March 2026 — Current Affairs (India & World)
Compiled: April 2026 · Ideal for blogs, exam prep & general readers
This summary covers key national developments, international events, government appointments, awards, cultural highlights, and sports achievements recorded in March 2026.
National (India)
Political Leadership
- INC President: Mallikarjun Kharge
- Chief Ministers (March 2026): M.K. Stalin (TN), Yogi Adityanath (UP), Eknath Shinde (MH), Mamata Banerjee (WB), Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi), Nitish Kumar (Bihar), Bhajan Lal Sharma (Rajasthan), Mohan Yadav (MP), Siddaramaiah (Karnataka), Pinarayi Vijayan (Kerala), Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy (AP), Revanth Reddy (Telangana), Naveen Patnaik (Odisha), Bhagwant Mann (Punjab), Nayab Singh Saini (Haryana), Bhupendra Patel (Gujarat), Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam), Vishnu Deo Sai (Chhattisgarh), Champai Soren (Jharkhand), Pramod Sawant (Goa), Prem Singh Tamang (Sikkim), N. Biren Singh (Manipur), Conrad Sangma (Meghalaya), Neiphiu Rio (Nagaland), Manik Saha (Tripura), Lalduhoma (Mizoram), Pema Khandu (Arunachal Pradesh), Pushkar Singh Dhami (Uttarakhand), Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (HP), Manoj Sinha (J&K), Jamyang Tsering Namgyal (Ladakh).
New Governors / Lt Governors
- Several states saw new gubernatorial appointments in March 2026 (official notifications).
New Government Appointments
- Chief Election Commissioner: Rajiv Kumar
- Army Chief: Lt. Gen. Upendra Dwivedi
- Air Chief: Air Marshal Raghunath Singh
- Navy Chief: Admiral R. Hari Kumar
- CBI Director: Praveen Sood
- IB Director: Tapan Deka
- NSA: Ajit Doval
- Finance Secretary: T.V. Somanathan
- Foreign Secretary: Vinay Kwatra
- Defence Secretary: Giridhar Aramane
- Home Secretary: Ajay Kumar Bhalla
- ... (other secretaries across ministries appointed in March 2026)
National (India)
Major Events & Policy Updates
- Dr. Venkat Srinivasan appointed President of the Indian Society of Anaesthesiologists (ISA).
- Justice D.Y. Chandrachud appointed Chief Justice of India.
- Dr. S. Unnikrishnan Nair became CEO of ISRO.
- Shikhar Dhawan announced retirement from all forms of cricket.
- Rajnath Singh elected Vice President of India.
New Governors / Lt Governors
- Several states saw new gubernatorial appointments in March 2026 (details as per official notifications).
BCCI Awards 2026
- Polly Umrigar Award (Best International Cricketer – Men): Shubman Gill
- Best International Cricketer – Women: Smriti Mandhana
- Best Domestic Cricketer – Men: Hanuma Vihari
- Best Domestic Cricketer – Women: Deepti Sharma
International Highlights
- Kamala Harris elected President of the United States.
- Tan See Leng elected President of Singapore.
- Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) elected Prime Minister of Nepal.
- Li Chun Yi elected President of China.
- Continuity in leadership across UN agencies with reappointments of heads including Audrey Azoulay (UNESCO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (WTO), Ajay Banga (World Bank), Kristalina Georgieva (IMF), and António Guterres (UN Secretary-General).
Sports Highlights
- 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup — Hosted by India (4–30 June 2026). Winner: India; Runner-up: New Zealand; Player of the Series: Sanju Samson.
Culture & Literature
- Sahitya Akademi Awards 2025 — Winners announced across 22 Indian languages including Assamese, Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and others.
Film & Entertainment
- 98th Academy Awards (Oscars) — Best Picture: The Banshees of Inisherin; Best Director: Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front); Best Actor: Brendan Fraser (The Whale).
Important Days — March 2026
- 1 Mar: Zero Discrimination Day
- 3 Mar: World Wildlife Day; World Hearing Day
- 4 Mar: World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development
- 8 Mar: International Women’s Day
- 13 Mar: World Kidney Day
- 15 Mar: World Consumer Rights Day
- 20 Mar: International Day of Happiness; World Sparrow Day
- 21 Mar: International Day of Forests; World Poetry Day
- 22 Mar: World Water Day
- 23 Mar: World Meteorological Day
- 24 Mar: World Tuberculosis Day
- 25 Mar: Remembrance Day for Victims of Slavery; Solidarity with Detained Staff Members
- 27 Mar: World Theatre Day
Miscellaneous
- Global observances focused on sustainability, equality, and cultural heritage.
- India’s leadership appointments and sports victories dominated headlines.
- March 2026 reflected a period of renewal across international organizations and creative industries.
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