Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 13 December 2020

::NATIONAL::

The annual convention of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in the backdrop of a farmers’ protest against the agricultural reforms entering the 19th day, Singh said the government is “always willing to listen to our farmer brothers”.
Describing agriculture as the “mother sector for all others”, he said, “There is no question of taking retrograde steps against our agricultural sector ever. The recent reforms have been undertaken with the best interests of India’s farmers in mind.”
Singh added, “We are, however, always willing to listen to our farmer brothers, allay their misgivings and provide them with assurances we can provide. Our government is always open to discussion and dialogue.”
Farmers have organised sit-in protests across the country and are observing a hunger strike from 8am to 5pm on Monday. The nationwide protests came a day after farmers blocked the Delhi-Jaipur highway. More and more farmers have joined the protests at several entry points to the national Capital.

The Health Ministry released partial data from the fifth edition of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) claiming “considerable improvement” in the supply of vaccine for childhood immunisation from the fourth round in 2015-16.
Substantial improvement in maternal and child health indicators over NFHS-4 was recorded in the present survey.
The fertility rate has further declined, and contraceptive use has increased in most Phase I States.
The survey found considerable improvement in vaccination coverage among children aged 12-23 months across all States/UTs.
The newest edition too has information on population, health and nutrition for India, and is based on statistics gleaned from 6.1 lakh households.
The survey found considerable improvement in vaccination coverage among children aged 12-23 months across all States/UTs. Women’s empowerment indicators (including women with bank account) also portray considerable progress.
NFHS data has an accompanying summary that explains changes in key health indicators from previous surveys. The latest edition lacks such a national comparison and instead only has tables listing out data from the 17 States and five UTs.

The United Nations (UN), United Kingdom (UK) and France are proud to be co-hosting the Climate Ambition Summit 2020, in partnership with Chile and Italy on 12 December held virtually.
It exactly five years since the adoption of the Paris Agreement.
UN chief has urged world leaders to declare a “state of climate emergency” and shape greener growth after the coronavirus pandemic, as he opened a summit marking five years since the landmark Paris Agreement.
The commitments made in Paris in 2015 were “far from enough” to limit temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the UN secretary-general said in his opening address to the summit, which is co-hosted by Britain and France.
The Summit is a major step on the road to the next UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), which will be hosted by the UK next November in Glasgow.
The Summit will provide leaders with a global platform to showcase commitments to tackle climate change which will be under the three pillars of the Paris Agreement: mitigation, adaptation and finance commitments. There will be no space for general statements.

Non-life insurer Bharti AXA General Insurance said its gross written premium (GWP) marginally declined to Rs 1,574 crore in the first half of the current financial year. In the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, its GWP stood at Rs 1,586 crore in the corresponding period of the last fiscal.
"The moderate drop in the premium income was owing to the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in flat growth in line with the non-life insurance industry,"
The insurer's net profit stood at Rs 95 crore in the first six months of FY21 against the loss of Rs 90 crore in the corresponding fiscal period a year ago.
"As the headwinds followed the COVID-19 pandemic, subsequent lockdowns and restrictions, we shifted our focus towards ensuring that customers' plight is better managed in these trying times. The judicious investment made formerly in tech solutions across all touch-points reaped immense benefits in this period and helped us respond with the required agility," the company's managing director and chief executive officer Sanjeev Srinivasan said in the release.
Its health and personal accident segment saw a significant 47 per cent growth at Rs 226 crore in the first six months of the current financial year as compared to Rs 153 crore in the same period of FY20.
Crop insurance yielded 18 per cent growth to Rs 551 crore during the reporting period as against Rs 467 crore.

The Haryana government has decided to restructure and redesignate the Command Area Development Authority (CADA) as Micro Irrigation and Command Area Development Authority (MICADA) for the effective implementation of micro-irrigation projects, especially in the water-deficient areas, along with watercourses work on various canal commands in the state.
The aim of the present state government has been to ensure optimum and effective utilisation of available water resources in the state. While implementing the micro-irrigation projects, priority should be given to the areas having scarcity of water.
The government also encourage to farmers to know about the benefits of micro-irrigation so as to encourage them to adopt micro-irrigation techniques in agriculture to conserve waters.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) willintroduce 3D printing policy.
It aimed at promoting 3D printing on an industrial scale and helping domestic companies.
The policy will help develop a “conducive ecosystem for design, development and deployment” of 3D printing and additive manufacturing.
3D printing and a viable industry around it is mostly in the shape of additive manufacturing, wherein companies make specific products for projects where there are very specific demands such as lightweight equipment, etc.
The global market for additive manufacturing is expected to reach $ 34.8 billion by 2024, which is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 23.2 per cent, according to the IT Ministry’s estimates.
3D printing or additive manufacturing uses computer-aided designing to make prototypes or working models of objects by laying down successive layers of materials such as plastic, resin, thermoplastic, metal, fiber or ceramic.
According to the draft policy, the Central Government will also look to encourage market leaders to establish global bases for 3D manufacturing in India, while also discouraging imports of printed material for domestic requirements.