Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 17 April 2021

::NATIONAL::

The Indian Air Force Commanders’ Conference 2021, themed ‘Reorienting for the Future’ concluded at Air headquarters in New Delhi on Friday. The three day conference saw detailed deliberations on ways and means to enhance the operational capabilities of the IAF.
Air Officers Commanding-in-Chief of the seven commands and key appointments from Air headquarters attended the conference. The conference was addressed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh yesterday.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Navy Chief and Army Chief also addressed the conference and interacted with the commanders on subjects of future war-fighting through joint planning and integration of service capabilities.
The actions and follow-up plans for implementing the directions given by Prime Minister during the Combined Commanders’ Conference were discussed by the participants.
The other key subjects included reorientation of the Indian Air Force for future challenges across all threat domains, and the roadmap for effective utilisation of assets and future inductions. The contours of the operational philosophy and organisational aspects of Air Defence and Joint Command Structures were also discussed.

The Wilson Center’s Maternal Health Initiative and UNFPA hosted the U.S. launch of the 2021 UNFPA State of World Population report, titled "My Body is My own: Claiming the Right to Autonomy and Self-Determination," which details the value of voice, choice, and agency as they relate to women’s ability to determine their own fate through making autonomous decisions about their health and well-being.
“In the first 100 days of the Biden-Harris administration, we are seeing an important and necessary sea of change in how we talk about and work to address the issues that affect women and girls around the world. This administration’s commitment to UNFPA is clear and persistent, something I know we all on this call are appreciative of.”
“Without bodily autonomy and self-determination, women and girls are subject to virginity tests, to forced marriage, to forced pregnancy, to rape and violence.
Their education may end and their employment prospects may diminish, leaving them increasingly dependent on others, potentially unsafe and without hope for a better future for them or for their own children.”

Ashok Leyland Ltd has announced the delivery of the first batch of light bullet proof vehicles (LBPV) to the Indian Air Force (IAF). The company has strengthened its armoured vehicle platform by delivering the first of its kind LBPV to the IAF, it added.
“LBPV is an adopted version of Lockheed Martin’s (LM) CVNG (Common Vehicle Next Gen) and has been developed under ‘Transfer of Technology’ from LM to Ashok Leyland. It is completely indigenized and developed in India," the company, one of the largest suppliers of vehicles to the defence forces, said in a statement.
As part of its Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign, the Union government has been focused on increasing local procurement of vehicles and other equipments for the armed forces to enhance local manufacturing. Companies like Tata Motors Ltd, Ashok Leyland, Mahindra and Mahindra have been focused on increasing their defence businesses to reduce dependence on core commercial vehicle manufacturing.

After declining for two consecutive quarters, the country's foreign exchange (forex) reserves surged by USD 4.34 billion to USD 581.21 billion in the week ended April 9, according to the latest RBI data.
In the previous week ended April 2, the reserves had dipped by USD 2.42 billion to USD 576.28 billion. It had dropped by USD 2.99 billion to USD 579.28 billion in the week ended March 26, 2021.
The reserves had touched a lifetime high of USD 590.18 billion in the week ended January 29, 2021.
In the reporting week ended April 9, 2021, the increase in forex reserves was on account of a rise in foreign currency assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves.
FCA rose USD 3.02 billion to USD 539.45 billion, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) weekly data showed.
The special drawing rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised USD 6 million to USD 1.49 billion in the reporting week.
The country's reserve position with the IMF raised USD 24 million to USD 4.95 billion in the reporting week, the data showed.

The assessments undertaken with the active involvement and participation of States and Union Territory governments and hands-on training and capacity building exercises have identified vulnerable districts, which will help Policymakers in initiating appropriate climate actions. It will also benefit climate-vulnerable communities across India through development of better-designed climate change adaptation projects.
A total of 94 representatives from 24 states and 2 Union Territories participated in the nation-wide exercise jointly supported by the Department of Science & Technology (DST) and the Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation (SDC).
The report titled ‘Climate Vulnerability Assessment for Adaptation Planning in India Using a Common Framework’, which identifies the most vulnerable states and districts in India with respect to current climate risk and key drivers of vulnerability, will be released by DST Secretary Professor Ashutosh Sharma.
In a developing country such as India, vulnerability assessment is considered as an important exercise to develop suitable adaptation projects and programmes.
While climate vulnerability assessments for various states and districts already exist, the states and districts cannot be compared to each other as the framework used for assessments are different, thereby limiting decision-making capabilities at the policy and administrative levels. This necessitated an assessment using a Common Vulnerability Framework.

With the 59kg freestyle gold on Thursday, the Haryana wrestler not only strengthened her claim for a place in the squad for next month’s Asian Olympic qualifiers but also enhanced India’s gold medal tally to three in the women’s category at the Asian Wrestling Championships.
Sealing victory against Mongolia’s BattsetsegAltantsetseg in the dying moments of the six-minute bout does speak volumes about SaritaMor’s perseverance.