In Cricket, England beat India by eight wickets in the first T-20 match at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad last night. Put into bat first, India scored 124 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the stipulated 20 overs with the help of Shreyas Aiyyar’s 67 runs off 48 balls. Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya were the other two notable contributors to the Indian team, scoring 21 and 19 runs respectively.
 
For England, Pacer Jofra Archer registered three wickets while Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Chris Jordan and Ben Stokes took a wicket each. In reply, England chased down the target of 125 in 15.3 overs riding on Jason Roy’s 49, Jos Buttler’s 28 and Jonny Bairstow’s 26 not out. For India, Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal took a wicket each. England now leads five match series 1-0. The second T-20 will be played tomorrow at the same venue. 

Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shri Prakash Javadekar will inaugurate today exhibitions at six places virtually. The six places are  Bangalore,  Pune, Bhubaneswar, Patna, Moirang District in Manipur and Samba District in Jammu and Kashmir. In addition,Shri Prakash Javadekar will also inaugurate an exhibition at the National Media Center in New Delhi today. 

The exhibitions are being  organised in pursuance of the vision of the Prime Minister and to contribute to the festive fervor to the Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav  as part of India’s 75th Independence Day celebrations. Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav commenced yesterday,  75 weeks prior to Independence Day 2022,  and would continue till Independence Day 2023.

Earlier, the  Prime Minister had said that the festival of 75 years of independence would be a festival, in which the spirit of freedom struggle, tribute to the martyrs and their pledge to create India would be experienced. The festival  will also showcase the country’s achievements in the 75 years to the world and also give a framework for resolution to us for the next 25 years. 

National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) will be conducted on the 1st of August  this year. NEET-UG 2021 will be conducted in 11 languages. National Testing Agency yesterday informed that the detailed information related to the test will be provided shortly. The Agency advised the candidates to keep visiting the website nta.ac.in and ntaneet.nic.in for further details.

Union Health Ministry has said that the cumulative number of COVID vaccine doses administered in the country crossed two Crore 80 lakh till last evening. They include 72 lakh 84 thousand 406 Healthcare workers who have taken the first dose  and  41 lakh 76 thousand 446 Healthcare workers who received the second dose of vaccines. Besides, over  72 lakh 15 thousand Frontline workers got the 1st dose and over 9 lakh 28 thousand took the second dose.
 
The Ministry also said, 71 lakh 69 thousand 695 beneficiaries above 60 years age and as many as 12 lakh 30 thousand 704 beneficiaries aged 45 and above with specific co-morbidities got the 1st dose of vaccine. Total 18 lakh 40 thousand 897 vaccine doses were given till 8 pm yesterday, the fifty sixth day of nationwide COVID19 vaccination.

President Ram Nath Kovind will be on a  three-day visit to Purvanchal in  Uttar Pradesh. During his visit, he will participate in many programmes in Sonbhadra and Mirzapur districts. Elaborate security arrangements have been made in and around the programme venues.
 
AIR Varanasi correspondent reports that after reaching the legendary town Kashi this afternoon, President Ramnath Kovind will pay obeisance and perform Pujan at the Baba Vishwanath Temple . In the evening, he will witness the world famous Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamegh Ghat on the banks of the river Maa Ganges. Tomorrow, The president will attend the Banavasi Samagam program at Chhapki of Sonbhadra district and dedicate the newly constructed building of Seva Kunj Ashram there.
 
The President is also scheduled to visit the Mirzapur district tomorrow afternoon and pay obeisance to Maa Vindhyavasini Devi. On Monday, the third day of his visit the President will attend the inaugural session of the program on ‘Ganga, Environment and Indian Culture’ organized by the Media House Jagran Forum. 

Quad countries have expressed commitment to promoting a free, open rules-based order, rooted in international law to advance security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. The Quad Leaders in a Joint Statement issued after the first ever Quad Summit yesterday, said they support the rule of law, freedom of navigation and overflight, peaceful resolution of disputes, democratic values, and territorial integrity. They reaffirmed strong support for ASEAN’s unity and centrality as well as the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.
 
