1) National Affairs
Union Cabinet approves President’s Rule in Puducherry
The Union Cabinet has approved to dissolve the Puducherry Assembly and impose President’s rule in the Union territory, following the resignation of the Chief Minister, V Naryanswamy.
The decision was taken as no party claimed to form a government, following which the Lieutenant Governor had recommended President’s Rule.
The approval will now be sent to the President, Ramnath Kovind and the legislative assembly of the UT will be dissolved once the President accords his permission.
Quick Fact: The Governor of Puducherry is Tamilisai Soundararajan
2) Person in News
Fullerton India Credit Company appoints Shantanu Mitra as CEO and MD
Fullerton India Credit Company has appointed Shantanu Mitra as the CEO and Managing-Director.
He has over 40 years of experience in financial services, with over 20 years at Standard Chartered and Citibank.
Previously his role in Standard Chartered was Senior Regional Risk Officer for India, Middle-East, and Africa.
Quick Fact: Fullerton India Credit Company is headquartered in Mumbai
3) International Affairs
Irakli Garibashvili as new Prime Minister of Georgia
The Parliament of Georgia confirmed Irakli Garibashvili as Prime Minister along with a vote of confidence.
Garibashvili pledged to create a long-term development strategy for Georgia in his first hundred days in office.
First, on the agenda, Garibashvili will continue the essential work of the government to ably manage the pandemic and accelerate the focus on rebuilding the economy.
Quick Fact: The capital of Georgia is Tbilisi
4) Summit and Conference
India, Australia, and France hold a trilateral dialogue to focus on Indo-Pacific
A trilateral dialogue was held among India, Australia, and France on 24th February 2021, at the senior officials’ level with a focus on further enhancing cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
The aim of this trilateral dialogue is to build strong bilateral relations among the three countries and to ensure a peaceful, secure, prosperous, and rule-based Indo-Pacific region.
The first India-France-Australia Trilateral dialogue was held virtually on 9th September 2020.
Quick Fact: Sandeep Chakravorty, the Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, represented India
5) Sports
Dushyant Chautala re-elected as President of TTFI
Dushyant Chautala has been re-elected as the President of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) for a period of 4 years.
He was elected unanimously during the 84th annual meeting of the TTFI.
He is also the current Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana.
Quick Fact: The Table Tennis Federation of India is headquartered in New Delhi.
6) National Affairs
Chandigarh becomes the first Union territory in India to launch Carbon Watch
Chandigarh has become the first Union Territory in India to launch Carbon watch, a mobile application to assess the carbon footprints of an Individual.
If a person downloads the application he needs to fill in details in four parts are Water, Energy Waste Generation, and Transport (Vehicular movement)
The application can be assessed by everyone but it has specific options for the residents of Chandigarh.
Quick Fact: The Chief Minister of Punjab is Captain Amrinder Singh
7) Economy
Moody’s projects India’s GDP to contract 7% in 2021
US-based rating agency Moody’s has revised its growth projection for India, and now expects the economy to contract 7% in the financial year 2020-21 in its “Global Marco Outlook 2021-22”.
This is lower than its previous estimate of 10.6% contraction.
Moody’s has projected the economy to grow to 13.7% as compared to 10.8% estimated earlier for the next financial year that is beginning from April 1st, 2021-22.
Quick Fact: Moody’s along with Standard & Poor’s and Flitch Group is considered one of the three credit rating agencies.
8) Art and Culture
Kabir Bedi authors a memoir titled “Stories I Must Tell”
Veteran actor Kabir Bedi has come out with his memoir titled “Stories I Must Tell: The Emotional Journey of an Actor”
The book will be published in April 2021.
The book is about the story of his life including the highs and lows of the professional and personal life, his relationships including marriage and divorce.
Quick Fact: The publisher of the book is Westland Books.
