39 exam-relevant headlines, written simply. Read the bold fact in each — that's what exams ask.
The Central Board of Trustees of EPFO, chaired by Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, retained the EPF interest rate at 8.25% for 2025-26. The board also notified new EPF, EPS and EDLI Schemes 2026.
The Defence Ministry signed contracts worth Rs 5,083 crore: Rs 2,901 crore with HAL for six Advanced Light Helicopters Mk-III for the Coast Guard, and Rs 2,182 crore with Russia's Rosoboronexport for VL-Shtil surface-to-air missiles for the Navy.
The 11th Raisina Dialogue was held on March 5-7, 2026 in New Delhi on the theme 'Samskara - Assertion, Accommodation, Advancement'. Finland's President Alexander Stubb was the Chief Guest, and India-Finland ties were raised to a Strategic Partnership.
Home Minister Amit Shah launched four digital tools for Census 2027, India's first fully digital census, and unveiled mascots 'Pragati' and 'Vikas'. The tools were developed by C-DAC and include a self-enumeration portal.
President Murmu appointed nine Governors and Lieutenant Governors. Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain became Governor of Bihar, Taranjit Singh Sandhu became LG of Delhi, Vinai Kumar Saxena moved to Ladakh, Kavinder Gupta became Governor of Himachal Pradesh and R.N. Ravi moved to West Bengal.
India beat New Zealand by 96 runs in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on March 8, 2026 to win the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. It was India's third title after 2007 and 2024, making India the first team to defend the trophy. The 20-team event was co-hosted with Sri Lanka.
International Women's Day was observed on March 8 with the United Nations theme 'Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls'. The UN first marked the day in 1975 and the UNGA proclaimed it in 1977.
The RBI issued new dividend directions for banks for FY27, replacing the 2025 framework. Dividend payout is capped at 75% of profit after tax and linked to the CET-1 capital ratio; banks with CET-1 of 8% or below cannot pay dividends.
SIPRI's report on international arms transfers showed India remained the world's second largest arms importer in 2021-25 with an 8.2% share, after Ukraine (9.7%). France and Russia were the top suppliers to India.
The FATF placed Kuwait and Papua New Guinea on its grey list, taking the total to 22 countries. The decision was taken at the FATF Plenary held in Mexico City.
The Union Cabinet extended the Jal Jeevan Mission until 2028 with a total outlay of Rs 8.69 lakh crore, raising central assistance by an extra Rs 1.51 lakh crore. The focus now shifts to sustainable tap water service delivery.
At the 98th Academy Awards, 'One Battle After Another' won six Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson. Michael B. Jordan won Best Actor for 'Sinners' and Jessie Buckley became the first Irish winner of Best Actress for 'Hamnet'. A new Casting category was introduced.
Mercedes' 19-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli won the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, his first Formula One career win, after George Russell won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. Antonelli later won the Japanese Grand Prix too, becoming the youngest-ever F1 championship leader.
ISRO completed a 165-second sea-level hot test of the CE20 cryogenic engine at 22-tonne thrust at Mahendragiri. The same engine set a record of 20 hot tests and will power the uprated C32 stage of the LVM3 rocket.
The government approved quantum teaching laboratories in 23 institutions under the National Quantum Mission. The review meeting was chaired by Dr Jitendra Singh.
Tamil writer and lyricist R. Vairamuthu was chosen for the 60th Jnanpith Award (for 2025), becoming the third Tamil writer to receive it after Akilan and Jayakanthan. The Jnanpith carries a cash prize of Rs 11 lakh and a statue of Vagdevi.
India finished on top of the New Delhi leg of the World Para Athletics Grand Prix with 208 medals, including 75 gold. Russia was second with 35 medals. The event served as a qualifier for the World Championships and the LA 2028 Paralympics.
Seventeen-year-old Mayank Chakraborty of Guwahati became India's 94th Grandmaster and the first from North East India after completing his final norm in Sweden and crossing a 2500 FIDE rating.
