Notes:
Pankaj Advani has defended his Asian Billiards Championships title. In the summit clash at Yangon in Myanmar, Advani defeated his practice partner B Bhaskar 6-1 on March 24, 2018. With this win, Advani remains the reigning Indian, Asian and world champion in billiards for 2017-18. This is Advani’s 11th gold medal at the Asian level of cue sports. His continental billiards title tally has gone up to 7, in addition to the back-to-back Asian Games gold medals in 2006 and 2010, one 6-red snooker title and a snooker team gold. Meanwhile, in Snooker, India’s Amee Kamani won the Asian Women’s title by blanking her Thai opponent Siripaporn Nuanthakhamjan 3-0.

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Star shuttler P V Sindhu has been named the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent for the opening ceremony of the 2018 Commonwealth Games (CWG), which scheduled to be held in Gold Coast, Australia on April 4. India will see participation of 222 athletes from 15 different sports including aquatics, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, hockey, lawn bowls, shooting, squash, table tennis, weightlifting, wrestling and para sports in the quadrennial sport. In the 2014 CWG in Glasgow, Sindhu bagged a bronze in Women’s Singles. It must be noted that Pistol shooter Vijay Kumar was the flag-bearer in 2014 Commonwealth Games, while 2008 Olympic champion shooter Abhinav Bindra had the honour when India hosted the Games in 2010. In the 2006 Melbourne Games, India’s flag-bearer was double trap shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who is currently the Sports Minister.

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India’s teen shooting sensation Manu Bhaker has bagged Gold in the Women’s 10-metre Air Pistol Individual and Team events at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Sydney, Australia on March 24, 2018. Manu shot 235.9 to finish at the top of the podium. Hirunphoem settled for a Silver, while China’s Kaiman Lu won the Bronze. Manu, Devanshi Rana and Mahima Agrawal also brought India on top of the team podium. China was second, while Thailand took home the bronze. India also tasted success in the Men’s 10 metre Air Pistol event, with Gaurav Rana winning a Silver medal, and Anmol Jain grabbing the Bronze.

Notes:
The World Tuberculosis Day (WTD) is observed every year on March 24 to help spread awareness about the disease, communicate prevention measures as well as to commemorate efforts undertaken against the disease. The 2018 theme is “Wanted: Leaders for a TB-Free World”, which highlights the importance of engaging people from all across the world to put efforts to eliminate TB. Although TB is a serious disease, it is curable. It can occur in almost every part of the body — the most commonly affected areas being lungs, lymph nodes, intestine, bone and brain. Early diagnosis is crucial for the treatment of TB.

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The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) has received the ‘Most Informative Pavilion’ Award in Pride of India Expo organized as part of the 105th Indian Science Congress (ISC) held from 16 to 20 March 2018 at Manipur University, Imphal. DRDO participated in the expo showcasing cutting-edge indigenous defence technologies with over 150 exhibits and models from 18 DRDO laboratories. The DRDO pavilion at the Expo was a big attraction among the visitors particularly students, who got opportunity to interact with DRDO scientists. The scientists engaged the visitors in the lively discussions on science and technologies.

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ISRO has signed a Technology Transfer Agreement (TTA) with Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) to transfer the technology for the manufacture of space-grade Li-Ion cells. The TTA was signed at ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru on 23rd March 2018 in the presence of Dr K. Sivan, Chairman of ISRO, and Atul Sobti, Chairman & Managing Director of BHEL. ISRO uses Li-Ion batteries as the power source for satellite and launch vehicle applications due to their high energy density, reliability and long cycle life. This Li-ion cell Technology Transfer will enable BHEL to produce space grade Li-Ion cells which can meet the country’s space programme requirements. This technology can also be adopted to cater to the Li-Ion cell requirement for other national needs.

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The world’s longest sandstone cave named Krem Puri has discovered near the village of Laitsohum in Mawsynram area of East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya. With a length of 24,583 metres, Krem Puri was discovered back in 2016 but the actual length of the cave was obtained by the Meghalaya Adventurers’ Association (MAA) during one of its recent expeditions. Krem Puri is over 6,000m longer than the current listed sandstone cave in the world, Cueva El Samán, (18,200m) in Venezuela. The cave system has fossils of dinosaurs, especially the Mosasaurus, a giant reptile that lived 66-76 million years ago.

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Chandigarh has become the North India’s first city to install digital automatic speed gun cameras for traffic management. The high-tech speed cameras are equipped with night vision technology and will record the speed of oncoming traffic, helping Chandigarh Police to issue challans to anyone driving above the city speed limits. Not only this, the advanced cameras are installed with digital display to beware motorists of overspeeding. If the speed is above the permissible limit, the digital display will warn the driver with a white light. If, and when, a motorist breaks the law, a Challan will be sent to the driver along with the image of overspeeding.

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The 5th India Maize Summit 2018 was held at FICCI in New Delhi to harness the potential of maize and technological innovations. The purpose of the summit is to promote producer aggregation and linkages that are required.

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The famous Madhavpur Mela has started at Madhavpur Ghed in Porbandar district of Gujarat on March 25, 2018. In a unique initiative, the 4-day Mela will showcase for the first time the cultural integration of the North-East with Gujarat. It will share its connect to the Mishmi Tribe of Arunachal Pradesh. The Mishmi Tribe traces its ancestry to the legendary King Bhishmak and through him to his daughter Rukmini and Lord Krishna. For the first time ever, the festival will celebrate the immortal journey which Rukmini undertook from Arunachal Pradesh to Gujarat with Lord Krishna. The festival will see a vibrant cultural trail of art, dance, music, poetry, story-telling and folk drama from the North-Eastern States with the aim to integrate the rich cultures of the two regions.