Tamil Nadu tops the list of the states in terms of the number of participants in the POSHAN Abhiyan. Integrated Child Development Scheme has been in force for long in the southern state that has got rejuvenated with the Centre’s Poshan Abhiyaan mission.
POSHAN Abhiyan was launched on 8 March 2018.
Government is planning to create a total of 75 lakh Self Help Groups by 2022 to enable more women to get livelihood. Women’s SHGs are the backbone of poverty alleviation programmes & the entire focus of the govt is oriented towards women’s emancipation.
Rural Development Minister- Narendra Singh Tomar.
Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Mahendra Nath Pandey launched the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship programme in the IIM, Bengaluru. It is launched as part of the SANKALP programme of the MSDE ministry to provide skilled manpower.
IIMB will train 75 graduates for two years under this scheme.
FM of the erstwhile J&K state Altaf Bukhari launched a new political party, "Jammu Kashmir Apni Party", inducting known faces from other groups including PDP. This will be the 1st political activity in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370.
Lieutenant Governor of J&K- G C Murmu.
As a conscious to the increasing danger to the safety of women in society, a unit of Indian Army organized a demonstration on Self Defence themed ‘Stronger You Stronger Society’ for the local womenfolk at Dhamdhama Anchlik College in Nalbari District.
Campaign is a platform to showcase the work of woman.
NITI Aayog organized the fourth edition of the WTI Awards. Since 2018, the Awards have been hosted under the aegis of NITI Aayog’s Women Entrepreneurship platform. 2019 WTI Awards received over 2,300 applications of which the Top 30 were shortlisted.
Rajnath Singh felicitates 15 winners on Women’s Day.
The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind presented Nari Shakti Puraskar 2019 at a special ceremony held in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi on International Women’s Day. Nari Shakti Puraskar is an initiative of the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
The 2019 awards were conferred on 15 eminent women.
Indo-U.S. Fellowship for Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics & Medicine program of Dept of Science & Technology in association with Indo-U.S. Science & Technology Forum have provided international exposure to several women scientists.
DST’s "KIRAN" encompasses women-exclusive schemes.
Cab aggregator Uber has launched a diversity and inclusion sponsorship programme for women in India. This will be a six to twelve-month engagement between a sponsor & sponsee with an aim to develop and advance junior-level female employees in their career.
Idea is to offer a structural engagement & intervention course.
On March 8th- International Women’s Day, Union Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan launched a helpline number for women students, researchers, entrepreneurs and scientists to get their queries related to the S&T ministry’s programmes answered.
Helpline number is 011-26565285.
A Parliamentary panel submitted its report to Rajya Sabha on 2020-21 demand for grants. Shortfalls in budget funds has led to critical infrastructure gaps. Report says that more than 27% cuts have been made in budget allocations for school education.
The report also says that only 56% of schools have electricity.
Govt is set to more than double the manpower at the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to nearly 350 as it continues efforts to curb corporate wrongdoings. The SFIO, which comes under the corporate affairs ministry, investigates white-collar crimes.
Corporate Affairs Secretary- Injeti Srinivas.
SEBI proposed a detailed review of the regulatory framework for Corporate Bonds and Debenture Trustees. Creation of an identified charge by NBFCs will enable liquidation of asset and return of debt quickly to the investors in the event of any default.
SEBI Headquarters- Mumbai, Chairman- Ajay Tyagi.
The spread of the COVID-9 is expected to take a serious toll on FDIs worldwide, with UN economists forecasting a drop of up to 15%. UNCTAD warned that regardless of how quickly the COVID-19 outbreak lasted, it would significantly drag down global FDI.
UNCTAD Headquarters- Geneva, Switzerland.
Attukal Pongala- one of the largest all-women religious congregations in the world is to be held in Thiruvananthapuram. The Guinness record holder of the largest women gathering in the world will be held under strict guidelines in the backdrop of COVID-9.
It is the annual festival of the Attukal Bhagavathy Temple.
Maldives introduced a motion to launch an inquiry into systemic gender discrimination on 8 March. The motion also noted recent efforts to empower women such as the new amendments to the decentralization act which allocated 33% of council seats for women.
Maldives Capital- Male, Currency- Maldivian Rufiyaa.
Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) operating under Ministry of Science and Technology launched Vigyan Jyoti to encourage women to take science as their career. The scheme was announced to celebrate International Women’s Day.
Vigyan Jyoti was launched to promote STEM Education among girls.
Arunachal Pradesh suspends issuing Protected Area Permits (PAPs) to foreigners temporarily to check the spread of coronavirus. Foreigners require PAPs to enter AP, since it shares border with China. The move comes days after Sikkim announced similar curbs.
Bhutan has shut its borders to foreign visitors for 2 weeks.
US lawmakers passed an emergency USD 8.3 billion spending bill to combat the coronavirus as the number of cases surged in the country. The US reported its first case of the disease in January & its 1st death on February 29- both in the state of Washington.
San Francisco, California has the 2nd -highest number of cases.
Punjab National Bank has announced the share exchange ratio for the merger with Oriental Bank of Commerce & United Bank of India. The bank also said the board has fixed March 25 as the date for issuing and allotting its equity shares to the shareholders.
Punjab National Bank MD- S. S. Mallikarjuna Rao.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the 19th century ruler of the Sikh Empire in India, has named as the ‘Greatest Leader of All Time’ in a poll conducted by BBC World Histories Magazine. Singh was praised for creating a new tolerant empire, by 5,000 voted readers.
African Independence Fighter Amilcar Cabral is at the second.
Defending champions Australia won the ICC Women's T20 World Cup for 5th time, outclassing India by 85 runs in the summit clash. Riding on blistering half-centuries by openers Alyssa Healy & Beth Mooney, Australia posted 184 at the loss of 4 wickets.
India appeared in the world cup for the first time.
