Current Affairs One-liners — 03 March 2026

Tue, 03 Mar 2026

• The Ministry of Defence signed contracts worth ₹5,083 crore at South Block, New Delhi, on 3 March 2026 for six ALH Mk-III (Maritime Role) helicopters for the Indian Coast Guard and Vertical Launch-Shtil missiles for the Indian Navy.
• Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia inaugurated the Bharat Pavilion and delivered two keynote addresses at Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona, Spain, on 3 March 2026.
• Union Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal chaired a review on 3 March 2026 of the security of Indian-flagged vessels and seafarers in the Persian Gulf, and the ministry set up a Quick Response Team.
• A total lunar eclipse occurred on 3 March 2026 from 15:20 to 18:48 IST; most of India saw only its ending at moonrise, while parts of the Northeast and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands could also see the end of totality.
• NHAI issued Letters of Award on 3 March 2026 for the 111-km six-lane access-controlled Capital Region Ring Road (Bhubaneswar Bypass) in Odisha, from Rameshwar to Tangi, in three packages under the Hybrid Annuity Mode.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the second post-Budget webinar, on 'Sustaining and Strengthening Economic Growth', on 3 March 2026, urging industry to 'build more, produce more, connect more, export more'.
• World Wildlife Day was observed on 3 March 2026 with the theme 'Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: Conserving Health, Heritage and Livelihoods'; the day marks the adoption of CITES.
• Attukal Pongala, the ritual offering by women devotees to the deity of Attukal Bhagavathy Temple, was held across Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, on 3 March 2026, with the main hearth lit at 9.45 am.
• TRAI released its Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicator Report for October–December 2025 on 3 March 2026, showing internet subscribers rising to 1,028.61 million and broadband to 1,007.35 million.
• Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told the media on 3 March 2026 that India is well stocked with crude oil, petrol, diesel and ATF, and has supplies not routed through the Strait of Hormuz, as a 24×7 control room monitors stocks.
• Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma inaugurated the Kaziranga Orchid Park at Kohora in Kaziranga National Park, Golaghat district, on 3 March 2026.
• Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin inaugurated a Mudhalvar Padaippagam (Chief Minister's Creative Centre) with a modern library at Ashok Nagar, Chennai, on 3 March 2026 and virtually opened nine more built by CMDA.
• UIDAI said on 3 March 2026 that its school drive for mandatory biometric updates in Aadhaar has covered more than 1,03,000 schools and about 1.2 crore children.