Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 02 February 2022

::National::

Karnataka’s Bal Puraskar awardee: Never forget the richness of Indian culture

Having received the coveted Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2022, young Bharatanatyam dancer Remona Evette Pereira has added this to her wall of fame, which displays hundreds of other trophies and mementos. But as the 16-year-old looks at this new accolade that’s now added to her home in Mangaluru (Karnataka), she chuckles thinking where to keep the next one coming her way!
“Two-three bags full of awards are in the store room,” she says sharing that this Bal Puraskar medal will be displayed right in the front. Speaking to Prime Minister Narendra Modi via virtual teleconferencing was a “precious” moment for this young achiever, who shares: “From the South (of India), it was only me he spoke to. I was very nervous and scared about what he’d ask and what I’d answer. We spoke in Hindi, and he ask me what inspired me to continue my dance practice and if I faced any fear while using props like fire or while dancing on broken glass pieces... Yes, I often do get hurt while using these props. But I trust my mom because she first tries all of them — though she isn’t classically trained — and then only gives them to me to perform.”
Her awards narrate her 13 year journey, which started with her training in classical when she was just three. “My dad passed away before I was born. So it has been hard for me and my family. I remember I was just three-years-old, and didn’t have any idea about dance. But my mother was very passionate about dance, and wanted to learn herself but couldn’t get the opportunity in her time. Many parents play rhymes for children on the TV, but my mother used to show me Bharatanatyam CDs. She wanted to see if I show any interest in it, and luckily I did! That’s when she enrolled me in a dance class,” recalls Pereira, who is learning Bharatanatyam under guru Shrividya Muralidhar.
Over time, the young artiste has learned to look at the bright side of things, and doesn’t fail to thank the pandemic for the extra practice time it allowed her. “On one hand while it was terrible because our education almost stopped and we faced financial hardship. But for dance, it provided very useful moments because I got more time to focus, learn and practice. Also, there were many interesting online programs from where I learned a lot,” she informs while being still in disbelief about “receiving such a big honour”.

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::International::

Pfizer-BioNTech seek US approval of Covid-19 vaccine for kids under 5

Pfizer and BioNTech said Tuesday they are seeking emergency authorization from US health regulators for use of their Covid vaccine for children aged over six months and under five years.
If the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorizes the two-shot regimen, it will become the first Covid vaccine available to this age group in the United States.
The companies said Tuesday that they started submitting their formal application "following a request" from the FDA, which seemingly wants to get the process moving quickly.
In a tweet soon after the announcement, the FDA said it will hold a meeting in two weeks, on February 15, to consider the request.
"Having a safe and effective vaccine available for children in this age group is a priority for the agency," said interim FDA head Janet Woodcock, who added that the FDA asked for the application "in light of the recent Omicron surge."
The companies are seeking authorization for only two doses of their vaccine, but believe a third will be needed "to achieve high levels of protection against current and potential future variants," Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement.
To limit side effects for this young age group, Pfizer chose to significantly decrease the dosage of its vaccine, opting for only three micrograms per jab versus 30 for those over 12 years old, and 10 for ages five to 11.
The company's researchers concluded last fall that low doses of the vaccine provided protection in children up to two years old but not in those aged two to five, and announced in December they would add a third dose to their trials.
Data on the three-dose regimen is "expected in the coming months and will be submitted to the FDA to support a potential expansion" of this initial request, Pfizer and BioNTech said in the statement.
There are about 23 million children under the age of five in the United States, and two years after the pandemic began, many parents are waiting impatiently to vaccinate their young children against the coronavirus.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was approved three months ago for emergency use in children from five to 11, but uptake has been relatively slow.
In that age group, only 30 percent have received at least one dose and around 22 percent are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

::Economy::

Texas power prices surge with cold snap poised to test grid

Texas electricity prices surged to more than $1,000 a megawatt-hour for Friday when demand is forecast to hit a winter record in the biggest test since extreme cold and blackouts killed hundreds almost a year ago.
Demand on the grid operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or Ercot, is forecast to peak at 71,806 megawatts on the morning of Feb. 4, a level that has never been seen outside the summer season before.
In February 2021, demand was poised to climb to an all-time high before widespread outages darkened the second-largest U.S. state for days.
Memory of that crisis is creating a fear premium for coming days, when a deep chill is expected to descend on Texas, according to several traders. On-peak power for Ercot’s North hub, which includes Dallas, closed at $800 for Feb. 4 on the Intercontinental Exchange after topping $1,000 in trading Monday, traders said. By comparison, Wednesday power fetched $60 and Thursday almost $560, a trader said.
“This is the strongest cold event so far this winter, but not nearly as cold as last winter,” said Matt Rogers, president of the Commodity Weather Group.
However, the Lone Star state still faces challenges later this week such as icing on turbines and snow and sleet that could impede solar generation, Rogers said. Overall temperatures could run about 25 to 30 degrees below normal in some places, although the cold snap will only last 2 to 3 days, whereas a year ago it lingered much longer.
Dallas should bottom out at 13 Fahrenheit, which is well below normal, but not last year’s -2 Fahrenheit,” Rogers said.

