Notes:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $175 million loan to Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (PGCIL) to expand its solar energy transmission network in the country. The project funding will improve the capacity and efficiency of interstate transmission networks, particularly in transmitting the electricity generated from new solar parks to the national grid.

Notes:
India and Israel have signed mega defence deals worth over $2 billion for advanced Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) systems, which are designed to destroy hostile aircraft, missiles and drones at a range of 70-km. As part of the deal, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will provide Barak-8 advanced Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) systems to the the Indian Army.These Barak-8 systems, with their Multi-Function Surveillance and Threat Alert Radars (MF-STARs) as well as weapon control systems with data links, can detect and track hostile aerial threats at a range of 100-km and destroy them at 70-km. Consequently, they will help in plugging the existing holes in India’s air defence coverage.

Notes:
Colson Whitehead from United States has won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in fiction for his novel “The Underground Railroad”. The novel had received the 2016 National Book Award of the US. This is for the first time in more than 20 years that the same work won the Pulitzer and National Book Award for fiction. The novel depicts the journey of a young woman that escaped from slavery via a fantastical train system.

Notes:
Dr Akhilesh Das Gupta (56), the former Union Minister of State for Steel under Dr. Manmohan Singh Government during UPA-I, has recently passed away in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. He was a Prominent Educationist, Professor, and Indian Politician & Philanthropist. Dr. Gupta was the President of Badminton Association of India (BAI), Vice President of Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC), Member – Executive Council of Badminton World Federation (BWF) & Vice President of Indian Olympic Association (IOA). He was also the member of the Rajya Sabha for three terms from 1996 to 2014. Dr. Gupta was the son of Freedom Fighter Late Shri Babu Banarasi Das, the former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

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Mukta Dutta Tomar, a 1984-batch IFS officer, has been appointed as the new Ambassador of India to the Federal Republic of Germany. She will succeed Gurjit Singh. Presently, she is the additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

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Bollywood thespian Dilip Kumar has been honoured with the Living Legend Lifetime award by the Punjab Association. He is widely considered as one of the greatest actors in the history of Hindi cinema. He holds the Guinness World Record for winning the maximum number of awards by an Indian actor. He is known for his roles in films such as Devdas, Mughal-e-Azam, Saudagar, Kranti and Karma.

Notes:
Justice Gita Mittal has become the acting Chief Justice of Delhi High Court (DHC). She has authored many significant judgments and was also instrumental in the establishment of vulnerable witness deposition complexes in Delhi. Her judicial pronouncements include judgments on compensation to riot victims, right to shelter for displaced persons, right to marriage of a woman member of the armed forces, among others. She has also been part of various court committees. She succeeded Chief Justice G. Rohini , who retires on April 13, 2017.

Notes:
Trupti Jain, an Indian environmental engineer, has won prestigious 2017 Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards at the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall in Singapore for providing women working on farms with water management solutions and protecting small farmers against droughts and flash floods. She is among the six winners chosen for the Asia-Pacific laureate from a pool of nearly 1,900 applicants from over 120 countries and was selected by an independent international jury. Each recipient receives a $ 100,000 prize money as well as a year of mentoring. Jain is the founder of the Gujarat-based Naireeta Services company and providing handmade water management solutions that enable small farmers to filter and store rainwater underground to protect them against droughts and flash floods.

Notes:
Pankaj Advani, 16-time world champion, has won his 7th Asian title by defeating his compatriot Sourav Kothari 6-3 in an entertaining final of the 2017 Asian Billiards Championship in Chandigarh.

Notes:
Gayatri Pullela has bagged both the singles and doubles crown at the Pembangunan Jaya Raya Junior Grand Prix in Jakarta, Indonesia. She won girls U-15 singles title by defeating her compatriot Samiya Farooqui by 21-11, 18-21, 21-16. Later, Pullela and Samiya won their U-15 doubles title by defeating Indonesian pair of Kelly Larissa and Shelandry Vyola in the final by 21-17, 21-15. Both Gayatri and Samiya train together at the Pullela Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad. Gayatri Pullela is the daughter of National Badminton coach Pullela Gopichand.