The Joint Statement said the Quad seeks to uphold peace and prosperity and strengthen democratic resilience, based on universal values. The Quad leaders reaffirmed commitment to quadrilateral cooperation between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States. They stated that they are united in a shared vision for the free and open Indo-Pacific. The Quad leaders said they strive for a region that is free, open, inclusive, healthy, anchored by democratic values, and unconstrained by coercion.
 
They pledged to strengthen cooperation on the defining challenges of the time. They also pledged to respond to the economic and health impacts of COVID-19, combat climate change, and address shared challenges, including in cyber space, critical technologies, counterterrorism, and quality infrastructure investment. The Quad leaders stated that they will join forces to expand safe, affordable, and effective vaccine production and equitable access. They agreed to collaborate to strengthen equitable vaccine access for the Indo-Pacific, with close coordination with multilateral organizations including the World Health Organization and COVAX.
 
They called for transparent and results-oriented reform at the World Health Organization. They said they are united in recognizing that climate change is a global priority and will work to strengthen the climate actions of all nations, including to keep a Paris-aligned temperature limit within reach.

The leaders said they will continue to prioritize the role of international law in the maritime domain, particularly as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and facilitate collaboration. This includes maritime security, to meet challenges to the rules-based maritime order in the East and South China Seas.
 
They also reaffirmed commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions, and also confirmed the necessity of immediate resolution of the issue of Japanese abductees. As long-standing supporters of Myanmar and its people, the Quad nations emphasized the urgent need to restore democracy and the priority of strengthening democratic resilience.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured full support to the world of Ayurveda. He was addressing the Global Ayurveda Festival last evening.  Mr. Modi said people are realising the benefits of Ayurveda and its role in boosting immunity. He said the current situation presents a right time for Ayurveda and traditional medicine to become even more popular globally.
 
Mr. Modi added that the WHO has also announced the setting up of the Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in India and students from various countries are coming to India to study Ayurveda and traditional medicines.  He said this is the ideal time to think about worldwide wellness. The Prime Minister said the National Ayush Mission has been started to promote Ayush medical system through cost-effective services. 
 
Mr. Modi added  Ayurveda takes care of many aspects and it could rightly be described as holistic human science. He also said from plants to plate and  from matters of physical strength to mental wellbeing  the impact and influence of Ayurveda and traditional medicine is immense. The Prime Minister appreciated the efforts of all those who’re working on Ayurveda across the world saying the passion and persistence will benefit the entire humanity. He said India offers wellness tourism and at the core of it is the principle of treat illness for wellness.

The First Quad Leaders’ Summit will be held virtually today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and US President  Joseph R Biden will participate in the first Leaders’ Summit of the Quadrilateral Framework.

The Leaders will discuss regional and global issues of shared interest and exchange views on practical areas of cooperation towards maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.

The Summit will provide an opportunity to exchange views on contemporary challenges such as resilient supply chains, emerging and critical technologies, maritime security and climate change.

The Leaders will also discuss ongoing efforts to combat Covid-19 pandemic and explore opportunities for collaboration in ensuring safe, equitable and affordable vaccines in the Indo-Pacific region. 

Ahead of the Quad Leaders’ Summit today, Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said the first meeting of the leaders of “Quad” countries would discuss security challenges across the Indo-Pacific, climate change and efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the region. Talking to reporters in Sydney, Prime Minister Morrison said, there have been many other meetings, but when governments come together at the highest level, this shows a whole new level of cooperation to create a new anchor for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.

The Australia Prime Minister said the talks will also include plans to achieve net zero emission targets into the future as countries in the region move to a new energy economy.

