Current Affairs - March 2, 2020 Current Affairs

PM launches Har Ghar Jal Scheme to provide piped water to the households in Bundelkhand region which comprises certain districts of UP & MP.

Punjab State government announced major changes in the 2020-21 budget. The budget announcement was made by Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal. He presented a Rs.1,54,805 crore budget in the state Assembly.The state has reduced the government employees' retirement age from 60 to 58.

World No.1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia claimed the men's singles title at the Dubai Tennis Championships 2020 as the 32-year-old defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece to win his 5th title at the Dubai event.

Indian Railways launched its first 'Restaurant on Wheels' at the circulating area of Asansol railway station for the use of rail passengers as well as the general public of Asansol.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid the foundation stone of the 296-km Bundelkhand Expressway in Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh. The new Bundelkhand Expressway project will be the next generation infrastructure incentive for the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Heather Watson credited the steadying influence of her boyfriend, Yeovil Town striker Courtney Duffus, for helping her claim her fourth Women's Tennis Association title in Acapulco.In a nerve-racking final, Watson needed all her poise to edge past 17-year-old Canadian prodigy Leylah Fernandez.

Norway 's Minister of International Development Dag- Inge Ulstein participated in Mithi river clean up with environmental activist Afroz Shah. Ulstein, who is a three-day visit to India, spoke of cooperation between the two countries in tackling environmental issues.

Columbia researchers have discovered 17 new planets by combing through data gathered by NASA's Kepler space telescope. The planets include a potentially habitable Earth-sized world. The researchers looked for planets, especially those lying in the potentially habitable "Goldilocks Zone" of their stars, where liquid water could exist on a rocky planet's surface.

Zero Discrimination Day is observed on 1 March. The day promotes diversity and recognizes that everyone counts. The symbol for Zero Discrimination Day is the butterfly. It is used by people to share their stories and photos as a way to end discrimination and work towards positive transformation.

US officials and Taliban representatives have signed an agreement after months of negotiations in Qatar's capital that is aimed at ending the United States' longest war, fought in Afghanistan since 2001.The two sides have long wrangled over the US demand for a ceasefire before the signing of the agreement. A timeline of 14 months for the withdrawal of all US and NATO troops from Afghanistan has been set.

Rafael Nadal secured his 85th ATP Tour title with a resounding win over Taylor Fritz in the Mexican Open final. The Spanish great proved too good for Fritz 6-3 6-2 in just 74 minutes in the decider in Acapulco.

Janata Dal (United) Lok Sabha Member Baidyanath Prasad Mahto from Valmiki Nagar constituency passed away on February 28, 2020 at the age of 72 in New Delhi.

Tokyo: Birhanu Legese of Ethiopia won Tokyo Marathon, a race that was scaled back as part of Japan's efforts to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Legese crossed the finish line with a time of 2 hours, 4 minutes and 15 seconds, 34 seconds ahead of Belgium's Bashir Abdi.

Hosted and organised by the Centre for Policy Research, CPR Dialogues is an annual public forum where leading policy practitioners, academics, and thought leaders address the most critical policy issues of our times. The second editionof CPR Dialogues will be held on March 2nd & 3rd 2020 at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. As India navigates its way through the 21st century, it confronts the challenge of creating a cutting-edge policy environment.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal was conferred the Dr. Syama Prasad Mukherjee award 2020 for Politics on 28 February. The award was conferred by the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Speaker of People's Majlis of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed at the 6th India Ideas Conclave in Gujarat.

Veteran athletics coach and Dronacharya awardee Joginder Singh Saini, aged 90, who groomed some of India's finest track and field stars, died in Patiala on March 1 due to age-related problems. Saini, who remained the chief national athletics coach for many years from 1970-'90, was not keeping well for the past few days.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla recently launched a national campaign from Kota, Rajasthan on March 1, 2020. The campaign aimed at providing nutritional support to pregnant women and adolescent girls in his parliamentary constituency for the next nine months. The campaign, called "Suposhit Maa Abhiyan" and aided and funded by public participation and various civil societies, was launched in the presence of Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani.

Israeli runner Lonah Chemtai Salpeter was the first woman to cross the finish line at the Tokyo Marathon, a race that was scaled back as part of Japan's efforts to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Salpeter finished the race in 2 hours 17 minutes and 45 seconds, setting a new women's record for the course. She beat second-place finisher Birhane Dibaba of Ethiopia by 50 seconds.

Former India hockey player Balbir Singh Kullar, who was a part of the 1968 Olympics bronze-winning team, has died, the national federation said on March 1. He was 77.

PM launched 10,000 Farmers Producer Organisations (FPO) all over the country at Chitrakoot (UP). FPOs will provide small, marginal and landless farmersaccess to agricultural inputs and marketing help for selling their products. The Centre will provide fund of Rs 15 lakh to each FPO.