March 2021 Current Affairs

• On 26th March, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Bangladesh on his 2-day visit at the invitation of Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina.
• Pakistan has successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile on March 26, 2021. Missile has a range of 900 kilometres. Highlights Pakistan test-fired Shaheen-1A surface to surface ballistic missile with the aim of re-validating various design and technical parameters of weapon system including the advanced navigation system.
• World’s first ship tunnel is set to be constructed in Norway. Construction on the project will start in 2022 and it will be completed by 2025-2026. About Ship Tunnel Norway has planned to construct Ship tunnel underneath the mountains in Stadhavet peninsula of Norway. 
• Indian Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh and South Korean Defence Minister, Suh Wook have inaugurated “Indo-Korean Bilateral Friendship Park” in Delhi Cantt on March 26, 2021. Friendship Park has been built to commemorate contribution of Indian peacekeepers in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. 
• Russia has successfully put 38 satellites for 18 countries into orbit from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
• India has launched the “Gram Ujala Scheme” on March 19, 2021 to provide the cheapest LED bulbs in the rural areas. The scheme was launched by the Union power and new and renewable energy minister, Raj Kumar Singh.
• The Union Health Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, has been appointed as the chairman of “Stop TB Partnership Board” on March 18, 2021.
• The largest floating solar farm of the world is being built in Singapore. The country has resorted to set up the energy plants off the coasts and reservoirs across it. 
• The central government has launched the “Mera Ration Mobile App” in the country on March 12, 2021. This app was launched in order to facilitate the ‘One Nation-One Ration Card’ system. 
• The veteran Indian women’s cricketer Mithali Raj has become the first Indian woman cricketer that has completed 10,000 international runs in all the cricket formats. She also become the second woman cricketer at the international level to complete 10000 runs.
• The BRICS Contact Group on Economic and Trade Issues (CGETI) held their first meeting under the Chair ship of India. The meeting was held from March 9 to March 11, 2021. 
• Tirath Singh Rawat has become the new Chief Minister of Uttarakhand on March 10, 2021. 
• The India–Uzbekistan joint military exercise “DUSTLIK II” is being held in the Foreign Training Node Chaubatia at Ranikhet in the state of Uttarakhand.
• The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, will inaugurate the ‘Maitri Setu’ between India and Bangladesh via video conferencing on March 9, 2021. He will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of several infrastructure projects in Tripura on the occasion.
• The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi will hold the virtual summit with his Swedish counterpart, Stefan Lofven on March 5, 2021. Highlights Both the Prime Ministers will exchange their views on the global and regional issues. 
• The Indian Boxer, Mary Kom, was appointed as the chairperson of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) champions and veterans committee on March 3, 2021.
• The Indian Air Force (IAF) will participate in the multinational exercise called “Desert Flag” in the United Arab Emirates. The Air Force of India will take part in the exercise along with the forces of the France and United States.
• The Indian wrestler, Vinesh Phogat, has won the gold medal in women’s 53-kg category. She won the medal at XXIV Outstanding Ukrainian Wrestlers and Coaches Memorial in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Sahitya Akademi Award 2020 Winners List

Sahitya Akademi Award 2020 winners list includes writers of 20 different languages.

Ease of Living Index 2020

Category: Population more than million | 10 cities

1. Bengaluru
2. Pune
3. Ahmedabad
4. Chennai
5. Surat
6. Navi Mumbai
7. Coimbatore
8. Vadodara
9. Indore
10. Greater Mumbai

Category: Population less than million | 10 cities

1. Shimla
2. Bhubaneshwar
3. Silvassa
4. Kakinada
5. Salem
6. Vellore
7. Gandhinagar
8. Gurugram
9. Davangere
10. Tiruchirapalli

Municipal Performance Index 2020

• Million+ Municipalities: Indore has emerged as the highest ranked municipality, followed by Surat and Bhopal.
• Less than Million Category: New Delhi Municipal Council has emerged as the leader, followed by Tirupati and Gandhinagar.

Economic Freedom Index 2021

Golden Globe Awards 2021 Winners

Here is the list of Golden Globe Award Winners. The award is given seperately in the fields of movies and TV series. 

