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- One of the largest global aircraft manufacturer Boeing has recommended a temporary suspension of its entire world fleet of the 737 MAX aircraft.
- The move comes after several countries, including India, China, European Union and the United States banned the use of the aircraft in wake of the Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 people on board.
- Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing's President, CEO and chairman in a statement said that the company was doing everything to understand the cause of the accidents in partnership with the investigators and help ensure this does not happen again.
- Sunday's Ethiopia Airlines crash was the second accident involving the US-based aerospace giant's MAX 8 model within six months. Last October, a Lion Air-operated MAX 8 went down in Indonesia in October, killing 189 people.
- Both crashes took place shortly after takeoff and have prompted intense scrutiny over the plane's control systems.
- There were 371 of the 737 MAX family jets in operation before this week’s groundings.
- Boeing has grounded an entire fleet of planes before. In 2013, Boeing told airlines not to fly their 787 Dreamliners because the planes' batteries were catching fire.
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- India and the United States have committed to strengthen bilateral security and civil nuclear cooperation, including the establishment of six US nuclear power plants in India.
- US reaffirmed its strong support of India’s early membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group. This commitment was made at the 9th round of the India-US Strategic Security Dialogue held in Washington DC on 13 March.
- The Ministry of External Affairs, in a statement said, the Indian delegation was led by Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, while the US delegation was led by Andrea Thompson, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security.
- India and US also exchanged views on a wide range of global security and nonproliferation challenges.
- They reaffirmed their commitment to work together to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems and to deny access to such weapons by terrorists and non-state actors.
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- President Ram Nath Kovind Presents Gallantry Awards and Distinguished Service Decorations at Rashtrapati Bhavan; Veterans honoured for their distinguished contributions.
- President Ram Nath Kovind conferred three Kirti Chakras and fifteen Shaurya Chakras to Armed Forces Personnel for displaying conspicuous gallantry, indomitable courage and extreme devotion to duty at a solemn ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on 14 march.
- Two Kirti Chakras and one Shaurya Chakra were given posthumously.
- President also conferred fifteen Param Vishisht Seva Medals, one Uttam Yudh Seva Medals and twenty-five Ati Vishisht Seva Medals to senior officers of the Armed Forces for distinguished service of an exceptional order.
- One of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal was conferred on Army Chief General Bipin Rawat. While, Major Tushar Gauba of 20 Jat regiment was conferred with the Kirti Chakra.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence MInsiter Nirmala Sitharaman were also present on the occasion.
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- Dept. of Science and Technology’s forthcoming study may lead to portal with district-wise data The Department of Science and Technology (DST) will be commissioning a study to assess the climate risks faced by States in India.
- This follows an assessment of the global warming risks faced by 12 Himalayan States and discussed at last year’s U.N. climate change conference in Poland that found States such as Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand vulnerable to climate change.
- “We eventually hope to have a climate portal, whereby users can zoom in on any district in the country and get a sense of what kind of risks climate, socio-economic are present,” said Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DST.
- Last year the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) at Mandi and Guwahati, and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, coordinated with State authorities in Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, the hill districts of West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir, to evolve a common methodology, and determine how districts there are equipped to deal with the vagaries of climate change.
- The researchers prepared a ‘vulnerability index’ of each of these States based on district-level data. Vulnerability would be a measure of the inherent risks a district faces, primarily by virtue of its geography and socio-economic situation.
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- In a major boost to ties between India and Afghanistan, the first Afghan shipment to India via Chabahar arrived at Nhava Sheva port in Mumbai.
- The 570 tonnes of consignment contained mung beans and talc.
- Consul General of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Naseem Sharifi stressed on the need of strong bilateral ties between India and Afghanistan and it's positive impact on trade and job creation.
- He further said that both the countries are connected through cultural relations and have a lot to do to serve each other.
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