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Current affairs are the most dynamic yet scoring among all sections and need to be prepared from the right source. Here, we cafunsta team, providing  Daily GK Updates, Current Affairs Questions, and Monthly  current affairs pdf.

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March 20 | Daily Current Affairs 2021

IMPORTANT DAYS

1. World Sleep Day is observed on which date?
A) 13 March
B) 11 March
C) 15 March
D) 16 March
E) 19 March
Answer: E) 19 March

World Sleep Day 2021 Date:

• The 14th annual World Sleep Day is being celebrated on 19 March.

World Sleep Day History:

• It was first observed in 2008 by healthcare professionals who worked in the field of sleep medicine and research.
• At the time of its beginning, the aim of the day was to bring healthcare providers together in order to share information related to sleep with the world.

World Sparrow Day:

• Every year on March 20, World Sparrow Day is celebrated all over the globe with an aim to raise awareness and protect the bird.

World Sparrow Day 2021: History:

• On March 20, 2010, the first World Sparrow Day was observed and since then, it is being celebrated every year around the world.
• The Nature Forever Society was founded by an Indian conservationist named Mohammed Dilawar who has made lots of efforts for several years to raise awareness among the people regarding the importance of conservation of the house sparrow.

World Sparrow Day 2021: Theme:

• The theme for the World Sparrow Day is ‘I Love Sparrows’

International Day of Happiness:

• Every year, March 20 is observed as the International Day of Happiness.

International Day of Happiness History:

• It was in 2013 when the United Nations started to observe the International Day of Happiness.
• The resolution was passed back in July 2012.
• This was an initiative that was first stressed upon by Bhutan who believed in the importance of national happiness, hence adopting ‘Gross National Happiness’ instead of Gross National Product.’
• In 2021, Finland was ranked as the world’s happiest country in this regard, with Denmark coming in second and Switzerland third.

International Day of Happiness Theme:

• This year, the theme of this day is “Happiness for all, forever”.

World Oral Health Day:

• World Oral Health Day is celebrated on March 20 with an aim to spread the message on oral hygiene and health.
• The first World Oral Health Day was celebrated in 2013.
• Every year, the FDI World Dental Federation marks a specific theme for this day and this year it is, ‘Be Proud of Your Mouth’.
• Last year, the theme for World Oral Health Day was ‘Say Ahh: Unite for Mouth Health’.

World Oral Health Day 2021: History:

• WOHD was first declared and originally celebrated on September 12, 2007, however, the campaign came into action in 2013.
• The day March 20 is marked to celebrate the event to avoid conflicts with FDI World Dental Congress that took place in September.
• The date was also chosen to reflect the importance of oral hygiene and care as the children must have 20 baby teeth and the senior citizens must be left with 20 teeth at the end of their life. Healthy adults must have 32 teeth with 0 dental cavities.

World Oral Health Day 2021: Theme:

• This year, World Dental Federation (FDI) unveiled the three-year theme (2021 – 2023),’Be Proud of Your Mouth’ for World Oral Health Day (WOHD).

World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People:

• March 20 is celebrated worldwide as a World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People by the international community of theatre practitioners for children and young people.

Chinar Corps celebrates 80th Raising Day:

• Chinar Corps, the Indian Army’s strategic unit guarding the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, celebrated its 80th Raising Day at the Badami Bagh Cantonment.
• Chinar Corps was raised at Barrackpore in 1942 during the World War II.

SPORTS

2. Yashaswini Deswal is related to which sports?
A) Swimming
B) Athlete
C) Boxing
D) Wrestling
E) Shooting
Answer: E) Shooting

• Yashaswini Deswal bagged the first gold medal for India in the Women’s 10M Air Pistol final of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup.
• Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun on Saturday here at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting range (DKSSR).
• Another Indian shooter Manu Bhaker won a silver medal.
• World number one shooter Divyansh Singh Panwar clinched the bronze medal in 10m Air Rifle (men’s category) and opened India’s medal account in the competition.

ISSF WC – Yashaswini wins first gold for India, Manu Bhaker clinches silver.

OBITUARY

3. GV Ramakrishna passed away. He was served as Chairman of which organisation?
A) NTPC
B) SIDBI
C) RBI
D) IRDAI
E) SEBI
Answer: E) SEBI

• Former SEBI Chairman GV Ramakrishna, who also held some of the most high-profile jobs in the Indian government over his illustrious career, passed away.
• A well-known crusader of protecting small investor’s interest, Ramakrishna was appointed as the Chairman of SEBI in 1990 when it lacked the legal status as market regulator.
• Ramakrishna was the first Chairman of the Disinvestment Commission.
• In his varied career, he worked under different ministries including the Finance ministry and Ministries of Industry, Steel, Coal and Petroleum.
• He was Adviser in the Planning Commission in 1981 and Member in 1994.

GV Ramakrishna – Former SEBI Chairman.

3. Peter Lorimer passed away. He was related to which sports?
A) Football
B) Athlete
C) Boxing
D) Wrestling
E) Shooting
Answer: A) Football

• Leeds United’s record goalscorer Peter Lorimer died aged 74 following a long-term illness.
• He won two league titles, the FA Cup and League Cup and was also part of the side that lost the European Cup final to Bayern Munich in 1975, famously having a goal disallowed due to a controversial offside decision.

Peter Lorimer – Leeds United’s record goal scorer.

