Dear Champions, as you all know that a lot of competitive exams have been notified consequently. Candidates have to prepare themselves according to the level of competition and expectation of  the Recruitment board. Regarding that one of the most important topic is Daily Current Affairs. Current Affairs in the form of contemporary events of national & international play a crucial role in almost every competitive exams like Banking, Insurance, SSC, UPSC, TNPSC, Railway etc.

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.

TO PURCHASE OUR BANKING AWARENESS (2021 Edition) – CLICK HERE

March 22 | Daily Current Affairs 2021

IMPORTANT DAYS

1. World Water Day is observed on which date?
A) March 22
B) March 23
C) March 24
D) March 25
E) March 21
Answer: A) March 22

World Water Day is March 22:

• The day focuses attention on the importance of freshwater and advocates for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
• The objective of the day is to raise awareness of the global water crisis, and a core focus of the observance is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) which is to ensure water and sanitation for all by 2030.

History of World Water Day:

• The resolution to observe World Water Day was first adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 22, 1992, after which March 22 was declared as World Water Day and is celebrated around the world since 1993.

Theme of World Water Day 2021:

• The theme of this year is ‘valuing water’ specifically recognizes the crucial role of healthy ecosystems in maintaining water supplies around the world.

Bihar Day:

• Bihar Day (Bihar Diwas) is observed on March 22 every year.
• The day marks the formation of the state of Bihar. Bihar Diwas is celebrated to commemorate the date on which the province came into being during the British rule.
• Bihar was carved out the state from Bengal in 1912.
• As per the the government record, March 22 is a public holiday in the state.
• Bihar Day was started and celebrated on large scale by after Nitish Kumar took over as the Chief Minister if Bihar in 2005.
• The state government has decided ‘Jal Jeevan Hariyali’ as the theme of this year’s celebrations to raise awareness about declining annual rainfall threatening water security in the state.

SPORTS

2. Lee Zii Jia defeated defending champion Viktor Axelsen to win the men’s singles crown at the All England Open. He was related to which country?
A) USA
B) Iraq
C) UAE
D) Iran
E) Malaysia
Answer: E) Malaysia

• Malaysian shuttler Lee Zii Jia defeated defending champion Viktor Axelsen to win the men’s singles crown at the All England Open while Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara won the women’s title for a second time.
• World number four Okuhara beat Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong 21-12 21-16 in the women’s final and the 26-year-old said she was a better player now compared to when she last won the event in 2016.
• Japan also won the women’s doubles crown, with Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara winning their maiden All England.

Lee Zii Jia – Win the men’s singles crown at the All England Open – defeated defending champion Viktor Axelsen.

3. Manu Bhaker is related to which sports?
A) Cricket
B) Athlete
C) Boxer
D) Wrestler
E) Shooter
Answer: E) Shooter

• The sensational duo of Saurabh Chaudhary and Manu Bhaker notched up the 10m mixed air pistol gold in the ISSF World Cup.
• The Indians beat Golnoush Sebhatollahi and Javed Foroughi of Iran 16-12, making a brilliant rally after trailing 0-4 at the end of the second series.
• This is India’s fifth gold at the ongoing event.
• Also for India, Yashaswini Singh Deswal and Abhishek Verma bagged the bronze medal after getting the better of Turkey’s Sevval Ilayda Tarhan and Ismail Keles 17-13 at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range.
• India’s Divyansh Singh Panwar and Elavenil Valarivan produced some excellent shooting to comfortably claim the gold medal in the 10m mixed air rifle event of the ISSF World Cup.
• The India duo shot a combined total of 16 in the gold medal match to finish ahead of Hungarian world number one Istvan Peni and Eszter Denes who managed 10.
• This is India’s fourth gold in the ongoing event.
• Mary Carolynn Tucker and Lucas Kozeniesky (17) of the US bagged the bronze medal ahead of Poland’s Aneta Stankiewicz and Tomasz Bartnik (15).

Sensational Saurabh, Manu – 10m mixed pistol gold.

OBITUARY

4. Sagar Sarhadi passed away. He was related to which field?
A) Writer
B) Actor
C) Singer
D) Economist
E) Columnist
Answer: A) Writer

• Noted writer-filmmaker Sagar Sarhadi, known for films like ‘Kabhi Kabhie’, ‘Silsila’, and ‘Bazaar’, passed away following a brief illness.

