• The Mumbai cricket team, led by Ajinkiya Rahane, defeated Vidarbha in the final of the Ranji Trophy to win their 42nd title.
• On the fifth day of the five-day final, the Mumbai team defeated the Vidarbha team by 169 runs. The final was played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
• The Mumbai team last won the Ranji Trophy in 2015-2016.
• Incidentally, Mumbai (then Bombay) also won the inaugural Ranji Trophy in 1934-35.
• Musheer Khan of Mumbai was the Player of the Match, while Tanush Kotia of Mumbai was the Player of the Series.

ABOUT RANJI TROPHY

• The Ranji Trophy is India’s premier domestic first-class cricket championship, named after K. S. Ranjit Singhji. K.S. Ranjit Singhji, the Nawab of Jamnagar, was the first Indian to play test cricket. He played cricket for England and Sussex County of England.
• The BCCI (Board for Control of Cricket in India) started the Ranji Trophy in his honour in 1934-35.

• Carlos Sainz clinched an impressive win at the Australian Grand Prix, defying challenges including a health scare and career uncertainty.
• Sainz finished ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc for Ferrari’s first 1-2 result since the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix, with McLaren’s Lando Norris finishing in third for his first podium at Albert Park.

• In a bid to provide accessibility to all and leave no voter behind, the Election Commission announced that the voters above 85 years of age and Persons-with-Disabilities (pwd) with 40 percent benchmark disability can vote from home.
• Further, volunteers and wheelchairs will be available at every polling station. The poll body is also arranging transport facilities for the persons-with-disabilities and elderly.
• The Commission launched the Saksham App to facilitate easier voting for PWDs and to avail facilities at Polling Stations.
• Further, it is pushing for permanent Assured Minimum Facilities (AMF) in schools as a gift of election process to the students.
• Assured Minimum Facilities consist of drinking water, toilets, signage, a ramp or wheelchair, helpdesk, voter facilitation centre, sufficient light and shed.
• There will also be polling stations managed by persons-with-disabilities, and will exclusively ne managed by women and Model Polling Stations.

• Simon Harris is set to become Ireland’s youngest ever prime minister after being appointed party leader.
• He took over from Leo Varadkar, who announced his surprise departure.
• He is 37 years old, meaning he will be Ireland’s youngest prime minister if elected.
• The media has already dubbed him “TikTok Taoiseach.

• Bharat Biotech’s TB vaccine MTBVAC begins clinical trials in India
• MTBVAC is derived from a human strain of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria.
• It was developed by Biofabri in collaboration with the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech.
• It is the only tuberculosis (TB) vaccine currently available, holds promise as a more effective and long-lasting alternative to the Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG).

• The Centre for Policy Research Board has announced the appointment of Srinivas Chokkakula, CPR senior fellow and Ministry of Jal Shakti Research Chair, as the president and Chief Executive.
• He replaced Yamini Aiyar who resigned on March 26.

ABOUT CENTRE FOR POLICY RESEARCH

• The CPR was founded in
• It is a “non-profit, non-partisan, independent institution dedicated to conducting research that contributes to high quality scholarship, better policies, and a more robust public discourse about the issues that impact life in India”.
• It is a member of the Indian Council of Social Science Research and is recognised by the Department of Science and Technology.
• Its funders have included the government of India, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Ford Foundation, among many others in India and abroad.

• Senior diplomat Abhay Thakur has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.
• The 1992-batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) had served as sous-sherpa of the G20 process during India’s presidency of the influential bloc.
• Myanmar is one of India’s strategic neighbours and it shares a 1,640-km border with a number of northeastern states, including Nagaland and Manipur.

• ‘Phool Bahadur’ is the first Magahi novel, which has been translated into English by ‘Abhay K’. It was launched at the Dibrugarh University International Literary Festival on 19-21 March 2024.
• The launch event was attended by Jnanpith Awardee DamodarMauzo, Professor Rita Kothari, Dr. AJ Thomas and ChudenKabimo. Also, writers and distinguished guests from many countries participated in this programme.