Grammy Awards 2021

The 63rd edition of the annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held in Los Angeles on March 14, 2021. The 2021 Grammy awards recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, between September 1, 2019, to August 31, 2020. The award is presented by The Recording Academy to recognize achievements in the American music industry.

• Record of the Year: Everything I Wanted by Billie Eilish
• Album of the Year: Folklore by Taylor Swift
• Song of the Year: I Can't Breathe by H.E.R
• Best New Artist: Megan Thee Stallion
• Best Pop Solo Performance: Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles
• Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: Rain On Me - Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande
• Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: American Standard -James Taylor
• Best Pop Vocal Album: Future Nostalgia by Dua Lipa
• Best Rock Performance: Shameika by Fiona Apple
• Best Metal Performance: Bum-Rush by Body Count
• Best Rock Song: Stay High by Brittany Howard
• Best Rock Album: The New Abnormal by The Strokes
• Best Alternative Music Album: Fetch the Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple
• Best R&B Performance: Black Parade by Beyoncé
• Best Traditional R&B Performance: Anything For You by Ledisi
• Best R&B Song: Better Than I Imagined by Robert Glasper
• Best R&B Album: Bigger Love by John Legend
• Best Rap Performance: Savage by Megan Thee Stallion, featuring Beyoncé
• Best Melodic Rap Performance: Lockdown by Anderson Paak
• Best Rap Song: Savage by Megan Thee Stallion, featuring Beyoncé
• Best Rap Album: King's Disease by Nas
• Best Dance Recording: 10% by Kaytranada, featuring Kali Uchis
• Best Dance Electronic Album: Bubba by Kaytranada
• Best Contemporary Instrumental Album: Live At The Royal Albert Hall by Snarky Puppy
• Best Country Solo Performance: When My Amy Pray by Vince Gill
• Best Country Duo/Group Performance: 10,000 Hours by Dan-Shay and Justin Bieber
• Best Country Song: Crowded Table by The Highwomen
• Best Country Album: Wildcard by Miranda Lambert
• Best New Age Album: More Guitar Stories by Jim "Kimo" West
• Best Improvised Jazz Solo: All Blues by Chick Corea
• Best Jazz Vocal Album: Secrets Are The Best Stories by Kurt Elling
• Best Jazz Instrumental Album: Trilogy 2 by Chick Corea, Christian McBride, and Brian Blade
• Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album: Data Lords by Maria Schneider Orchestra
• Best Latin Jazz Album: Four Questions by Arturo O'Farrill and The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra
• Best Bluegrass Album: Home by Billy Strings
• Best Traditional Blues Album: Rawer Than Raw by Bobby Rush
• Best Contemporary Blues Album: Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? by Fantastic Negrito
• Best Reggae Album: Got To Be Tough by Toots And The Maytals
• Best Spoken Word Album: Blowout by Rachel Maddow
• Best Comedy Album: Black Mitzvah by Tiffany Haddish
• Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media: Jojo Rabbit by various artists
• Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media: Joker by Hildur Guanadottir
• Best Music Video: Brown Skin Girl by Beyoncé, Saint JHN and Wizkid, featuring Blue Ivy Carter
• Best Music Film: Linda Ronstadt: The Sound Of My Voice by Linda Ronstadt

BBC Sports Personality Awards for Indians 2021

• Sportswoman of the year: Koneru Humpy (Chess)
• Emerging Player of the year: Manu Bhaker (Shooting)
• Lifetime Achievement: Anju Bobby George (Athletics)

World Happiness Report 2021

Top Performers

• Finland
• Iceland
• Denmark
• Switzerland
• The Netherlands
• Sweden
• Germany
• Norway
• New Zealand
• Austria

Worst Performers

• Afghanistan (149) is the most unhappy country.
• Followed by Zimbabwe (148), Rwanda (147), Botswana (146) and Lesotho (145).

India’s ranking

India has been placed at 139th position out of 149 countries in the UN World Happiness Report 2021 released. In 2019, India was ranked 140th. 

India’s neighbours

• Pakistan-105.
• Bangladesh-101.
• China-84.

