DAILY GK 19-21 MAR 2026
1.
MULTINATIONAL EXERCISE ‘SEA
DRAGON 2026’
·
The Indian Navy (IN) participated
in the two-week multinational Exercise Sea Dragon 2026, a USA
led multinational Anti-Submarine Warfare
(ASW) exercise being held at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, the USA.
·
The 2026 edition includes
forces from the IN, Japan Maritime
Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), Royal Australian
Air Force (RAAF),Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), and the United States Navy (USN), highlighting
strong Indo-Pacific cooperation.
2.
IA CONDUCTS EXERCISE ‘AMOGH
JWALA’
·
The Southern
Command of Indian Army (IA) successfully
conducted Exercise ‘AmoghJwala’ at the Babina Field Firing
Ranges in Uttar Pradesh (UP).
·
The 13-day long military
exercise aimed to validate the IA’s preparedness for mechanised warfare in a
multi-domain operational environment.
3.
RBI launches “Awareness
Program on Digital Payments”.
·
Reserve Bank of India(RBI)
Governor Sanjay Malhotra launched a pilot programme titled, “Awareness
Program on Digital Payments” to promote the safe and widespread adoption of
digital payments across the country.
·
The sixth edition
of Digital Payments Awareness Week (DPAW) is being observed during March
9–13, 2026, during which a pilot programme titled “Awareness Program on
Digital Payments” has been launched as part of the initiative.
·
The RBI also launched a multi-media awareness campaign “Thoda Dhyan Se”
(be alert/ be careful), which encourages users to be careful while making
payments and transacting online.
4.
NORMS FOR MINIMUM PUBLIC
SHAREHOLDINGS
·
The Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) under the Ministry of
Finance (MoF) revised the rules related to minimum public shareholding (MPS) for large companies planning to list on stock exchanges.
·
The amendment introduced a
graded framework, allowing companies to
offer a smaller proportion of shares to the public at the time of their Initial Public Offering (IPO).
·
The amendment to the Securities
Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957 reduces the MPS required at the time of listing from 5% to 2.5%.
·
Earlier,
the norms for achieving the 25% MPS were
based on 3 categories
of post-issue capital: Rs 1,600 crore (Cr), Rs 1,600 Cr to Rs 4,000 Cr and
Rs 4,000 Cr to Rs 1 lakh Cr.
·
Now, the framework has been expanded to six categories:
Up to Rs 1,600 Cr,Rs 1,600 Cr to Rs 4,000 Cr,Rs 4,000 Cr to Rs 50,000 Cr,Rs
50,000 Cr to Rs 1 lakh Cr,Rs 1 lakh Cr to Rs 5 lakh Cr and More than Rs 5 lakh
Cr.
5.
RBI IMPOSES RS 2.7 LAKH
PENALTY ON MANAPPURAM FINANCE
·
The Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 2.70
lakh on Manappuram Finance Limited, a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC), for
non-compliance with Key Managerial Personnel (KMP) compensation guidelines.
·
Manappuram Finance has
revised its Remuneration Policy to include mandatory deferral,
malus, and clawback provisions.
6. UPI MERCHANT ACCEPTANCE IN SRI LANKA
·
NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL),
the global arm of the National Payments Corporation of India
(NPCI), expanded the acceptance of India’s
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) across merchant
establishments in Sri Lanka.
·
This new initiative will
enable Indian tourists to make real-time account-to-account payments by
scanning Lanka Quick Response (QR) codes through
their preferred UPI-enabled mobile applications (apps).
·
It is now operational in more than eight countries, including
the United Arab Emirates(UAE), Singapore, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, France,
Mauritius, and Qatar.
7.
WORLD ROTARACT DAY
2026 – MARCH 13
·
World Rotaract Day is
observed annually on 13 March to recognise the contributions
of Rotaractors and their role in community service and leadership development
worldwide.
·
2026 marks the 58th anniversary
of the establishment of the first Rotaract club in North Carolina, the
United States of America (USA) in 1968.
8.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF
MATHEMATICS 2026 – MARCH 14
·
2026 Theme: “Mathematics
and Hope”.
·
The 40th General Conference
of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in
November 2019 proclaimed 14 March as the IDM through
Resolution 40C/30.
·
The first IDM was
celebrated on 14 March 2020.
·
India observes National Mathematics Day annually on 22
December to commemorate the birth anniversary of renowned mathematician SrinivasaRamanujan.
9.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION
FOR RIVERS 2026 – MARCH 14
·
The International
Day of Action for Rivers, previously known as International Day of Action
Against Dams and For Rivers, Water and Life, is annually observed across the
globe on 14 March to highlight the importance of rivers in
sustaining ecosystems, supporting livelihoods and ensuring water security.
