Daily Current Affairs 22nd March, 2021

Daily Current Affairs 22 March 2021 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Inter Parliamentary Union President on a week long visit to India
Inter Parliamentary Union President Duarte Pacheco arrived in India to attend felicitation ceremony and address Members under the auspices of the Indian Parliamentary Group (IPG) in Central Hall of Parliament House.

• Pacheco is on a week long visit to India on the invitation of Indian Parliament. Pacheco called on Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and witnessed the proceedings of the Upper House.

Jharkhand launches ‘SAAMAR’ campaign to fight malnutrition
The Jharkhand government announced the launch of SAAMAR (Strategic Action for Alleviation of Malnutrition and Anemia Reduction) campaign to tackle malnutrition in the state.

• The campaign aims to identify anemic women and malnourished children and converge various departments to effectively deal with the problem in a state where malnutrition has been a major problem.

Haryana: Govt College for Women at Salaheri renamed as Shaheed Lieutenant Kiran Shekhawat Government College for Women
In Haryana, Government College for Women at Salaheri in Nuh district has been renamed as Shaheed Lieutenant Kiran Shekhawat Government College for Women, Salaheri.

• This was informed by  Haryana Education Minister, Kanwar Pal during the Question Hour during the Budget session of the Vidhan Sabha. He further added that Yasin Meo Degree College in Nuh has 1,108 students.

Delhi Govt Launches ‘Education Mentoring Programme’ for Girls of Class 9-12
Over 200 students from Indira Gandhi Delhi Technological University for Women will mentor 1,000 girl students of Delhi government schools in grades 9 to 12 under the AAP dispensation’s “Education Mentoring Programme” launched.

• The Delhi Government launched the programme through its “Youth for Education” initiative to clearing their doubts related to careers in STEM, share strategies for clearing entrance exams, support in accessing learning resources and motivate them as they transition from school to colleges and careers.
• BTech, MTech, PhD, and MBA students of the university will mentor these students. Initially, 200 students will mentor 1,000 students.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India Has World’s Fourth Strongest Military, USA Comes at Second Place: Report
China has the strongest military force in the world while India stands at number four, according to a study released by defence website Military Direct.

• The USA, despite their enormous military budgets, comes in 2nd place with 74 points, followed by Russia with 69, India at 61 and then France with 58. The UK just about makes the Top 10, coming in 9th place with a score of 43.
• The world’s biggest military spender with a budget of USD 732 billion per year is the USA, it noted, adding that China comes second with USD 261 billion, followed by India at USD 71 billion.
• China would win by sea, USA by air and Russia by land” in this hypothetical conflict, it said. ”USA wins in an aerial war with 14,141 total airships vs Russia with 4,682 and China with 3,587. The Russian Federation wins in a land war with 54,866 vehicles vs USA with 50,326 and China with 41,641. China wins in a sea war with 406 ships vs Russia with 278 and the USA or India with 202, it said.

Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina inaugurates Amar Ekushey book fair in Dhaka
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the Amar Ekushey book fair in Dhaka. She also released the book ‘New China 1952’ which is the English translation of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib’s book ‘Amar Dekha Naya Chin’.

•  She also distributed prizes among the winners of the Bangla Academy Literary Award 2020.
• The theme of this year’s book fair is the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and golden jubilee of independence.
• The book fair has been dedicated to the martyrs of the liberation war of 1971.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

India becomes 7th largest stock market in World
With an increase in total market capitalisation to $2.7 trillion, India notched up three spots higher to become the seventh-largest stock market in the world.

• A report by The Economic Times claimed that India’s stock market is now bigger than Canada, Germany, and Saudi Arabia.
•  It also noted that India’s stock market is the second-best performer among the top 15 countries in 2021 and may soon overtake France to become the sixth biggest in the world.
• The New York Stock Exchange is the largest stock exchange in the world, with an equity market capitalization almost 24.5 trillion U.S. dollars in January 2021. The following three exchanges were the NASDAQ, Shanghai Stock Exchange, and Hong Kong Exchanges

CAIT launches vendor onboarding mobile app for its e-commerce portal ‘Bharat e Market‘
Traders’ body CAIT launched a vendor onboarding mobile app for its upcoming e-commerce portal ‘Bharat e Market’. 

• The app will enable businesses and service providers to register on the portal and create their own “e-dukaan”.
• The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said its ‘purely Indian’ Bharat e Market portal will comply with all the rules and regulations of the country.

