Current Affairs 03/03/2026
1. Which state government has recently passed a bill to prevent arbitrariness of Microfinance Institutions?
Answer : Bihar
The Government of Bihar has, in its recent legislative proceedings, enacted a measure of considerable importance for the regulation of Microfinance Institutions functioning within the State. The Bill, duly passed by the Bihar Legislative Assembly, seeks to restrain arbitrary conduct and to prevent coercive practices in the disbursement and recovery of small loans advanced to the economically weaker sections.
In the present age, Microfinance Institutions have come to occupy a position of significance in the extension of credit facilities to persons of limited means, particularly in rural and semi-urban tracts. These institutions have rendered valuable service in advancing financial inclusion; yet, certain irregularities and excesses in their mode of operation have given rise to public concern. Allegations of exorbitant interest charges, lack of transparency in contractual terms, and undue pressure in loan recovery have necessitated corrective intervention.
The newly enacted legislation, therefore, provides for the orderly registration and supervision of all such institutions operating within the territorial jurisdiction of the State. It enjoins upon them the duty of maintaining clarity in their agreements, of disclosing rates of interest and ancillary charges, and of adhering to prescribed standards of conduct in dealings with borrowers. Furthermore, it forbids the employment of intimidation, harassment, or other coercive methods in the recovery of dues, and empowers the competent authorities to inquire into complaints and to impose penalties where infractions are established.
By this enactment, the Government of Bihar has manifested its resolve to secure the twin objectives of promoting financial inclusion and safeguarding the rights and dignity of borrowers. It is anticipated that the measure shall conduce to greater discipline within the microfinance sector and foster confidence among the populace in the just and equitable administration of credit facilities.
2. Who is the author of the book “What Women Want: Understanding the Female Voter in Modern India”?
Answer : Ruhi Tewari
The work entitled What Women Want: Understanding the Female Voter in Modern India, authored by Ruhi Tewari, presents a sober and penetrating study of the political awakening and electoral agency of women in India. Written with the practised hand of one versed in the affairs of state and society, the volume seeks to displace facile assumptions and to set the record aright by means of careful observation, empirical data, and testimony gathered at the grassroots.
In these pages the author traces the steady accretion of women’s presence at the polling booth from a statistical curiosity to a determinative force in contests great and small. Attention is given to the manifold causes of this transformation: the spread of literacy and social mobilization, the palpable effects of welfare entitlements, and the work of local institutions which have rendered governance more visible and accountable to womenfolk. Thus, what may have been construed as mere adjuncts of household preference are shown to be, in many instances, autonomous judgments grounded in assessment of delivery and dignity.
The method pursued is notable for its fusion of reportage and analysis. Field interviews and case studies are adduced alongside electoral returns and survey evidence, permitting the reader to move from anecdote to aggregate with facility. The author examines how considerations of caste, class, and region interweave with gender to produce outcomes neither uniform nor predictable; she demonstrates, with patient detail, that appeals which ignore this plurality court failure.
A chapter is devoted to the manner in which political parties and candidates have responded — sometimes with opportunism, sometimes with genuine engagement — to the rising salience of the female electorate. The work does not shrink from critiquing policies that pay lip-service to women’s concerns while failing the test of implementation; nor does it overlook instances in which reform and representation have yielded tangible gains.
In sum, the book is at once a chronicle and a call: a chronicle of how women’s suffrage has been translated into substantive voice, and a call to policy-makers, party strategists, and civil society to regard that voice with seriousness. It will serve students of politics, practitioners, and the informed public alike as a measured contribution to the continuing discourse on democracy in India.
3. Where did the Vice President lay the foundation stone of “Chetana Ganashram”?
Answer : Kerala
The Vice-President of India, C. P. Radhakrishnan, recently performed the solemn ceremony of laying the foundation stone of Chetana Ganashram at Thrissur in the State of Kerala. The occasion was marked by an atmosphere at once dignified and felicitous, bringing together representatives of the cultural, religious, and civic life of the region.
Chetana Ganashram is conceived as a centre for musical and spiritual pursuits, intended to foster concord, artistic excellence, and moral edification among men and women of diverse faiths. The laying of its foundation stone was accompanied by remarks lauding the civilising influence of music and the arts, and the role of such institutions in preserving heritage while nurturing present-day talent. Those assembled were reminded that edifices of this nature, though modest in brick and stone, may yet endure as repositories of communal memory and instruments of social harmony.
The Vice-President’s presence lent weight to the enterprise and served to commend the endeavour to the broader public. In invoking the twin aims of cultural revival and communal amity, the ceremony bespoke the conviction that public life attains its highest expression when devotion to beauty and service to society proceed hand in hand. It is to be hoped that, as the work advances, the Ganashram will fulfil its promise of enriching the life of the locality and of contributing, in its measure, to the national fabric.
4. Where has the world’s largest telecommunication event “Mobile World Congress 2026” started?
Answer : Barcelona, Spain
The world’s largest telecommunications event, Mobile World Congress 2026, has commenced in Barcelona, in the Spain. This flagship annual gathering of the global mobile and technology industry brings together leading companies, innovators, policymakers, and thought leaders from around the world to showcase cutting-edge developments in telecommunications, mobile technologies, and digital solutions.
Hosted at the Gran Via Venue, the congress offers a platform for unveiling next-generation products, discussing emerging trends such as 6G connectivity, artificial intelligence in networks, immersive technologies, and sustainable telecom infrastructure. It also serves as a focal point for strategic dialogues on regulatory frameworks, investment opportunities, and collaborative efforts to propel the future of global connectivity.
