Daily Current Affairs – 06-03-2026

National News

R.N. Ravi Appointed West Bengal Governor

Following the resignation of West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose, Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi, who had assumed office on 18 September 2021, was appointed as the Governor of West Bengal by President Droupadi Murmu on March 5, 2026. Kerala Governor R.V. Arlekar was given additional charge of the Governor of Tamil Nadu. At the same time, several other gubernatorial changes were announced: Himachal Pradesh Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla was appointed as Governor of Telangana, Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma became Governor of Maharashtra, Nand Kishore Yadav was appointed as Governor of Nagaland, and Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Syed Ata Hasnain was appointed as Governor of Bihar. Additionally, Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Kavinder Gupta was appointed as Governor of Himachal Pradesh, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinay Kumar Saxena was appointed as Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, and Taranjit Singh Sandhu was appointed as the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.

Tamil Nadu News

Arvind Dharmadhikari – Chief Justice of Madras High Court

Justice Shrut Arvind Dharmadhikari, who was serving as a Judge of the Kerala High Court, has been appointed as the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court by President Droupadi Murmu under the powers of the Indian Constitution, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India. He succeeded Justice M.M. Srivastava, who retired on March 5, 2026 as the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court. Justice Arvind Dharmadhikari was born on July 8, 1966, in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, and completed degrees in Law and Commerce from Nagpur University. He enrolled as an advocate in 1992 at the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Jabalpur, and practiced for more than twenty years handling civil, criminal, and constitutional cases. He served as Central Government Counsel from 2000 to 2015, representing departments including the Income Tax Department, Reserve Bank of India, and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. He was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on April 7, 2016, became a Permanent Judge on March 17, 2018, and was transferred to the Kerala High Court on April 23, 2025, before being appointed as the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court.

Nitish Kumar – Rajya Sabha Nomination

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar (75), leader of the Janata Dal (United), filed his nomination on March 5, 2026, in Patna for membership in the Rajya Sabha. Nitish Kumar, who has served as the Chief Minister of Bihar since 2005, is set to step down from the post after nearly 20 years in office. In the 243-member Bihar Legislative Assembly elections held in November, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) retained power by winning 202 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (United) contested 101 seats each, winning 89 seats and 85 seats respectively, while the opposition alliance including the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Indian National Congress secured 35 seats. Nitish Kumar was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Bihar for the 10th time on November 20, with Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha serving as Deputy Chief Ministers. Elections for 5 Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar are scheduled to be held on March 16, for which Nitish Kumar filed his nomination as a JDU candidate.

M.K. Stalin – 500 Republished Spiritual Books

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin released 500 rare spiritual books republished by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department through its Publication Wing at the Chennai Secretariat on March 5, 2026. The publication wing was established at the HR&CE Commissioner’s Office in Chennai. In the first phase on January 19, 2023, 180 rare spiritual books including Devaram, Thiruvasagam, Thiruppugazh, Thiruppavai, Thiruvembavai, and Abirami Anthathi were republished. In the second phase on February 27, 2025, 108 rare spiritual books including Temple Histories, Sthala Puranas, and nationalized devotional literature were released. In the third phase on April 15, 2024, 300 spiritual books including Puranic stories and epics were republished. With these, a total of 516 rare spiritual books had already been republished earlier. As part of the fourth phase, 500 spiritual books including ancient Puranas, Thirumurais, Prabandhams, Shaiva and Vaishnava research books, temple inscription-based books, and village deity history books with parayana songs were republished and released. The event was attended by HR&CE Minister P.K. Sekarbabu, Chief Secretary N. Muruganandam, Tourism, Culture and Religious Endowments Department Secretary K. Manivasan, and HR&CE Commissioner P.N. Sridhar.

₹665 Crore Fisheries Projects

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin inaugurated and laid foundation stones for 13 new projects worth ₹665.53 crore under the Tamil Nadu Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare Department on March 5, 2026, from the Chennai Secretariat through video conferencing. The projects include the expansion of the Thoothukudi Fishing Harbour, construction of new fishing harbours at Tharuvaikulam and Vaniyakudi, and a fish landing centre at Nemmeli Kuppam. The Chief Minister also inaugurated 8 completed projects worth ₹100.84 crore, including a Multipurpose Seaweed Production Park at Valamaloor in Ramanathapuram district built at ₹54.02 crore and an upgraded fishing harbour at Pazhayar fishing village built at ₹26.26 crore. Under the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation of the Cooperation, Food and Consumer Protection Department, foundation stones were laid for construction works worth ₹88.06 crore, including 6 modern paddy storage complexes with a capacity of 60,000 metric tonnes and 2 circular process additional storage warehouses with a capacity of 4,500 metric tonnes. Under the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Forests, foundation stones were laid for a Mangrove Protection Centre worth ₹26.50 crore, an International Bird Centre at Marakkanam worth ₹50.30 crore, and a Nilgiri Tahr Protection Centre at Gandhipuram, Coimbatore. Under the Health Department, hospital buildings constructed at ₹167.84 crore were inaugurated at Kotagiri Government Hospital (Nilgiris), Annur Government Hospital (Coimbatore), and Kadaladi Government Hospital (Ramanathapuram), and medical equipment worth ₹26.62 crore including 2 Cath Labs, a 1.5 Tesla MRI Scanner, and Telecobalt machines were launched. The Chief Minister also inaugurated a Film Creative Complex with 3 shooting floors built at ₹39.33 crore at the Tamil Nadu Government M.G.R. Film and Television Training Institute in Taramani, Chennai.