At the BCCI Naman Awards, Rahul Dravid and Roger Binny received the C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award and Mithali Raj the women's Lifetime Achievement Award. Shubman Gill won the Polly Umrigar Award and Smriti Mandhana was named best international woman cricketer for the fifth time.
The Union Cabinet approved the BHAVYA scheme with an outlay of Rs 33,660 crore to build 100 plug-and-play industrial parks of 100-1,000 acres. The Centre will support up to Rs 1 crore per acre, with parks selected in challenge mode.
The NSO's monthly PLFS bulletin showed India's unemployment rate fell to 4.9% in February 2026 from 5% in January. The urban unemployment rate was 6.6% while the rural rate stayed at 4.2%.
The National Dental Commission was constituted as a statutory body under the National Dental Commission Act 2023, which came into force on March 19, 2026, repealing the Dentists Act 1948. Dr Sanjay Tewari is its chairperson.
The Forbes World's Billionaires List 2026 counted 3,428 billionaires. Elon Musk stayed number one with USD 839 billion, while Mukesh Ambani remained India's richest at USD 99.7 billion. India had 229 billionaires, third after the USA (989) and China (539).
The World Happiness Report 2026 ranked Finland first for the ninth straight year. India stood 116th. The report is published by the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre with Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
Shaheed Diwas was observed on March 23 to honour Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar, who were executed in Lahore Central Jail on March 23, 1931.
Nobel Peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi released his book 'Karuna: The Power of Compassion'. The Nobel Peace Prize 2014 was shared by Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai.
The Global Terrorism Index 2026 placed Pakistan first with 1,139 deaths from terrorism, while India ranked 13th. Global deaths from terrorism fell 28% to 5,582. The index is released by the Institute for Economics and Peace.
Chennai-based space startup Agnikul Cosmos successfully test-fired 'Agnite', the world's first fully 3D-printed booster engine, at its Chennai launch pad.
The Gujarat Assembly passed the Gujarat Uniform Civil Code, 2026, becoming the second state after Uttarakhand to enact it. The law mandates registration of live-in relationships and bans bigamy, with Scheduled Tribes excluded.
The Union Cabinet approved a revamped regional connectivity scheme UDAN with an outlay of Rs 28,840 crore for ten years from FY27 to FY36. It targets about 120 new destinations and 4 crore more passengers.
The CCI cleared Japan's MUFG Bank plan to acquire a 20% stake in Shriram Finance for about Rs 39,618 crore, the largest cross-border financial-sector investment in India.
The Cabinet approved India's updated Nationally Determined Contribution for 2031-35. It promises to cut the emissions intensity of GDP by 47% from 2005 levels and raise non-fossil installed power capacity to 60% by 2035.
Balendra Shah, 35, of the Rastriya Swatantra Party was sworn in as Nepal's Prime Minister, the country's youngest ever. A former rapper, his party won 182 of 275 House seats in the March 2026 elections.
Prime Minister Modi inaugurated Phase 1 of Noida International Airport at Jewar, Uttar Pradesh, built at a cost of Rs 11,200 crore with Zurich Airport International. It becomes Delhi-NCR's second international airport with 12 million passengers-a-year capacity.
The Indian Navy launched Operation Urja Suraksha to escort India-bound energy ships through the Strait of Hormuz amid the West Asia conflict. Over five frontline warships are escorting 22 identified vessels carrying LNG, LPG and crude oil.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said India's first hydrogen train had completed its oscillation trials on the Jind-Sonipat route in Haryana at 70 kmph. The train was built by the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai.
Former Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti was appointed Chairperson of the National Commission for Backward Classes, succeeding Hansraj Gangaram Ahir.
The RBI released 'Payment Vision 2028 - Shaping India's Payment Frontier' with 15 initiatives up to December 2028, including a digital payments switch on/off facility and cross-border single-window authorisation.
Vijaypat Singhania, former chairman of Raymond Group, died in Mumbai at 87. A Padma Bhushan awardee (2006), he set a hot air balloon altitude world record of 69,852 feet in 2005 and flew solo from London to Ahmedabad in 1988.
From exactly the headlines above. If you read the month, you should score 8+.
Suggested time 3 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.