Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 12 April 2021

::NATIONAL::

The Government of India in its Budget of 2018–19 had prioritized building our technology capabilities and mandated NITI Aayog to initiate a national programme to direct the efforts of the Government in the area of artificial intelligence.
Accordingly, NITI Aayog adopted a three-pronged approach: (i) undertaking exploratory proof-of-concept AI projects in various areas, (ii) crafting a national strategy for building a vibrant AI ecosystem in India, and (iii) collaborating with various experts and stakeholders.
Consequently, NITI Aayog released India’s National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (NSAI) in June 2018.
The strategy, called #AI for All, combines the economic potential of AI with social development and inclusive growth, and positions India as the ‘AI Garage of the World’. With it, India joined an elite list of countries with a well-defined AI strategy.
As a follow-up to NSAI, the vertical is pursuing a series of strategy and implementation documents. AIRAWAT, which lays down India’s approach for the development of AI-specific cloud-computing infrastructure, was released in January 2020. The development of AIRAWAT will democratize access to critical hardware that is important to drive AI research and development.

China’s Xinjiang region is facing underground flooding in the Fengyuan coal mine in Hutubi County.
The flood which has trapped 21 miners occurred on Saturday evening, state media reported.
It added eight of the 29 miners working at the location had already been rescued.
Staff were carrying out upgrading works at the site when disaster struck. Rescuers have been trying to pump water out of the flooded shaft while simultaneously pumping air into the mine. Coal mines in China are among the world's most dangerous, with explosions and gas leaks a regular occurrence.
Mining accidents in eastern Shandong province in January and the southwest city of Chongqing in December killed more than 30 miners.

Now, a beneficiary of the Government welfare scheme can open a basic savings bank account with a post office. The Finance Ministry has notified changes in Post Office Savings Account Scheme, 2019. The notification has also reduced the fee for not maintain the balance in a savings account.
As of now, such accounts can be opened in a scheduled commercial bank or India Post Payment Bank.
According to the notification, the deposit required for opening of such an account will be NIL. There will be no requirement for maintaining minimum balance. The account can be opened by a registered adult member of any Government welfare scheme. The guardian of a minor, whose name has been registered for any Government benefit, can also open an account. The same set of people can operate the account. The notification also mentioned that any Basic Savings Accounts already opened under the Post Office Savings Account Rules,1981 will not be covered under the new notification and will remain operational.
The Basic Savings Account is similar to Basic Saving Bank Deposit Accounts (BSBDA).

In the previous week ended March 26, the reserves had decreased by USD 2.986 billion to USD 579.285 billion. The forex kitty had touched a record high of USD 590.185 billion in the week ended January 29, 2021.
In the reporting week ended April 2, 2021, the decline in the reserves was mainly on account of a fall in foreign currency assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves.
FCA declined by USD 1.515 billion to USD 536.438 billion, weekly data by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed.
Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.
The gold reserves dropped by USD 884 million to USD 34.023 billion in the reporting week, as per the central bank data.
The special drawing rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) dipped by USD 4 million to USD 1.486 billion.
The country’s reserve position with the IMF declined by USD 12 million to USD 4.923 billion in the reporting week, the data showed.

NASA has decided to postpone the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter's first experimental flight to April 14 after a test completed earlier than planned. The flight was earlier scheduled for April 11.
"During a high-speed spin test of the rotors on Friday, the command sequence controlling the test ended early due to a 'watchdog' timer expiration," NASA said in a statement on Saturday.
"This occurred as it was trying to transition the flight computer from 'Pre-Flight' to 'Flight' mode. The helicopter is safe and healthy and communicated its full telemetry set to Earth," the US space agency said.
The watchdog timer oversees the command sequence and alerts the system to any potential issues.
It helps the system stay safe by not proceeding if an issue is observed and worked as planned.
The Mars Helicopter, Ingenuity, is a technology demonstration to test powered flight on another world for the first time. It hitched a ride to Mars on the Perseverance rover, which made a February 18 touch down on the Red Planet.
Once the rover reaches a suitable "helipad" location, it will release Ingenuity to perform a series of test flights over a 30-Martian-day experimental window.
For the first flight, the helicopter will take off a few feet from the ground, hover in the air for about 20 to 30 seconds, and land.

Joel Chianese agrees terms for one-year extension with Hyderabad FC

Indian Super League side Hyderabad FC and Australian attacker Joel Chianese have agreed terms for a one-year extension till the end of the 2021-22 season, the club can confirm.
The 31-year-old Aussie who can play in multiple positions in attack, will now join his former side Perth Glory on a short-term deal till the end of the current 2020-21 A-League season.
After missing some initial games with an injury, Joel returned with a bang for Manolo Marquez’s men scoring three times and providing one assist in 12 appearances.