Pioneer in short
PM Modi conferred with ‘Speaker of the Knesset Medal’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Wednesday conferred with the ‘Speaker of the Knesset Medal’ in recognition of his exceptional contribution to strengthening strategic relations between India and Israel. The Indian Prime Minister is the first leader to receive this medal, which is the highest honour of the Knesset - the Israeli Parliament.
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana conferred the award on the prime minister after his address at the Israeli Parliament. The medal was conferred in recognition of the prime minister’s exceptional contribution, through his personal leadership, to strengthen strategic relations between India and Israel. PM Narendra Modi is a rare world leader who has received top awards from both Israel and Palestine. In 2018, PM Modi was conferred the Grand Collar of the State of Palestine, which is the highest Palestinian honour for foreign leaders. It is PM Modi’s second visit to Israel in nine years. The India-Israel relationship was elevated to the level of a strategic partnership during his first visit to that country in July 2017.
Indian deaf team wins inaugural T20I Asia Cup
The Indian deaf cricket team beat Sri Lanka by six wickets to win the inaugural Asia Cup T20 tournament on Wednesday. The Indian side had earlier beaten Sri Lanka by four wickets in the first match of the competition before recording a commanding 10-wicket victory over Nepal. Sri Lanka won the third match of the competition by six wickets against Nepal. In a reverse fixture, Sri Lanka crushed Nepal by 157 runs, while the team from the island nation made India work hard for a narrow one-run win. India, however, crushed Nepal in their next match by nine wickets to secure their place in the final. Sai Akash was adjudged Player of the Match in the final for his 14-ball 27 and two wickets. Sri Lanka’s Gimadu L Malkam was declared the best batter as well as player of the series for scoring 196 runs. His compatriot Gihan Lasidu D’ Silva was named the best bowler for his 10 wickets in the competition.
RBI to conduct INR 25,000 cr switch auction on March 2
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday announced that it will conduct a switch auction of Government securities worth INR 25,000 crore on March 2. The auction will take place between 10:30 AM and 11:30 AM. The result of the auction will be announced on the same day, and settlement will take place on March 4, RBI said in a release. This is the third switch auction announced by the RBI this month. This operation is expected to reduce the redemption pressure in FY27, when Government bonds worth INR 5.47 lakh crore are due to mature. In a switch auction, the government replaces bonds maturing in the near term with long-term instruments. In the latest exercise, all securities, having maturities in FY27, are being replaced with bonds maturing after FY32, RBI data showed.
