• National

SC Collegium recommends names of Justices Gavai, Surya Kant for elevation as apex court judges

• The five-member Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi has recommended the names of Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant to the Centre for their elevation as apex court judges.
• Currently, Justice Gavai is Judge of the Bombay High Court and Justice Kant is the incumbent Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
• The apex court is presently functioning with 27 judges against the sanctioned strength of 31 judges.

• International

Singapore passes new law to police fake news

• Singapore’s parliament has passed a sweeping “anti-fake news” bill.
• It includes ability to demand corrections, order the removal of content, or block websites deemed to be propagating falsehoods contrary to the public interest.
• Penalties for not complying with orders include steep fines and jail time.

• International

Peruvian Climber died on Nepal Peak

• Experienced Peruvian climber Richard Hidalgo was found dead on Mount Makalu.
• The body of the 52-year-old was found in his tent at 6,600 metres (21,650 feet) by Sherpa guides who went to check after he did not wake up.
• The guides said that it seemed he had died in his sleep.

• Economy and Business

SBI Card raises Rs. 700 crores from banks

• SBI Card raised Rs. 700 crores from several financial institutions including its parent State Bank of India (SBI) in the second half of FY19.
• SBI Cards and Payment Services Pvt. Ltd (SBI Card) raised Rs. 100 crores from ICICI Securities Primary Dealership Ltd, Rs. 250 crores from State Bank of India and Rs. 50 crore each from Canara Bank and Axis Bank by issuing non-convertible debentures (NCDs) at 9.15% coupon.
• The company also raised another Rs. 250 crores from Axis Bank through a coupon of 9.55%.
• According to the latest Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, as on February 2019, HDFC Bank was the market leader in terms of the number of outstanding credit cards at 12.48 million.

• Appointments

Rakesh Sharma elected as IMMA Vice-President

• Bajaj Auto Executive Director Rakesh Sharma has been elected as Vice-President of Geneva-based International Motorcycle Manufacturers Association (IMMA).
• He is a representative of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).
• Geneva-based IMMA has membership from various manufacturers associations from across the world.

• Important Days

158th birth anniversary of Tagore being celebrated today

• Today, the 158th birth anniversary of Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore is being celebrated all over West Bengal.
• Rabindra Nath Tagore reshaped Bengali literature and music, as well as Indian art with Contextual Modernism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
• The West Bengal Government has organised a special musical programme in Kolkata to pay tributes to Gurudev Tagore.

• Science and Tech

IIT-B researchers develop ‘Made in India’ microprocessor

• Engineers from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) have developed a microprocessor called AJIT, the first to be conceptualised, designed, developed and manufactured in India.
• It can be used inside a set-top box, as a control panel for automation systems, in a traffic light controller or even robotic systems.
• The project was funded by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and IIT Bombay.
• Mumbai-based company ‘Powai Labs‘ invested in the venture, and will own, market and support the product.
• In the first stage, AJIT has been manufactured in the government-owned Semiconductor Laboratory, Chandigarh.

• Obituaries

Former billiards player Derek Sippy passes away

• Former billiards player, coach and administrator Derek Sippy (60-years) passed away in Mumbai.
• He served the BSAM in various capacities and was its secretary for several years.
• He was the Indian team’s coach at recently concluded Asian Under-21 Boys Snooker and Asian Women Snooker tournament in Chandigarh.

• Obituaries

Dr. NR Madhava Menon passes away

• Father of Modern Legal Education, Prof N.R. Madhava Menon (84 years) has passed away
• He is known for changing the face of Indian legal education by pioneering the establishment of National Law Schools.
• He is credited with the conceptualization of five-year integrated LLB course, in place of the earlier 3-year course
• Menon was bestowed with the Padma Shri in 2003 for his outstanding contribution to public services.
• A book “Turning Point” published by Universal Law Publishers, Delhi (2010) is on the life and works of Prof. Menon.

• Obituaries

The first Chronicler of Partition Prof. Kirpal Singh passes away

• The first chronicler of Partition Prof. Kirpal Singh (95-years) passed away in Chandigarh.
• Singh started building an archive in 1954,
• He began his journey in Partition’s historiography in 1953 as a young lecturer at Khalsa College, Amritsar.
• The turning point came in 1962 when then chief minister Partap Singh Kairon offered to send him to the UK to collect papers related to Punjab.

• States

Chhattisgarh Deploys 1st Anti-Naxal Women Commando Unit

• The Chhattisgarh police for the first time has inducted women commandos in the District Reserve Guard (DRG), its frontline anti-Naxal force.
• Comprising 30 women led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Dineshwari Nand, have received extensive training in jungle combat.
• With the induction of the women commando contingent, the number of platoons of the DRG in Dantewada now stands at six.

• Miscellaneous

India’s newest pit viper found in Arunachal

• India now has a fifth brown pit viper but with a reddish tinge.
• Scientiscts have described a new species of reddish-brown pit viper, a venomous snake with a unique heat-sensing system from a forest in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh.
• The team of herpetologists was led by Ashok Captain.