1. *Annual Amarnath yatra will begin on June 28 this year and will end on August 22, Registration opens on April 1.*
2. In order to ensure the safety of the drivers, *the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) recently asked all the drivers to link their Aadhaar card with their driving licence to avail of contactless services.* This is aimed at preventing the forgery of documents of absconding drivers in a road accident.
3. In a detailed report to Election Commission of India, the poll panel’s special observers Vivek Dubey and Ajay Nayak have concluded that the *injury to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram was “accidental”.*
4. The farmers’ agitation that began with an apolitical agenda, one to get the three farm laws repealed, has turned “political” with senior most leader of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) Balbir Singh Rajewal has kicked off a political storm after saying PM Modi was a bigger threat to India than Pakistan. He was addressing a gathering at Nandigram.
5. *Former NDA minister Yashwant Sinha on Saturday joined the Trinamool Congress citing danger to democracy under the ruling BJP at the Centre.* Sinha, 83, had quit the BJP in 2018.
6. *Police book farmers under various sections of the IPC and the National Highway Act for raising structures, digging borewell on NH-44* : Thousands of farmers have been protesting at the Delhi borders against the three farm laws for more than three months. The agitating farmers have started constructing concrete structures on the National Highway-44 at the Singhu border, where they have been camping since November 26.
7. The Himachal State Election Commission announced on Saturday elections to the six local bodies—nagar panchayats of Ani and Nirmand in Kullu, Kandaghat in Solan, Chirgaon and Nerwa in Shimla and Kandaghat in Solan on April 7.
8. *The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation on Saturday temporarily suspended its operations to Kolhapur in Maharashtra* which has a substantial Kannada population in view of the ongoing border row between the two states.
9. *Passengers will be de-boarded if they don’t wear masks properly inside aircraft or don’t follow Covid-19 appropriate behavior, warned The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Saturday.*
10. *Kumbh Mela 2021: Dates For Shahi And Ganga Snan* : Kumbh Mela is considered to be the largest human gathering in the world. It is observed at an interval of 12 years at four important pilgrimage in India namely Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh), Haridwar (Uttarakhand), Nasik (Maharashtra) and Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh). This year the Kumbh Mela is happening at Haridwar in Uttarakhand.
11. *Kumbh Shahi Snan 2021 Dates*
1 First Shahi Snan- 11th March- Shivratri
2 Second Shahi Snan- 12th April Somvati Amavasya
3 Third Shahi Snan- 14th April- Makar Sankranti
4 Fourth Shahi Snan- 27th April- Baisakh Purnima.
12. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched the sounding rocket called RH-560 on March 12, 2021. The rocket was launched in order to study “attitudinal variations” in the neutral winds and plasma dynamics.
13. *The National Testing Agency (NTA) announced the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) examination for admission in undergraduate medical courses to be held on August 1.*
14. *A Computer Science teacher from Kendriya Vidyalaya at the Indian Institute of Technology- Bombay has developed a robot that can speak nine local languages and thirty-eight foreign languages.* *Dinesh Patel* is a teacher at Kendriya Vidyalaya at IIT Bombay and has developed a humanoid named “Shalu”.
15. *The National Academy of Letters have announced the names for the “Sahitya Akademi Award 2020 on March 12, 2021*
16. *The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has made mathematics and physics optional subjects at Class 12 for students aspiring to take admission in undergraduate engineering and technology colleges* . For the academic year 2021-22, students aiming for admissions to BE and BTech courses need not have studied the aforementioned subjects in Class 12. Earlier, Class 12 level maths and physics subjects were mandatory for students seeking admissions in engineering and technology colleges.
17. *The Indian army is all set to procure Made in India “Mobile Integrated Network Terminal (MINT)” systems providing a huge boost to the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan of the government* . The MINT system will enhance the operational communication capability of the Indian Army in accordance with the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan.
18. *Over 39,000 beneficiaries, including 20,275 senior citizens, received COVID-19 vaccine shots in the national capital on Saturday*.
*✈INTERNATIONAL NEWS*
1. *Sri Lanka sought India’s support by dialing Prime Minister Narendra Modi*, Ahead of a crucial vote at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). This was one of the key points discussed during the telephonic conversation between PM Modi and Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Saturday (March 13, 2021). *Voting will take place on March 22 and March 23 on a resolution against Sri Lanka at the Human Rights Council.*
2. *Sri Lanka is facing the heat at UNHRC over human rights violations during the civil war with Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam* . The 46th session of the UNHRC is underway and will continue till March 23 and several times matters related to Sri Lanka have been raised.
3. *India has so far sent Sri Lanka 12.64 lakh doses of India-made COVID-19 vaccines* . Of these, 5 lakh doses have been gifted, 5 lakhs sent commercially, and 2.64 lakh via COVAX.
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