Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 02 September 2021

::National::

JB Mohapatra appointed as Chairman of CBDT

Senior bureaucrat J B Mohapatra has been appointed the chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the Personnel Ministry said in an order on 01-09-2021 .
Mohapatra, a 1985-batch Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) officer, is currently the member in the board that frames the policy for the Income Tax department.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of J B Mohapatra, as chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes, the order said.
He has been holding the additional charge of CBDT chairman since May31, after the extended tenure of incumbent P C Mody had ended.

Printed Study Materials for IBPS, SBI Bank Exam

::International::

Sri Lanka declares food emergency as foreign exchange crisis

Sri Lanka declared a state of emergency over food shortages as private banks ran out of foreign exchange to finance imports.
With the country suffering a hard-hitting economic crisis, President GotabayaRajapaksa said he ordered emergency regulations to counter the hoarding of sugar, rice and other essential foods.
Rajapaksa has named a top army officer as "Commissioner General of Essential Services to coordinate the supply of paddy, rice, sugar and other consumer goods".
The move followed sharp price rises for sugar, rice, onions and potatoes, while long queues have formed outside stores because of shortages of milk powder, kerosene oil and cooking gas.
The government has increased penalties for food hoarding, but the shortages come as the country of 21 million battles a fierce coronavirus wave that is claiming more than 200 lives a day.

::Economy::

Morgan Stanley retains India's GDP growth forecast for FY22 at 10.5%

Morgan Stanley maintained its estimate of India GDP growth at 10.5 per cent for FY2022 versus the general consensus of 9.2 per cent.
"We expect economic activity to start normalising from quarter ending September, supported by pent-up demand, ramp-up of the vaccination drive (which is picking up pace and tracking at an average of 7 million per day), favourable policy mix and robust global growth," it said in a research report.
GDP growth is expected to move into positive territory on a two-year CAGR basis from QE September.
However, said Morgan Stanley, key risks to watch are the pace of vaccination (any slowdown could increase risks) and the trend in Covid-19 cases -- potential re-acceleration, threat from new variants and restrictions on activity.
GDP grew 20.1 per cent year-on-year in the quarter ending June. On a two-year CAGR basis, real GDP contracted 4.7 per cent in QE June versus plus 2.3 per cent in QE March.
On a seasonally adjusted sequential basis, GDP declined 6.3 per cent, reflecting the impact of restrictions on activity as the second wave surged during April and May.
On the demand side, private consumption and fixed capital formation declined on a two-year CAGR basis while government consumption and exports rose.

PM releases a special commemorative coin on the occasion of 125th birth anniversary of ShriBhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Prime Minister ShriNarendraModi released a special commemorative coin on the occasion of the 125th Birth Anniversary of SrilaBhaktivedanta Swami PrabhupadaJi today via video conference. Union Minister For Culture, Tourism and Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Shri G Kishan Reddy, among others, was present on the occasion.
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister mentioned the happy coincidence of Janmashtami day before and the 125th birth anniversary of SrilaPrabhupadaji. ‘It is like achieving happiness and contentment of sadhana together. He also noted that the occasion is taking place amidst the celebration of AzadikaAmritmahotsav. This is how millions of followers of SrilaPrabhupada Swami and millions of Krishna devotees all over the world are experiencing today’, the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister noted the supernatural devotion of Prabhupada Swami for Lord Krishna and said that he was also a great devotee of Bharat. He fought in the freedom struggle of the country. He had refused to take his diploma from Scottish College in support of the non-cooperation movement, the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister said our knowledge of yoga spread all over the world and sustainable lifestyle of India, science like Ayurveda are spread all over the world.It is our resolve that the whole world should benefit from it, ShriModi said. The Prime Minister said whenever we go to any other country, and when people meet there saying ‘Hare Krishna’, we feel a sense of belonging and pride. The Prime Minister said that the same feeling will be there when Make in India products get the same affinity. We can learn a lot from ISKCON in this regard
The Prime Minister said that in the times of slavery, Bhakti kept the spirit of India alive. He said today scholars assess that if there was no social revolution of the Bhakti period, it would have been difficult to imagine the status and form of India. Bhakti connected the creature with God by removing the dicrimination of faith, social hierarchies and privileges. Even in those difficult times, saints like ChaitanyaMahaprabhu, who tied the society with the spirit of devotion and gave the mantra of ‘Faith to Confidence’.

::Science and Tech::

IIT Ropar develops world's first 'plant based' smart air-purifier

Scientists of the Indian Institutes of Technology, Ropar and Kanpur and the Faculty of Management Studies of Delhi University have developed a living plant-based air purifier, "Ubreathe Life", that amplifies the air purification process in indoor spaces, a statement said.
These indoor spaces can either be hospitals, schools, offices or homes, it said.
Scientists of the Indian Institutes of Technology, Ropar and Kanpur and the Faculty of Management Studies of Delhi University have developed a living plant-based air purifier, "Ubreathe Life", that amplifies the air purification process in indoor spaces, a statement said .
It has been incubated at IIT Ropar, which is a designated iHub - AWaDH (Agriculture and Water Technology Development Hub) by the Department of Science and Technology.
The technology works through an air-purifying natural leafy plant. The room-air interacts with the leaves and goes to the soil-root zone where maximum pollutants are purified.
The novel technology used in this product is 'Urban Munnar Effect' along with patent pending "Breathing Roots" to exponentially amplify the phytoremediation process of the plants. Phytoremediation is a process by which plants effectively remove pollutants from the air.
"'Ubreathe Life' effectively improves indoor air quality by removing particulate, gaseous and biological contaminants while increasing the oxygen levels in the indoor space through specific plants, UV disinfection and a stack of pre-filter, charcoal filter and HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filter fitted in a specially designed wooden box," the statement said.

::Sports::

Tokyo Paralympics: Bhagat enter semifinals; Suhas, Krishna and Tarun also win, mixed day for Kohli

World No.1 PramodBhagat sailed into the men's singles semifinals after beating Ukraine's OleksandrChyrkov in his second group A match of the Tokyo Paralympics badminton event here on Thursday as the country's shuttlers expectedly produced strong performances.
The 33-year-old, also a reigning world champion, saw off Chyrkob 21-12 21-9 in 26 minutes to top his group and enter the last four in class SL3.
"I was in the groove today and played really well. OleksandrChyrkov is a good player and played some good strokes in the match. I am very happy that I have reached the semi-finals," Bhagat said.
"Things are going to be tough from here as the knock out stages start. My focus is on one match at a time and also the last league game of the mixed doubles which is a do-or-die situation for us."
Bhagat and PalakKohli will play SiripongTeamarrom and NipadaSaensupa in mixed doubles class SL3-SU5.