Table of Contents
Here is the Daily GK Update of 20th March 2021 covering the following news headlines: Netherlands, Tanzania, UNCTAD, Moody’s, International Day of Happiness, World Sparrow Day.
Daily GK updates are incorporated with the important news that made the current affairs headlines for banking or other competitive exams. Daily GK Update is the complete bag of the important news that held all day long. One should have complete knowledge about banking terms, current affairs news, etc. So, here is the GK update of 20th March 2021 to help you prepare the Current affairs part. After reading this section, you can successfully attempt Current Affairs Quiz.
International News
1. Dutch PM Mark Rutte powers to the fourth straight election win
- Netherlands Prime Minister, Mark Rutte has won the 2021 parliamentary elections with most seats to be sworn in as the Prime Minister for the fourth straight term.
- Earlier Rutte and his entire Cabinet offered their resignation on 15 January 2021 in response to a scandal relating to child welfare fraud, however, Rutte remained in office till the conclusion of the 2021 election. Rutte has been Prime Minister of the Netherlands since October 2010.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Netherlands Capital: Amsterdam; Currency: Euro
2. Samia Suluhu Hassan sworn in as Tanzania’s first woman President
- Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in as the sixth President of Tanzania, becoming the first female leader of the East African country.
- The 61-year-old Hassan assumed the presidency, following the death of previous President John Magfufuli, due to a heart condition. She will finish Magufuli’s second five-year term, which will run until 2025.
- Prior to taking charge as President, Hassan was the Vice-President of Tanzania, also being the first female vice-president of the country, since November 2015.
Appointments News
3. NeoGrowth appoints Ajinkya Rahane as brand ambassador
- NeoGrowth Credit Pvt. Ltd, a lender to small businesses, has announced the appointment of cricketer Ajinkya Rahane as its brand ambassador. The agreement is for a year which can be extended further.
- Rahane will feature in a campaign slated to be released in the first week of April, which will talk about the ease of procuring loans through NeoGrowth for small businesses. The campaign “Keeping it simple” will show the day-to-day struggles of small businesses while scaling up and how NeoGrowth can help them overcome them.
Banking News
4. PNB sets-up subsidiary to manage credit card business
- Punjab National Bank (PNB) has set up a wholly-owned subsidiary namely “PNB Cards & Services Ltd” to manage its credit card business. The PNB Cards & Services Ltd has been incorporated on March 16, 2021, by the Registrar of Companies, Delhi.
- The new subsidiary will undertake the non-financial support services related to the credit card business of the bank. The authorised capital of the company is Rs 25 crore and the paid-up capital is Rs 15 crore.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Punjab National Bank Headquarters: New Delhi.
- Punjab National Bank MD and CEO: S. S. Mallikarjuna Rao.
- Punjab National Bank Founded: 19 May 1894, Lahore, Pakistan.
Economy News
5. UNCTAD projects India’s GDP to grow 5% in 2021
- The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has projected India’s economy to contract by 6.9 per cent in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, is forecast to record a “stronger recovery” in 2021 and grow by 5 per cent.
- Further, the UNCTAD estimates the global economy to grow by 4.7 per cent in 2021.
- The report noted that the deeper than expected downturn in 2020 explains in part the stronger recovery now projected for 2021 for India. According to a UN report which said the country’s current fiscal year budget points to a shift towards the demand-side stimulus, with an uptick in public investment.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- UNCTAD Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
- UNCTAD Founder: United Nations General Assembly.
- UNCTAD Founded: 30 December 1964.
6. India’s economy projected to grow at 12% in CY 2021: Moody’s
- Moody’s Analytics has projected the Indian economy to grow by 12 per cent in the Calendar Year 2021. For the Calendar year 2020, the real GDP was projected to contract 7.1 per cent by Moody’s. It must be noted that Moody’s Analytics makes calendar year projections, while its sister organization Moody’s Investors Service provides fiscal year estimates.
- This forecast is equivalent to real GDP, in level terms, growing by 4.4 per cent above pre-COVID-19 levels (as of March 2020) by the end of 2021, or equivalently, by 5.7 per cent above the GDP level in December 2020 by the end of 2021.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Headquarters of Moody’s: NewYork, United States.
- President & CEO of Moody’s: Raymond W. McDaniel, Jr.
Sports News
7. Athlete Avinash Sable Sets New National Record In Men’s 3000m Steeplechase
- The Indian athlete Avinash Sable set a new national record in the men’s 3000m steeplechase event in the ongoing Federation Cup Senior National Athletics Championships in Patiala, with timing of 8:20.20.
- With this, the 26-year-old Avinash broke his own record of 8:21.37 which he set in 2019, after finishing 13th in the final of the World Athletics Championships in Doha.
- The army man from the arid Beed district of Maharashtra broke the national record for the fifth time in his career. Sable has already secured a berth in the Tokyo Olympics 2020 in men’s 3000m steeplechase during the 2019 World Athletics Championships.
Important Days
8. UN French Language Day Observed Globally on 20 March
- The UN French Language Day is observed annually on 20 March. The day was established by the UN’s Department of Public Information in 2010, to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as to promote equal use of all six official languages throughout the Organization.
- March 20 was chosen as the date for the French language since it coincides with the 40th anniversary of the International Organization of La Francophonie, representing countries and regions where French is a customary language.
- The date of French Language Day was chosen symbolically in reference to March 20, 1970, which marks the creation of the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation (ACCT), which became the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF).
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- France Prime minister: Jean Castex.
- France Capital: Paris.
- France President: Emmanuel Macron.
9. World Oral Health Day is observed on 20 March
- World Oral Health Day is observed every year on 20th March. It focuses on highlighting the benefits of good oral health, spreads awareness about oral diseases and promotes maintenance of oral hygiene.
- The theme for the next three years, 2021-2023 is: Be Proud Of Your Mouth. The day is an initiative of FDI World Dental Federation; an organization that brings together the world of dentistry with the aim of achieving optimal oral health for everyone.
- Oral health is as important as general health. It helps you maintain a healthy mouth, teeth and gums. It also helps to improve your appearance. Poor oral health can not only lead to oral diseases but also major health problems like heart disease, diabetes mellitus, stroke, respiratory problems and premature births in pregnant women.
10. International Day of Happiness: 20 March
- International Day of Happiness is celebrated on March 20 to promote happiness as a fundamental human right for all human beings across the world. The 2021 International Day of Happiness campaign theme is ‘Keep Calm.
- Stay Wise. Be Kind’. Since 2013, the United Nations has celebrated the International Day of Happiness as a way to recognize the importance of happiness in the lives of people around the world. The day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on 28 June 2012.
11. World Sparrow Day: 20 March
- World Sparrow Day is celebrated every year on March 20 to raise awareness about the House Sparrow and other common birds to urban environments, and of threats to their populations. The theme of 2021 World Sparrow Day “I LOVE Sparrows”.
- The day was initiated by the Nature Forever Society of India in collaboration with the Eco-Sys Action Foundation (France) and numerous other national and international organisations across the world. The first World Sparrow Day was celebrated in 2010.
- The sparrows are known to live in the backyards and green patches in urban areas but “in the last two decades, their population is on the decline in almost every city,” according to the wwfindia.org. On this World Sparrow Day let’s encourage children and others around us to respect spaces for sparrows.
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20th March 2021 Current Affairs | Current Affairs Today | Daily Current Affairs 2021
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