? Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appeals “Janta Curfew” on Sunday (22nd March) within the wake of COVID 19 outbreak.

? World Poetry Day is observed globally on 21 March every year. World Poetry Day is being observed annually to support linguistic diversity through poetic expression and to offer endangered languages the opportunity to be heard within their communities. UNESCO recognized 21st of March as World Poetry Day during its 30th session which was held in Paris in 1999.

? International Nowruz Day is being celebrated globally on 21 March every year. International Nowruz Day is being observed to celebrate “Nowruz” which is an ancestral festivity and marks the first day of spring which is celebrated on the occasion of the astronomical vernal equinox that generally occurs on 21 March.

? The government has set up a 25-member development council for pulp, paper and allied industries, to spur growth of the sector. J K Paper Ltd President A S Mehta will be the chairman of the council.

? Government of India has decided to set up a COVID-19 Economic Response Task Force, to be headed by the Finance Minister of India.

? Nita Ambani, the owner of Mumbai Indians cricket team franchise, has been named in the list of 10 most influential women in sports for 2020 alongside likes of tennis superstar Serena Williams and gymnast Simone Biles.

? The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will infuse liquidity of Rs 30,000 crore by purchasing of Government securities under Open Market Operations (OMOs) to maintain financial stability in the Indian economy. RBI has took this decision to boost liquidity in order to ensure that all markets segments function normally with adequate liquidity and turnover, as certain financial market segments are facing stress due to COVID-19 outbreak.

? A Crime Multi Agency Centre (Cri-MAC) which aims to share information between various police forces on heinous crimes was launched.

? Former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi took oath as a nominated member of Rajya Sabha. He was nominated to Rajya Sabha by the President of India Ram Nath Kovind.

? World Down Syndrome Day is observed every year on 21 March to raise public awareness of Down syndrome. Down syndrome occurs in an individual when he/she has an extra partial (or whole) copy of chromosome 21. The theme of World Down Syndrome Day 2020 is “We Decide”.

? Retail inflation dropped for the first time after six months in February, easing to 6.58 per cent as prices of vegetables and other kitchen items cooled, government data showed.

? The United Nations has released World Happiness Report 2020. The World Happiness Report ranks 156 countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be. The report is a landmark survey of the state of global happiness. This is the 8th edition of the World Happiness Report.

? The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed globally on 21 March every year. International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination 2020 is focused on the midterm review of the International Decade for People of African Descent.

? India’s industrial output grew by 2 per cent in January amid subdued performance of manufacturing sector, government data showed.

? Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority and Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium has signed an MoU for the development of agriculture and allied sectors as well as its exports for bringing better value to the stakeholders.

? International Day of Forests is celebrated every year on 21 March to raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests. On this day, countries are encouraged to undertake local, national and international efforts to organize activities involving forests and trees. The theme for International Day of Forests 2020: Forests and Biodiversity.

? The UK will levy the additional 2% tax called the ‘Digital Services Tax’ on technology firms from April 1, which has been opposed by US.

? Japan’s second-largest advertising company, Hakuhodo Inc. has acquired Indian digital agency AdGlobal360.

? Microsoft has appointed Eric Horvitz as its first-ever Chief Scientific Officer.