LIC IPO's draft prospectus likely within two weeks, says top govt official

The draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) or offer document of the Life Insurance Corporation’s (LIC) initial public offering (IPO) is expected to be out within two weeks. The statement was made by department of investment and public asset management (DIPAM) secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey hours after finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget speech that the LIC IPO is expected shortly.
Once listed, LIC has the potential to become one of the biggest domestic companies by market capitalisation with an estimated valuation of ₹8-10 lakh crore.
Replying to a question at the post-Budget press conference, Sitharaman said the IPO of LIC is likely in the current financial year. "In all probability, it is going to be held this year," she said.
Pandey had earlier said the government will list the country's largest insurer LIC on the stock exchanges by March-end, adding the draft papers for the IPO are being finalised and will be filed with market regulator Sebi soon for its approval.
"LIC disinvestment amount will be included in this year's (Budget) because we aim to list it before March 31,"
The Budget 2021-22 had set a disinvestment target of ₹1.75 lakh crore, as against ₹32,835 crore garnered in the last fiscal. Of the ₹1.75 lakh crore, ₹1 lakh crore is to come from selling government stake in public sector banks and financial institutions, and ₹75,000 crore will be CPSE disinvestment receipts.
So far this fiscal, ₹9,330 crore has been mopped up through minority stake sale in PSUs.
Earlier this week, LIC reported a profit after tax of ₹1,437 crore for the first half (April-September) of the current financial year, compared to ₹6.14 crore in the year-ago period.
In September last year, the government appointed 10 merchant bankers, including Goldman Sachs (India) Securities Pvt Ltd, Citigroup Global Markets India Pvt Ltd and Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities (India) Pvt Ltd, to manage the initial public offering of the LIC.

::Science and tech::

Samsung overtakes Intel as world's top semiconductor company in 2021

Samsung Electronics surpassed Intel to become the leading chipmaker by revenue last year, according to industry data released Wednesday, thanks to a powerful lift from its memory business.
Samsung's semiconductor revenue surged 31.6% in 2021 to hit $75.9 billion, the ranking by U.S. research firm Gartner shows. The company last wore the crown in 2018. The standings are based on preliminary results by Gartner and exclude foundries such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
Sales from Samsung's memory business jumped 34.2% last year on stay-at-home demand. Shipments spiked for products found in personal computers and other electronics, as well as in servers.
End-product manufacturers increased their chip stockpiles ahead of production expansions, prompting a rise in semiconductor prices. Market prices are settling down as the stockpiling has waned, but chip demand for servers remains robust.
The semiconductor market as a whole grew 25.1% last year to $583.5 billion, according to Gartner, as sales topped half a trillion dollars for the first time.
Revenue for Intel, which fell to second place, grew only 0.5% to $73.1 billion. Sales by the U.S. chipmaker rose the slowest among the top 25 companies amid tough competition in the server CPU space, Intel's strength.
Direct rivals such as U.S. maker AMD, which rose to 10th place from 14th in the ranking, improved their market shares.
Qualcomm of the U.S. and Taiwan's MediaTek, which both make chips for the telecommunications industry, ranked fifth and seventh, respectively. In addition to 5G smartphones taking off, the American sanctions against China's Huawei Technologies caused a favorable shift in smartphone market shares.

::Sport::

Unnati Hooda and Kiran George win 2022 Odisha Open

Odisha’s first BWF event, the Odisha Open 2022 concluded at JN Indoor Stadium, Cuttack, on Sunday. The event that commenced on 25th January, has over the days, witnessed some nail biting matches between young badminton players. Unnati Hooda (India), aged 14, won her maiden super 100 title by defeating Smit Toshniwal (India). Kiran George (India) took home the men’s single title with a thrilling three-game win over Priyanshu Rajawat (India).
Sri Lankan pair – Sachin Dias/Thilini Hendahewa won the mixed doubles title, defeating the Indian pair MR Arjun/Treesa Jolly. Gayathri G/Treesa J (India) cruised to the Women’s Double Title with a clinical win over Sanyogita Ghorpade and Shruti M. Malaysian pair Nur Mohd/Lim KW won the men’s doubles title, defeating Indian pair PS Ravi and SP Uday.