Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 18 February 2021

::NATIONAL::

Cabinet approves Amendments to the Juvenile Justice

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Women and Child Development to amend the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 to introduce measures for strengthening Child Protection set-up to ensure best interest of children.
The amendments include authorizing District Magistrate including Additional District Magistrate to issue adoption orders under Section 61 of the JJ Act, in order to ensure speedy disposal of cases and enhance accountability.
The District Magistrates have been further empowered under the Act, to ensure its smooth implementation, as well as garner synergized efforts in favour of children in distress conditions. Defining eligibility parameters for appointment of CWC members, and categorizing previously undefined offences as ‘serious offence’ are some of the other aspects of the proposal. Several difficulties faced in implementation of various provisions of the Act have also been addressed.

PM Modi to address Nasscom Technology and Leadership Forum

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the NASSCOM Technology and Leadership Forum (NTLF) via video-conferencing. Modi will deliver his speech at the three-day event at 12.30 pm. It is the flagship event of the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM).
The 29th edition of NTLF is being organised from February 17 to 19. The theme of this year's event is 'Shaping the future towards a better normal'. The event will see 1,600 participants from more than 30 countries showcasing more than 30 products. As per the NTLF, it is a platform which has been the voice of the 190 billion dollar industry ecosystem.
The NASSCOM website mentions that the focus is to create a platform for an immersive learning experience through NTLF 2021 as it embraces the hyper virtual world.
NTLF 2021 with the overarching theme 'Shaping the future towards a better normal' aims to achieve three key objectives -- mark a celebration of technology which has served as a backbone to boost businesses during the crisis, drawing a roadmap for the way ahead towards building a better future and bringing out the importance of trust and responsible technology in this hyper virtual world.

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::International::

Joe Biden's immigration agenda takes shape as lawmakers unveil Bill

The legislation, known as the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, hews closely to the outline that Biden sent to Congress on his first day in office.
President Joe Biden’s proposed immigration overhaul will be introduced in Congress on Thursday, kicking off what will likely be one of his most difficult legislative challenges.
The legislation, known as the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, hews closely to the outline that Biden sent to Congress on his first day in office. The proposal includes an eight-year path to citizenship for most of the roughly 11 million immigrants living illegally in the U.S., bolsters the nation’s refugee and asylum systems and calls for additional technology to be used to help secure the southern border.
The White House has previously signaled it is open to breaking the package into pieces and presenting them separately in order to win over at least some Republicans. Biden said in a CNN town hall on Tuesday said smaller measures could help fix the system “in the meantime.”
Yet his team plans to defer to leaders in the House and Senate on the best path forward, including whether to try to use a procedural maneuver known as budget reconciliation to pass it using only Democratic votes while it builds support for broader legislation. The Democrats are employing the reconciliation process to pass Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan.

::Economy::

Cabinet Approves Trade Pact Between India, Mauritius

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved signing of a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement, a kind of a free trade pact, between India and Mauritius which is aimed at liberalising norms to boost two-way commerce.
The Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) between India and Mauritius, an official statement said.
The pact would cover 310 export items for India, including foodstuff and beverages, agricultural products, textile and textile articles, base metals, electricals and electronic items, plastics and chemicals, wood and its articles.
Mauritius would benefit from preferential market access into India for 615 products, including frozen fish, speciality sugar, biscuits, fresh fruits, juices, mineral water, beer, alcoholic drinks, soaps, bags, medical and surgical equipment, and apparel.

Centre approves projects worth ₹363 crore in food processing sector

The Centre has approved projects worth ₹363.4 crore in the food processing space. The nod was given by the Inter-Ministerial Approval Committee chaired by the Union Minister of Food Processing Narendra Singh Tomar.
The proposals were received under the scheme for creation for infrastructure for Agro-Processing Cluster (APC) and the scheme for Creation/ Expansion of Food Processing and Preservation Capacities (CEFPPC) under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY), the official statement added.
Eleven proposals under the CEFPPC scheme, with a total project cost of ₹113.08 crore including grants-in-aid of ₹36.30 crore in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka, Mizoram & Gujarat have been approved. “These projects will leverage private investment of ₹76.78 crore and are expected to generate employment to 3700 persons & benefit 6800 farmers,” the statement added.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

Nasa rover prepares for first flight on Red planet Mars

After a seven-month journey, Nasa’s Perseverance rover is preparing to touch down on Mars on Thursday after first negotiating a risky landing procedure that will mark the start of its multi-year search for signs of ancient microbial life.
The Mars 2020 mission, which set off from Florida in late July, includes the largest ever vehicle to be dispatched to the Red Planet.
“Perseverance is NASA’s most ambitious Mars rover mission yet, focused scientifically on finding out whether there was ever any life on Mars in the past,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “To answer this question, the landing team will have its hands full getting us to Jezero Crater – the most challenging Martian terrain ever targeted for a landing.”
Jezero is a basin where scientists believe an ancient river flowed into a lake and deposited sediments in a fan shape known as a delta. Scientists think the environment here was likely to have preserved signs of any life that gained a foothold billions of years ago – but Jezero also has steep cliffs, sand dunes, and boulder fields.
Landing on Mars is difficult – only about 50% of all previous Mars landing attempts have succeeded – and these geological features make it even more so.
The Perseverance team is building on lessons from previous touchdowns and employing new technologies that enable the spacecraft to target its landing site more accurately and avoid hazards autonomously.

::SPORTS::

Djokovic into Australian Open final for 9th time

The top-ranked Djokovic is 8-0 in his previous trips to the final at Melbourne Park. He is also unbeaten in all nine semifinals he has contested in Australia.
Novak Djokovic reached the Australian Open final for the ninth time by beating No. 114-ranked Aslan Karatsev 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
The top-ranked Djokovic is 8-0 in his previous trips to the final at Melbourne Park. He is also unbeaten in all nine semifinals he has contested in Australia.