The Army Commanders' Conference, the first for the year 2024, will be organised in hybrid mode, with the conference in virtual mode scheduled for March 28,2024, and thereafter in physical mode in New Delhi on April 1 and 2, an official statement said.

• Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will also address and interact with senior military leadership during the conference.
• The conference serves as a pivotal forum for the apex leadership of the Indian Army to brainstorm conceptual issues and review and assess the overall security situation.
• It will lay down key priorities, facilitate important policy decisions, and chart the course for future direction.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has given its stamp of approval to the name 'Shiva Shakti' for the landing site of India's Chandrayaan-3 mission.

• This decision, announced on March 19, follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi's declaration of the name after the successful mission on August 26, 2023.
• According to the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature by the IAU, the name 'Shiva Shakti' is derived from Indian mythology, symbolising the duality of nature with the masculine aspect represented by Shiva and the feminine aspect by Shakti.

President Droupadi Murmu presented the Bharat Ratna to four recipients -- socialist icon Chaudhary Charan Singh, former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, former Bihar Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur, and agriculture scientist MS Swaminathan -- who were posthumously conferred the highest civilian award.

The recipient of the award is facilitated with a sanad or certificate signed by the president and a medal.

The recipient of the award receives a certificate signed by the President and a medallion in the shape of a peepal leaf.

France has moved a step closer to banning discrimination in the workplace against hairstyles. A bill has been approved in the National Assembly and will now be debated in the Senate.

• The law will bar employers from requiring hair to be straightened and for afros, dreadlocks and braids to be covered.
• Its author hopes the law will support those, particularly black people, who have faced workplace hostility.
• The bill does not specifically target race-based discrimination, though that is the law's primary motivation.
• It will also protect blondes and redheads, as well as bald victims of what it calls "hair prejudice".

India's forex reserves increased by $140 million to touch its all-time high of $642.631 billion during the week ended March 22, the Reserve Bank of India said.

• This is the fifth consecutive week of a jump in the overall reserves. The kitty had increased by $6.396 billion to $642.492 billion in the previous reporting week.
•  The previous peak was recorded in September 2021, when the country's foreign exchange reserves reached $642.453 billion.
• The reserves took a hit as the central bank deployed the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments since last year.

Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, visited India and met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

• He stated that Ukraine will be looking forward to discussing new areas of cooperation with India.
• At the meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Kuleba stated that Ukraine will be looking forward to discussing new areas of cooperation with India.
• During the meeting, Jaishankar and Kuleba held discussions focused on the ongoing conflict and its wider ramifications. The two leaders also spoke on global and regional issues of interest to both nations.

The Income Tax department has levied a penalty of Rs 564.44 crore on Bank of India, the public sector lender said on Thursday.

The bank is in the process of filing an appeal before the Commissioner of Income Tax, National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC) against the order, it said.

Shares of Bank of India closed at Rs 137, up 3.79 per cent over previous close on the BSE.

Savita Oil Technologies sold 3% of the company’s stake to the prominent mutual fund company, SBI Mutual Fund.

• As per the exchange filing, this is a block deal which happened on March 22, 2024, with shares transacted at an average price of ?408 per share.
• According to the shareholding pattern in December 2023, among public shareholders, HDFC Mutual Fund is the sole entity holding a 7.4% stake in the company.

China has launched the third group of Yunhai-2 satellites used for atmospheric and space environment observations.

• According to local Chinese news agencies, the Yunhai-2 03 satellites were launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern Shanxi province using the "Long March 6" rocket. 
• The satellites, reported to have successfully placed into their planned orbits after launch, will be utilized for observations of the atmosphere, sea environment, and space environment.
• This launch marked the 514th successful mission conducted with the Long March rockets.
• The first group of "Yunhai-2" satellites was launched in 2018, and the second group was launched on March 21.