1. *PM Modi to chair meeting with CMs of states/UTs on March 17 over surge in COVID-19 cases*.
2. *The govt said that there is no proposal right now to bring crude petroleum, petrol, diesel, aviation turbine fuel, natural gas under the Goods and Service Tax.* In a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
3. *The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has announced a new scheme with the objective of promoting tourism and increasing state revenues* . The new set of rules will be known as “All India Tourist Vehicles Authorization & Permit Rules, 2021”
These new rules under the scheme will be applicable from April 1, 2021. Under the scheme, any tourist vehicle operator can apply to get “All India Tourist Authorization or Permit” in the online mode. Permit will be issued after submitting relevant documents and fees within 30 days of submitting such applications.
4. *The Jammu & Kashmir Administrative Council has given approval for the proposal of the Housing and Urban development department to provide interest-free loans up to Rs 2 lakh.*
5. *Work from home to resume in Maharashtra: State releases new COVID-19 guidelines*
6. The new parcel management system (PMS) of Indian Railways will be extended to 523 locations now. Earlier this system was only in place at 84 locations.
7. *Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), on Monday, launched a unique project of creating “bee-fences” to mitigate human – elephant conflicts in the country.* The objective of Project RE-HAB (Reducing Elephant – Human Attacks using Bees) is to thwart elephant attacks in human habitations using honey bees and thus reducing loss of lives of both, humans as well as elephants.
8. *The Central Government has informed the Lok Sabha on March 15, 2021 that, the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is not being privatized*. LIC is an Indian government owned insurance and investment corporation. It was established on September 1, 1956. The company was established by the Life Insurance of India Act.
9. *Amid the recent reports about the special trains going to be cancelled from March 31, the Ministry of Railways on Monday (March 15, 2021) said that these news reports are ‘purely misleading’ and ‘not based on facts’.* The Indian Railways informed that the wrong news clips are being circulated on social media platforms and said that they have not made any such announcement.
10. *A Delhi Court on Monday (March 15, 2021) awarded the death penalty to convict Ariz Khan in the 2008 Batla House encounter case. The court called it a ‘rarest of rare case’. The court also imposed a total fine of Rs 11 lakh.*: Ariz Khan is convicted for the murder of police inspector Mohan Chand Sharma and other offences in connection with the encounter that took place on September 19, 2008, in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar.
11. *Amid rising COVID-19 cases in the country, Karnataka on Monday mandated RT-PCR tests for people traveling from Maharashtra and Kerala.*
12. *Punjab government postpones Class 10, 12 board exams amid rising COVID-19 cases* : The state education department has said that the 10th board exams will now be conducted from May 4 to May 24, while the 12th board exams will be held from April 20 to May 24.
13. *The date of exams for Uttar Pradesh Teachers’ Eligibility Test (UPTET 2021) has been announced by the state authority. AS per the official notification, the exams will be conducted on July 25, 2021.* The online application for UPTET 2021 will begin on May 18 on the official website on updeled.gov.in. The window to submit an application will close on June 1.
14. *The Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief the actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan on Monday (March 15, 2021) filed his nomination for the Coimbatore south seat, days ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly election 2021 polls.*
15. *The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay High Court order granting bail to Rhea Chakraborty.* hearing on Thursday, The actress was arrested over drug-related charges in connection with actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case.
*✈INTERNATIONAL NEWS*
1. *India working on compensation, re-employment and re – skilling of Indians abroad with partner governments, says External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar*.
2. *India, Pakistan officials to discuss Indus Water Treaty in March* : After a gap of over two and a half years, the Indus Water commissioners of India and Pakistan will meet in New Delhi from March 23 to 24.
3. Delhi’s Patiala House Court on Monday (March 15) granted bail to seven accused in the 2016 Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) sedition case. Prime accused Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya were already given bail by the court in the matter.
4. National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted searches on Monday (March 15) at 11 locations including in Delhi, Kerala and Karnataka against suspects linked to the Islamic State (IS).
5. *Inter Parliamentary Union President Duarte Pacheco to attend felicitation ceremony and address Members under the auspices of the Indian Parliamentary Group (IPG) in Central Hall of Parliament House on 16 March.* Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) formed in 1889, is one of the oldest and largest international Parliamentary body consisting of more than 179 Members.
6. *Uzbek troops get first-hand experience of Indian Army’s new US-made Sig Sauer rifles at the ongoing military exercise ‘DUSTLIK’ between the two armies in Chaubatia near Ranikhet in Uttarakhand.*
7. Beware, China: US, India, Japan, Australia have Joint Plan to Counter the China. The four leaders of the recent Quad Summit shared a vision for an Indo-Pacific region that is “free, open, resilient and inclusive”.
8. *The approval for Boeing 737 Max operations in India may take some more time as the regulator is closely monitoring the aircraft’s performance* . the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said.
9. *The United States has become the second biggest oil suppliers of India by overtaking Saudi Arabia*
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