Current Affairs 21 March 2022 -

India and Japan signed six agreements in the areas including cyber security, wastewater management and clean energy after the India-Japan Annual Summit in New Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held productive talks and discussed ways to boost economic and cultural linkages between the two countries.
This is the 14th India-Japan Annual Summit.

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 in Doha.
This is Advani’s 40th international title and 8th Asian crown.
Being semi-finalists, former World Champion PraputChaithanasukan from Thailand and Pauk Sa from Myanmar claimed bronze medals for their country.
He was conferred Padma Shri in 2009 and Padma Bhushan in 2018.

Neeraj Chopra was adjudged Sportstar of the Year (Male) at the 2022 Sportstar Aces Awards.
Weightlifter Chanu, who claimed the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, received the ‘Sportstar of the Year (Female)’ award.

Governor of Haryana and Chief Minister of Haryana inaugurated the 35th Surajkund International Crafts Mela.
Surajkund Mela is the world’s largest crafts fair, showcasing the rich diversity of India’s hands.
Surajkund Crafts Mela was hosted for the first time in 1987 to showcase the richness and diversity of handicrafts, handlooms, and the cultural heritage of India.
The main goal of the festival is to promote the talent & culture of indigenous artisans.

World Sparrow Day is celebrated on March 20 every year to raise awareness about the conservation of the common house sparrows, which are increasingly vanishing due to urbanisation, high pollution levels, global warming and loss of ecological resources among other reasons.
World Sparrow Day was first observed in 2010
The theme for World Sparrow Day this year is “I love sparrows”.

Union Minister Giriraj Singh released the Disaster Management Plan of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj on 17th March 2022, through video conferencing.
The plan aims to develop disaster resilience at the grassroots level among the Panchayats and establish a framework to align the disaster management measures in rural areas to that of the National Disaster Management Authority’.
Disaster Management is the creation of the plans to reduce vulnerability to hazards.

India announced a USD 1 billion line of credit to Sri Lanka as part of its financial assistance to help the island nation deal with its economic crisis.
Visiting Sri Lankan Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa witnessed the signing of the agreement for the USD 1 billion line of credit being extended through the State Bank of India (SBI).
Line of Credit is not a grant but a ‘soft loan’ provided on concessional interest rates.

Intercorporate transactions continue with Hinduja Leyland Finance merging with NxtDigital – both of them are Hinduja Group companies.
Hinduja Leyland Finance is a non-banking financial company.
It caters to vehicle financing. Ashok Leyland is the promoter of the Hinduja Group, so Ashok Leyland has about 69 percent stake in it, the AUM is close to about Rs 29,000 crore.

In a significant development aimed at bolstering the maritime security of the nation, the Indian Coast Guard has commissioned ICGS ‘Saksham’, the fifth Coast Guard Ship in the series of 105 M-Class offshore patrol vessels.
Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Saksham is the 5th and last Offshore Patrol Vessel designed and developed by Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) for Coast Guard.
ICGS Saksham was launched in December 2020 as a part of the indigenous project.

World Happiness Report 2022, 10th edition of the report, identified Finland as the happiest country of the world, for the fifth times in a row.
Published since 2012, the World Happiness Report is based on two key ideas – happiness or life evaluation measured through opinion surveys and identifying key elements that determine well-being and life evaluation across countries.
The World Happiness Report is published by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Current Affairs 21 March 2022