SPORTS

India’s Singhraj wins gold in Para Shooting World Cup 2021
Indian para-athlete Singhraj won gold medal in the 2021 Para Shooting World Cup at Al Ain in the UAE. He defeated Uzbekistan’s Server Ibragimov to get the top honour in the P1 – Men’s 10m Air Pistol SH1 final.

• Turkey’s former Paralympic champion Muharrem Korhan Yamaç took the bronze with 214.4 points.
• With this, India has moved to third place in the medals table. India has now two medals in its list – one gold and one bronze.

Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia wins All England Badminton C’ships Men’s title; Nozomi Okuhara clinches Women’s title
Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia has won the All England Badminton Championships men’s title as he defeated Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen in the summit clash.

• With this win, Malaysia’s title drought came to an end and it is after four years, that someone from the country has managed to win the All England Open.
• Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara won the women’s title as she defeated Pornpawee Chochuwong 21-12, 21-16 in the finals.

ISSF World Cup: India win Gold in Men and Women’s 10m Air Pistol Team Events
The Indian men and women’s team won their respective 10m Air Pistol events to take India to the top of the medals tally at the ongoing ISSF World Cup being held in New Delhi.

• The Indian women’s team of Manu Bhaker, Yashaswini Singh Deswal and Shri Nivetha Paramanantham beat their Polish opponents with relative ease to secure the gold medal.
• The men’s team, comprising Saurabh Chaudhary, Shahzar Rizvi and Abhishek Verma beat their Vietnamese counterparts 17-11 to make it a memorable day for India.
• India now lead the medals tally ahead of USA with eight medals. India have so far won three gold medals — joint highest with the USA. India also have three silver medals and two bronze.

Former Ireland captain Gary Wilson announces retirement 
Former Ireland skipper Gary Wilson announced his retirement from professional cricket.

• Having made his international debut back in 2005, 35-year-old Gary Wilson went on to represent Ireland in two Tests, 105 ODIs and 81 T20I.
• The wicketkeeper-batsman scored 2072 runs in ODIs and 1268 in T20Is. Gary Wilson’s only international century came against the Netherlands back in 2010.

Mumbai beat Uttar Pradesh by 6 wickets to win Vijay Hazare Trophy
Wicketkeeper-batsman and veteran Aditya Tare scored an unbeaten 118 while skipper Prithvi Shaw slammed 73 as Mumbai beat Uttar Pradesh by wickets in the final to clinch the Vijay Hazare Trophy title at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

• This is Mumbai’s fourth Hazare title and the one to remember for Shaw (827 runs), who now holds the record for highest runs scored in single edition of this competition

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 

Govt unveils homegrown app ‘Mobile Seva App Store’
Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative to make India Atmnirbhar, India has developed its first indigenously developed App Store called “Mobile Seva Appstore”.

• Unveiling the app government has indirectly targeted the big tech companies Google and Facebook.
• The app store hosting some 965 live apps of several domains and categories of public services. This Indian App Store will be available for free of cost in the initial phases.

OBITUARIES

Noted writer filmmaker Sagar Sarhadi passes away
Sagar Sarhadi, veteran filmmaker and writer, passed way following a brief illness. He was 88.

• Sarhadi wrote for films like Kabhi Kabhie (1976), Noorie (1979), Silsila (1981), and Chandni (1989).
• He was also a veteran member of the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA).

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Fragrance Day
Fragrance Day is celebrated every year on March 21. It celebrates all wonderful smelling things in this world, especially perfumes.

• The goal of this day is to drive awareness and sales of the fragrance category to consumers, by uniting the fragrance community, retailers, and brands.

World Water Day
World Water Day is observed annually across the globe on March 22 with the purpose of highlighting the importance of water and raising awareness about the water crisis that the world faces.

• The theme of World Water Day 2021 is “Valuing Water” and has been chosen to highlight the value of water in our daily lives.

International Day of Forests
Every year, March 21 is celebrated as the International Day of Forests. The day is aimed at raising public awareness about the values, significance, and contributions of the forests to balance the life cycle on the earth.

• The theme of the International Day of Forests for 2021 is “Forest restoration: a path to recovery and well-being.”
• The day promotes Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) where forest-dependent communities can continue to grow and come out of poverty.

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on 21 March to remind people about the negative consequences of racial discrimination.

• This year theme is “Youth standing up against racism”. 

World Down Syndrome Day
The World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD) is observed on March 21 every year. The day is marked to raise awareness about Down syndrome.

• The World Down Syndrome Day 2021 Theme is ‘We Decide.’ The theme signifies that all people with Down syndrome should have full participation in decision making about matters relating to, or affecting, their lives.

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