Daily Current Affairs – 20 & 21 March 2022
Current Affairs is the most important area in all competitive exams. But the difficulty level is very high. That’s why; many aspirants get confused, how to select Current Affairs for Preparation of Competitive Examination? In this Post, Daily Current Affairs 20 & 21 March 2022, we have tried to cover each and every point and also included all important facts from National/ International news that are useful for upcoming competitive examinations such as UPSC, SSC, Railway, State Govt. etc.
Daily Current Affairs 20 & 21 March 2022
Govt increases timeline for startups for converting debt investment into equity to 10 years
The government has extended the timeline up to ten years for startups to convert debt investments made in the company into equity shares, a decision which is likely to give relief to budding entrepreneurs to deal with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a press note of the DPIIT. Earlier this limit was five years.
An investor can invest in a startup through convertible notes, which is a kind of debt/loan instrument. In such cases the investor is given the option that if the startup performs well or achieves some performance milestones in future, the investor can ask the startup to issue equity shares of the company against the money that they had initially invested as loan/debt.
Earlier the option of changing convertible notes into equity shares was allowed for up to five years from the day when the initial convertible note was issued. Now that timeline has been extended to 10 years.
35th Surajkund International Crafts Mela Kicks-off in Haryana
Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatraya and Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday inaugurated the 35th Surajkund International Crafts Mela at Surajkund in Faridabad district of Haryana. The Mela is open from March 19 to April 04, 2022, from 12.30 pm-9.30 pm.
In 2022, the ‘Theme State’ is Jammu & Kashmir and Uzbekistan is the partner nation. It provides an opportunity for the artisans from all over India to showcase their talent and the richness and diversity of the handicrafts, handlooms, and the cultural heritage of India. The event is organized jointly by the Surajkund Mela Authority & Haryana Tourism in collaboration with Union Ministries of Tourism, Textiles, Culture and External Affairs.
SBI to set up Innovation, Incubation and Acceleration Centre in Hyderabad, Telangana
State Bank of India (SBI) plans to set up an Innovation, Incubation and Acceleration Centre (IIAC) at Hyderabad in a bid to build in-house capability to bolster its current performance and drive higher top-line growth through innovation.
The objective of this Innovation, Incubation and Acceleration Center is to build in-house capability to improves its current performance and drive higher top-line growth through innovation. The center will be operational in about six to nine months’ time from on-boarding a consultant.
International Day of Forests 2022: 21 March
The UN General Assembly proclaimed 21 March as the International Day of Forests in 2012. The Day celebrates and raises awareness of the importance of all types of forests.
The theme for International Day of Forests 2022 is “Forests and sustainable production and consumption”.
The day aims to celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests, and trees outside forests, for the benefit of current and future generations as well as to increase the public awareness among communities about the values, significance and contributions of the forests to balance the life cycle on the earth.
Pankaj Advani wins Asian Billiards title for 8th time
Ace Indian cueist Pankaj Advani defeated compatriot Dhruv Sitwala by six frames to win his eighth title at the 19th Asian 100 UP Billiards Championship 2022 here on Saturday. It was held in Doha, Qatar.
Overall this is Advani’s 24th international title and 8th Asian crown.
Suresh Raina felicitated with ‘Sports Icon’ award at Maldives Sports Awards 2022
Former India cricketer Suresh Raina was felicitated with the prestigious ‘Sports Icon’ award at the Maldives Sports Awards 2022 on March 17, 2022 by the Government of Maldives. The Maldives government felicitated Raina for his various achievements throughout his career.
Rains was nominated alongside 16 international sportspersons, including former Real Madrid player Roberto Carlos, Jamaican Sprinter Asafa Powell, former Sri Lankan captain and cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya and Dutch football legend Edgar Davids among others.
World Poetry Day 2022: 21 March
Held every year on 21 March, World Poetry Day celebrates one of humanity’s most treasured forms of cultural and linguistic expression and identity.
The day was declared by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 1999.
The day was proposed and adopted by UNESCO in 1999, on the occasion of its 30th General Conference held in Paris to “give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional and international poetry movements. With the aim of supporting linguistic diversity through poetic expression and increasing the opportunity for endangered languages to be heard.
