- Important Day
World Water Day: March 22nd
World Water Day is observed to celebrate water and raise awareness about the 2.2 billion people living without any access to pure and safe water across the world. All over the world, 22nd March is a day to spread consciousness to take action towards tackling the global water crisis.
The theme of World Water Day 2021 was “Valuing water”. The worth of water is much more than its productive value. It has a vast and complex value for our households, food, culture, health, education, economics and the integrity of our natural environment.
In 1993, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution which stated 22nd March each year to be observed as World Day for Water.
Quick Fact: The United Nations officially came into existence on 24 October 1945. The current Secretary-General of the United Nations is Antonio Guterres.
- Important Day
March 20: UN French Language Day
The UN French Language Day was made official by the UN’s Department of Public Information in 2010, to observe multilingualism and cultural diversity. With this, the promotion of equal use of all six official languages throughout the Organization was the motive.
March 20 was chosen to celebrate the French language since it coincides with the 40th anniversary of the International Organization of La Francophonie, acting for countries and regions where French is a traditional language.
The French Language Day’s date was chosen connotatively in reference to March 20, 1970, which flags the formation of the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation (ACCT), which became the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF).
Quick Fact: The President of France is Emmanuel Macron and the Prime minister is Jean Castex. The Capital city is Paris.
- Sports News
ISSF World Cup: First gold for India won by Yashaswini
Yashaswini Deswal won 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.
She gathered 238.8 points to lead in her category. A second Indian shooter, Manu Bhaker, won a silver medal with 236.7 points.
World’s number one shooter, Divyansh Singh Panwar bagged the bronze medal in 10m Air Rifle (men’s category) and opened India’s medal account in the competition.
Quick Fact: The ISSF Presidency is held by Mr. Vladimir Lisin, a Russian steel tycoon and President of the European Shooting Federation, since the 30th of November 2018. The ISSF headquarters is in Munich, Germany.
- Entertainment News
M Veerappa Moily, Arundhathi Subramaniam named among 20 winners in the Sahitya Akademi Awards, 2020
M Veerappa Moily, senior Congress leader, was one among the 20 winners for his epic poetry titled ‘Sri Bahubali Ahimsadigvijayam’ in Kannada.
India’s National Academyof Letters, Sahitya Akademi, declared the Sahitya Akademi Awards 2020 on March 12, 2021. The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India. It is one of the most prestigious literary awards in the country.
Seven books of poetry, four novels, five short stories, two plays and one each of memoirs and epic poetry won the award this year in 20 Indian languages, as per the official press release.
Quick Fact: The Sahitya Akademi is an autonomous body, which comes under the Ministry of Culture. It hosts the largest library of multilingual books in India.
- International Affairs
Dutch PM Mark Rutte becomes EU’s third-longest serving leader with a fourth consecutive victory
The VVD party won for the fourth consecutive time with 35 seats in the parliament. PM Mark Rutte vowed to spend his fourth term in renovating the country after the coronavirus pandemic.
Rutte is considered as one of Europe’s longest-serving leaders after spending ten years in service to the nation.
The Netherlands has recorded over 1.1 million COVID-19 cases and 16,000 deaths. The country is following strict health measures including curfew and closure of bars and restaurants.
Quick Fact: The Netherlands is a monarchy, so this country doesn’t have a president. This country has a king as the head of the state and a prime minister as the head of the government.
- National news
Launch of the ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain’ campaign, by PM Narendra Modi
This campaign is implemented from March 22 to November 30 during the pre-monsoon and the monsoon period in the country.
PM Modi on March 22, 2021, launched the ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain’ campaign at 12.30 pm via a video conference. It was launched on World Water Day, celebrated on March 22 every year.
The Jal Shakti campaign is to be implemented across India, in both the rural and the urban areas. The theme of this campaign is ‘Catch the rain, where it falls when it falls.’
Quick Fact: This project also focuses on covering the way for more knitting of the river projects to ensure that the scarcity of water does not become a stop in the country’s development.
- Regional Affairs
‘SAAMAR’ campaign launched by the Jharkhand Government to fight malnutrition
Jharkhand’s government has put forward a drive called SAAMAR to intercept malnutrition in the state. SAAMAR stands for Strategic Action for Alleviation of Malnutrition and Anemia Reduction. The campaign is focused on bringing together different departments to identify anaemic women and malnourished children to deal with the problem in this state.
This campaign has been launched with a target of 1000 days. Regular surveys will be conducted to track the progress.
SAAMAR also tries to target Primarily Vulnerable Tribal Groups. Mentioning that there is no research-based information available on their food and nutritional habits, a thorough research will be initiated and it suggest companionships on the nutritional behaviour of these groups for successful execution.
Quick Fact: The Chief Minister of Jharkhand is Hemant Soren and the Governor is Shrimati Droupadi Murmu.
