Daily GK Updates - 21st March, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.Parsis celebrate their New Year’s Day, Navroz : Parsis in India & abroad are celebrating their New year's ‘Navroz’ with great enthusiasm. Parsis in Mumbai are visiting nearby Agiaries to offer special Tehveel-e-Navroz prayers on the occasion of Navroz. Nowruz is the day of the vernal equinox and marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. It marks the first day of the first month (Farvardin) in the Iranian calendar.

2. Aamir Khan appointed the Brand Ambassador of PhonePe :  PhonePe (UPI based payment app company) has appointed Bollywood actor Aamir Khan as its Brand Ambassador. PhonePe is one of India’s fastest growing payment platform and is based on UPI.  It is headquartered in Bengaluru.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.21st March: International Day of Forests :  The United Nations General Assembly designated 21st March as the International Day of Forests to celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests. This global celebration of forests provides a platform to raise awareness of the importance of all types of woodlands, trees, and celebrate the ways in which they sustain and protect us.

2. 21st March: World Down Syndrome Day : The World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD), (Schrage Day), is celebrated on 21st March to raise public awareness for the rights, inclusion and wellbeing of people with Down syndrome. The global theme for 2019 is “Leave no one behind”.

3. 21st March: International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination : The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on 21st March to remind people about the negative consequences of racial discrimination. The theme of 2019 is Mitigating and countering rising nationalist populism and extreme supremacist ideologies. The United Nations General Assembly called for the day in 1966 to encourage people to remember their obligation and determination to combat racial discrimination.

4.  21st March: World Poetry Day :  World Poetry Day is observed every year on 21st March to promote the reading, writing, publishing, and teaching of poetry throughout the world. A decision to proclaim 21st March as World Poetry Day was adopted during UNESCO’s 30th session held in Paris in 1999.