India ranks 40th on International Intellectual Property Index 2021: GIPC

• India has been ranked 40 among 53 global economies in the International Intellectual Property (IP) Index 2021.
• The annual IP Index 2021 was released on March 23, 2021 by the US Chamber of Commerce Global Innovation Policy Centre (GIPC).
• This is the ninth edition of the IP index released by the GIPC.
• The IP Index evaluates Intellectual Property rights in 53 global economies, based on 50 intellectual property-related indicators, grouped in 9 categories.
• Categories include: Patent, Copyrights, Trademarks, Design Rights, Trade Secrets and Market Access, Commercialization of IP Assets, Enforcement, Systematic Efficiency, and International Treaties. 
• In 2020 also, India ranked 40th among 53 economies.

66th Filmfare Awards 2021 Winners

• Best Action: Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior: Ramazan Bulut, RP Yadav 
• Best Background Score: Thappad: Mangesh Urmila Dhakde
• Best Cinematography: Gulabo Sitabo: AvikMukhopadhayay
• Best Choreography: Dil Bechara: Farah Khan
• Best Costume Design: Gulabo Sitabo: Veera KapurEe
• Best Editing: Thappad: Yasha Pushpa Ramchandani
• Best Production Design: Gulabo Sitabo: Manasi Dhruv Mehta
• Best Sound Design: Thappad: Kaamod Kharade
• Best VFX: Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior: Prasad Sutar
• Best Playback Singer (Male): Raghav Chaitanya for 'Ek Tukda Dhoop' from Thappad and Best Playback Singer (Female): Asees Kaur for 'Malang' title track
• Best Music Album: Pritam for Ludo
• Best Dialogue award: Juhi Chaturvedi for Gulabo Sitabo
• Best Film: Thappad
• Best Film (Critics): Prateek Vats (Eeb Allay Ooo!)
• Best Director: Om Raut (Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior)
• Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male): Irrfan (Angrezi Medium)
• Best Actor (Critics): Amitabh Bachchan (Gulabo Sitabo)
• Best Actor in a Leading Role (Female): Taapsee Pannu (Thappad)

Filmfare Shortfilm Awards:

• The award for Best Film (Fiction): Arjun
• Best Actor (Female): Purti Savardekar for The First Wedding
• Best Actor (Male): Arnav Abdagire, Arjun
• Best Film (Popular Choice): Devi
• Best Film (Non-Fiction): Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary

67th National Film Awards: Complete list of winners

Here is the complete list of all the winners:

Feature Film Awards

• Best Feature Film: Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea (Malayalam)
• Best Actor (shared): Manoj Bajpayee for Bhonsle (Hindi), and Dhanush for Asuran (Tamil)
• Best Actress: Kangana Ranaut for Panga (Hindi) and Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi (Hindi)
• Best Supporting Actress: Pallavi Joshi for The Tashkent Files (Hindi)
• Best Supporting Actor: Vijay Sethupathi for Super Deluxe (Tamil)
• Best Director: Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan for Bahattar Hoorain (Hindi)
• Best Debut Film of a Director: Mathukutty Xavier for Helen (Malayalam)
• Best Child Artist: Naga Vishal for KD (Tamil)
• Best Action Direction: Avane Srimannarayana (Kannada), Vikram Mor
• Best Choreography: Maharishi (Telugu), Raju Sundaram
• Best Special Effects: Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea (Malayalam), Siddharth Priyadarshan
• Special Jury Award: Oththa Seruppu Size 7 (Tamil), Radhakrishnan Parthiban
• Best Lyrics: Prabha Varma for Kolaambi (Malayalam)
• Best Music Direction: D. Imman for Viswasam (Tamil)
• Best Background Music: Prabuddha Banerjee for Jyeshthoputro (Bengali)
• Best Make-up Artist: Ranjith for Helen (Malayalam)
• Best Costumes: Sujith Sudhakaran and V. Sai for Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea (Malayalam)
• Best Production Design: Anandi Gopal (Marathi), Sunil Nigwekar and Nilesh Wagh
• Best Audiography (Location Sound Recordist): Iewduh (Khasi), Debajit Gayan
• Best Audiography (Re-recordist of the final mixed track): Oththa Seruppu Size 7 (Tamil), Resul Pookutty
• Best Screenplay (Original): Jyeshthoputro (Bengali), Kaushik Ganguly
• Best Screenplay (Adapted): Gumnaami (Bengali), Srijit Mukherji
• Best Screenplay (Dialogue Writer): The Tashkent Files (Hindi), Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri
• Best Cinematography: Jallikattu (Malayalam), Gireesh Gangadharan
• Best Editing: Jersey (Telugu), Navin Nooli
• Best Children’s Film: Kastoori (Hindi)
• Best Film on Environment Conservation: Water Burial (Monpa)
• Best Film on Social Issues: Anandi Gopal (Marathi)
• Best Film on National Integration: Tajmahal (Marathi)
• Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Maharishi (Telugu)
• Best Female Playback Singer: Savani Ravindra for Bardo (Marathi)
• Best Male Playback Singer: B Praak for Kesari (Hindi)