The first Meeting of the BRICS Contact Group on Economic and Trade Issues (CGETI) was held under India’s Chairship from 9th till 11th of this month. The theme of BRICS this year is -“BRICS at 15: Intra BRICS Cooperation for Continuity, Consolidation, and Consensus”.
India presented the calendar of events for BRICS CGETI 2021, which included the priority areas for deliverables, schedule and scope of the MSME roundtable conference workshop on Services Statistics, and the BRICS Trade Fair.
Till September, inter sessional deliberations will be carried out to reach consensus amongst the BRICS countries.

The process of filing of nominations has begun today with the issuance of notification for the Third Phase of Assembly Elections in the states of Assam and West Bengal.

In Assam and West Bengal, it is also the last date for the withdrawal of candidature for the First Phase of Assembly Elections while the filing of nominations closes for the Second Phase today.

In Assam, 47 Assembly Constituencies will go to polls on the 27th of March during the First Phase while polling will be held in 30 Assembly Constituencies of West Bengal in this phase.

The Second Phase of polling in Assam and West Bengal will be conducted on the 1st of April in 39 Assembly Constituencies of Assam and 30 Assembly Constituencies of West Bengal.

Third Phase polling in these two states will be held on 6th of April when 40 Assembly Constituencies of Assam and 31 Assembly Constituencies of West Bengal will go to polls. 

In Assam, notification for the third and final phase of polls has been issued today . 40 seats will be covered in this phase in 12 districts. Over 70 lakh voters could exercise their voting rights in this phase. The BJP has already announced the names of state party President Ranjit Kumar Dass as candidate at Patacharkuchi and party’s heavyweight Himanta Biswa Sarma as a candidate for Jalukbari constituency.

Meanwhile, today  is the last day of filing for nomination in the second phase where polling will be held on 1st of April in 39 seats. On the other hand, today is also the last day of withdrawal of nomination papers for the first phase of polls. 284 nominations were found valid in the first phase. Yesterday 1 Independent candidate has withdrawn nomination paper.

In West Bengal, BJP candidate Shubhendu Adhikari has filed his nomination from Nandigram constituency today. He submitted papers at the Sub Divisional Office at Haldia.

Sanyukt Morcha backed CPIM candidate Minakshi Mukherjee has also submitted her nomination papers this morning.

It may be noted that Chief Minister of West Bengal and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee is contesting from Nandigram seat. She had filed her nomination last Wednesday. Polling will be held in this seat along with 29 other constituencies in the second phase on 1st of April. Today is the last date for filing nominations for the second phase and withdrawal of candidature for the first phase. Notification for the third phase has been issued today.

Meanwhile, Ms Banerjee, who is undergoing treatment at the SSKM hospital in Kolkata after being injured in Nandigram, is responding well. The six member medical board has examined her condition this morning. Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court TBN Radhakrishnan paid a visit to the Chief Minister today. 

In Tamil Nadu filing of nomination for the 234 Assembly constituencies  began today. March 19th is the last date for the filing of nomination and scrutiny will take place on the 20th March. The last date for the withdrawal of candidature is 22 nd March.
 
Meanwhile DMK leader M.K.Stalin released the names of 173 candidates of his party. MK Stalin is contesting from Kolathur Constiutuency in Chennai. BJP is also expected to release the names of the candidates today.
 
Former Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan and State BJP leader L.Murugan have rushed to Delhi for the purpose. The ruling AIADMK Joint Coordinator and the Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisamy is all set to begin his election campaign from Salem. AIADMK Coordinator and Dy Chief Minister O.Panneerselvam is expected to file his nomination from Bodinayakkanur, Theni district. 

Azadi Ka Amruth Mahotsav is being organised in three places in Karnataka. Governor Vaju Bhai Vala and Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa offered homage at the memorial erected in remembrance of the freedom fighters who laid down their life in Vidurashwatha in Chikkaballapur district during the freedom struggle. Viduraswatha is known as Jalianwala bagh of Karnataka where in 1938 police opened fire on the unsuspecting crowd that had gathered in an open ground near the Ashwatha tree thereby killing 32 persons and injuring many. To mark the day, cycle jatha, exhibition and processions were organised.

