Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 07 August 2021

::NATIONAL::

Lok Sabha passes bill for establishment of Central University in Ladakh

Abill that seeks to establish a central university in the Union Territory of Ladakh was passed on Friday in the Lok Sabha, which has been witnessing opposition protests over the alleged snooping by Pegasus spyware and other issues.
In his brief statement on the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2021, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said every year, about 7,000 students go out of Ladakh for study and with the establishment of the central university, about 2,500 students will get the opportunity to study there.
We want to set up a central university in Ladakh. It is a happy coincidence that the bill is being brought on the second anniversary of the scrapping of Article 370, he said. Pradhan said abrogation of Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was not a slogan but a commitment.
Under that commitment, we have given Ladakh a Union Territory status and going to set up the Sindhu central university at a cost of Rs 760 crore, he said. After a brief clause-wise discussion of the bill, Rajendra Agrawal, who was in the chair, announced the passage of the bill by voice vote.

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::International::

India and China withdraw their troops in Gogra area of Eastern Ladakh

As per agreement reached during Corps Commander talks, India and China have ceased forward deployments in (Patrolling Point) PP-17A (Gogra Post) in phased, coordinated and verified manner, the Ministry of Defence informed on Friday. The disengagement process was carried out over 4-5 August 2021.
"Both sides are now in their respective permanent bases. All temporary structures and other allied infrastructure created in the area by both sides have been dismantled and mutually verified. The landform in the area has been restored by both sides to pre-stand off period," the ministry said.
According to the the army, this agreement ensures that the LAC in this area will be strictly observed and respected by both sides, and that there is no unilateral change in status quo.
"With this one more sensitive area of face-off has been resolved. Both sides have expressed commitment to take the talks forward and resolve the remaining issues along the LAC in the Western Sector," the ministry said.
On 31st July, India and China had held 12th round of military talks to discuss disengagement of troops in remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh.
During the talks, India had pressed for an early disengagement of troops and weapons in Hot Springs, Gogra and other remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh. Both sides held detailed deliberation and the talks were comprehensive, they said without elaborating further.

::Economy::

No change in repo rate and reverse repo rate in RBI's monetary policy review

The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee has kept the repo rate unchanged at 4 per cent. This is the seventh straight MPC, when RBI kept the rates steady. RBI Guv SHaktikanta Das said that MPC has decided to leave repo rate unchanged and continue with the accommodative stance as long as necessary to support growth. Das said that India is a much better position as compared to June 2021.
“There’s a need to remain vigilant on the possibility of a third COVID wave,” Das said. RBI Guv said that rural demand will push private consumption, and urban demand will drive services and pent-up demand.
RBI has consistently tried to build as a response to COVID-19 – that of keeping liquidity adequate, managing the government security yields and push credit to segments that are starved of funds.
However, the RBI has attempted to sensitize the market about its role of anchoring inflation expectations at 4% and in the process reestablishes the element of credibility of market participants in the central bank.

::Science and tech::

India's first heart failure biobank launched at SCTIMST, Kerala

The first National Heart Failure Biobank (NHFB) in the country that would collect blood, biopsies, and clinical data as a guide to future therapies was inaugurated at the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST).
“There are no heart failure biobanks in the country, and this would greatly help in guiding future therapies and technologies and would benefit the heart failure patients significantly,” said Prof. Balram Bhargava, Secretary, Department of Health Research (DHR) and DG, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) while inaugurating the NHFB virtually on 5th August.
He added that the biobank will provide insights into heart diseases and heart failure among Indian children and adults, which are very different from that seen in the West.
“The facility will be useful for the research and treatment of post-covid heart failure. The increase in the observed prevalence of long-COVID symptoms and post-COVID heart failure calls for long-COVID clinics to collect patient data and biospecimens that can be biobank for future research. Through the NHFB, researchers can get access to well-annotated biological specimens linked to clinical data while maintaining appropriate standards of quality and security.
I sincerely hope that the NHFB will facilitate research both in India and abroad, helping clinicians and scientists to work together to understand and find solutions to heart failure-related morbidity and mortality. ” Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology (DST) pointed out in his message.

::Sports::

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award renamed as Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award

Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays floral tribute to Major Dhyan Chand. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 6 announced that the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, the country’s highest sporting honour, will be renamed after decorated Olympian Major Dhyan Chand.
"Renaming the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award as Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award would be a political 'sport' and not a public sentiment. Major Dhyan Chand could have been honoured without insulting the sacrifice of Rajiv Gandhi.