Source: Cick Here

• China, the World's second largest military spender after the US, announced a 7.5 percent increase in its defence budget for this year, hiking it to a whopping USD 177.61 billion, over three times that of India.


• According to a draft budget report to be submitted at the opening of the annual session of China's Parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC), The 2019 defence budget will be 1.19 trillion yuan (about USD 177.61 billion).

Source: Cick Here

• US President Donald Trump's administration has restored a higher protocol status to European Union diplomats in Washington after a snub that highlighted how the traditional allies were becoming estranged.


• The trans-Atlantic alliance has been damaged since Trump came to power in 2017 by feuds over trade, security and international affairs including accords on climate change and Iran`s nuclear programme.


• Late last year, the Trump administration downgraded the protocol status for the bloc`s diplomats without notifying Brussels.


• In a statement to welcome a new EU ambassador to Washington, the U.S. mission in Brussels said that the bloc had been restored to its previous status in the U.S. capital.

Source: Cick Here

• Pakistan promulgated a law to streamline the procedure for the implementation of the UN sanctions against individuals and organisations, amid mounting pressure from the global community to rein in the terror groups operating on its soil and curb their financing.


• The Foreign Office said that the government issued the UN Security Council (Freezing and Seizure) Order, 2019 in accordance with the provisions of Pakistan's United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Act, 1948.


• The objective of the UNSC (Freezing and Seizure) Order 2019 is to streamline the procedure for implementation of Security Council Sanctions against designated individuals and entities.

Source: Cick Here

• President Vladimir Putin Suspended Russia's participation in a key nuclear arms treaty, in response to Washington's decision to withdraw.


• In a decree, Putin suspended Russia's obligations under the terms of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty and said it will continue to do so "until the US ends its violations of the treaty or until it terminates."

Source: Cick Here

• A "highly porous" riverine section of the Indo-Bangladesh border in Assam will be put under electronic surveillance from today in a bid to check illegal immigration and smuggling of arms, ammunition, drugs and cattle.


• According to an order from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the "smart fencing" will be operationalised in the 61 km riverine section of the international border in Dhubri district of Assam where the Brahmaputra River enters into Bangladesh.

Source: Cick Here

• India has signed a deal with a Russian firm to manufacture 7.5 lakh AK-203 rifles. These are the latest derivative of the AK-47 rifles.


• Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that the AK-203 rifles will be produced at the Indian Ordnance Factory at Amethi's Korwa. The new rifles will replace the indigenous INSAS rifles in the Army, Air Force, and Navy.

Source: Cick Here

• Himachal Pradesh will develop 100 trout farms for production of carp fish this year. It will provide employment to over 550 people.


• The government plans to set up two trout hatcheries under the public-private partnership (PPP) initiative to provide seeds. A smoked trout and fillet canning centre would also be set up in the Kullu district.


• Three retail outlets, one each in Kangra, Chamba and Shimla district, will be established to ensure appropriate marketing support to the trout production.

Source: Cick Here

• The Uttarakhand government has decided to set up a centre of excellence for Himalayan fibre in Almora district of Kumaon.


• The centre of excellence will be set up with support from the Northern India Textile Research Association (NITRA)- Ghaziabad. NITRA, which comes under the Union Ministry of Textile, will set up a training institute for developing fibre products at the Centre.


• The cabinet also cleared a proposal for allotment of 0.4 hectares of land needed for the centre at Bercimi village in Almora.

• In a bid to restart the controversial Human major irrigation project, just 3km away from Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) boundary, the government has called a meeting of a sub-committee of State Wildlife Board (SWBL) in Mumbai.


• The major irrigation project is proposed to be constructed at Sirkada in Wainganga-Godavari Basin near Sindewahi in Chandrapur district. The 10-member sub-committee was announced in October 2016 at the 12th SWBL meeting under principal secretary (forest) Vikas Kharge.


• During the last three years, the panel consisting of PCCF (wildlife), senior forest and irrigation department officials and some board members has not met even once.


• The mandate of the committee includes studying the impact of Human dam on the tiger corridor, eliciting views of villagers, and other issues. The hurriedly called meeting ahead of the model code of conduct for general elections has raised eyebrows among green activists.

Source: Cick Here

• A Penalty of the following amount has been imposed by the Reserve Bank of India on 4 PSU banks and 1 private sector bank, they are Union Bank – Rs. 3 crores, Dena Bank– Rs. 2 crores, IDBI Bank– Rs. 1crore, Karnataka Bank– Rs. 4 crores.


• The penalty has been imposed for the delay caused in following the guidelines mentioned in ‘Time bound implementation and strengthening of SWIFT related controls’ issued by the Reserve Bank of India on 20th February 2018.


• State Bank of India- Rs. 1 crore for delaying the implementation of the daily reconciliation of Swift transaction logs with effect from February 20, 2018 at 226 “low intensity branches” of the bank.

Source: Cick Here

• DBS Bank became the first major international bank to locally incorporate its operations from being a branch. Technology has changed banking in the four years it took DBS to get the licence.


• In an interview with Joel Rebello and MC Govardhana Rangan, DBS’ CEO Piyush Gupta says India could well be the laboratory where a combination of digital and physical would be experimented.

Source: Cick Here

• 57th International Wrestling Tournament ‘Dan Kolov – Nikola Petrov’ conducted. The International tournament in the memory of Dan Kolov and Nikola Petrov is organized by the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation.


• The Best Bulgarian Wrestler will be awarded with the prize ‘The Golden Belt – Dan Kolov and Nikola Petrov’. Indian Wrestler won medals in the tournament.