Acclaimed Egyptian feminist Nawal Saadawi dies:

• Nawal Saadawi, a renowned Egyptian feminist, psychiatrist and novelist, whose writings have stirred controversy for decades in an overwhelming conservative society, died of age-related health problems in Cairo.
• When she published her famous book, “Women and Sex” in 1972, she faced a storm of criticism and condemnation from Egypt’s political and religious establishment.
• In 2005, She was awarded the Inana International Prize in Belgium, a year after she received the North-South prize from the Council of Europe.
• In 2020, Time Magazine named her on their 100 Women of the Year list.

Sagar Sarhadi – Veteran filmmaker-writer.

APPOINTMENTS

5. RBI has set up a how many-member committee headed by former Deputy Governor Shyamala Gopinath for evaluating applications for Universal Banks as well as Small Finance Banks?
A) 7
B) 6
C) 5
D) 4
E) 3
Answer: C) 5

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set up a five-member committee, headed by former Deputy Governor Shyamala Gopinath, for evaluating applications for Universal Banks as well as Small Finance Banks.
• The other members of the Standing External Advisory Committee (SEAC), whose tenure will be for three years, are: Revathy Iyer, Director, Central Board, Reserve Bank of India; B Mahapatra, former Executive Director, RBI and presently Chairman, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI); TN Manoharan, former Chairman, Canara Bank; and Hemant G Contractor, former MD, State Bank of India and former Chairman, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).
• The RBI’s guidelines for ‘on-tap’ Licensing of Universal Banks in the Private Sector (August 1, 2016) and Guidelines for ‘on-tap’ Licensing of Small Finance Banks in the Private Sector (December 5, 2019) indicated that the applications for Universal Banks and Small Finance Banks will be initially screened by the Reserve Bank to ensure prima facie eligibility of the applicants.
• The guidelines also stated that a SEAC comprising eminent persons with experience in banking, financial sector and other relevant areas, will evaluate the applications thereafter and that the constitution of the SEAC will be announced by Reserve Bank.

Reserve Bank of India:
Act: Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Governor– Shaktikanta Das
Deputy Governors– 4 (Bibhu Prasad Kanungo, Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, M. Rajeshwar Rao)

RBI – Set up 5-member panel for evaluating applications for universal, SFBs – headed by former Deputy Governor Shyamala Gopinath.

6. Thongloun Sisoulith is appointed as President of which country?
A) Fiji
B) UAE
C) Iraq
D) Iran
E) Laos
Answer: E) Laos

Laos:
Capital: Vientiane
Currency: Lao kip

Thongloun Sisoulith – Laos President.

AWARDS

7. Which edition of National Film Awards were announced in New Delhi?
A) 64th
B) 65th
C) 66th
D) 67th
E) 68th
Answer: D) 67th

• The 67th National Film Awards were announced in New Delhi, with the honours for films from the year of 2019.
• The event is organised by the Directorate of Film Festivals, which comes under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
• Director Priyadarshan’s Malayalam war epic Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea, that is headlined by Mohanlal, won Best Feature Film.
• The film is yet to release in theatres, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
• The best acting honours went to Manoj Bajapayee for Bhonsle, Dhanush for Tamil film Asuran, and Kangana Ranaut for two of her films: Panga and Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi.
• Vijay Sethupathi (Super Deluxe) and Pallavi Joshi (The Tashkent Files) won the supporting actor awards, while director Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan was awarded for Bahattar Hoorain.

Feature Film Awards:

