IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH 3rd, 2020

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH 3rd, 2020

World Wildlife Day: 03 March
World Wildlife Day, also known as WWD, is celebrated annually across the world on 03 March.

1. The aim of World Wildlife Day is to acknowledge the importance of wildlife species in maintaining the ecological balance on earth.
2. It also aims to create awareness among humans about the importance of wildlife and tries to curb the various dangers directed towards the flora and fauna.
3. The theme for World Wildlife Day 2020 will be “Sustaining All Life on Earth”

India beats Poland And Russia to $40 million defence deal with Armenia
In a major win, India has managed to bag a $40 Million defence export deal.

1. Under the $40 Million contract, India is required to supply four Swathi weapons-locating radars.
2. The radars provide fast, automatic, and accurate location of enemy weapons like mortars, shells, and rockets in its 50-km range.
3. It can also simultaneously handle multiple projectiles fired from different weapons at different locations.
4. Russian and Polish firms were also in the race to bad the mega-deal.
5. The deal is for supplying four Swathi weapon locating radars developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) to Armenia in Europe.

Arunachal Pradesh Assembly goes paperless
The Budget session of the 7th Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly began.

1. The Arunachal Pradesh Assembly went paperless on with the implementation of e-Vidhan, a project under the Digital India programme.
2. With the implementation of the e-Vidhan project, MLAs can access every information regarding the Assembly, see the list of business and read questions and other documents pertaining to House proceedings through their laptops and tablet computers.
3. The initiative will make all the proceedings in the house paperless.

Tripura Govt and AAI sign MoU for construction of 6 equipment hiring centers
Tripura State Government and Airport Authority of India has signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of six equipment hiring centers in Manu Block under the Dhalai District of Tripura.

1. The project has been taken as part of AAI’s Corporate Social Responsibility scheme.
2. In the equipment hiring centers, equipment related to agriculture, animal husbandry and fisheries will be kept.
3. The types of equipment will be rented out to the needy farmers, Self Help Groups and to any other needy at a minimal cost.

Historic city square in Jammu renamed as ‘Bharat Mata Chowk’
The historic City Chowk, the commercial hub in old Jammu, was renamed as ‘Bharat Mata Chowk’.

1. The renaming of the chowk drew mixed reactions from the people with most of them welcoming the decision but urged the JMC to focus more on development and cleanliness rather than changing names.
2. Every year people are hoisting the tricolour on Republic and Independence days in this chowk.
3. The starting point of the circular road near Panjtirthi in the city was named by the JMC as ‘Atal Chowk’ in the memory of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Nomination dossiers of ‘Dholavira’ have been submitted for inclusion in the World Heritage List for the year 2020
The Government of India has submitted two nomination dossiers namely ‘Dholavira: A Harappan City’ and ‘Monuments and Forts of Deccan Sultanate’ for inclusion in the World Heritage List for the year 2020.

1. Govt of Madhya Pradesh has submitted the proposal of ‘Group of Monuments at Mandu’ in the year 2019.
2. The dossier was further forwarded to the World Heritage Centre (WHC) for completeness check. 
3. Dholavira is an archaeological site in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch District, in the state of Gujarat.

Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament in Malaysia postponed due to coronavirus
The 29th edition of the prestigious Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament was pushed from April to September in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak across the world.

1. The Azlan Shah Cup, which was scheduled to be held in Ipoh, Malaysia from April 11 to 18, will now be held from September 24 to October 3.
2. The Azlan Shah Cup is the latest sporting event to be affected by the deadly coronavirus, which has claimed more than 3,000 lives and infected 86,000 people.

Tasnim Mir, Mansi Singh win bronze at Yonex Dutch Junior International
Young Indian shuttlers Tasnim Mir and Mansi Singh won a bronze medal each in the girls' singles Badminton event at the Yonex Dutch Junior International 2020 in Haarlem, Netherlands. 

1. It was the first time India won two bronze medals in girls' singles at this BWF Junior International Grand Prix tournament.
2. Mir was defeated by third seed So Yul Lee of Korea 19-21, 10-22 in the semifinal to settle for Bronze.
3. Mansi lost to Indonesia's Saifi Rizka Nurhidayah 11-21, 16-21 in the semifinal.

First Khelo India University Games concludes in Bhubaneswar; Panjab University, Chandigarh tops medals tally
The Khelo India University Games concluded in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

1. Panjab University, Chandigarh took home the champions trophy-winning 46 medals including 17 gold, 19 silver, and 10 bronze.
2. Savitribai Phule Pune University claimed the second position and Punjabi University, Patiala declared as the second runners up.
3. Panjab University won a total of 46 medals while Savitribai Phule Pune University won 37 medals including 17 gold, 11 silver, and 9 bronze medals.
4. On the last day of the games, India's fastest woman Dutee Chand representing Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, clinched gold medal with a timing of 23.66 seconds in the 200m final.

Dronacharya awardee athletics coach Joginder Singh Saini passes away
Veteran athletics coach and Dronacharya awardee Joginder Singh Saini, who groomed some of India's finest track and field stars, died in Patiala.

1. Saini remained the chief national athletics coach for many years from the 1970s to 90s.
2. He became the chief coach of the then Amateur Athletics Federation of India in 1970.
3. Saini received the Dronacharya Award in 1997 for his contribution to Indian athletics.
4. He was the chief coach of the Indian athletics team which won 18 medals, including eight golds, at the 1978 Asian Games.