DAILY GK 8-9 MAR 2026

 DAILY GK 8-9 MAR 2026

1.     VICE CHIEF OF ARMY STAFF

·       The Indian Army (IA) announced the appointment of a major Lieutenant General (Lt Gen) Dhiraj Seth, the current General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of Southern Army Commander, as the next Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS).

·       He will succeed Lt Gen P. P. Singh and assume office with effect from 1 April 2026.

 


2.     IRAN NEW SUPREME LEADER 

·       Mojtaba Khamenei was appointed as the Supreme Leader of Iran by the Assembly of Experts, following the death of his father Ali Khamenei in airstrikes.

·       With this appointment, he became the third Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

 

3.     INDIA’S FIRST INTEGRATED OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION PLANT

·       Union Minister of State(MoS) (Independent Charge, IC) Jitendra Singh, Ministry of Science and Technology(MoS&T), reviewed the progress of India’s first Integrated Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) plant being developed in Kavaratti, Lakshadweep.

·       The OTEC utilises the temperature difference between warm surface seawater and cold deep seawater to generate electricity.

·       The OTEC project is being developed with the support of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), an autonomous institute under MoES headquartered in Chennai.

 

4.     FINLAND PRESIDENT ALEXANDER STUBB’S VISIT TO INDIA

·       The President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, paid a four-day State Visit to India at the invitation of Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi

·       The visit elevated bilateral ties and marked Alexander Stubb’s first visit to India

·       India and Finland elevated their bilateral ties to a Strategic Partnership for Innovation and Sustainability, focusing on Digital Technologies, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Quantum Computing, Green Hydrogen and 6G Technology.

 

5.     ROMANIA RATIFIES INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ALLIANCE

·       Romania, submitted the Instrument of Ratification formally confirming Romania’s ratification of the Framework Agreement of the International Solar Alliance (ISA).

·       In December 2023, ISA announced that Romania signed the Framework Agreement and joined as the 118th member country.

 

6.     11TH RAISINA DIALOGUE HELD IN NEW DELHI

·       PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the 11th edition of the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi.

·       The inaugural session featured President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, as the Chief Guest.

·       The three-day global conference was organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

·       The theme of the 11th Raisina Dialogue was “Samskara – Assertion, Accommodation, Advancement.” 

·       The RaisinaDialogue is India’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics.

 

7.     2ND ADVANCE ESTIMATES OF MAJOR AGRICULTURAL CROPS 2025-26

·       Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoAFW) released the data of 2nd Advance Estimates of production of major agricultural crops (including Kharif and Rabi crops)for the year 2025-26.

·       Khariffoodgrain production is estimated at 1741.44 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT) and Rabi food grain production at 1745.13 LMT.

·       For Kharif, rice production is estimated at 1239.28 LMT (for 2025-26) and for Rabi rice production is projected at 167.20 LMT .

·       Pulses Production: Tur production is estimated at 34.55 LMT; gram at 117.92 LMT; and lentil at 17.33 LMT.

·       The production of oilseeds is pegged at 265.33 LMT (in the Kharif season) and 144.65 LMT (in the Rabi season).

·       Some of the major commercial crops production projections: 5001.97 LMT (sugarcane ); 290.91 lakh Bales (170 kilograms, kgs each) (cotton) and 81.27 lakh Bales (180 kgs each) (jute).