Asif Ali Zardari took oath as Pakistan's 14th President, a day after the veteran politician staged a remarkable comeback when he was overwhelmingly elected as the only civilian president of the coup-prone country for a second time.

• Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez administered the oath to the 68-year-old Mr Zardari in a small yet formal ceremony at Aiwan-e-Sadr, the Presidential Palace.
• Mr Zardari replaces Dr Arif Alvi, who stayed in office for five months after completing his five-year term in September 2023.

India now stands as the world’s second-largest producer of mobile phones at the end of the decade 2014-2024.

• India Cellular and Electronics Association said in a statement that the sector has transitioned from being 78 percent import-dependent in 2014 to 97 percent self-sufficiency.
• Only three percent of the total mobile phones sold in India are now imported. India’s mobile phone production is nearing 20 lakh crore rupees in a decade of unprecedented growth.
•  India produced 2.45 billion units of mobile phones during these ten years, against a goal of 2.5 billion units.

Krystyna Pyszkova´ of the Czech Republic won the 71st edition of the Miss World 2024 pageant, which returned to India after a 28-year gap.

• The highly anticipated grand finale unfolded in Mumbai at the Jio World Convention Centre.
• Sini Shetty, the winner of Femina Miss India 2022, was representing India on this global stage. Shetty bowed out of the contest after a top-eight finish in the competition, which featured 112 contenders from around the world.
• Nita Mukesh Ambani, chairperson and founder of the Reliance Foundation, was honored with the Miss World humanitarian award for her charitable work. 

The latest survey conducted by the Primate Research Centre NE India (PRCNE), Assam Forest Department has estimated a population of approximately 7,396 Golden Langur (Trachypithecus geei) in India.

• This endangered primate, Trachypithecusgeei, is found exclusively in the Manas Biosphere Reserve and fragmented forests in western Assam.
• The survey identified 7,720 individuals in 706 groups and 31 lone or floating males, leading to an estimated minimum population of 7,396 in 707 groups, including both bisexual and male bands, along with lone males.
• The population is divided into two major sub-populations: a northern extended population in the Manas Biosphere Reserve, estimated at 5,566 individuals in 534 groups, and a southern fragmented population estimated at 1,830 langurs in 173 groups.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s first 8-lane elevated urban Dwarka Expressway on Monday, marking a significant milestone in the nation’s efforts to alleviate Delhi’s traffic congestion..

Its length is 29.6 kilometers and costing Rs. 9,000 crore, will be almost completed by April 2024. 

The expressway, which is 34 meters wide, is being constructed on a single pillar, covering 18.9 kilometers in Haryana and 10.1 kilometers in Delhi. 

Hollywood's biggest stars celebrated the best films from the past year at the 2024 Oscars. 

• Oppenheimer won the biggest awards of the night, with the film’s director, Christopher Nolan, taking home the best director Oscar, actor Cillian Murphy winning the best actor award, and the film earning the coveted best picture among its seven overall wins.
• The film, which was the most-nominated film at the 2024 Oscars with 13 nominations, also won the Oscar for best supporting actor for Robert Downey Jr., best film editing, best cinematography and best original score.
• Emma Stone took home the best actress prize for her performance as Bella Baxter in Yorgos Lanthimos' "Poor Things."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on March 9, inaugurated the world's longest twin-lane Sela tunnel, located at an elevation of 13,000 ft in Arunachal Pradesh. 

The tunnel, constructed at a cost of Rs 825 crore by the Border Roads Organisation, is strategically crucial as it is close to the Line of Actual Control.

• The Sela tunnel project consists of two tunnels, the first being a single-tube tunnel spanning 1,003 meters and the second measuring 1,595 meters, equipped with an emergency escape tube.
• This state-of-the-art tunnel also includes an 8.6 km-long approach and link roads.
• Designed to accommodate a traffic density of 3,000 cars and 2,000 trucks per day, with a maximum speed of 80 km per hour, the Sela tunnel addresses the challenge posed by the closure of the Balipara-Chariduar-Tawang road during heavy snowfall and landslides in the region.

Double Paralympic gold medallist javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia was on Saturday elected as the President of the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI). Jhajharia is India's most decorated Paralympian, having won three Paralympic medals - two gold and one silver. 

• Jhajharia announced his retirement on the day the Sports Ministry of India decided to lift the suspension of the Paralympics Committee of India.
• Notably, the ministry was forced to suspend the committee after it failed to conduct elections on time. Former Paralympian, Deepa Malik was the previous president of the committee. She had taken charge of the organisation in 2020.
• The outgoing president had expressed delight at the Sports Ministry's decision to revoke the suspension.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty enjoyed another memorable 'Evening in Paris', lifting the French Open badminton crown for the second time with a dominating straight-game victory over Chinese Taipei's Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan in the men's doubles final here on Sunday(10 March, 2024)

• The world No. 1 Indian pair had finished runners-up in the French Open in 2019 before winning the title in 2022.
• On Sunday, the Asian Games champions outwitted Lee and Yang 21-11 21-17 in 37 minutes to regain the Super 750 tournament title and also win their first crown of the season after reaching the summit clash for the third time in 2023.
• The Indian duo had finished second best at Malaysia Super 1000, India Super 750 this year, while signing off as runners-up at China Masters Super 750 as well last year.