Title	Movie Name
Best Feature Film	Marakkar- Lion of the Arabian Sea (Malayalam)
Best Actor (shared)	Manoj Bajpayee for Bhonsle (Hindi), and Dhanush for Asuran (Tamil)
Best Actress	Kangana Ranaut for Panga (Hindi) and Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi (Hindi)
Best Supporting Actress	Pallavi Joshi for The Tashkent Files (Hindi)
Best Supporting Actor	Vijay Sethupathi for Super Deluxe (Tamil)
Best Director	Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan for Bahattar Hoorain (Hindi)
Best Debut Film of a Director	Mathukutty Xavier for Helen (Malayalam)
Best Child Artist	Naga Vishal for KD (Tamil)
Best Action Direction	Avane Srimannarayana (Kannada), Vikram Mor
Best Choreography	Maharishi (Telugu), Raju Sundaram
Best Special Effects	Marakkar Lion of the Arabian Sea (Malayalam), Siddharth Priyadarshan
Special Jury Award	Oththa Seruppu Size 7 (Tamil), Radhakrishnan Parthiban
Best Lyrics	Prabha Varma for Kolaambi (Malayalam)
Best Music Direction	D. Imman for Viswasam (Tamil)
Best Background Music	Prabuddha Banerjee for Jyeshthoputro (Bengali)
Best Make-up Artist	Ranjith for Helen (Malayalam)
Best Costumes	Sujith Sudhakaran and V. Sai for Marakkar Lion of the Arabian Sea (Malayalam)
Best Production Design	Anandi Gopal (Marathi), Sunil Nigwekar and Nilesh Wagh
Best Audiography (Location Sound Recordist)	Iewduh (Khasi), Debajit Gayan
Best Audiography (Re-recordist of final mixed track)	Oththa Seruppu Size 7 (Tamil), Resul Pookutty
Best Screenplay (Original)	Jyeshthoputro (Bengali), Kaushik Ganguly
Best Screenplay (Adapted)	Gumnaami (Bengali), Srijit Mukherji
Best Screenplay (Dialogue Writer)	The Tashkent Files (Hindi), Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri
Best Cinematography	Jallikattu (Malayalam), Gireesh Gangadharan
Best Editing	Jersey (Telugu), Navin Nooli
Best Children’s Film	Kastoori (Hindi)
Best Film on Environment Conservation	Water Burial (Monpa)
Best Film on Social Issues	Anandi Gopal (Marathi)
Best Film on National Integration	Tajmahal (Marathi)
Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment	Maharishi (Telugu)
Best Female Playback Singer	Savani Ravindra for Bardo (Marathi)
Best Male Playback Singer	B Praak for Kesari (Hindi)
Best Films in Each Language
Best Hindi Film	Chhichhore
Best Telugu Film	Jersey
Best Malayalam Film	Kalla Nottam
Best Tamil Film	Asuran
Best Paniya Film	Kenjira
Best Mishing Film	Anu Ruwad
Best Khasi Film	Iewduh
Best Chattisgarhi Film	Bhulan the Maze
Best Haryanvi Film	Chhoriyan Chhoron Se Kam Nahi Hoti
Best Tulu Film	Pingara
Best Punjabi Film	Rab Da Radio 2
Best Odia Film	Kalira Atita and Sala Budhar Badla (shared)
Best Manipuri Film	Eigi Kona
Best Marathi Film	Bardo
Best Konkani Film	Kaajro
Best Kannada Film	Akshi
Best Bengali Film	Gumnaami
Best Assamese Film	Ronuwa – Who Never Surrender
Special Mentions	Biriyani (Malayalam), Jonaki Porua (Assamese), Lata Bhagwan Kare (Marathi) and Picasso (Marathi)
Non-Feature Film Awards
Best Voice-over/ Narration	Sir David Attenborough forWild Karnataka (English)
Best Music Direction	Bishakhjyoti for Kranti Darshi Guruji – Ahead of Times (Hindi)
Best Editing	Arjun Gourisaria for Shut Up Sona (Hindi/ English)
Best Audiography	Radha (Musical), Allwin Rego and Sanjay Maurya
Best On-Location Sound Recordist	Rahas (Hindi), Saptarshi Sarkar
Best Cinematography	Savita Singh for Sonsi (Hindi)
Best Direction	Sudhanshu Saria for Knock Knock Knock (English/ Bengali)
Best Film on Family Values	Oru Paathira Swapnam Pole (Malayalam)
Best Short Fiction Film	Custody (Hindi/ English)
Special Jury Award	Small Scale Societies (English)
Best Animation Film	Radha (Musical)
Best Investigative Film	Jakkal (Marathi)
Best Exploration Film	Wild Karnataka (English)
Best Educational Film	Apples and Oranges (English)
Best Film on Social Issues	Holy Rights (Hindi) and Ladli (Hindi)
Best Environment Film	The Stork Saviours (Hindi)
Best Promotional Film	The Shower (Hindi)
Best Arts and Culture Film	Shrikshetra-Ru-Sahijata (Odia)
Best Biographical Film	Elephants Do Remember (English)
Best Ethnographic Film	Charan-Atva The Essence of Being a Nomad (Gujarati)
Best Debut Non-Feature Film of a Director	Raj Pritam More for Khisa (Marathi)
Best Non-Feature Film	An Engineered Dream (Hindi)
Other Awards
Most Film Friendly State	Sikkim
Best Book on Cinema	A Gandhian Affair : India’s Curious Portrayal of Love in Cinema, by Sanjay Suri
(Special mentions	Cinema Paharana Manus by Ashok Rane and Kannada Cinema Jagathika Cinema Vikasa-Prerane Prabhava written by PR Ramadasa Naidu)
Best Film Critic	Sohini Chattopadhyay

