J&K DOMICILE RULES NOTIFIED

• J&K administration notified the J&K grant of domicile certificate procedure rules 2020
• A fast-track process set in motion to issue the certificates within a stipulated time of 15 days
• The new process will allow West Pakistan refugees, sanitation workers and children of women who married non-locals to apply for jobs in J&K
• Central govt. officials who have served in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for a total period of ten years, are eligible for the certificate.
• Children who can produce Class 10 or Class 12 certificate from any J&K school will also be eligible for domicile certificates.

INDIA

• Ambikapur (Chhattisgarh), Rajkot, Surat, Mysore, Indore and Navi Mumbai declared as ‘5-star garbage-free cities’ by the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry for the assessment year 2019-2020
• ECONOMY & CORPORATE
• Deadline for fulfilment of contractual obligations of all govt. projects that were due for completion on or after February 20, extended by up to six months in view of COVID-19 crisis
• Railways’ most powerful 12000 HP Made in India locomotive makes maiden commercial run; built by French company Alstom at factory in Madhepura, Bihar
• Dilip Oommen, CEO of Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel India, appointed new President of Indian Steel Association (ISA)

INDIA-NEPAL BORDER ISSUE

• Nepal launches new map including Lipulekh, Kalapani, Limpiyadhura claimed by India as its territory
• Kalapani is claimed by India as part of Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district while Nepal claims it as part of its Dharchula district
• The Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani
• In October 2019, India had issued a new political map incorporating Kalapani and Lipulekh on its side of the border

WORLD

• India gives USD 2 million in aid to UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) working for the welfare of Palestinian refugees
• Lesotho’s PM Thomas Thabane resigns after pressure over his involvement in his estranged wife’s murder in 2017
• World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that WHO will initiate an independent review into its handling of the coronavirus pandemic