying SP Singh Baghel welcomed Prime Minister Luxon at the airport.
3 Stuart Young to be sworn in as new Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago
Stuart Young will be sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago during a ceremony at the President’s House in St Ann’s . Mr Young currently serves as the Minister of Energy and Energy Industries. He replaces outgoing Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley. Dr Keith Rowley made his final public appearance at the People’s National Movement’s special convention at City Hall yesterday. Addressing the convention, Dr Rowley said that even though he will no longer serve as Prime Minister, his dedication to Trinidad and Tobago will not diminish.
4 India will overtake Germany to become world’s third largest economy by 2028: Morgan Stanley report
Global financial company Morgan Stanley has said in its report that India will become the third largest economy of the world by 2028, leaving behind Germany . The report says that the Indian economy was 35 trillion dollars in 2023 and it is estimated that it will reach 47 trillion dollars by 2026. According to Morgan Stanley, India’s economy will grow to 57 trillion dollars in 2028 and it will overtake Germany. The report also says that India has emerged as the world’s most demanding consumer market and its global economic ranking has also improved significantly.
5 Prasar Bharati has been awarded the Jaman Lal Sharma Award for its contribution in broadcasting and promotion of hockey in the year 2024
Prasar Bharati was honoured with the Jaman Lal Sharma Award for its invaluable contribution to the broadcasting and promotion of hockey in the year 2024 at the 7th Annual Hockey India Awards in New Delhi . The Ajitpal Singh -led Indian team , which won India’s only World Cup in Kuala Lumpur on 15 March 50 years ago, was awarded the Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award with a cash prize of Rs 50 lakh at the ceremony. Harmanpreet Singh, captain of the Indian hockey team that won bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, was awarded the Best Men’s Player of the Year 2024 award and women’s hockey team goalkeeper Savita Punia was awarded the Balbir Singh Senior Award for Best Women’s Player . Former men’s hockey team goalkeeper P R Sreejesh, who retired from international hockey last year, was honoured for winning the International Hockey Federation’s Best Goalkeeper Award in 2024. The Tamil Nadu unit of Hockey India was awarded the Best Unit Award for starting the Tamil Nadu School Hockey League. This year Hockey India is celebrating 100 years of Indian hockey and the Golden Jubilee of the historic World Cup win in 1975.
In cricket , India Masters led by Sachin Tendulkar won the first International Masters League T20 title by defeating Brian Lara ‘s West Indies Masters by 6 wickets at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur . Due to the excellent bowling of Vinay Kumar and Shahbaz Nadeem, West Indies Masters could score only 148 runs for 7 wickets while batting first. Chasing the target, India Masters won in just 17 overs and 1 ball. Ambati Rayudu played a brilliant innings of 74 runs in 50 balls and was declared the Player of the Match. Shane Watson received the award for hitting most sixes in the season and Kumar Sangakkara was given the Masterstroke of the Season award.
7 International meeting on counter-terrorism to be held on 19-20 March in New Delhi
An important international meeting is going to be held in India against terrorism . During this, various countries will brainstorm on counter terrorism . According to the Ministry of Defense, the 14th meeting of the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Conference-Plus Expert Working Group (EWG) on Counter-Terrorism will be held in New Delhi from 19 to 20 March . India and Malaysia will co-chair this meeting . According to the Ministry of Defense, delegations from 10 member countries of ASEAN are coming to India to attend the meeting. These include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand. At the same time, representatives of eight dialogue partners i.e. Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, China, America and Russia as well as members of Timor-Leste and ASEAN Secretariat will also participate in it. On March 19, India’s Defense Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh will deliver the keynote address during the opening ceremony. This meeting will be the first session of the activities of the Expert Working Group on Counter-Terrorism for the current cycle of 2024-2027.
8 Dr Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurates the first star-studded Fit India Carnival
The much-awaited Fit India Carnival kicked off with a grand inauguration ceremony at JLN Stadium in New Delhi , setting the stage for three days of exciting fitness and wellness activities . The event was graced by Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Dr Mansukh Mandaviya and the star-studded event was attended by Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana along with wrestling champion Sangram Singh, renowned wellness expert Mickey Mehta, former WWE wrestler Shanky Singh and Guinness World Record holder Rohtash Chaudhary. The event kicked off with spectacular performances of Kalaripayattu, Gatka and Mallakhamb, showcasing India’s rich martial arts heritage. Continuing for the next two days, the carnival includes a number of exciting sports and fitness challenges, including rope skipping, arm wrestling, cricket bowling, push-up and squat competitions.
National Immunization Day is celebrated every year on 16th March to raise awareness about the importance of immunization . Mission Indradhanush was launched in 2014 to rapidly expand full immunization coverage. Its objective was to reduce infant mortality and make full immunization effective among children.