BANKING AND FINANCE

4. IRDAI has hiked the maximum cover under the standard health insurance plan — Arogya Sanjeevani Policy — from Rs 5 lakh earlier to how much amount?
A) Rs 20 lakh
B) Rs 30 lakh
C) Rs 40 lakh
D) Rs 50 lakh
E) Rs 10 lakh
Answer: E) Rs 10 lakh

• To bring more people under the ambit of health insurance, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has hiked the maximum cover under the standard health insurance plan — Arogya Sanjeevani Policy — from Rs 5 lakh earlier to Rs 10 lakh.
• The insurance regulator has made it mandatory for insurers to offer a sum insured between Rs 50,000 to Rs 10 lakh under the Arogya Sanjeevani policy as against the previous range of Rs 1 -5 lakh.
• Arogya Sanjeevani is the standardised health insurance product that was launched in March 2020.

IRDAI:
Abbreviation: The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India
Act: The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999
Headquarters: Hyderabad, Telangana
Chairman: Subhash Chandra Khuntia

IRDAI – Max cover under Arogya policy to Rs 10 lakh.

ACQUISITIONS AND MERGERS

5. Adani Green Energy acquires SkyPower’s 50MW solar project in which state?
A) Madhya Pradesh
B) Mizoram
C) Uttarakhand
D) Uttar Pradesh
E) Telangana
Answer: E) Telangana

• Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) announced that it has signed an agreement to purchase 100 per cent stake in Toronto-headquartered SkyPower Global’s 50MW solar power project in Telangana.
• With this acquisition, AGEL shall increase its operating renewable capacity of 3,395 MW with a total renewable portfolio of 14,865 MW.

PGCIL to acquire 74% stake of JPVL in JPPGL for Rs 351 cr:

• State-run Power Grid Corporation (PGCIL) said it has signed a share purchase agreement with Jaiprakash Power Ventures to acquire 74 per cent stake in Jaypee Powergrid Ltd (JPPGL) for Rs 351.64 crore.

Adani Green Energy Limited:
Headquarters: Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Founder : Gautam Adani

Adani Green Energy – Acquire SkyPower’s 50MW solar project in Telangana.

APPOINTMENTS

6. Government to constitute empowered committee for high-tech manufacturing. How many members in this committee?
A) 10
B) 16
C) 11
D) 12
E) 14
Answer: A) 10

• The Cabinet Secretariat informed that the Central Government has decided to constitute “an empowered committee for manufacturing in high technology areas” in order to facilitate investments and promote manufacturing in technology-intensive sectors.
• The 10-member committee will be headed by the Minister of Commerce and Industry.
• The committee will consider investment or project proposals in high technology areas, take action to facilitate investments, production and make recommendations for seeking approvals of competent authority.

Government – 10-member constitute empowered committee for high-tech manufacturing – Headed by the Minister of Commerce and Industry.

AWARDS

7. Who was named the Italian league player of the year?
A) Cristiano Ronaldo
B) Franz Beckenbauer
C) Ferenc Puskás
D) Michel Platini
E) Zinedine Zidane
Answer: A) Cristiano Ronaldo

• Cristiano Ronaldo was named the Italian league player of the year for the second successive time.
• Ronaldo won the prize in 2019 after his debut season at Juventus.
• Juventus forward Cristiana Girelli received the best female player award.

Cristiano Ronaldo – Serie A player of the year.

8. Who won the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) award for his contribution towards preservation of film heritage?
A) Akshay Kumar
B) Shahrukh Khan
C) Amitabh Bachchan
D) Salman Khan
E) Aamir Khan
Answer: C) Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan – The International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) award.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

9. Which IIT developed a novel touch-sensitive watch for the use of visually impaired people to sense time accurately?
A) IIT Madras
B) IIT Kharagpur
C) IIT Kanpur
D) IIT Bombay
E) IIT Kozhikode
Answer: C) IIT Kanpur

IIT Kanpur – Touch-sensitive watch for the visually impaired.

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

10. Which state launched Dial 112, an Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) through video conference?
A) Mizoram
B) Uttar Pradesh
C) Tamil Nadu
D) Uttarakhand
E) Odisha
Answer: E) Odisha

• Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched Dial 112, an Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) through video conference.
• Dedicating the system, the Chief Minister said from now on people will dial only 112 for all their emergency need related to police, fire service, health disaster and any other emergency in times of distress.
• The Chief Minister also inaugurated the state of the art state Emergency Response centre and flagged off the Emergency Response Vehicles fitted with Mobile Data Terminals.

Odisha:
Capital: Bhubaneswar
Chief Minister – Naveen Patnaik
Governor – Ganeshi Lal

Odisha Chief Minister – An Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) through video conference

11. How many states have successfully completed ease of doing business reforms?
A) 20
B) 30
C) 14
D) 24
E) 25
Answer: A) 20

• As many as 20 states have successfully completed ease of doing business reforms
  States completing the reforms are eligible for additional borrowing of 0.25 per cent of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).
• The number of States who have successfully completed the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ reforms has reached to 20. Five more states namely, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Meghalaya and Tripura have completed the ‘Ease of Doing Business” reforms stipulated by the Department of Expenditure.
• The Department of Expenditure has granted permission to these 20 States to raise additional financial resources of Rs 39,521 crore through Open Market Borrowings.
• The ease of doing business is an important indicator of the investment friendly business climate in the country. Improvements in the ease of doing business will enable faster future growth of the state economy.
• The government of India had in May 2020, decided to link grant of additional borrowing permissions to States who undertake the reforms to facilitate ease of doing business.

20 states – Complete ease of doing business reforms, eligible for additional borrowing.

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