CM M.K. Stalin Provides Housing to Three Writers under Kanavu Illam Scheme

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin distributed High-Income Group (HIG) residential apartments of the Tamil Nadu Housing Board worth ₹4.58 crore to three writers under the Kanavu Illam Scheme at the Chennai Secretariat on March 5, 2026. The beneficiaries were Thayammal Aravanan, recipient of the Central Institute of Classical Tamil Award, Ponneelan, who received the Sahitya Akademi Award for the book “Puthiya Dharisanangal”, and A. Ira. Venkatachalapathi, who received the Sahitya Akademi Award for the book “Thirunelveli Ezhuchiyum, V.O.C.yum 1908”. The Chief Minister also released the remaining 73 volumes of B.R. Ambedkar’s works translated into simple Tamil, in addition to the 27 volumes already published earlier. Royalties for the nationalized works of Tamil scholar V. Aanamuthu and poet Erode Tamilanban were also distributed, with ₹20 lakh given to the legal heirs of V. Aanamuthu and ₹10 lakh given to T.P. Santhakumari, the wife of Erode Tamilanban. On the same occasion, the Tamil Nadu Women Entrepreneur Development Scheme was launched by the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Department, under which women entrepreneurs can obtain bank loans up to ₹10 lakh to start businesses. The Chief Minister also released the Second Master Plan for the Trichy Local Planning Area and the Master Plan for the Thoothukudi Local Planning Area.

108 Ambulance Service via WhatsApp

A WhatsApp-based facility has been introduced to access the 108 Emergency Ambulance Service in Tamil Nadu, enabling people to receive emergency medical assistance quickly. The service was launched for public use on March 5, 2026, at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Chennai, by Health Minister Ma. Subramanian. In Tamil Nadu, the 108 Ambulance Service is operated by EMRI Green Health Services and a total of 1,353 ambulances are functioning across the state. Among them, 303 ambulances are equipped with advanced life-saving medical facilities, and more than 40 two-wheeler ambulances are deployed to reach hilly and road-inaccessible areas. The service employs over 7,000 staff members, and the control room receives more than 10,000 calls daily. The average response time for ambulances is 6.59 minutes in metropolitan areas, 9.40 minutes in urban areas, and 11.31 minutes in rural areas.

International News

Narendra Modi – Talks with Finland President

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with Finland President Alexander Stubb in New Delhi on March 5, 2026, during the Finnish President’s four-day state visit to India. The leaders discussed strengthening cooperation between India and Finland in sectors such as trade, investment, security, critical technologies, skill development, and green energy, and also deliberated on regional and international issues including the West Asia conflict and the Ukraine war. Following the meeting, several agreements were signed to enhance cooperation in areas such as official statistics, mutual migration, and environment. The two countries elevated their relations in digitalisation and sustainability to a Strategic Partnership, focusing on collaboration in fields including Artificial Intelligence (AI), 6G telecommunications, clean energy, and quantum computing, and also agreed to expand cooperation in security, space, semiconductors, and critical minerals. During the visit, Finland expressed support for India’s bid for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

States’ News

State Economic Growth Comparison (2021–2025)

Between 2021-22 and 2024-25, among India’s leading economic states, Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra, Karnataka recorded the highest growth in Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) with about 65% growth, increasing from ₹17.02 lakh crore to ₹28.09 lakh crore, mainly driven by the Information Technology and services sectors in Bengaluru. Gujarat recorded about 48% growth, while Tamil Nadu registered about 47% growth, with its GSDP rising from ₹21.36 lakh crore to ₹31.55 lakh crore, making Tamil Nadu the second-largest state economy in India after Maharashtra. Maharashtra, though remaining India’s largest state economy, recorded about 43% growth, the lowest among the four major states, with an estimated GSDP of ₹42,67,771 crore in 2024-25.

Reports and Indices

Andhra Pradesh Introduces Population Management Policy to Encourage Three Children

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu introduced the Draft Population Management Policy in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly to increase the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in the State from 1.5 to 2.1, with the policy scheduled to come into effect from April 1, 2026. Under the policy, families having a third child will receive an incentive of ₹25,000 at the time of delivery, along with ₹1,000 monthly financial assistance for five years and free education for the child up to the age of 18 years under the “Poshana – Shiksha – Suraksha” package. The policy aims to address the declining fertility rate and prevent the State from becoming an ageing society by 2047, while also targeting an increase in the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) by 15% and stabilising the TFR a2.1

Pragati and Vikas Unveiled as Mascots for Census 2027

Union Home Minister Amit Shah unveiled the mascots “Pragati” and “Vikas” for the Population Census 2027, which will be India’s first digital census. The census will allow self-enumeration by citizens and will also include caste enumeration for the first time. The digital platforms for conducting the census were developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). The Census 2027 will be conducted in two phases: Houselisting Operations (HLO) and Population Enumeration. During the launch, Amit Shah also introduced four digital tools for the census process: the Houselisting Block Creator (HLBC) web application, HLO mobile application, Self-Enumeration (SE) portal, and the Census Management and Monitoring System (CMMS) portal. The mascots Pragati (female enumerator) and Vikas (male enumerator) have been introduced as the symbolic faces of the Census 2027.