Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 05 February 2021

::NATIONAL::

Rajpath redevelopment project started

The Centre held the bhoomi poojan for laying the foundation stone of the redeveloped and restructured Central Vista Avenue—the next phase of the Central Vista redevelopment plans.
The bhoomi poojan ceremony of Central Vista Avenue was performed by Union housing minister Hardeep Puri in the presence of housing ministry secretary Durga Shanker Mishra,CPWD DG and senior officers of the ministry at India Gate, New Delhi.
“With this ceremony, the work has started for the development/redevelopment of Central Vista Avenue. The 3km-long Central Vista Avenue stretches from North & South Block to India Gate, and includes Rajpath, its adjoining lawns and canals, rows of trees, Vijay Chowk and the India Gate plaza. This was originally designed to be a grand processional pathway to the Viceroy’s House during the British Raj.
“Government approved a proposal for development of Central Vista Avenue with estimated cost of ₹608 crore on November 10, 2020. Requisite permissions from Delhi Urban Arts Commission, Heritage Conservation Committee, Central Vista Committee, local bodies, etc. have been obtained,” the ministry said.
The Central Public Works Department, nodal agency for the redevelopment project, revised the estimated cost for the project from ₹463 crore to ₹502 crore in a modified tender document released in November. Of this, ₹372.9 crore is earmarked for civil work and horticulture, ₹113.7 crore for electrical and mechanical work and ₹15.51 crore for operation and maintenance, all for a period of five years.

Andhra Pradesh to set up 3 concept cities for IT related industries

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy directed the officials to come up with an action plan to set up three concept cities near Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, and Bengaluru to house information technology and related industries in the state.
As per an official release, the Chief Minister said that these cities should contribute to the IT progress and help in the development of the state by bringing in as many industries as possible and focus on creating a large number of jobs.
"The Chief Minister has directed officials to focus on ensuring uninterrupted internet service should be provided in every village. He had stressed on the construction of libraries with accessible bandwidth internet connections in every village. Apart from building libraries, the Chief Minister instructed that all the secretariats and Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs) in the village should also be connected to the internet," it said.
The release said that the Andhra government is also chalking out plans to develop an integrated industrial park in Visakhapatnam, which will includes high-end skill university, incubation centers, labs, departmental offices, data centre and IT towers.

Printed Study Materials for IBPS, SBI Bank Exam

::International::

US Expands New Start Nuclear Arms Control Treaty with Russia for Five Years

United States has extended the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) nuclear arms control treaty with Russia for five years. Announcing the move, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it made the world safer. He said an unconstrained nuclear competition would endanger us all.
President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin reportedly discussed it by phone a week ago, and Mr Putin signed it into law on Friday.
The treaty had been set to lapse on 5 February, as the Trump administration had refused to approve the extension. Now the pact has been extended to 5th February 2026.
The treaty, which first went into effect in 2011, limits the United States and Russia to deploying no more than 1,550 strategic nuclear warheads each and imposes restrictions on the land- and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them.

::Economy::

Agreement / MoU signed on 4 February at Aero India 2021 in Bengaluru

Several agreements/MoUs were signed on February 4 at the three-day Aero India 2021 in Bengaluru that will conclude on February 5.
Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) are joining hands for the induction of an anti-torpedo defence system called ‘SHADE’ for the Indian Navy.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) received a Request for Proposal (RFP) from the Indian Air Force for 70 HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft.
HAL and Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited (MIDHANI) have signed MoU for development and production of composite raw materials that are used in manufacture of aircrafts and are currently being imported.
Israel’s SpearUAV, developers and suppliers of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) solutions, has signed an MoU with Paras Aerospace to introduce encapsulated Ninox 40 system to the Indian market.
Airbus has signed MoU with GMR group for various aviation sector initiatives.

CEO and MD of L&T appointed as Chairman of National Security Council

The Ministry of Labour and Employment has appointed S.N. Subrahmanyan, CEO and Managing Director, L&T Ltd, as the Chairman of the National Safety Council for a period of three years.
Subrahmanyan is an engineer who has spearheaded the infrastructure business of L&T for several years, making it the country's largest construction organisation, ranked 14th in the world.
The National Safety Council will assist the DGFASLI in re-writing the regulations governing OSH in the country which have not been updated for over 50 years.
The NSC will also be involved in framing the scheme for third party audit and certification under the OSH Code. The NSC is already working on the safety rating of establishments based on their OSH readiness and performance, which can be extended through the country and linked to the inspection system.

::Science and tech::

Pakistan tests nuclear-capable ballistic missile Ghaznavi

Pakistan successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile which can strike targets up to 290 kilometres, the army said.
The launch of Ghaznavi missile was "culmination of Annual Field Training Exercise of Army Strategic Forces Command,” said a statement issued by the media wing of the Pakistani army - the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
It said that the ballistic missile is capable of delivering nuclear and conventional warheads up to a range of 290 kilometres.
The training launch was witnessed by Commander Army Strategic Forces Command Lt Gen Muhammad Ali, senior officers from Strategic Plans Division, Army Strategic Forces Command, Scientists and Engineers of the strategic organizations.
Commander Army Strategic Forces Command appreciated the operational preparedness and display of excellent standard in handling and operating the weapon system, the army said.
On January 20, Pakistan test-fired nuclear-capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile Shaheen-III which can strike targets up to 2,750 kilometres.

::SPORTS::

Osaka, Azarenka withdraw from Australian Open tuneups

Former Australian Open champions Naomi Osaka and Victoria Azarenka withdrawn from tuneup tournaments Saturday, two days before the year’s first tennis major begins at Melbourne Park.
No. 3-ranked Osaka pulled out of her Gippsland Trophy semifinal against Elise Mertens, citing a “niggling injury."
Azarenka withdrew from the Grampians Trophy quarterfinal match against Anett Kontaveit with a lower back problem.