• Every year, Ordnance Factories Day is observed on March 18^th.
• In 1775, the Board of Ordnance was formed in Fort William, Kolkata.
• In 1787, a gunpowder factory was formed in Ishapore and a gun carriage factory was formed in Cossipore, Kolkata.
• Now it’s known as Gun and Shell Factory, Cossipore.
• Ordnance Factories Day is celebrated on March 18 to commemorate the day when Ordnance Factory in Cossipore, Kolkata was formed.

• Ratan Tata, former chairman of Tata Sons, was bestowed with the prestigious PV Narasimha Rao Memorial Award for his outstanding philanthropic contributions.
  • The PV Narasimha Rao Memorial Award, named after the former Prime Minister of India, is an award of recognition for individuals who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to social welfare and humanitarian causes.
• Ratan Tata, who has donated more than half of his income to charity, has given generous donations at an individual level as well as under Tata Trusts.
• Tata Sons Chairman emeritus Ratan Tata, 86, has also received two of the highest civilian awards of India — the Padma Vibhushan (2008) and Padma Bhushan (2000) – for his immeasurable contributions towards nation building.

• A contingent from the Indian Army departed to Seychelles to participate in the Tenth edition of the Joint Military Exercise “LAMITIYE-2024” alongside the Seychelles Defence Forces (SDF).
• The biennial training event holds significant importance in fostering cooperation between the two nations.
• The term ‘LAMITIYE’, translating to ‘Friendship’ in the Creole language, encapsulates the spirit of camaraderie underlying this exercise, which has been a tradition since its inception in 2001.
• With 45 personnel each from the renowned GORKHA RIFLES of the Indian Army and the Seychelles Defence Forces, the exercise aims to bolster interoperability in Sub-conventional Operations within Semi-Urban environments, aligning with Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter on Peacekeeping Operations.

• Global Recycling Day is observed on 18 March, every year.
• It is a day to promote recycling and conservation by educating people about the status of essential resources.
• Global Recycling Day was created in 2018 to help recognise, and celebrate, the importance recycling plays in preserving our precious primary resources and securing the future of our planet.
• The Global Recycling Foundation has announced the theme of Global Recycling Day 2024 as #RecyclingHeroes.

• A new dwarf coconut variety named ‘Kalpa Suvarna’ and two new hybrid varieties of cocoa developed by the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI) , were released.

‘Kalpa Suvarna’ variety is ideal for tender coconut and copra production.

• The variety starts flower 30-36 months after planting.
• Its fruits are large-sized, oblong, and green in colour.
• Its tender nut water content is 431 ml and the copra content is around 186 grams with an oil content of 64.5%.
• The variety yields 108 to 130 nuts per palm every year under good management.
• It is recommended for cultivation in Karnataka and Kerala.

COCA VARIETIES

• The coca varieties – VTL CH I and VTL CH II – released have high fat and nutrient contents.
• The VTL CH I is a high yielder and can be cultivated as an inter-crop both in arecanut and coconut plantations.
• It is suitable for traditional Karnataka and Kerala belts and Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh also.
• The VTL CH II is also a high yielder. It is tolerant to black pod rot which is high in high rainfall region. It is suitable for Karnataka and Kerala.
• The yield of both the varieties is 1.5 kg to 2.5 kg dry bean per tree per year.

• Ministry for Petroleum & Natural Gas launched ‘Ethanol 100′ automotive fuel.
• The initiative marks ready availability of Ethanol 100 at select 183 retail petrol outlets across five states – Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, New Delhi, and Tamil Nadu.

ABOUT ETHANOL 100

• It is a blend of 92 to 94 percent ethanol, 4 to 5 percent motor spirit to provide colour to flame and 5 percent Co-solvent higher saturated alcohol.
• Ethanol 100 stands as a cleaner, greener alternative to gasoline, boasting lower emissions of greenhouse gases and pollutants, thus aiding in combating climate change and enhancing air quality in our communities.
• With its high-octane rating, typically between 100-105, Ethanol 100 proves ideal for high-performance engines, ensuring improved efficiency and power output all while minimizing environmental impact.
• Moreover, Ethanol 100’s versatility shines through, as it can be used in a wide array of vehicles, including flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) designed to run on gasoline, ethanol, or any blend of the two, showcasing its practicality and potential to become a mainstream fuel option with the right infrastructure in place.

