17th March 2026

1. Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai Launches Gaudham Yojana to Establish 1,460 Cattle Shelters
2. Sahitya Akademi Award 2025 Announced: Full Winners List Across 24 Languages Revealed
3. Archaeologists Unearth Missing Piece of 3,200 Year Old Ramesses II Statue in Egypt
4. Rare Medieval Gajapathi Inscription Discovered in Guntur Temple
5. 22 Year Old Surya Midha Breaks Mark Zuckerberg Record & Joins the Youngest Billionaire List
6. Overview of PM Narendra Modi’s Visit to WB
7. Sagar Defence Lays Foundation of World’s First Autonomous Maritime Shipbuilding Centre in AP
8. Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh Announced Rs 100 Crore Integrated Aqua Park Project in J&K
9. IISc Professor Arpita Patra Summits World’s Highest Volcano Nevado Ojos del Salado
10. RBI Imposes Rs 2.7 Lakh Penalty on Manappuram Finance for KMP Compensation Guideline Violation
11. DCM Shriram Secured USD 90 Million Funding from World Bank’s IFC
12. Mayank Chakraborty Becomes India’s 94th Grandmaster
13. Former Pakistan Captain Sarfaraz Ahmed Announces Retirement from International Cricket
14. International Day of Mathematics 2026
15. International Day of Action for Rivers 2026
16. Indian Post Launches The 24 Speed Post for Faster Deliveries
17. World Social Work Day 2026 to Be Observed on 17 March

National News

India Post launches ‘24 Speed Post’ service

• What: Department of Posts will start “24 Speed Post” (D+1) for next-day delivery and “48 Speed Post” (D+2) for two-day delivery, using faster processing and air transport to send parcels quickly and safely between major cities.
• Tell me more:
  • Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia will launch the service in New Delhi.
  • Service will start in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, and will deliver parcels and documents between these cities by next day for bookings made within these metro.

State News

Chhattisgarh launches Gaudham Yojana for cattle conservation

• What: Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai started the Gaudham Yojana in Chhattisgarh to give shelter and care to cattle, while helping rural people learn skills, find self-employment, and improve animal husbandry practices.
• Tell me more:
  • The government inaugurated 29 Gaudhams across 11 districts in the first phase. The government plans to build 1,460 Gaudhams across the state.
  • The scheme provides monthly honorariums for shepherds and Gau-sevaks.

Medieval inscription in Guntur reveals Odisha–Andhra links

• What: Archaeologists found an old Telugu inscription in a Guntur temple that is linked to Gajapathi rulers, showing how Odisha and Andhra Pradesh were connected in history, culture, and religion during the 15th century.
• Tell me more:
  • The inscription mentions Kumaraguru Mahapatra serving under King Purushottama Deva.
  • The discovery was documented by epigraphist Bishnu Mohan Adhikari, along with M. Sivasankar during field research.

Major infrastructure push in West Bengal

• What: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched road, rail, and port projects in West Bengal, including highways, railway upgrades, and port modernisation, to improve connectivity, reduce travel time, increase safety, and support regional economic growth.
• Tell me more:
  • Prime Minister will inaugurate six redeveloped railway stations under Amrit Station Scheme, including Kamakhyaguri, Anara, Tamluk, Haldia, Barabhum, and Siuri in West Bengal.

Government approves ₹100 crore aqua park in Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir

• What: Government approved a ₹100 crore Aqua Park in Anantnag to build better fish farming facilities, produce more fish, create jobs, and support cold-water fish farming in Jammu and Kashmir.
• Tell me more:
  • Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh also released fish farming guidelines, promoted trout production, value chains, cooperatives, and government support to improve fish production, farmer income, jobs, and fisheries development.
    • Rajiv Ranjan Singh is the Union Minister Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (FAH&D) and Panchayati Raj.
  • Government highlighted funding support under Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF).

International News

Archaeologists Unearth Missing Piece of 3,200 Year Old Ramesses II Statue in Egypt

• Archaeologists found the top part of the Ramesses II statue in Egypt, which fits a piece found earlier, showing its colours and helping rebuild the statue and learn about ancient kings.
• Ramesses II was an ancient Egyptian king who ruled from 1279 to 1213 BCE. He was famous for building large monuments, temples, and statues to show his power and importance.