World Down Syndrome Day 2022: 21 March
World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD) is observed every year on 21 March. It is a global campaign which is observed annually to spread awareness about Down Syndrome.
The Theme of 2022 World Down Syndrome Day is ‘We Decide‘.
The day was officially recognised by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012. It must be noted that the 21st day of March (the 3rd month of the year) has been selected to signify the uniqueness of the triplication (trisomy) of the 21st chromosome which causes Down syndrome.
World Puppetry Day 2022: 21 March
World Puppetry Day is observed every year on March 21, to promote the puppet arts. Launched in 2003 by UNIMA, the World Puppetry Day is both a real tool for the promotion of puppetry arts and a project allowing to federate the puppet actors of the same territory. The first celebration was held in 2003.
The idea of World Puppetry Day was proposed the Iranian puppet theater artist Javad Zolfaghari in 2000 at the XVIII Congress of the Union Internationale de la Marionnette, (UNIMA) in Magdeburg. Two years later in June 2002, the date of the celebration was identified by UNIMA.
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) celebrates 83rd Raising Day on 19 March 2022
Union Home Minister Amit Shah presides over the 83rd Raising Day ceremony of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Jammu on 19 March 2022.
While addressing the ceremony, the Union Home Minister said, “The situation in Jammu and Kashmir has improved after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India in 2014. The biggest achievement in J&K is the immense success that our forces have achieved in controlling terrorism in the state.”
This was for the first time that the CRPF celebrated its Raising Day outside the national capital. Union Home Minister Amit Shah took the salute at the parade and also presented the Gallantry medals and trophies for exceptional achievements in different categories to CRPF personnel.
NMDC Sign MoU with IIT Kharagpur for drone-based mineral exploration
National Mineral Development Corporation, NMDC Ltd, the country’s largest iron ore producer, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with IIT Kharagpur for drone-based mineral exploration.
The NMDC Limited is a government owned mineral producer, under Ministry of Steel, and the largest Iron Ore producer in India. With this MoU, NMDC becomes the first CPSE in India to conduct Drone-based Geophysical Surveys and Hyperspectral Studies for Mineral Exploration in the country.
International Day of Happiness 2022: 20 March
Every year on March 20, countries worldwide celebrates the International Day of Happiness which was first conceived by Jayme Illien of New York City in 2006. He is the Executive Director of the New World Order Project for the United Nations. Happytalism, the new economic theory, theory of happiness, and philosophy of all human beings became established.
The day aims to promote happiness as a fundamental human right for all human beings across the world. The theme for 2022 International Day of Happiness campaign is ‘Build Back Happier’.
The first International Day of Happiness was officially held on 20 March 2013. It was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on 28 June 2012.
NPCI launches “UPI Lite – On-Device wallet” functionality for UPI user
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will soon launch UPI Lite in India soon. It is an on-device wallet alternative for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) customers which will be in line with the central bank’s paradigm. UPI Lite will enable small-value transactions in offline mode.
In phase 1, UPI Lite will process transactions in near offline mode i.e. debit offline and credit online, and at a later point, UPI Lite will process transactions in complete offline mode i.e. debit and credit both offline. The upper limit of a UPI Lite payment transaction shall be Rs. 200 . The total limit of UPI Lite balance for an “On-device wallet” shall be Rs. 2,000 at any point of time.
Jay Shah’s term as President of Asian Cricket Council extended by one year
The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has unanimously extended the tenure of its incumbent President Jay Shah for a period of one year. The decision was taken during the annual general meeting of ACC on March 19, 2022.
Jay Shah is the Secretary of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) since 2019. Shah had taken as the president of the ACC in January last year from Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan, making him the youngest administrator to be re-appointed as ACC president.
Rajesh Gopinathan re-appointed as MD and CEO of TCS for five years
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said in a regulatory filing on March 17 that its board has reappointed Rajesh Gopinathan as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer for five years from February 21, 2022, to February 20, 2027, and Ganapathy Subramaniam as the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director from February 21, 2022, to May 19, 2024, as per the retirement age policy of the Company. Rajesh Gopinathan was first appointed as the CEO and MD of TCS in 2017.