• Bajrang Punia won gold medal in 65 kg freestyle category defeating Jordan Oliver of USA for 12-3. He dedicates the gold to wing commander Abhinanadan Varthaman.


• Pooja Dhanda won gold in 59 kg women’s freestyle category. She finished undefeated in the round-robin format of the competition including a win over her Compatriot Sarita Mor.


• Sakshi Malik settled for a silver medal in the 65 kg category. She lost to Henna Johansson in the International Wrestling Tournament.

Source: Cick Here

• Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has become only the fourth Indian batsman to complete 13,000 runs in List A cricket. Dhoni has amassed 13,054 runs in 412 List A matches at an average of 50.79.


• The veteran wicketkeeper-batsman has joined an elite club, comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.

Source: Cick Here

• The Prayagraj Kumbh Mela 2019 has secured place in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest crowd management, largest sanitation drive and largest painting exercise of public sites.


• Around 503 shuttle buses were pressed into service on the highway in one go for the team on February 28. Several people participated in a painting exercise on [latex]1^{st}[/latex] and 10,000 workers engaged in cleaning at the Kumbh, all performing their duties together.

Source: Cick Here

• ASSOCHAM (The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India), which is one of the apex trade associations of India has conferred ‘Non-Life Insurer of the Year Award 2019′ to Bharti AXA General Insurance.


• It is a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and French insurance giant AXA. This award recognizes efficacy, excellence and contribution in the insurance industry annually.

Source: Cick Here

• As a part of a top-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the central government according to a Personnel Ministry order, Senior IAS officer Sanjeev Ranjan has been designated as secretary of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).


• Nagendra Nath Sinha, who is managing director in National Highways and infrastructure Development Corporation will replace Sanjeev Ranjan as the new NHAI chief.


• Sanjeev Ranjan who is a 1985-batch IAS officer of Tripura cadre, is currently the chairman of National Highways Authority of India.

Source: Cick Here

• Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah of Kuwait, who is considered a major power broker in sport world, is re-elected as president of the powerful Olympic Council of Asia.


• Sheikh Ahmad has won a new five-year term until 2024.


• Sheikh Ahmad, an IOC member, stepped down from his position in the global Olympic body in November because of his forgery accusation in a criminal court against the Kuwaiti and four others.

Source: Cick Here

• The eighth edition of joint military exercise ‘Sampriti-2019’ between the armies of India and Bangladesh was commenced, which aimed to increase mutual cooperation and camaraderie with an impressive ceremony in Tangail, Bangladesh.


• This exercise will be conducted till [latex]15^{th}[/latex] March as a part of the ongoing India-Bangladesh defence cooperation.


• The motive behind this exercise is to hone their tactical and technical skills in countering insurgency, counter terrorism and aid to civil authorities for disaster management in an UN peace keeping scenario involving a combined deployment at a battalion level.

A. Gangasagar Mela B. Sonepur Mela C. Pushkar Fair D. Kumbh Mela Answer: D

A. Lucknow B. Gorakhpur C. Amethi D. Lakimpur Answer: C

A. Rs 1542.25 cr B. Rs 1969.50 cr C. Rs 1024.50 cr D. Rs 1457.14 cr Answer: B

A. Rs 250 cr B. Rs 275 cr C. Rs 300 cr D. Rs 400 cr Answer: A

A. Uber B. Ola C. Meru D. Oyo Answer: A

A. Sikkim B. Telangana C. Assam D. Odisha Answer: C

A. Sikkim B. Himachal Pradesh C. Odisha D. Karnataka Answer: B

A. Himachal Pradesh B. Punjab C. Uttarakhand D. West Bengal Answer: C

A. Coal India B. Indian railways C. Central Industrial Security Force D. Hubballi Bicycle Club Answer: C

A. SBI B. BOB C. IDBI Bank D. PNB Answer: C

A. Karnataka Bank B. SBI C. Federal Bank D. HDFC Bank Answer: A

A. Russia B. Canada C. India D. UK Answer: C

A. UCO Bank B. IDBI Bank C. BOB D. PNB Answer: B

A. Rohit Sharma B. KL Rahul C. Virat Kohli D. MS Dhoni Answer: D

A. Faye Sall B. Macky Sall C. Mahhmmed Dionne D. Aminata Toure Answer: B

A. Amitabh Kant B. Sudha Yadav C. Bhagwan Lal Sahni D. Birbal Rai Answer: C

A. Ajay Narayan Jha B. Ajay Tygai C. Dinesh Dixit D. Shaktikanta Das Answer: A

A. PK Bezbaruah B. Dinesh Shah C. Pradeep Kumar D. Amitabh Chaudhary Answer: A

A. Actor B. Politics C. Poet D. Director Answer: B

A. Childhood Hearing loss B. Hearing and Health C. Check Your Hearing D. Hear the future Answer: C

A. Listen to the Young Voices B. Life Below Water:for people and planet C. Animals and Plants D. Protection of Wildlife Answer: B

A. Chennai B. Lucknow C. Mumbai D. Pune Answer: C

A. Kiev B. Dakar C. Port Louis D. Addis Ababa Answer: B

A. Euro B. Dollar C. Rupee D. Franc Answer: D

A. Tamil Nadu B. Uttar Pradesh C. Gujarat D. Delhi Answer: C

A. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs B. Ministry of Home Affairs C. Ministry of Commerce & Industry D. Ministry of Human Resource Development Answer: A

A. Saudi Arabia B. Oman C. Turkey D. Qatar Answer: B

A. Lahore B. Hotan C. Delhi D. Gurugram Answer: D

A. Ramesh Chand B. Binay Ranjan Sen C. Radha Mohan Singh D. Indra Nooyi Answer: A

A. Germany B. Russia C. France D. Japan Answer: B