Current Affairs Quiz - March 2026

Notes:
Chhattisgarh government approved the draft Freedom of Religion Bill, 2026 in a Cabinet meeting at Raipur. The Bill aims to prevent religious conversions through force, inducement, fraud, undue influence, or misrepresentation. It focuses on regulating conversion from one religion to another within the state. The proposed law will be introduced in the ongoing Budget Session of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly. The objective is to strengthen legal measures against unlawful religious conversions in the state.

Notes:
Ministry of Culture implements the Global Engagement Scheme to promote India’s cultural heritage internationally and enhance its global image. The objective is to strengthen cultural ties with foreign nations, promote bilateral cultural contacts, project India’s cultural identity, and encourage inbound tourism. The scheme has three components: Festival of India (FoI), Grant-in-aid to Indo-Foreign Friendship Cultural Societies and contributions to inter-governmental Organizations.

Notes:
PM-PRANAM was explained in the Lok Sabha by Jagat Prakash Nadda while answering a starred question. The PM‑PRANAM (PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness Generation, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother-Earth) was approved on 28 June 2023 by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. The scheme aims to improve soil health and protect “Mother Earth” by promoting sustainable and balanced use of fertilizers in agriculture. It encourages States and Union Territories to reduce the excessive use of chemical fertilizers and shift towards environment-friendly alternatives.

Notes:
The Centre for Development of Telematics, an autonomous telecom research and development body under the Department of Telecommunications, organised a Demo Day for 18 startups under the Samarth Incubation Programme (Cohort-II) at NBCC Convention Hall. The Samarth incubation programme, launched in March 2025, by Centre for Development of Telematics. It aims to support startups in the telecom and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sectors and strengthen India’s digital innovation ecosystem.

Notes:
Researchers recently identified an unusual iron sulfate ferric hydroxysulfate in layered deposits near Valles Marineris using laboratory experiments and orbital data. Valles Marineris, also called Mariner Valley, is a vast system of interconnected canyons on Mars. It was discovered during the Mariner 9 mission in 1971. It is one of the largest canyon systems in the Solar System. Some canyon walls are fault scarps formed due to crustal movement linked to Tharsis Rise. Erosion also shaped the canyon, seen in deep gullies along the walls.

Notes:
A regional workshop on the Tele-Law Programme was organised at Kalaivanar Arangam to strengthen technology-enabled justice delivery and ensure last-mile access to justice. The programme operates under the DISHA Scheme – Designing Innovative Solutions for Holistic Access to Justice. DISHA is a multi-dimensional initiative of the Government of India aimed at providing citizen-centric access to justice across the country. It promotes legal awareness, legal empowerment, and digital access to legal services, especially for rural and vulnerable communities. The scheme is implemented by the Department of Justice under the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India.

Notes:
International Day of Action for Rivers is observed every year on 14 March to promote protection and sustainable management of rivers. Rivers provide fresh water, regulate climate, support biodiversity, and sustain livelihoods and cultures. Many rivers today face threats from pollution, fragmentation, climate change, and unsustainable development projects. The 2026 theme is “Protect Rivers, Protect People.” The day encourages public awareness and collective action to conserve river ecosystems.

Notes:
A report “Safe Disposal of Unused Medicines” was released by United Nations Environment Programme. The report stresses waste prevention as the key strategy to manage unused medicines. Improper disposal causes environmental pollution and public health risks, including Antimicrobial Resistance, endocrine disruption, toxicity, and poisoning. The report promotes a One Health approach, integrating human health, animal health, and environmental protection. It suggests a four-pillar framework: prevention at source, medicine take-back schemes, strong legal and policy systems, and awareness programmes.

Notes:
Ministry of Education, with Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur), launched the SATHEE app – Self-Assessment, Test and Help for Entrance Exams – as a free learning platform for students. It helps prepare for major exams like Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and Common University Entrance Test (CUET). The platform provides video lectures, study notes and guidance by experts from IITs and reputed institutes. It offers multilingual study material, mock tests, assessments and previous years’ question papers for practice. The app was featured in the “Real-World Impact of AI in Education” casebook at the India AI Impact Summit 2026.

Notes:
Ministry of Culture launched Gyan Bharatam Mission to survey, document, conserve, digitize and provide access to manuscripts across India. The Standing Finance Committee (SFC) approved ₹491.66 crore for 2025–2031 to implement the mission. Manuscripts from academic institutions, museums, libraries and private collections will be covered across the country. The mission aims to identify about one crore manuscripts regardless of region, language or script. A nationwide network of Cluster Centres (CCs) and Independent Centres (ICs) is being created, with 40+ centres onboarded.