Best Films in Each Language:

• Best Hindi Film: Chhichhore
• Best Telugu Film: Jersey
• Best Malayalam Film: Kalla Nottam
• Best Tamil Film: Asuran
• Best Paniya Film: Kenjira
• Best Mishing Film: Anu Ruwad
• Best Khasi Film: Iewduh
• Best Chattisgarhi Film: Bhulan the Maze
• Best Haryanvi Film: Chhoriyan Chhoron Se Kam Nahi Hoti
• Best Tulu Film: Pingara
• Best Punjabi Film: Rab Da Radio 2
• Best Odia Film: Kalira Atita and Sala Budhar Badla (shared)
• Best Manipuri Film: Eigi Kona
• Best Marathi Film: Bardo
• Best Konkani Film: Kaajro
• Best Kannada Film: Akshi
• Best Bengali Film: Gumnaami
• Best Assamese Film: Ronuwa – Who Never Surrender
• Special Mentions: Biriyani (Malayalam), Jonaki Porua (Assamese), Lata Bhagwan Kare (Marathi) and Picasso (Marathi)

Non-Feature Film Awards

• Best Voice-over/ Narration: Sir David Attenborough for wild Karnataka (English)
• Best Music Direction: Bishakhjyoti for Kranti Darshi Guruji – Ahead of Times (Hindi)
• Best Editing: Arjun Gourisaria for Shut Up Sona (Hindi/ English)
• Best Audiography: Radha (Musical), Allwin Rego and Sanjay Maurya
• Best On-Location Sound Recordist: Rahas (Hindi), Saptarshi Sarkar
• Best Cinematography: Savita Singh for Sonsi (Hindi)
• Best Direction: Sudhanshu Saria for Knock Knock Knock (English/ Bengali)
• Best Film on Family Values: Oru Paathira Swapnam Pole (Malayalam)
• Best Short Fiction Film: Custody (Hindi/ English)
• Special Jury Award: Small Scale Societies (English)
• Best Animation Film: Radha (Musical)
• Best Investigative Film: Jakkal (Marathi)
• Best Exploration Film: Wild Karnataka (English)
• Best Educational Film: Apples and Oranges (English)
• Best Film on Social Issues: Holy Rights (Hindi) and Ladli (Hindi)
• Best Environment Film: The Stork Saviours (Hindi)
• Best Promotional Film: The Shower (Hindi)
• Best Arts and Culture Film: Shrikshetra-Ru-Sahijata (Odia)
• Best Biographical Film: Elephants Do Remember (English)
• Best Ethnographic Film: Charan-Atva The Essence of Being a Nomad (Gujarati)
• Best Debut Non-Feature Film of a Director: Raj Pritam More for Khisa (Marathi)
• Best Non-Feature Film: An Engineered Dream (Hindi)

Other Awards

• Most Film Friendly State: Sikkim
• Best Book on Cinema: A Gandhian Affair: India’s Curious Portrayal of Love in Cinema, by Sanjay Suri
• (Special mentions: Cinema Paharana Manus by Ashok Rane and Kannada Cinema: Jagathika Cinema Vikasa-Prerane Prabhava written by PR Ramadasa Naidu)