·
2026 Theme: The
theme for 2026 is “Protect Rivers, Protect People.”
·
The International Day of
Action Against Dams and For Rivers, Water and Life was established in March 1997 during the International
Meeting of People Affected by Dams
(IMPAD) held in Curitiba, Brazil, an idea that originated from the Movement
of People Affected by Large Dams (MAB)
annual meeting.
·
During
the first IMPAD, participants adopted the International Day
of Action Against Dams and For Rivers, Water, and Life, and representatives from 20 countries including Taiwan,
Brazil, Chile, Lesotho, Argentina, Thailand, Russia, France, Switzerland, and
USA, designated 14 March, aligning it with Brazil’s Day of Action Against Large
Dams.
·
The first International Day
of Action for Rivers was observed on 14 March 1998.
10.
WORLD SLEEP DAY 2026 –
MARCH 13
·
World Sleep Day (WSD)
is an annual global campaign observed on the Friday before the Spring
Vernal Equinox to raise awareness about sleep health, highlight its
role in overall well-being, and promote the prevention and treatment of sleep
disorders.
·
The 19th edition of WSD
2026 was observed on 13 March 2026, while WSD 2025 was marked on 14 March 2025, and WSD 2027 will be observed on 12
March 2026.
·
The World Sleep
Society(WSS) was established in 2016 through the merger of the World
Association of Sleep Medicine and the World Sleep Federation.
·
The
first WSD was observed on 14 March 2008.
·
WSD is annually coordinated
by the WSD Committee of the World Sleep
Society (WSS).
11. WORLD CONSUMER RIGHTS DAY 2026 – MARCH 15
·
World Consumer Rights Day
(WCRD) is observed annually across the
world on 15 March to promote awareness of consumer
rights, protection, and empowerment, ensuring ethical practices and informed
choices.
·
2026 Theme: “Safe products, confident consumers”.
·
WCRD was inspired by a
message from John F. Kennedy, former President of
the USA, to the US Congress on 15 March 1962.
·
The first WCRD was observed
on 15 March 1983.
12. NATIONAL VACCINATION DAY 2026 – MARCH 16
·
National Vaccination Day, also known as National Immunisation Day (NID), is observed
annually across India on 16 March to commemorate the
first dose of the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) administered in 1995 and to raise awareness
about the importance of timely vaccinations.
·
In 1988, the
World Health Assembly (WHA) adopted a resolution to
eradicate polio (poliomyelitis) globally, leading to the launch of the Global
Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) led by national governments and the World
Health Organization (WHO).
·
On 16 March 1995, India administered the first dose of the OPV under
the Pulse Polio Programme, marking the beginning of
National Vaccination Day celebrations in India.
·
India was declared polio-free by the
World Health Organization (WHO) on 27
March 2014.
13.
GLOBAL RECYCLING DAY 2026 –
MARCH 18
·
Global Recycling Day is
observed annually across the globe on 18 March to promote the
importance of recycling in conserving natural resources and ensuring
environmental sustainability.
·
2026 Theme: “Don’t
Think Waste – Think Opportunity”.
·
Global Recycling Day was established by the Bureau of International
Recycling (BIR), founded on 18 March 1948, to promote recycling worldwide.
·
The
idea was introduced by Ranjit Baxi, Founder
of the Global Recycling Foundation (GRF), during his 2015 Dubai Convention
speech as BIR President.
·
The first Global Recycling Day was observed on 18 March 2018,
marking the 70th anniversary of the BIR.
14.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF
HAPPINESS 2026 – MARCH 20
·
The United Nations
(UN’s) International Day of Happiness is observed annually
across the globe on 20 March to emphasize the importance of
happiness and well-being as essential components of human life and public
policy.
·
2026 Theme: “Caring
and Sharing”.
·
The
first International Day of Happiness was
celebrated on 20 March 2013.
·
The World Happiness Report (WHR) 2026 was
released on 20 March 2026 by the Wellbeing Research Centre (WRC), University of
Oxford (UK) in partnership with Gallup Inc (GI) and the United Nations
Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UN-SDSN).
·
For the ninth year in a row Finland secured 1st
place and India ranked 116th.
15.
WORLD ORAL HEALTH DAY 2026
– MARCH 20
·
World Oral Health Day (WOHD)
is observed annually on 20 March to raise awareness about the
importance of oral health and reduce the burden of oral diseases on
individuals, health systems, and economies.
·
Theme: “A Happy Mouth is…A
Happy Mind”.
