March 2026 month current affairs

Science, Technology & Defence

• CERN scientists discovered new particle 'Xic++' baryon at Large Hadron Collider (located in Geneva, Switzerland).

• The Artemis II mission (April 2026) in NASA will be the first crewed mission to leave the low earth orbit since Apollo 17 (1972). Duration: 10 days. Rocket: Space Launch System. Spacecraft: Orion.

• India Vayuban helicopter-launched drone system: Indian Air Force.

• The first Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) facility in India: It is going to be located in Kavaratti, Lakshadweep.

• India's first amphibious drone 'Avatar': Developed by Bengaluru-based deep tech startup Ekva Aerospace.

• Operation Energetic Security by the Indian Navy: This was initiated to defend energy supply routes traversing Strait of Hormuz.

• The first indigenous amphibious drone in India: Mentioned.

• The largest air exercise of Indian Air Force: Vayu Shakti 2026: This was held at Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.

• Joint military exercises:

• India and Seychelles (at Seychelles Security Academy): Lamitye (11th edition). Indian Army: Assam Regiment; Indian Navy: INS Trikand.

• Sea Dragon 2026: Multilateral naval drill with India in charge, in Guam, USA. Countries: India, USA, Australia, Japan, New Zealand. P-8I aircraft were deployed by Indian Navy.

• Operation 'Epic Fury' (US name) and Operation 'Roaring Lion' (Israel name) – joint US-Israel military strikes on Iranian nuclear & military sites.

• Test of Agni-V missile by DRDO (in passing).

Awards, Honours & Books

• Mark Lynton History Prize 2026:  Awarded to  William Dalrymple  for his book  "The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World" .

• KISS Humanitarian Award 2025:  Awarded to  Nita Ambani  (Chairperson, Reliance Foundation).

• Saraswati Samman (35th) 2025:  Awarded to  Ramkumar Mukhopadhyay  for his Bengali work  "Har Parvati Katha" . (First Bengali writer to win in 22 years).

• Jnanpith Award (60th) 2025:  To be awarded to  R. Vairamuthu  (Tamil poet, lyricist). He is the 3rd Tamil writer to receive India's highest literary honour.

• Sahitya Akademi Awards 2025 (24 languages):

  • English:  Navtej Sarna  for  "Crimson Spring"  (based on Jallianwala Bagh massacre).

  • Hindi (Memoir):  Mamta Kalia  for  "Jeete Ji Ilahabad" .

  • Sanskrit: Mahamahopadhyay Sadhu Bhadradas Ji for  "Prasthan Chatushtaya Brahmaghosh" .

  • Manipuri: Haobam Nalini.

  • Malayalam: N. Prabhakaran.

  • Kannada: Amresh Nunakodoni.

  • Konkani: Henry Mendonca.

  • Sindhi: Bhagwan Atlani.

  • Tamil: Tamil Selvan.

  • Telugu: Nandini Siddha Reddy.

  • Urdu: Preetpal Singh Betab for  "Safar Jari Hai" .

• Sangita Kalanidhi Award 2026:   Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh  (veena player).

• Nritya Kalanidhi Award 2026:  Narendra ji.

• Abel Prize (Maths Nobel) 2026:  Awarded to German mathematician  Gerd Faltings  for fundamental contributions to arithmetic geometry.

• Oscars 2026 (98th Academy Awards):

  • Best Actor:  Michael B. Jordan  ( "Sinners" ).

  • Best Actress:  Jessie Buckley  ( "Hamnet" ).

  • Best Director:  Paul Thomas Anderson  ( "The Brutalist" ).

  • Best Film:  "The Brutalist" .

  • Best Casting:  Cassandra Kulukundis  for  "The Brutalist"  (first year this category was added).

• Grammy Awards 2026 (68th):  (already covered in previous months, but mentioned here).

• Book releases:

  • "Karuna: The Power of Compassion"  by Nobel laureate  Kailash Satyarthi .

  • "Mahatma: A Great Communicator"  by  Dr. Dheeraj Kakadia  (former DG, All India Radio).

  • "Crimson Spring"  by Navtej Sarna.

Important Days & Themes (March 2026)

• World Water Day (22 March):  Theme –  "Water and Gender Equality" . Slogan: "Where water flows, equality grows".

• World Meteorological Day (23 March):  Theme –  "Observing Today, Protecting Tomorrow" .

• World Tuberculosis Day (24 March):  Theme –  "Yes! We Can End TB: Led by Countries, Powered by People" .

• World Theatre Day (27 March):  Theme –  "Theatre and a Culture of Peace" .

• Earth Hour Day (28 March):  Theme –  "The Biggest Hour for Earth" . Observed last Saturday of March (8:30-9:30 PM).

• No Smoking Day (11 March – second Wednesday):  Theme –  "A Smoke-Free Life Starts with a Smoke-Free Day" .

• World Kidney Day (12 March – second