1. SEWA founder Ela Bhatt appointed new Gujarat Vidyapith Chancellor
i. The Gujarat Vidyapith, a deemed university founded by Mahatma Gandhi, has appointed 82-year-old Ela Bhatt, the founder of Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), as its new Chancellor.
ii. Bhatt will succeed Narayan Desai, who left the post due to his health.
2. International meet on maritime trade
i. Around 200 delegates from 20 nations will attend a three-day international conference on 'India and the Indian Ocean: Renewing Maritime Trade and Civilisational Linkages' to be held in Bhubaneshwar from on March 20.
ii. Strengthening maritime security and trade in Indian Ocean Rim Association, a regional forum of countries bordering Indian Ocean, will be the focus of the conference to be inaugurated by foreign minister Sushma Swaraj.
3. Happy International Women's Day!
i. Sunday 8 March 2015 marks International Women’s Day, an annual event that celebrates women’s accomplishments and promotes global gender equality.
ii. This year’s theme is ‘make it happen’ and aims to encourage effective action for advancing and recognising women.
iii. The first International Women's Day was held in 1911 and is celebrated annually on 8 March with thousands of events across the world.
iv. The United Nations has its own gender equality related theme each year. This year it is ‘empowering women – empowering humanity – picture it!’.
4. Veteran journalist Vinod Mehta passes away
i. Veteran journalist and author Vinod Mehta passed away after prolonged illness in the Capital on Sunday. Mr. Mehta, 72, who had founded the Outlook Magazine and served as its Editor-in-Chief, last held the post of editorial Chairman of the publication.
ii. An eminent political commentator, Mr. Mehta was served as the editor of several publications, including The Pioneer, The Sunday Observer, The Independent and The Indian Post.
5. NASA’s Dawn spacecraft reaches dwarf planet Ceres
i. NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has created history by becoming the first mission to achieve orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres with an aim of providing new insights and capturing images from the distant world.
ii. The spacecraft was approximately 61,000 kilometres from Ceres when it was captured by the dwarf planet’s gravity. Since its discovery in 1801, Ceres was known as a planet, then an asteroid and later a dwarf planet.
6. Sangakkara to retire after India Test series in August
i. Ace Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara on Sunday said he will retire from Test cricket “by the end of August” whe Sri Lanka hosts India in a three-match series.
ii. In 130 Tests, Sangakkara has 12,203 runs, which makes him the fifth highest scorer. Only Sachin Tendulkar (15,921), Ricky Ponting (13,378), Jacques Kallis (13,289) and Rahul Dravid (13,288) are above him in the elite list.
7. 86 million-year-old oyster fossil found in Dhar
i. Oyster fossil recently recovered from Dhar and Jhabua districts of Madhya Pradesh by palaeontologist Vishal Verma is identified as crassostrea species, which are considered one of the oldest evidence of sea incursion in the Narmada Valley.
ii. Discovery of around 86 million-year-old fossil of a rare species of oyster, has once again re-confirmed the presence of marine life and sea in central India.