• The Maharashtra cabinet decided to ask the Ministry of Railways to rename Mumbai Central station after Nana Jagannath Shankarseth.

About Nana Jagannath Shankarseth (February 10, 1803-July 31, 1865)

• The social reformer, educationist, and philanthropist Nana Jagannath Shankarseth is often described as the “architect” of Mumbai (then Bombay), who made extremely valuable contributions in terms of both ideas and money to multiple sectors, to lay a strong foundation for the city.
• Shankarseth was greatly inspired by the legendary merchant and philanthropist Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy.
• He became the first Indian to be nominated to the Legislative Council of Bombay.
• He was the founder of Bombay Association.

OTHER SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS

• Education–
  • He donated land owned by his family for educational institutions.
  • Shankarseth founded the Native School of Bombay, which was renamed first as the Bombay Native Institution, and then as the Board of Education.
  • Finally, this institution evolved into the prestigious Elphinstone College.
• Railways –
  • The first train in India ran between Boribunder and Thane on April 16, 1853.
  • The 34-km project undertaken by the Great Indian Peninsular Railway Company.
  • The committee that gave the project impetus included Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy and Nana Shankarseth.

• The government conducted the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Test (FLNAT) as part of Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram across 23 states.
• The FLNAT was held in all districts of each participating State and UT.
• The assessment comprises three subjects – Reading, Writing, and Numeracy – each carrying 50 marks, totalling 150 marks.
• The test was conducted in the regional language of the learners, in line with National Education Policy 2020’s focus on promoting multilingualism.
• The test is crucial in assessing the impact of teaching-learning sessions conducted as part of the ULLAS – Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram.

ABOUT ULLAS

• ULLAS (Understanding of Lifelong Learning for All in Society) was announced for the period FYs 2022-2027 to cover all the aspects of Education For All (erstwhile termed as Adult Education) to align with National Education Policy 2020.
• The objectives of the scheme is to impart not only Foundational Literacy and Numeracy but also to cover other components which are necessary for a citizen of 21 st century such as
  • Critical Life Skills (including financial literacy, digital literacy, commercial skills, health care and awareness, child care and education, and family welfare);
  • Vocational Skills Development (with a view towards obtaining local employment);
  • Basic Education (including preparatory, middle, and secondary stage equivalency) and
  • Continuing Education (including engaging holistic adult education courses in arts, sciences, technology, culture, sports, and recreation, as well as other topics of interest or use to local learners, such as more advanced material on critical life skills).
• The scheme is implemented through volunteerism through online mode.
• Trainings, orientations, workshops of volunteers will be organized through face-to-face mode.
• All material and resources shall be provided digitally for easy access to registered volunteers through easily accessible digital modes, viz, TV, radio, cell phone-based free/open-source Apps/portals, etc.
• Target Audience -The scheme will cover non-literates of the age group of 15 years and above in all state/UTs in the country.

• Cartosat-2, the first of ISRO’s second generation of high-resolution imaging satellites primarily used in urban planning, has been deorbited, 17 years after launch.
• The satellite, launched on January 10, 2007 and weighing 680 kg, operated in a sun-synchronous polar orbit at an altitude of 635 km.
• It performed 14.78 orbits around Earth in a day.
• Until 2019, the satellite equipped with over 12,000 coupled charged devices used its “panchromatic and multi-spectral cameras” to generate high-resolution images that were extensively used for urban planning, monitoring of road networks and water distribution, creation of land use maps, among others.
• ISRO had expected the satellite to take about 30 years to de-orbit naturally.
  • The agency, however, chose to lower the satellite’s perigee using leftover fuel in view of new guidelines on space debris.

• A total of 38 lakh voters will cast their vote in the Lok Sabha elections for four seats and Assembly byelections for six segments(Dharamsala, Barsar, Lahaul-Spiti, Sunajpur, Gagret and Kutlehar) to be held simultaneously on June 1.
• There are 56,38,422 voters comprising 28,79,200 men, 27,59,187 women and 35 third gender.
• There will be 1,38,918 first-time voters (75,001 male and 63,916 female) in the 18 to 19 years’ age group in these elections.

The total number of voters with physical disability is 56,320, besides 60,995 voters above the age of 85 years.