March 3 is known as World Wildlife Day (WWD), marked annually to draw attention to issues of conservation of flora and fauna. The WWD site states, “This year, the theme is ‘Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation’. It will allow us to celebrate all conservation efforts, from intergovernmental to local scale.”

Vietnam's National Assembly on Thursday elected Vo Van Thuong as the country's new President, in a reshuffle of the country's top leadership amid an anti-graft campaign. In an extraordinary session, lawmakers confirmed Thuong after the ruling Communist Party nominated him on Wednesday as President.

Thuong's election follows the sudden resignation of his predecessor Nguyen Xuan Phuc in January, who the Party blamed for wrongdoing.

The Supreme Court today ruled that appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Elections Commissioners will be done by the President on the advice of a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India.

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice K.M. Joseph said, this panel will be enforced until a law in this regard is made by Parliament. The bench was hearing a batch of petitions seeking reform in the process for the appointment of members of the Election Commission of India. The top court emphasized that the Election Commission has to remain aloof from all forms of subjugation by the executive. The top court emphasised that the Election Commission is duty bound to act in a fair and legal manner and to abide by the provisions of the Constitution.

Union Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Rajan Singh said, India’s GDP is currently ranking fifth on the world economy index, which will go up to fourth by this year’s end and overtake the position of Germany.

He said this after the inauguration of the G-20 Business Conference (B20) at Aizawl in Mizoram today. The theme of the conference was India Initiatives in the North East - Conference on opportunities for multilateral business partnerships.

Addressing the event, Minister Rajkumar Rajan said that India’s G20 presidency is benefiting people to a larger extent, including expanding employment opportunities, it will also open doors to South East Asian nations.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in collaboration with the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Bureau of India (PMBI), States and Union Territories are celebrating the 5th Jan Aushadhi Diwas 2023 across the country.

It is being celebrated under Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP).

The Ministry said that more than thirty-four Pratigya Yatras were conducted yesterday across the country. Out of which, eight Yatras have been led by Members of Parliament.

Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has received the Porter Prize 2023. It recognized the government's strategy in managing COVID-19, also the approach, and involvement of various stakeholders especially involvement of ASHA workers in the industry to create PPE Kits.

The prize was announced during The India Dialog at Stanford University. The country's contribution in developing and manufacturing vaccines was also lauded.

Porter Prize is named after award-winning economist Michael E. Porter.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will address the participants of the National Youth Parliament Festival (NYPF) 2023 in Parliament Central Hall on Thursday.

As many as 85 participants from several States and Union Territories, who have been selected on the basis of district and State level competitions, are participating in the programme.

The NYPF will be organised with the objective to hear the voice of youth aged between 18 and 25 years, who are allowed to vote but do not qualify as a candidate for election.

Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar will inaugurate the  Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela in New Delhi on Thursday. The three-day fair is being organised with the theme Nutrition, Food and Environmental Protection with Shree Anna.

The event will hold Technical Sessions on important and contemporary issues in Agriculture including development of Shree Anna-based value chain, Smart Farming Model, Sustainable Agriculture and Farmer Producer Organisations.

The Government has approved the signing of a contract with Larsen and Toubro Limited for the acquisition of three Cadet Training Ships, at an overall cost of 3,108 crore rupees.

The delivery of these indigenously designed, developed and constructed ships is scheduled to commence in the year 2026.

These ships will cater to the training of officer cadets at sea, including women, and can be deployed for the evacuation of people.

The government has approved the procurement of 70 HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force at a cost of over six thousand 828 crore rupees. The aircraft will be supplied over a period of six years.

The Ministry of Defence said, the aircraft will meet the shortage of basic trainer aircraft of IAF for the training of newly inducted pilots. The Ministry said, the HTT-40 is a turboprop aircraft and is designed to have good low-speed handling qualities and provide better training effectiveness.