ANS : A 

• Colonel Geeta Rana of the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers became the first woman officer to take over command of an independent field workshop in the Ladakh Sector.
• She took over the command of the EME independent workshop after the Army cleared 108 vacancies for women officers for taking command of independent units in the Corps of Engineers, Ordinance, EME, and other branches.
• The women officers clearing the boards would be given command roles and they could also be considered for future promotions also to higher ranks in the force.
• Army has also started deployment of women soldiers in joint exercises with friendly foreign countries and in peacekeeping missions. 

ANS : C 

• Vice President, Jagdeep Dhankhar released the book ‘Mundaka Upanishad: The Bridge to Immortality’ on 9 March 2023.
• The book is authored by former Parliamentarian Dr Karan Singh.
• Karan Singh is an Indian politician and philosopher.
• He is the son of the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, Sir Hari Singh.
• He was the prince regent of Jammu and Kashmir until 1952.

 ANS : C 

• Nepali Congress senior leader Ram Chandra Paudel has been elected the new President of Nepal on 9 Mar 2023.
• His rival was Subash Chandra Nembwang.
• The President is elected by an Electoral College consisting of the members of the Federal Parliament and the Provincial Assembly.
• He will succeed Bidya Devi Bhandari as Nepal’s Head of State.
• He is a former Speaker of the Pratinidhi Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of Nepal. 
• Ram Chandra Paudel is supported by eight parties.

ANS : A 

• The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission on 9 March 2023, arrested former Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on the charges of corruption.
• He was the PM from 2020-11, and will be charged under laws related to abuse of power and money laundering.
• He is also the president of Bersatu, a leading opposition party in Malaysia.
• He would be the 2nd former PM to be charged after Najib Razak.

ANS : D 

• MoS for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh participated in the 19th the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Ministerial Meet on 9 March 2023.
• The meeting was chaired by Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Don Pramudwinai.
• BIMSTEC was formed as a regional grouping in June 1997 with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration.
• MoS Rajkumar Ranjan Singh attends 19th BIMSTEC Ministerial meeting. 
• The Meeting also gave its nod to the Administrative and Disciplinary Rules of the Secretariat and amended Financial Rules and Regulations of the BIMSTEC Secretariat.

ANS : B 

• Assam entered on 9 March 2023, the Guinness World Records Hall of Fame for the largest number of handwritten notes.
• It was presented to Assam Government as the world’s largest photo album of handwritten essays on the great warrior of the Ahom Dynasty Lachit Borphukan.
• A portal was launched by the state government on Lachit Divas where the essays on Lachit Borphukan were submitted by students. 
• The essays were submitted as part of the 400th birth anniversary of Lachit Borphukan after the government of Assam had appealed to the people to pay tribute to the legendary Ahom army commander by writing essays on him as part of the celebrations. 

ANS : C 

• The Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri launched the ‘Women Icons Leading Swachhata’ (WINS) Awards 2023 in March 2023.
• The award aims to recognize celebrate and disseminate inspiring and exemplary initiatives in urban sanitation and waste management by women led organizations and individual women.
• The applications are open from 8th March to 5th April 2023.

ANS : B 

• Axis Mutual Fund appointed B Gopkumar as its new managing director and chief executive officer (MD & CEO) on 9 March 2023.
• Gopkumar takes over from Chandresh Nigam who has stepped down as the CEO of the company.
• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) barred Axis Mutual Fund’s former fund manager Viresh Joshi from the securities market in May 2022.
• The changes at AMC come weeks after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) released an interim order against the company’s former chief dealer Viresh Joshi over front running allegations. 

ANS : A 

• China’s Parliament unanimously endorsed an unprecedented third five-year term for President Xi Jinping.
• He has become first Chinese leader after the party founder Mao Zedong to continue in power beyond the two five-year terms.
• China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress (NPC) voted on ratifying Xi’s third term.

ANS : C 

• Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur inaugurated the Khelo India Dus Ka Dum Tournament in New Delhi on 10 March 2023.
• In the run-up to the International Women’s Day 2023 celebrations, the Youth Affairs and Sports Ministry is organizing the Khelo India Dus Ka Dum tournament from 10-31 March.
• Nearly 15,000 women athletes will participate in the contest that features 10 sports.
• The objective of this tournament is to provide a platform to the women athletes who were unable to participate in national or state-level competitions.
• It is also aimed at ensuring that competitive sports reach untapped geographical areas.
• The opening ceremony was also attended at the JLN Stadium by almost 2000 women athletes, comprising Khelo India Dus ka Dum participants.
• The list of sports which will be featuring include: Kho-kho, Swimming, Athletics, Wushu, Archery, Fencing, Judo, Weightlifting, Hockey and Yogasana.