Current Affairs, March 2014   

31st March:
• Supreme Court commuted the death sentence of 1993 terror convict Devinderpal Singh Bhullar to life imprisonment on the grounds of inordinate delay in deciding his mercy petition and on the grounds of mental illness.

30th March:
• The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) expelled senior leader Jaswant Singh for six years after his stand to contest as an independent candidate from Barmer in Rajasthan.

29th March:
• Earth hour 2014 observed across the world from 8.30 PM to 9.30 PM.
• Brendon McCullum become the first batsman to cross 2,000-run mark in Twenty20 Internationals.

28th March:
• Supreme Court removed N. Srinivasan as BCCI chief and asked Sunil Gavaskar to take charge as an interim president for the duration of IPL 7.
• WHO has certified India as a Polio Free country and making it one of the 11 countries of South-East Region to be free from polio virus.
• West Zone wins third successive Deodhar Trophy as they beat North Zone by 133-run in the final.

27th March:
• The Supreme Court has proposed that former India captain Sunil Gavaskar could take over as the interim chief of the Board of Control for Cricket in India in place of its embattled president N. Srinivasan and also suggested that Indian Premier League teams Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals should not be part of the seventh season.
• United Nations Human Rights Council(UNHRC) passed a resolution which seeks to authorise the body to set up an "independent international inquiry" in Sri Lanka to probe into human rights violations during Sri Lankan civil war against LTTE in 2009.

26th March:
• Supreme Court asked Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy to deposit Rs.10,000 crore with the market regulator SEBI for his release on interim bail from judicial custody.
• Bayern Munich set a new record after beating Hertha Berlin 3-1 to wrap up the quickest Bundesliga title in 51 years of the league.

25th March:
• Bank of India today became the first state-run Bank to allow withdrawal of funds from its ATMs to individuals without an account in the bank.
• DMK expels M.K. Alagiri from the party.
• Veteran bollywood actress Nanda at the age of 75 in Mumbai.

24th March:
• Senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh will contest as independent candidate from Barmer after denied by BJP.
• Ukraine announced the evacuation of its military troops from Crimea acknowledging defeat in the face of Russian forces.
• An Egyptian court sentenced 529 members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood to death for murder and other offences.
• Sri Lanka bowled out the Netherlands for just 39, the lowest ever Twenty20 International total in a Super 10 match of the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh.

22nd March:
• 7 people were killed when a tanker filled with highly inflammable material caught fire in Thane.
• President Pranab Mukherjee confers gallantry awards in Rashtrapati Bhavan.

21st March:
• An earthquake of magnitude 6.7 hits Nicobar Islands.
• Turkey restricted access to Twitter hours following the leak of wiretapped recordings in social media.
• India beats Pakistan by 7-wickets in the first match of the T20 World Cup.

20th March:
• Renowned author and journalist Khushwant Singh died at the age of 99 in New Delhi.

19th March:
• RBI has allowed five domestic private sector banks to import gold which includes HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank and Yes Bank.
• Italian judge has rejected a request by India to recover more than 278 million euros in bank guarantees backing a scrapped helicopter deal with Finmeccanica unit AgustaWestland.

18th March:
• France's inform that leaders of the G-8 have suspended Russia's participation in the club amid tensions over Ukraine and Russia's incursion into Crimea.

17th March:
• India celebrates Holi.
• Crimea's regional parliament has declared independence and applied to become part of the Russian Federation after 97% vote in favour of joining Russia.
• European Union impose sanctions including asset freezes and travel bans on 21 officials from Russia and Ukraine after Crimea applied to join Russia.

16th March:
• Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak spoke to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking India's help in the massive search for the Malaysian jet that went missing with 239 people aboard over a week ago.
• People of Ukraine's Crimea region are voting in a contentious referendum on whether to split off and seek annexation by Russia.
• Karnataka wins the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2013-14 by defeating Railways by four wickets at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
• ICC World T20 Cup Cricket Tournaments starts in Bangladesh from today.

15th March:
• BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will contest the Lok Sabha election from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.
• Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar has been voted with the Cricketer of the Generation by a 50-member jury in an award ceremony of ESPNcricinfo.

14th March:
• 7 people killed and 4 injured when a seven-storey building collapsed in Santacruz, Mumbai.
• Now rail passengers can lodge a 'zero FIR' in any railway station if they are victim of any offence during train journey as per decision was taken at a high-level meeting.
• Nandan Nilekani resigned as chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India as he has been named the Congress candidate for Bangalore South constituency.

13th March:
• The Delhi High Court confirmed the death sentence for four men convicted by a trial court for the incident of 16th December, 2012.
• A US court has dismissed visa fraud charges against Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade who is charged in New York with visa fraud and making false statements about her domestic worker.
• Soma Mondal has been appointed as the first woman Director (Commercial) of Navratna PSU National Aluminium Company Ltd (NALCO).

12th March:
• United Arab Emirates will host IPL 7 with India that scheduled from April 16 to June 1.

11th March:
• Maoist killed 16 policemen in a remote part of Chhattisgarh.

10th March:
• Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) submitted a status report and filed the first charge sheet in coal scam.
• FIFA World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo has become the wealthiest footballer in the world with earnings of 122 million Pounds.

9th March:
• One worker killed and two injured in an accident at shipyard building of a nuclear submarine in Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
• 45 people killed and 157 wounded in a suicide bombing in the southern Iraqi city of Hilla.

8th March:
• International Women Day is observed across the world.
• A Malaysian Airlines plane crashed into sea near Vietnam with 239 people including 5 Indians.
• Congress releases first list of 194 candidates for Lok Sabha elections.
• Sri Lanka wins the Asia Cup after defeating Pakistan in the final by 5 wickets.

7th March:
• Supreme Court rejects the Sahara Group's proposal to pay the entire amount to SEBI in cash installments of Rs.2,500 crore each at regular intervals of three months.

6th March:
• Crimea's parliament voted to hold a referendum on March 16 to decide whether Crimea should become part of Russia.
• Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) reaches to an all-time intra-day high of 21,492.49 by rising 215.63 points.

5th March:
• Election Commission announced today the schedule for the 16th Lok Sabha elections, which will be held in nine phases April 7 and May 12 and involve an electorate of 81.4 crore.
• Former chief minister of Delhi Sheila Dikshit appointed as the 22nd Governor of Kerala.

4th March:
• Sahara Chief Subrata Roy ordered to remain in police custody for a week in Delhi by the Supreme Court.
• Bill Gates tops the Forbes magazine's annual list of the world's richest people.
• South Africa captain Graeme Smith announces retirement from international cricket at the end of the ongoing third test against Australia at Newlands.

3rd March:
• The Reserve Bank of India has extended the date for exchanging the pre-2005 banknotes to January 01, 2015.
• 86th Academy Awards given today. Oscar for Best Picture given to "12 Years a Slave". While Matthew McConaughey and Cate Blanchett wins the Best Actor and Actress in a Leading Role.

2nd March:
• Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to deploy armed forces in Crimea has been passed by a unanimous vote in Russia’s upper house of parliament.

1st March:
• President Pranab Mukherjee signed the Telangana Bill and also signed the proclamation to impose central rule in Andhra Pradesh.
• Former BJP president Bangaru Laxman has died in Hyderabad at the age of 74.
• Afghanistan Cricket Team beat Bangladesh by 32 runs to register first win against Test-playing nation.
• South Africa wins the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2014 by defeating Pakistan by six wickets at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.