 

New Delhi – 67th National Film Awards.

8. India confers Gandhi Peace Prize 2020 on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. This award instituted by the Government of India Since ____?
A) 1996
B) 1995
C) 1991
D) 1992
E) 1993
Answer: B) 1995

• The Government of India conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize 2020 on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, while for the year 2019, it’s conferred on late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said of Oman.
• Gandhi Peace Prize is an annual award instituted by the Government of India since 1995, the 125th Birth Anniversary commemoration year of Mahatma Gandhi.
• The award is given to individuals and institutions for their contribution towards social, economic and political transformation through non-violence and other Gandhian methods.
• Rahman was the first President and later the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
• He was assassinated on August 15, 1975.
• Rahman is known as the “Father of the Nation” or simply “Mujib” in Bangladesh.
• This time the award has been given for the last two years (2019 and 2020). Last, it was announced in 2018 for the last four years.
• Gandhi Peace Prize 2019 winner Sultan Qaboos, the longest-reigning leader of the modern Arab world, had died in January last year.
• Condoling his death, PM Modi had described the Arab leader as a beacon of peace for the region.

India – Confer Gandhi Peace Prize 2020 on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

9. Who launched ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain’ campaign for conserving water?
A) Amit Shah
B) Nirmala Sitharaman
C) Venkaiah Naidu
D) Ramnath Kovind
E) Narendra Modi
Answer: E) Narendra Modi

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain’ campaign for conserving water and stressed that every penny of MGNREGA funds be spent.
• The ‘Catch the Rain’ campaign will be undertaken across the country, in both rural and urban areas.
• It will be implemented from March 22 to November 30 – the pre-monsoon and monsoon period in the country.
• The campaign aims to take water conservation at grass-root level through people’s participation.
• It is intended to nudge all stakeholders to create rainwater harvesting structures suitable to the climatic conditions and subsoil strata, to ensure proper storage of rainwater.

Prime Minister, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space and All important policy issues and All other portfolios not allocated to any Minister
Minister: Narendra Modi
Constituency: Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

Narendra Modi – Launch ‘Catch the Rain’ campaign.

10. Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) Bill 2021 will be set-up with a corpus of ___?
A) Rs 10,000 crore
B) Rs 20,000 crore
C) Rs 30,000 crore
D) Rs 40,000 crore
E) Rs 50,000 crore
Answer: B) Rs 20,000 crore

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) Bill 2021 in the Lok Sabha to pave way for setting up of a government-owned DFI to fund infra projects.
• The Union Cabinet had approved a budget proposal of setting up a Development Finance Institution (DFI), which will have tax benefits to enable fund raising from investors.
• The National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development will be set up with a corpus of Rs 20,000 crore and the government will give an initial grant of Rs 5,000 crore.
• The government expects the DFI to leverage this fund to raise up to Rs 3 lakh crore in the next few years

Finance and Corporate Affairs:
Minister: Nirmala Sitharaman
Constituency: Rajya Sabha MP, Karnataka

Nirmala Sitharaman – The National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) Bill 2021.

11. Defence Ministry signed a contract with Mahindra Defence Systems Ltd (MDSL) for buying 1,300 Light Specialist Vehicles for the Indian Army, at a cost of ___________?
A) Rs 1,036 crore
B) Rs 1,026 crore
C) Rs 1,016 crore
D) Rs 1,066 crore
E) Rs 1,056 crore
Answer: E) Rs 1,056 crore

• Defence Ministry signed a contract with Mahindra Defence Systems Ltd (MDSL) for buying 1,300 Light Specialist Vehicles for the Indian Army, at a cost of Rs 1,056 crore.
• The Light Specialist Vehicle is indigenously designed and developed by MDSL.
• These combat vehicles are extremely agile with all-round protection against small arms fire and will assist small independent detachments which are required to operate this weapon platform in the operational area.
• This is a flagship project showcasing the indigenous manufacturing capabilities of the defence industry and will add another milestone to the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan’ and ‘Make in India’ initiative.