The Governor of Rajasthan , Kalraj Mishra inaugurated the exhibition on ‘Aazadi ka Amrit Mahotasav’ at Jahawar Kala Kendra in Jaipur today. The 5 day long exhibition has been origanised by the Regional Outreach Bureau , Jaipur. After the inauguration of the exhibition , Mr. Mishra said that the story of the freedom struggle is an inspiration to every citizen.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh  Chouhan inaugurated the state level  Amrit Mahotsav campaign at Shaurya Smarak Bhopal.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan while inaugurating the state level campaign said that “we will leave no stone unturned to fulfill Prime Minister’s resolve for self reliant India. “. He said that there is need to adopt the ideals for which the freedom fighters sacrificed themselves.

Chief Minister paid floral tributes at the Bharat Mata statue site in the Shaurya Smarak and also inaugurated the photo exhibition of ministry of information and broadcasting media unit  Regional outreach bureau .

Amrit Mahotsav of independence  is being organized at all 52 district headquarters of the state, including the sites associated with the Jana Nayaks and freedom movement including  Alirajpur district ,the birth place of  Chandrashekhar Azad , Orchha, Niwari district associated with Tatya Tope, Jabalpur with Rani Durgavati and many more.

In Tamilnadu, Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav was celebrated with much fervour. Cycle rallies, tree plantation and cultural performances were held.  Tamilnadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit inaugurated the Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav in Chennai. He also inaugurated the photo exhibition of the freedom struggle and dandi march. Speaking at the function, he said that the Dandi march played an important role in the freedom struggle. He recalled that many freedom fighters from Tamilnadu had participated in it.  Ten freedom fighters were honoured by the Governor.

In union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Lt. Gov. Manoj Sinha today paid rich tributes to Brigadier Rajinder Singh Jamwal on the occasion of Azaadi ka Amrit Mahotsav at Rajinder Singh Pura in Samba district of Jammu division. At the outset, LG Sinha paid floral tributes to the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, First Home Minister of Independent India Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, great freedom fighter Subhash Chandra Bose and Brigadier Rajinder Singh Jamwal who is known as ‘The Saviour of Kashmir’. On the occasion, LG also flagged off a Bike rally and Amrit Rath from the said venue.

Prime Minister was addressing a special gathering at Sabarmati Gandhi Ashram after launching Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav- which marks the beginning of the celebrations of 75th anniversary of India’s Independence. He also flagged off the re-enact of historic Dandhi March from Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad Gujarat.

He said that development of Atmanirbhar Bharat will also boost the development of the world. He said that India is self reliant in developing and manufacturing Covid19 vaccines. 

Mr. Modi said that we are also helping other nations of the world in their fight against the Covid19. Mr. Modi said that people’s participation will be the key in the nation wide celebrations of Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav. He appealed the people to come forward with new ideas and contribute in Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also launched a special website for Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav in connection with the 75 years celebration of Indian Independence. People and particularly, the young generation can share their videos and images on Azadi ka Amrit Mahotav on this website. Prime Minister Modi also launched Atmanirbhar Incubator to boost the Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Speaking on this occasion, Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Independent Charge Prahalad Singh Patel said that Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav- will be a people’s movement which will run by the people of India. He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking India on the path of Atmanirbhar Bharat.  He said that  A Charkha has been installed near Magan Niwas at Sabarmati Ashram. It will rotate full circle with each Tweet related to Aatmanirbhar Bharat. He also appealed the people to buy any local product and post a picture on social media using  #VocalForLocal.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said that the historic Dandi March of Mahatma Gandhi in 1930 had boosted the freedom struggle across the country against the British rule. He said that Sardar Patel was the man who united all the princely states and regions of India after Independence.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India’s achievements are beneficial not only for India but also for the entire mankind and they create new hope for the human race.

Prime Minister was addressing a special gathering at Sabarmati Gandhi Ashram after launching Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav- which marks the beginning of the celebrations of 75th anniversary of India’s Independence. 

He also flagged off the re-enact of historic Dandhi March from Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad Gujarat.