Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 05 July 2021

::NATIONAL::

CoWIN to go global today, 50 countries show interest

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Monday will address the CoWIN global conclave, where countries who have shown interest in the government's digital platform will be given an opportunity to adopt it. The platform is being used in India to help people register for vaccination against Covid-19, book a slot and download vaccination certificates.
As many as 50 countries including Canada, Mexico, Nigeria, Panama and Uganda have shown interest in adopting the CoWin platform. Various health and technology experts from different countries are expected to participate in the event, which will be inaugurated by Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan.
Foreign secretary HV Shringla, Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan and Dr RS Sharma, the CEO of the National Health Authority (NHA), are also expected to speak at the event.
The conclave aims to share India's experience with regards to universal vaccination to fight Covid-19 through CoWIN, the NHA said in a statement posted on its website.

Printed Study Materials for IBPS, SBI Bank Exam

::International::

Nasa rockets, satellite team up to study 'Earth-sized electric generator'

Two sounding rockets will be launched this month under Nasa’s Dynamo-2 mission to team up with a satellite to study the giant electric current in Earth’s ionosphere. The two rockets, scheduled to be launched on separate days, will team up with Nasa’sIonospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) satellite to advance our understanding of the atmospheric dynamo, said the US space agency.
About 80,000 metres above the Earth surface, where the atmosphere blends into space, a pattern of electrical current swirls in continent-sized circuits forming an Earth-sized electric generator. The giant electrical current migrates across the planet in the ionosphere wherever the Sun is directly overhead. In the ionosphere, the Sun's intense radiation separates electrons from their atoms, allowing electricity to flow.
While most measurements of the dynamo come from magnetometers, a device on the ground that monitors the way current disturbs Earth’s magnetic field, taking measurements from inside the ionosphere will provide more detail about the phenomenon.

::Economy::

Eminent economist says RBI must not print money to finance fiscal deficit

Eminent economist PinakiChakraborty said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should not print money to finance the fiscal deficit as it shall lead to fiscal profligacy. The director of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) said that high inflation is a concern and there is a need to stabilise inflation to manageable levels.
“I think this debate started in the beginning of the pandemic and printing money for deficit financing was not considered.
I don't think the RBI should ever do that. We stopped it in 1996 through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the RBI and the government. We should not go back to it again,” Chakraborty was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
The eminent economist also said that if there is no major third wave of Covid-19 India may see a faster economic recovery.
Pinaki’s statements come amid recent calls from various quarters to print more money to finance the fiscal deficit. The RBI’s monetisation of the fiscal deficit means that the central bank will print currency for the government so that it can take care of any emergency spending to bridge its fiscal deficit.
Chakraborty highlighted that India’s macroeconomic situation is comparatively better than what it was during the first wave of the pandemic.

Jeff Bezos to step down as Amazon CEO

Jeff Bezos, the American business magnate, who is founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of one of the world’s largest technological organisations Amazon, will step down from the top position on Monday. Andy Jassy, who is serving as the chief of Amazon web services, will become the new CEO.
However, Bezos, 57, will retain a crucial role as the executive chair at the organisation. He will not be a part of the daily management and will spend more time on other projects including his Aerospace company Blue Origin.
Bezos, who is currently the richest person in the world, started Amazon as an online bookstore at a garage 27 years back, when he packaged orders himself and delivered them to post offices. Slowly and steadily, he took the organisation to new heights and expanded its business in the fields of e-commerce, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, digital streaming among many others. Amazon, which is often regarded as the most valuable brand on earth, has a market value of over $1.7 trillion.

::Science and tech::

Chinese astronauts complete first spacewalk on new Tiangong space station

Tiangong’s construction is a major step in China’s ambitious space programme, which has seen the nation land a rover on Mars and send probes to the Moon.
Three astronauts blasted off last month to become the station’s first crew, where they are to remain for three months in China’s longest crewed mission to date.
On Sunday morning, two of them exited the station for around seven hours of work in the first spacewalk at Tiangong, the China Manned Space Agency said.
“The safe return of astronauts Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo to the Tianhe core module marks the complete success of the first spacewalk in our country’s space station construction,” the space agency said.
Their tasks involved elevating a panoramic camera outside the Tianhe core module, as well as testing the station’s robotic arm which will be used to transfer future modules around the station, state media said.
The astronauts installed foot stops on the robotic arm and, with its support, carried out other assembly work, added the space agency.
In a video clip of Liu leaving the cabin, he exclaimed: “Wow, it’s too beautiful out here.”
Television footage showed the astronauts preparing for the spacewalk by donning gear and conducting health checks while exercising.
Liu and Tang were later shown opening the hatch and exiting the module separately, wearing newly developed suits said to weigh some 130kg.
They were supported from inside the station by the mission commander NieHaisheng, a decorated air force pilot who is on his third space mission.
This was the first of two spacewalks planned for the mission, both expected to last six or seven hours. It was also the first time since 2008 that Chinese astronauts went outside their spacecraft.
Back then, ZhaiZhigang made China the third country to complete a spacewalk after the Soviet Union and the United States.
This is China’s first crewed mission in nearly five years, and a matter of huge prestige as the country marks the 100th anniversary of the ruling Communist Party this month.

::Sports::

Armenia's LevonAronian wins Goldmoney Asian Rapid Online Chess title

LevonAronian needed just two games and under an hour and a half of play to clinch victory over VladislavArtemiev and take the $30,000 top prize in the Goldmoney Asian Rapid.
Levon’s spectacular final win was a fitting end to an event where he’d also won the Preliminary stage, to take home the maximum number of tour points. The fight for 3rd place was also one-sided, but with a twist. Ding Liren hit back to win the second day’s rapid chess 3:0 before Magnus Carlsen took over in blitz to clinch the match.