ABOUT ‘PHOOL BAHADUR’

• This novel (Phool Bahadur) was originally written by It was first published in 1928. This novel was not very popular among the people. Now it is gaining a lot of fame due to its translation into English. Whereas it was forgotten until recently. ‘Abhay K’ rediscovered it while editing ‘The Book of Bihari Literature’.
• ‘Phool Bahadur’ is the first Magahi novel translated into English by Abhay K.
• Published by Penguin Random House India, ‘Phool Bahadur’ is a delightful novel based in the town of Biharsharif in Nalanda district of Bihar.
• The story of the book revolves around the ambitious Mukhtar Samlal. The novel describes the harmonious union of a Nawab, a courtesan, and a circle officer. The characters in this novel each try to exploit the other. All characters and events are manipulated by a dishonest Mukhtar whose only goal is to somehow acquire the title of Rai Bahadur.

ABOUT ‘ABHAY K’:

• Abhay K, hailing from Nalanda, Bihar, is a versatile writer who excels as a poet, editor, translator, and author of numerous poetry collections.
• Abhay’s poems have appeared in more than 100 literary journals, including Poetry Salzberg Review and Asia Literary Review.
• His ‘Earth Anthem’ has been translated into more than 150 languages.
• Abhay’s upcoming book ‘Nalanda’ will be published by Penguin Random House in 2025.
• He was given the KLF Poetry Book of the Year Award (2020-21) for translating Kalidasa’sMeghdoot and Ritusamhar from Sanskrit.
• He was given the SAARC Literary Award in 2013.
• Abhay was invited to record her poems at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC in 2018.

• Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Sadanand Vasant Date has been appointed as the Director General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
• He is a 1990-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of Maharashtra cadre.
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Date as the Director General (DG) of the NIA for a tenure up to his superannuation on December 31, 2026.
• He will succeed Dinkar Gupta, who is due to superannuate on March 31.

NATIONAL DISASTER RESPONSE FORCE

• Piyush Anand has been appointed as the new chief of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
• A 1991-batch IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, Anand is presently the Special DG of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
• He has been appointed as the DG of the NDRF for a period of two years.
• He will replace Atul Karwal, who is retiring on March 31.

SPECIAL PROTECTION GROUP

• S Suresh, a 1995-batch IPS officer of Kerala cadre, as the Additional Director General of the Special Protection Group (SPG).

BUREAU OF POLICE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

• Rajeev Kumar Sharma, a 1990-batch IPS officer of Rajasthan cadre, as the Director General of the Bureau of Police Research & Development. He will have a tenure up to his superannuation on June 30,
• Sharma will succeed Balaji Srivastava, who completes his tenure at March end.

• Ramakrishna Mission president Swami Smaranananda passed away due to old age ailments at the age of
• He became the 16th president of the order in 2017.

ABOUT RAMAKRISHNA MISSION:

• The Ramakrishna Mission is a Hindu religious and spiritual organization that is at the heart of the Ramakrishna Movement, also known as the Vedanta Movement.
• The mission was created on May 1, 1897, by Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s principal follower Swami Vivekananda, and is named after and inspired by the Indian spiritual Guru Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.
• The organization primarily promotes Advaita Vedanta, a Hindu philosophy, as well as four yogic ideals: Jnana, Bhakti, Karma, and Raja yoga.
• Vivekananda advocated for the application of technology and contemporary science to the benefit of humanity.
• At Baranagar, the first Math was founded.
• Another math was established in Belur in 1899, and it became the central math.
• It is responsible for the organizing and operation of all maths’ located across India and even beyond the country.
• It is also the educational center for the Ramakrishna Mission’s saints.

ABOUT RAMAKRISHNA PARMAHAMSA

• Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya, a poor Brahmin priest who later became known as Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.
• On the 18th of February 1836, Sri Ramakrishna was born into a poor Brahmana family in the Bengali hamlet of
• He had no formal education in philosophy or Shastras, and his schooling ended at the primary level.
• Ramakrishna was a priest at the Dakshineswar Kali Temple who drew a large number of monastic and lay followers.
• Sarada Devi, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s spiritual companion, was also his wife.
• Narendra Nath Datta (1863-1902), later known as Swami Vivekananda, was Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s most ardent disciple who spread Ramakrishna’s teachings throughout the world, particularly in America and Europe.