National:
National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development Bill, 2021
- The Rajya Sabha has approved the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development Bill, 2021 on 25 March 2021. The Lok Sabha already passed the Bill on 23 March 2021.
The legislation seeks to establish the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NBFID) to support the infrastructure financing in the country. This includes development of bonds and derivatives markets which are necessary for infrastructure financing.
NBFID:
The NBFID will be set up as a corporate body with authorized share capital of one lakh crore rupees.
Objective:
The NBFID will have financial and developmental objectives.
- Financial objectives will be to directly or indirectly lend, invest, or attract investments for infrastructure projects located entirely or partly in India.
- Developmental objectives include facilitating the development of the market for bonds, loans and derivatives for infrastructure financing.
National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Bill, 2021
- The Parliament has passed the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Bill, 2021.
The Bill seeks to set up a National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions to regulate and standardize the education and practice of allied and healthcare professionals.
Functions of the proposed National Commission:
- Framing of standards for education and practice
- Creating and maintaining an online Central Register of all registered professionals
- Providing basic standards of education, and
- Providing for a uniform entrance and exit examination
Under the legislation, only those enrolled in a State Register or the National Register as a qualified allied and healthcare practitioner would be allowed to practice as a allied and healthcare practitioner.
New Chief Justice of India:
- The second most senior Judge of the Supreme Court, Justice N V Ramana, will take over as Chief Justice of India. Justice Ramana will take over from CJI S A Bobde, who is going to retire on April 23.
Justice Ramana will serve as the the 48th Chief Justice of India till August 26, 2022, from April 24, 2021.
Power Grid's e-Tendering Portal "PRANIT"
- Power Grid Corporation of India Limited has established an e-Tendering Portal “PRANIT” which will lead to less paperwork and ease of operation, making the tendering process more transparent. It has been certified by Standardisation, Testing and Quality Certification Directorate (STQC), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, India.
Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (Power Grid) is a central PSU under Ministry of Power.
International:
6th Annual Asian World Film Festival, 2021
- The 6th Annual Asian World Film Festival announced the winners during the Closing Night Gala Awards Ceremony on 15 March 2021.
Rising Star Award:
Adarsh Gourav, lead actor from The White Tiger movie, has been conferred with the Rising Star Award by the Asian World Film Festival.
AWFF 2021 Award Winners:
Best Movie: ‘Circus of Life’
Best Actor: Arif Hassan, for his performance in ‘Circus of Life’
Best Actress: Zhou Dongyu, for her performance in ‘Better Days’
Special Jury Award: ‘Better Days’, (Hong Kong’s film)
Distinction Award: Women Ensemble Cast, True Mothers
Audience Award: ‘2000 Songs of Farida’
HFPA Scholarship Award: ‘Tattoo’ (Iran), directed by Farhad Delaram
Important Day:
World Poetry Day
- World Poetry Day is celebrated every year on 21 March. UNESCO first adopted 21 March as World Poetry Day during its 30th General Conference in Paris in 1999.
The main objective of the Day is to support linguistic diversity through poetic expression and to offer endangered languages the opportunity to be heard within their communities.
Death:
- Poland’s greatest poet Adam Zagajewski has died in Krakow on 21 March 2021. He was 75.
Zagajewski’s Poem ‘Try to Praise the Mutilated World’ was published in the New Yorker magazine. He won many literary awards, which include ‘Neustadt International Prize’ for Literature in 2004. He was also conferred with the “Princess of Asturias Award for Literature” in 2017.