IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH 21, 2017
IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH 21, 2017
- The
fifth 'International Day of
Forests' is being observed On 21st March.
- This
day was initiated by the United
Nations to
raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests and trees.
- As per
the UN, around 1.6 billion people, including over 2,000 indigenous cultures,
depend on forests for their livelihood.
- Theme
for 2017 : Forests & Energy
- On 21st
March is World
Puppet Day.
- World
Poetry Day is
being observed On 21st March.
- This
day was declared by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization) in 1999.
- The
purpose of the day is to promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching
of poetry throughout the world.
- World
Down Syndrome Day is
being observed On 21st March.
- International
Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination observed across the world On 21st March.
- On this
day, in 1960, police opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful
demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the apartheid pass laws.
- Proclaiming
the day in 1966, the United Nations General Assembly called on the
international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of
racial discrimination.
- India has been ranked 122nd in the world’s
happiest countries category.
- Furthermore,
it is ranked behind its neighbouring countries Pakistan, which is ranked 80th,
and China.
- The
rankings are based on gross domestic product per person, healthy life
expectancy with four factors from global surveys.
- India's
previous rank was 118th.
- Beijing has shut its last large coal-fired power plant to become China's first city to be powered by only natural gas.
- The
plant was the fourth to be closed and replaced by gas power in a five-year plan
to "make the skies blue again".
- Note : The move comes as the Chinese capital averages 10 times
pollution levels than recommended WHO standards.
- UK PM
Theresa May will
trigger the
two-year process of leaving the European Union on 29th March 2017, UK ambassador to the EU Tim Barrow formally
notified the EU President Donald Tusk On 21st March.
- Note : Britain will exit EU on 29th
March 2019.
- Plagued
with complaints, Indian
Railways has
announced that it is going to provide fresh
food cooked
at base kitchens in trains after every
two hours to the
passengers.
- Railways,
which provide about 11 lakh meals to passengers every day, has separated
cooking and distribution of food under the recently launched new catering
policy.
- Minister
of State for Water Resources Vijay Goel On 21st
March apprised the Parliament that water
in Ganga is unfit for bathing in
parts of Haridwar.
- Important
Points to Note :
- Haridwar
is the holiest Hindu site where pilgrims go to wash away their sins in Ganga
and scatter the ashes of their loved ones.
- PM Modi
has allotted ₹20,000 crore for Namami Gange Programme.
- The
Uttarakhand High Court On 21st March recognised river Ganga as the first living entity of India.
- Following
the order, India's longest river will now enjoy all rights provided by the
Constitution of India as a living person.
- Note : This makes Ganga the world's second river after New Zealand's
Whanganui River to be given such a status.
- UN
Under-Secretary-General Rima Khalaf was
awarded the highest
Palestinian honour over
her report accusing Israel of imposing an apartheid on Palestinians.
- Maggie
MacDonnell, a Canadian who teaches Inuit students at a school in Salluit,
Quebec, has won a $1 million (over ₹6.5 crore) Global Teacher Prizeat a ceremony in
Dubai.
- MacDonnell,
who has been teaching for the past six years in the village with high suicide
rates, was praised for changing the lives of her students and transforming her
community.
- State
Bank of India (SBI), which is going to merge with its five associate banks, has
decided to shut
down 47% of these banks' offices, including the head
offices of three of them.
- This
process will start from April 24. Notably, the five associate banks will cease
to exist as legal entities and become a part of SBI from April 1.
- According
to Forbes 2017 World's
Billionaires List, Microsoft Co-founderBill Gates is the world's richest person with a fortune of $86
billion.
- Top 10
in the List :
- Bill
Gates (Microsoft
co-founder): $86bn
- Warren
Buffett (US
investor): $75.6bn
- Jeff
Bezos (Amazon
founder): $72.8bn
- Amancio
Ortega (Inditex
founder): $71.3bn
- Mark
Zuckerberg (Facebook
founder): $56bn
- Carlos
Slim (Mexican
magnate): $54.5bn
- Larry
Ellison (Oracle
co-founder): $52.2bn
- Charles
Koch (US
businessman): $48.3bn
- David
Koch (US
businessman): $48.3bn
- Michael
Bloomberg (Bloomberg
founder): $47.5bns
- 94-year-old
L'Oréal heiress Liliane
Bettencourt has
been named theworld's richest woman for the
second year with a net worth of $39.5 billion.
- 20-year-old Alexandra Andresen from
Norway is the world's
youngest billionaire with a
net worth of $1.2 billion.
- India has been ranked 4th in terms of nations
with most number of billionaires at 101.
- This
marks the first time that India has had more than 100 billionaires.
- The US
continues to have most number of billionaires than any other nation, with a
record 565, followed by China with 319.
- Reliance
Industries Chairman Mukesh
Ambani has
retained the spot of India's richest person, with a net worth of $23.2
billion,.
- The
world's oldest billionaire, David
Rockefeller Sr (101),
died On 21st March.
- Rockefeller,
who controlled Chase Manhattan bank (now JPMorgan Chase) for more than a
decade, had an estimated net worth of $3.3 billion.
- Note : He was the grandson of Standard Oil Co-founder John D
Rockefeller, America's first billionaire.
- International
Cricket Council has appointed Air Asia's former Chief Financial Officer Ankur Khanna as its
new CFO.
- Khanna
will join the ICC in Dubai at the end of March leaving Air Asia India where he
has held the post for the last one year.
- Snapdeal
investor SoftBank has appointed e-commerce veteran Kabir Misrato the board of Snapdeal.
- He has
been closely involved in managing SoftBank's investment in Alibaba in
China.
- His
appointment comes amid reports of Snapdeal looking to raise funds from SoftBank
at a lower valuation.
- Tamil
Nadu has won
the Vijay Hazare Trophy after beating Bengal by 37 runs in the final of the 2017 edition
On 21st March.
- With
the win, Tamil Nadu has become the only
team to win the tournament five times (one of
them was shared with Uttar Pradesh in 2004-05).
- Dinesh
Karthik was adjudged Man of the Match for his century.
- Shooter Abhinav Bindra and
wrestler Sushil
Kumar are
among the 14 Olympians appointed by Sports Minister Vijay Goel to oversee 2020 Olympics preparations in
their respective disciplines.
- Five-time
world boxing champion and 2012 London Games bronze medalist MC Mary Kom will
oversee boxing along with Akhil Kumar, while PT Usha and Anju Bobby George will
observe track and field.
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