The significance of Mobile World Congress extends beyond exhibitions and product launches: it shapes industry roadmaps, facilitates high-level partnerships, and reflects the rapid evolution of the digital age, drawing delegates from across continents to one of Europe’s foremost centres of commerce and culture.
5. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) operates under which ministry?
Answer : Ministry of Power
The body known as the Bureau of Energy Efficiency stands entrusted, by statute and by public expectation, with the grave and necessary charge of promoting economy in the use of power and of conserving the nation’s energy resources. Placed under the administrative aegis of the central authority, it is deputed to devise standards, to propound measures of conservation, and to guide both the State and the subjects in the adoption of practices that conduce to temperance in consumption and prudence in manufacture.
Its appointed duties are manifold. It frames and promulgates minimum performance standards and the devices of labelling by which purchasers may judge the efficiency of appliances; it devises codes and norms for buildings and industrial plant; it accredits and encourages those undertakings whose business it is to improve energy performance; and it instructs the public and the custodians of policy in the methods by which waste may be reduced and service enhanced. Through surveys, audits, and the nurture of technical skill, the Bureau seeks to translate policy into practice, and principle into saving.
The instruments employed are diverse: regulatory prescriptions to shape markets; informational schemes to enlighten consumers; incentive mechanisms to spur industry to adopt best practice; and the fostering of institutional capacity at the level of Provinces and municipalities to enforce and to implement. These means are animated by the conviction that thrift in energy, like thrift in any other good, becomes public blessing when placed upon a firm legal and administrative foundation.
The effects of such labours are not merely economic. By reducing the burden of fuel importation and by diminishing the emission of noxious gases, the work of the Bureau contributes to the security and salubrity of the realm. Industry, which saves on current, finds itself made more competitive; the public, which pays less for light and motive power, finds relief in household budgets; and the State, which avoids undue strain upon generating capacity, gains time to plan for a just and orderly advance of national infrastructure.
Yet the undertaking meets with impediments. Finance for retrofitting and upgradation is not always readily forthcoming; measurement and verification of savings demand standardised methods and honest accounting; and the enforcement of standards requires that local authorities be endowed with both will and resource. Above all, the transformations sought require a change in habit and expectation—an alteration of daily practice which no statutory enactment alone can accomplish.
It follows, therefore, that sustained success will depend upon a threefold endeavour: the provision of sound financing vehicles to underwrite efficiency investments; the strengthening of institutional frameworks for measurement and enforcement; and the continuance of patient public instruction so that thrift becomes, in the hearts of men and women, a considered habit. In this wise the labours of the Bureau will not be ephemeral, but will endure as a faithful contribution to the prosperity and well-being of India.
6. In which country is the strategically important “Trincomalee Port” located?
Answer : Sri Lanka
The strategically important Trincomalee Port is located in Sri Lanka.
Situated on the northeastern coast of the island nation, Trincomalee Port is regarded as one of the finest natural deep-water harbours in the world. Owing to its geographic position along major Indian Ocean sea lanes, the port has long held immense strategic and commercial significance.
Historically, it served as an important naval base during colonial times and played a notable role in regional maritime security. In the contemporary context, Trincomalee continues to attract strategic attention due to its deep anchorage, proximity to key shipping routes, and its potential role in regional trade and energy infrastructure.
Its location in Sri Lanka makes it a focal point in discussions concerning maritime strategy and economic development in the Indian Ocean region.
7. Which is the first Corps of the Indian Army to be established after independence?
Answer : Vajra Corps
The formation known as the Vajra Corps, bearing the designation of XI Corps, occupies a place of particular distinction in the annals of the Indian Army. It was the first Corps-level command to be raised in the years following the attainment of independence by India, and thus stands as an early monument to the reorganization and consolidation of the nation’s military power under sovereign authority.
In the period immediately succeeding 1947, the Army found itself confronted with altered frontiers, novel strategic exigencies, and the pressing necessity of refashioning its command arrangements to suit a free and self-directing State. It was in this atmosphere of sober reassessment that Vajra Corps was constituted in 1950. The raising of a Corps-level formation signified no mere administrative alteration; it bespoke a considered resolve to equip the Army with the capacity for coordinated operations of magnitude and complexity.
Headquartered at Jalandhar in the Province of Punjab, the Corps was positioned with deliberate foresight along the western approaches of the Republic. Its charge has been the maintenance of vigilance and preparedness in a theatre of acknowledged strategic import. Through successive decades, it has contributed materially to the Army’s defensive posture, participating in exercises and operations designed to ensure that readiness be not merely professed but demonstrable.
The creation of Vajra Corps may therefore be regarded as a milestone in the maturation of India’s armed forces. It marked the passage from inherited structures to a command system shaped by national requirements and guided by indigenous direction. In its continued service, the Corps reflects both the inheritance of martial discipline and the enduring commitment of the Republic to the safeguarding of its sovereignty.
8. Where was the three-day “Fit India Carnival” inaugurated recently?
Answer : RK Beach, Visakhapatnam
The three-day Fit India Carnival was recently inaugurated at RK Beach in Visakhapatnam.
Organised as part of the nationwide Fit India Movement, the carnival aimed to promote physical fitness, healthy lifestyles, and mass participation in sports and wellness activities. The event featured yoga sessions, sports competitions, fitness demonstrations, cultural programmes, and interactive workshops designed to encourage citizens of all age groups to adopt active and healthy habits.
The selection of RK Beach, one of Visakhapatnam’s most prominent public spaces, provided an open and accessible venue that attracted large public participation. The initiative reflects the government’s continued efforts to build a culture of fitness and well-being across the country.