- President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of office to Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) to Bimal Julka. Bimal Julka is a 1979 batch retired IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.
- Ajay Bhushan Pandey, a 1984 batch IAS officer, has been appointed as the new Finance Secretary of India. He will succeed Rajiv Kumar, who retired from the position in February 2020.
- The Reserve Bank of India has capped the withdrawal limit of Yes Bank account holders to Rs 50,000. The bank will not be allowed to pay more than this amount to any account holder- savings, current or others.
- The Union Government has ordered closure of all primary schools, including both private and government till March 31, 2020. The primary schools are till Class V.
- US President Donald Trump is expected to sign a new bill worth $8.3 billion to combat the spread of coronavirus in the nation and outside. The will provide funds to the federal public health agencies to conduct tests, potential treatment, get vaccines and help the local units to respond to the virus outbreak.
- Seventeen planets were discovered recently by astronomers at the University of British Columbia. These planets have been discovered by the Kepler space telescope of the National Aeronautical and Space Administration. NASA’s four-year Kepler mission studied about two million stars by using the transit method.
- The TIME Magazine has included former Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi and freedom fighter Amrit Kaur in the list of 100 powerful women of the world of the last century.
- NASA has named the rover made for its Mars mission as ‘Perseverance’. NASA has scheduled a flight to Mars in July 2020.
- The International Women’s Day is observed across the world on 8th March. The day is observed to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women worldwide.
- India will no longer provide passport to government employees under suspension or who have been granted sanction of prosecution over corruption charges. The decision came after the Personnel Ministry in consultation with the Central Vigilance Commission reviewed the existing guidelines.
