Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 08 February 2022

::National::

Parliament proceedings adjourned by 1 hour to pay tribute to Lata Mangeshkar

Parliament proceedings in both houses were adjourned by one hour on Monday in tribute to legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar, who died on 06-02-2022.
“The country has lost its beloved Lata didi. For such a long time, her voice enthralled and inspired the entire nation, filling it with emotions. Her songs strengthened our culture. She sang in 36 languages—it is an inspirational example for the country’s unity and integrity. I pay homage to Lata didi,” he added
The PM had flown to Mumbai on Sunday to pay his last respects to the deceased singer at Shivaji Park. He had a personal rapport with the singer and had tweeted, “I consider it my honour that I have always received immense affection from Lata Didi. My interactions with her will remain unforgettable.”
Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla started the proceedings on Monday with the obituary reference to Mangeshkar. “Known as Swar Kokila, Lata ji sang more than 25,000 songs in almost all Indian languages. Her prodigious talent was honoured with various awards throughout her life,” he said.
The Lok Sabha obituary reference also noted the singer’s charitable side. Birla mentioned the Lata Mangeshkar Medical Foundation that provides free health care services and also the Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Memorial Foundation to provide assistance to students and welfare for senior citizens.

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::International::

Galwan soldier as Olympic torchbearer: China dismisses India’s anger

China made light of India’s outrage at its decision to field a military officer involved in the Galwan Valley clash as a torchbearer for the ongoing Winter Olympics, saying not too much should be read into it politically.
India last week announced that its current top diplomat in China, charge d’affaires at the embassy in Beijing, Acquino Vimal, will skip both the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games because Qi Fabao, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) regiment commander involved in the June 15, 2020 clash with Indian troops in Galwan Valley, was chosen by China as one of the torchbearers ahead of the Games’ opening.
Qi, who sustained a serious head injury during the clashes, was among the 1,200 torchbearers at a torch relay in Beijing on Wednesday.
India lost 20 troops in the clash and four Chinese soldiers also died.
India’s external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said it was regrettable that China had chosen to politicise an event like the Olympics.
When asked to comment whether the decision was insensitive, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian played it down. “I want to stress that the torch bearers of the Beijing Winter Olympics are broadly representative and they meet relevant standards. We hope that the relevant sides can view this (the decision) in a rational and objective light.
“What I want to say is we hope relevant sides can view the choice of the torch bearers in objective and rational light. And don’t read too much into it from (a) political perspective,” Zhao said.
Media reports have pointed out that China has said that the ongoing Winter Olympics should be used as a bridge to build friendships and ties but by fielding Qi, Beijing has broken that very principle.
The decision to deploy Qi rankled New Delhi even more as it had come out in support of the Games - unlike several western governments that had announced diplomatic boycott of the sporting event - ahead of the Olympics.
India’s expressed support for China in hosting the Beijing Olympics during a meeting of foreign ministers under the framework of Russia-India-China trilateral.

::Economy::

CII presents DX 2021 award to Karnataka Bank

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) awarded the prestigious Digital Transformation award, ‘DX 2021’ to Karnataka Bank.
The award is in recognition of best practices in digital transformation, including the ‘KBL Vikaas’, a press release stated.
Karnataka Bank Limited managing director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mahabaleshwara M S said, “The bank has recently launched digital transformation journey ‘KBL NxT’ as part of wave 2.0 of KBL Vikaas with an objective of taking the digital initiatives to the next level and eventually emerge as ‘The digital bank of future’.”

West Bengal launches open-air classroom program 'Paraya Shikshaalaya'

The West Bengal government on Monday (February 7) launched ‘Paray Shikshalaya’ – an open-air classroom in the neighbourhood programme – for students from class 1 to 7. The aim of this initiative is to encourage students who dropped out of schools during the Covid-19 pandemic to continue their education.
On January 31, schools across the state opened for classes 8 to 12. However, students studying in lower classes continued to take the online classes. A week prior to this announcement, student outfits SFI, West Bengal Chhatra Parishad and ABVP had been protesting in the streets demanding reopening of schools for all classes at the earliest. A section of doctors and parents were also in favour of reopening of schools. In view of the rising demand for physical classes, the state government reopened schools and also launched this neighbourhood classes initiative.
Initially, the initiative was meant for primary school students (1 to 5). However, students in classes 6 and 7 were also included as physical classes in schools did not reopen for them. Students are being called in batches. Arrangements for mid-day meals have also been made for the students taking neighbourhood classes.
The first day saw students taking the classes with enthusiasm. About 30 to 40 students per school attended the classes in several places in Kolkata. Students were asked to follow Covid-19 safety measures and wear masks all the time.

::Science and tech::

Omicron: Indian scientists develop self-disinfecting, biodegradable face masks

A team of Indian scientists have developed a self-disinfecting antiviral mask to fight the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, the ministry of science and technology said on Friday. The antiviral mask coated with copper-based nanoparticles exhibits high performance against coronavirus as well as several other viral and bacterial infections, according to the ministry. The mask is biodegradable, highly breathable and washable.
Mask-wearing has been one of the important and effective health measures to contain the virus as the mode of transmission is via respiratory particles that are mainly airborne. But the ministry noted that controlling the virus transmission by wearing conventional masks has been difficult, particularly in densely populated places like hospitals, airports, stations, and shopping malls where the virus load is very high. It said that expensive masks in the Indian market “neither exhibit antiviral nor antibacterial properties.”
“The present-day face masks only retain the viruses by filtering and do not kill them and hence, are prone to transmission if the masks are not properly worn or disposed,” the ministry added.
Researchers at International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), developed the face mask in collaboration with a Bengaluru based company, Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB) and Resil Chemicals, under Nano-Mission project sponsored by the department of science and technology.
“Simple multi-layer cloth masks present a pragmatic solution for use by the public in reducing Covid-19 transmission in the community and wearing these self-disinfecting cloth masks is definitely one of them,” it added.

::Sport::

Olympians Nethra and Vishnu set sail to promote yoga abroad

Indian sailor and Olympian Nethra Kumanan not only taught Surya Namaskar and yoga to fellow sailors in Spain, during a recent challenge, but also inspired fellow Indian sailor, Olympian Vishnu Saravanan to take up the challenge in Malta, where he’s training at present. Saravanan, infact, went a step further and involved the local children as well. And that’s when the ongoing nationwide challenge — which celebrates 75 years of Indian independence — went international! The two athletes have since been practising and praising this Indian way to stay healthy while continuing to remain in two different countries. Excerpts from their interviews:
“I saw Nethra do it and decided to take up the challenge, too,” he says, adding: “The children followed my lead, and I told them why we do it. In the end, we were feeling very refreshed after doing the postures... Yoga is easy, everyone can do it but as athletes, we often neglect these small things and focus on the hard stuff.”