Indian Army – Get 1,300 ‘Made in India’ specialist vehicles.

12. United Nations Office for Project Services partners with which country to support Jal Jeevan Mission in Bundelkhand& Vindhya region of UP?
A) UAE
B) Iraq
C) Iran
D) Australia
E) Denmark
Answer: E) Denmark

• United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)entered into a partnership with the Government of Denmark to support the Union Government’s flagship programme, Jal Jeevan Mission in Uttar Pradesh on World Water day.
• The purpose of partnership between the Government of Denmark and UNOPS is to provide strategic technical support to Jal Jeevan Mission (Water program).
• UNOPS shall be focussing on instituting scalable delivery models in focused 11 water-scare districts of Uttar Pradesh in Bundelkhand and Vindhya regions as per the priorities laid down in the Operational Guidelines of Jal Jeevan Mission.
• Through coordination between UNOPS and the Embassy of Denmark, it will be ensured that the partnership and the bilateral Indo-Danish cooperation on the Jal Jeevan Mission mutually support and reinforce each other in order to support the achievement of the Jal Jeevan Mission’s goals.
• UNOPS will mobilize its resources in these districts especially in the area of community mobilization, capacity building, training, etc., which will help in achieving the goal of the mission to provide tap water connection to every household in a time-bound manner.
• The Jal JeevanMission aims to provide functional household tap connection to every rural household by 2024.
• This coincides with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal-6.
• In view of UNOPS’s goodwill with Government of India at all levels and with civil society, built up over the years, it is of strategic importance that this collaboration between Government of Denmark and UNOPS brings meaningful impact to achieve the objectives of the Mission.

Denmark:
Capital: Copenhagen
Currency: Danish Krone

United Nations Office for Project Services + Government of Denmark – Support Jal Jeevan Mission in Bundelkhand& Vindhya region of UP.

13. Which Minister and governments of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh signed An agreement to implement the Ken-Betwa river link project?
A) Finance
B) External Affairs
C) Home
D) Women & Child Development
E) Jal Shakti
Answer: E) Jal Shakti

• An agreement to implement the Ken-Betwa river link project was signed by the Jal Shakti Ministry and governments of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
• The agreement was signed by Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhwat, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
• The project involves transfer of water from the Ken to the Betwa river through the construction of Daudhan Dam and a canal linking the two rivers, the Lower Orr project, Kotha Barrage and Bina Complex Multipurpose Project.
• It will provide annual irrigation of 10.62 lakh hectares, drinking water supply to about 62 lakh people and also generate 103 MW of hydropower.
• The project will be of immense benefit to the water starved region of Bundelkhand, especially to the districts of Panna, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Sagar, Damoh, Datia, Vidisha, Shivpuri and Raisen of Madhya Pradesh and Banda, Mahoba, Jhansi and Lalitpur of Uttar Pradesh.

Jal Shakti:
Minister: Gajendra Singh Shekhawat
Constituency: Jodhpur, Rajasthan

Madhya Pradesh:
Capital: Bhopal
CM: Shivraj Singh Chouhan
Governor: Anandiben Patel

Uttar Pradesh:
Capital: Lucknow
CM: Yogi Adityanath
Governor: Anandiben Patel

Jal Shakti Minister + MP + UP – Sign MoU to implement Ken-Betwa river interlinking project.

14. Which state has announced 30 per cent fitment for State government Employees and Teachers under Pay Revision?
A) Andhra Pradesh
B) Telangana
C) Mizoram
D) Nagaland
E) Arunachal Pradesh
Answer: B) Telangana

• Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has announced 30 per cent fitment for State Government Employees and Teachers under Pay Revision and increased the retirement age to 61 years from 58.

Telangana:
Capital: Hyderabad
CM: K. Chandrashekar Rao
Governor: Tamilisai Soundararajan

K. Chandrasekhar Rao – Announce 30% fitment for State govt Employees.

DOWNLOAD TODAY’S CURRENT AFFAIRS PDF – CLICK HERE

You Must Also Read Daily Current Affairs March 21