1.World Health Organization declares Covid-19 as a pandemic
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World Health Organization (WHO) has characterised the new coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic.WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva that he is alarmed by the spread and severity of the outbreak, along with a lack of action taken to combat it.
WHO chief said the number of cases and deaths are likely to rise in the coming days and weeks.
UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged world governments to urgently scale up their response to the novel coronavirus if they are to stand a chance of stemming its spread.
The declaration of a coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic is a call to action – for everyone, everywhere.
2.‘Joy Bangla’ to be national slogan of Bangladesh
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The High Court of Bangladesh has ordered that ‘Joy Bangla’ will be the national slogan of Bangladesh.In an order passed, the two judge bench of High Court asked the authorities to take necessary steps so that all the people holding constitutional posts and state officials use ‘Joy Bangla’ after their speeches on national days and other appropriate occasions.
The court also directed the authorities to ensure that teachers and students use the slogan after assembly.
‘Joy Bangla’ was the main slogan during the liberation war of Bangladesh fought against Pakistan in 1971.
The first President of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman also used ‘Joy Bangla’ in his speeches and specially during his historic 7th March speech in 1971 declaring the goal of independence for Bangladesh.
3.Main national event for International Day of Yoga to be held at Leh
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The main national event for the International Day of Yoga will be held at Leh, the capital of Ladakh this year.The event, which is held on the 21st of June every year, will be led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The event promises to be unique and different since such a large congregation for Yoga will be taking place in a high altitude location like Leh for the first time.
The Prime Minister is expected to carry out yogasanas based on Common Yoga Protocol along with an anticipated gathering of 15 to 20 thousand people on the Yoga Day at Leh.
4.Government celebrating ‘Poshan Pakhwada’ from 8th to 22nd March across the Country
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The second anniversary of the Poshan Abhiyan, ‘Poshan Pakhwada’ is being celebrated from 8th to 22nd March.The focus area of the two-week-long Poshan Pakhwada 2020 will be – Men for Nutrition – increasing male engagement in Poshan Abhiyan – to improve Nutritional Indicators.
The Abhiyaan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s overarching scheme for Holistic Nourishment was launched on this day in 2018.
It aims at reducing malnutrition from the country in a phased manner, through the life cycle concept, by adopting a synergized and result-oriented approach.
5.“Divya Kala Shakti-Witnessing the Abilities in Disabilities” in Chennai
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The Governor of Tamil Nadu Shri Banwarilal Purohit witnessed the first ever regional event Divya Kala Shakti: Witnessing the abilities in disabilities a unique cultural event in Chennai.In this event around 1000 invitees including Persons with Disabilities, Parents of Persons with Differently Abled, teachers, care-givers and NGOs, etc are attending .
This event brings together children and youth with Differently Abled from all the five Southern zone Viz. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Lakshadweep and Puducherry.
About 98 children and youth with different disabilities like Visual Impairment, Hearing Impairment, Locomotor Disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Intellectual disabilities, Multiple Disabilities etc have practiced over a month to display their hidden talents .
This cultural event provides a wider and unique platform to showcase the potential of Persons with Differently Abled in the field of performing art, music, dance, acrobatics etc.
6.Surjit Singh Deswal gets additional charge of BSF DG
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Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of Haryana cadre Surjit Singh Deswal took over the additional charge of Director General (DG) of Border Security Force (BSF).Deswal, a 1984-batch IPS officer, is currently the Director-General of Indo-Tibet Border Police.
He has succeeded Director-General Vivek Johri, who has been appointed Director-General of Madhya Pradesh Police.
7.Maharaja Ranjit Singh named greatest world leader in BBC Poll
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Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the 19th century ruler of the Sikh Empire in India, has beaten competition from around the world to be named the “Greatest Leader of All Time” in a poll conducted by ‘BBC World Histories Magazine’.Over 5,000 readers voted in the poll. Polling more than 38 per cent of the vote, Singh was praised for creating a new tolerant empire.
In second place, with 25 percent of the vote, is African Independence Fighter Amílcar Cabral, who united more than 1 million Guineans to free themselves from Portuguese occupation and in turn propelled many other colonised African countries to rise and fight for independence.
Further down the list, American President Abraham Lincon is at four and British monarch Elizabeth I is the highest ranked female leader at five.
8.Monthly balance maintenance waived off on 44.51 crore SBI savings bank accounts
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State Bank of India (SBI) announced that it has decided to waive maintenance of Average Monthly Balance (AMB) for all savings accounts.The charges on maintaining AMB have been waived off on all 44.51 crore SBI savings bank accounts.
Currently, SBI Savings Bank customers need to maintain AMB of Rs 3000, Rs 2000 and Rs 1000 in Metro, Semi-Urban and Rural areas respectively.
The bank used to levy a penalty of Rs 5 to Rs 15 + taxes on non-maintenance of AMB.
The bank has also waived off SMS charges and has also rationalised interest rate on savings bank accounts to a flat 3 per cent per annum for all buckets.
9.Byju Raveendran, Zomato’s Gaurav Gupta on WEF’s Young Global Leaders list
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Byju Classes’ founder Byju Raveendran and Zomato’s co-founder Gaurav Gupta are among the five Indians named by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in its new list of 115 Young Global Leaders.Announcing the list, Geneva-based WEF said these ‘change-makers’ from as many as 52 countries are working in areas ranging from revamping of health systems to investigating corruption while using their power of the under 40s to change the world.
The other three Indians on the list are Tara Singh Vachani (CEO of Antara Senior Living), Vinati Mutreja (Managing Director and CEO, Vinati Organics Limited), and Swapan Mehra (CEO, Iora Ecological Solutions).
Raveendran, who launched Byju’s as a learning app in 2015, calls himself a teacher by choice and an entrepreneur by chance.
Gupta’s Zomato has been a pioneering food technology start-up, which he launched as a table reservation business and then scaled it up across India, the UAE and Australia.
10.SBI cuts fixed deposit rates, MCLRs in 2nd reduction in a month
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SBI Country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has announced a reduction in its MCLR or marginal cost of funding-based lending rates by 10-15 basis points across tenors, and a cut in its fixed deposit interest rates.Making it a second reduction in a month and the tenth cut in the current fiscal year, the public sector bank has reduced retail term deposits (less than Rs 2 crore) by 10 to 50 basis points for a few tenors.
The bank said the new rates for home loans and fixed deposits will take effect from March 10.
The one-year MCLR comes down to 7.75 per cent from 7.85 per cent with effect from March 10, 2020.
Consequently, EMIs on eligible home loan accounts (linked to MCLR) will come down by around 7 rupees per 1 lakh on a 30-year loan.
11.World bronze-medallist Manish Kaushik in 63kg category becomes 9th Indian boxer to qualify for Tokyo Olympics
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World bronze-medallist Manish Kaushik in 63kg category became the ninth Indian boxer to qualify for Tokyo Olympics after a win at the Asian Qualifiers in Amman, Jordan.He beat Commonwealth Games champion, Harrison Garside of Australia, 4-1 to book his maiden ticket to the quadrennial showpiece.
Earlier, Olympic-bound Commonwealth Games champion Vikas Krishan signed off with a silver medal in 69 kg division after an eye injury forced him to pull out of the final.
The other Indians to have qualified for the Olympics are MC Mary Kom (51kg), Simranjit Kaur (60kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg), Pooja Rani (75kg), Amit Panghal (52kg), Ashish Kumar (75kg) and Satish Kumar (91kg).
