Current Affairs for Competitive Exams: 6 March 2026, Daily Roundup
6 March 2026
Current Affairs
On 06 March 2026, the global focus shifted toward diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the West Asian conflict, while India celebrated a historic entry into the T20 World Cup Final and made significant strides in indigenous defence and environmental records.
National
- Varanasi’s Guinness World Record: Varanasi set a new global record by planting 2,51,446 saplings in just one hour along the banks of the Ganga. This community-led effort surpassed China’s previous record and aims to create a massive “urban forest” for ecological sustainability.
- NITI Aayog Transition: Senior bureaucrat Nidhi Chhibber assumed additional charge as the CEO of NITI Aayog, succeeding BVR Subrahmanyam.
- Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2026: India’s Union Minister of Communication led a delegation to MWC Barcelona, where the Bharat Pavilion showcased India’s leadership in 5G, satellite communication, and telecom manufacturing.
- Digital Census 2027: The government unveiled the official mascots—Pragati (female) and Vikas (male)—for India’s first-ever fully digital census, signalling a new era in data-driven governance.
International Relations & Security
- US Energy Waiver for India: In a major diplomatic win, the US Treasury Department issued a 30-day waiver allowing Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil already at sea. This stop-gap measure is intended to stabilise global energy flows disrupted by the West Asian crisis.
- Raisina Dialogue 2026: At the 11th edition of the dialogue in New Delhi, global leaders, including Finnish President Dr Alexander Stubb, discussed the “Golden Era” of India-Europe relations and the need for diversifying energy supply chains.
- Repatriation of Heritage: The United Kingdom officially repatriated a 16th-century Thirumangai Alvar bronze sculpture to India, continuing the trend of recovering stolen cultural artifacts.
Global Geopolitical Crisis
- Strait of Hormuz Paralysis: Shipping traffic in the Persian Gulf remains at a near-standstill. The Indian Navy’s Operation Sankalp continues, with INS Surat currently positioned in Bahrain due to the hazardous conditions for merchant vessels.
- Aviation Chaos: Over 175 international flights were cancelled at India’s major hubs (Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru) on March 6 alone due to the closure of Gulf air corridors, leaving thousands of travellers stranded.
- UN Call for Peace: The UN Secretary-General issued an urgent plea for diplomatic negotiations, stating the West Asian conflict has reached a “major humanitarian emergency” level after seven days of fighting.
Sports
- T20 World Cup 2026 Final Umpires: The ICC announced that Richard Illingworth and Alex Wharf will officiate the marquee Final between India and New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium this Sunday.
Defence
- ₹5,083 Crore Naval Boost: The Ministry of Defence finalised two major contracts:
- ALH Mk-III Helicopters: A ₹2,901 crore deal with HAL for six maritime-role helicopters for the Coast Guard.
- VL-Shtil Missiles: A ₹2,182 crore contract with Russia’s Rosoboronexport for vertical-launch surface-to-air missiles to protect Indian Navy warships.
- IAF Tragedy: The Indian Air Force confirmed the loss of two pilots, Squadron Leader Anuj and Flight Lieutenant Purvesh Duragkar, in a Sukhoi Su-30 MKI crash in Assam.
Global Observance
- National Employee Appreciation Day: Celebrated (first Friday in March) to recognise the contributions of the workforce.
- National Dentists’ Day: Observed to raise awareness about dental health and honour dental professionals.
Miscellaneous One-Liners Current Affairs
- Karnataka: The state government announced a plan to ban social media for children under 16 to curb mobile addiction and mental health issues.
- Andhra Pradesh: CM Chandrababu Naidu announced a ₹25,000 incentive for families having a second or third child to address the state’s ageing population trend.
- West Bengal: CM Mamata Banerjee began a sit-in protest alleging “arbitrary voter roll deletions” by the Election Commission ahead of the state polls.
- Bihar: Retired Lt. Gen. Syed Ata Hasnain was appointed as the new Governor of Bihar.
- Delhi: Former diplomat Taranjit Singh Sandhu was named the new Lt. Governor of Delhi, replacing Vinai Kumar Saxena.
- Rajasthan: Mount Abu will be renamed Abu Raj, while Kaman as Kamvan and Jahazpur will be renamed as Yagyapur.
- Technology: IBM inaugurated its Infrastructure Innovation Centre in Bengaluru to accelerate AI and hardware development for the Indian market.
- Shri B.P. Singh assumed charge as Director General of Naval Armament (DGONA) at Naval Headquarters, New Delhi.
- DG of the Border Security Force (BSF) – Praveen Kumar (till Sep 2030)
- DG of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) – Rakesh Aggarwal (till Aug 2028)
- 29th Director General Border Roads (DG BRO) – Gen. Harpal Singh
- Vice Chief of Air Staff –Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor (replace Air Marshal Narmdeshwar Tiwari)
- DG of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) – Shatrujeet Singh Kapoor
President Murmu appoints Governors in different States and UTs
- Himachal Pradesh – Kavinder Gupta
- Maharashtra – Jishnu Dev Varma
- Telangana – Shiv Pratap Shukla
- Bihar – Lieutenant General (Retired) Syed Ata Hasnain
- West Bengal – RN Ravi
- Nagaland – Nand Kishore Yadav
- Tamilnadu – Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar (Additional)
- Ladakh – Vinai Kumar Saxena
- Delhi – Taranjit Singh Sandhu