Banking and Economy

RBI penalises Manappuram Finance for KMP pay violation

• What: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed a ₹2.70 lakh penalty on Manappuram Finance for not following guidelines on key managerial personnel compensation.
• Tell me more:
  • Manappuram Finance paid the full variable salary (bonus) at once to some key managerial personnel, while RBI guidelines require part of this payment to be delayed (deferred).

DCM Shriram to receive $90 million from IFC

• What: DCM Shriram will get USD 90 million from International Finance Corporation (IFC) to grow its chemicals business and farming activities, using the sustainability-linked non-convertible debentures.
• Tell me more:
  • Sustainability-linked non-convertible debentures are loans taken by a company where repayment does not convert into equity, and interest or terms depend on meeting environmental or sustainability goals.

Defence News

Sagar Defence Lays Foundation of World’s First Autonomous Maritime Shipbuilding Centre in AP

• What: Sagar Defence Engineering started building the world’s first centre in Andhra Pradesh to make smart, self-operating ships, helping India build its own defence equipment and improve sea technology and operations.
• Tell me more:
  • It will be developed at Juvvaladinne fishing harbour in Nellore district for the project.
  • This centre will help build self-operating ships and smart systems, make sea operations safer and faster, support smart fishing with real-time data, and improve India’s own defence and maritime technology capabilities.

Awards

Sahitya Akademi Awards for the Year 2025 Announced

Three founders of Mercor become youngest self-made billionaires

• What: Three friends Brendan Foody, Adarsh Hiremath, and Surya Midha created Mercor, an AI hiring platform that connects global workers with jobs, raised $350 million funding, reached $10 billion valuation, and became billionaires at age 22.
• Tell me more:
  • About Mercor:
    • Mercor is a San Francisco-based AI hiring platform, launched in 2023 as a freelance marketplace. The founders aim to build a global AI-enabled labour marketplace by 2035.
    • Brendan Foody serves as Chief Executive Officer, Adarsh Hiremath serves as Chief Technology Officer, and Surya Midha serves as Chairman of the board at Mercor.
  • The founders received the Thiel Fellowship grant of $100,000. This is a $100,000 grant given to young people who leave college to build companies full-time.
    • It is given by a private organisation called the Thiel Foundation (owned by venture capitalist Peter Thiel).
    • OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal was also a beneficiary of this grant in 2023.

IISc professor summits world’s highest volcanic peak

• What: Arpita Patra of Indian Institute of Science (IISc) summited Nevado Ojos del Salado in Chile, becoming the second Indian woman to achieve this feat and marking progress in Indian participation in global mountaineering achievements.
• Tell me more:
  • Nevado Ojos del Salado stands at 6,893 meters and is the highest volcanic peak in the world.
  • Peak is located in the Atacama Desert and presents extremely cold and harsh conditions.

Important Days

International Mathematics Day 2026 – March 14

• The choice of March 14 for International Mathematics Day is not arbitrary. The date corresponds with Pi Day.
• Theme: Mathematics and Hope (same theme for Pi Day also)

International Day of Action for Rivers 2026 (29th Edition) – March 14

• Theme: Protect Rivers, Protect People
• International Day of Action for Rivers, started in 1997 in Brazil, is observed globally on March 14 to oppose harmful dam projects, protect rivers, and promote fair and sustainable water management worldwide.

World Social Work Day – March 17

• International Federation of Social Workers’ theme for this year is ‘Co-Building Hope and Harmony: A Harambee Call to Unite a Divided Society’.

Sports

Mayank Chakraborty Becomes India’s 94th Grandmaster

• 16-year-old Mayank Chakraborty became the first Grandmaster from Assam and Northeast India after winning a tournament in Sweden, showing strong talent, family support, and inspiring young chess players in the region.

Sarfaraz Ahmed retires from international cricket

• Sarfaraz Ahmed retired from all cricket formats after leading Pakistan as captain and winning the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, marking the end of his successful international cricket career.

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