Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 21 January 2021

::NATIONAL::

Ahead of NetajiSubhas Chandra Bose's 125th birth anniversary celebrations, Railway Minister PiyushGoyal said that the Howrah-Kalka Mail has been renamed as 'Netaji Express'.
“Indian Railways is happy to announce the naming of 12311/12312 Howrah-Kalka Express as “Netaji Express” Netaji’sprakram had put India on the express route of freedom and development,” the ministry of railways said.
Goyal tweeted: "Netaji's 'prakram' (valour) put India on the express route of freedom and development. I am thrilled to celebrate his birth anniversary with the introduction of 'Netaji Express'."
Karnataka most innovative major state: NITI index
Karnataka has been ranked the most innovative among major states by the NITI Aayog while Delhi topped the category among Union Territories. Delhi also stood out as the top performer among both states and UTs.
These rankings were part of NITI Aayog’s India Innovation Index Report 2020, released by Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar. The exercise was initiated in 2019 and is on the lines of the Global Innovation Index (GII), which ranks countries annually.
The framework of the index includes globally considered parameters for measuring innovation, such as the percentage of GDP spent on research and development, while keeping them specific to the Indian economy.
In 2015, India ranked 81 among 141 countries in the GII. By 2020 it ranked 48 among 131 countries.

The Supreme People’s Procuratorate had decided to arrest Hu Wenming, the former party chief and chairman of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, over suspicion of taking bribes and abuse of power.
The former chief of China’s multi-billion dollar aircraft carrier programme and head of one of the largest shipping companies will be arrested on charges of corruption, the state media reported on 21-01-2021.
The investigation was completed by China’s top disciplinary authority and his case has been transferred to the Supreme People’s Procuratorate for prosecution, an official media report said.
As the chief commander of China’s ambitious and rapidly developing aircraft carrier programme, Hu oversaw the development of the country’s first domestically developed aircraft carrier and the second one, named “Shandong” when it was commissioned into the Chinese Navy in December 2019.
Hu retired from CSIC shortly before it merged back with its parent company, the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), forming one of the world’s largest shipbuilders.

In a significant decision the J&K Administrative Council in its meeting on Friday approved the proposal for development of 850 MW Rattle Hydroelectric Project in Joint Venture Mode by NHPC and JKSPDC.
The Rs 5,300 croreproject would be executed by a new Joint Venture Company-Jammu Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited to be formed between the JK Power Development Corporation (JKPDC) and the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC).
The equity contribution of JKPDC in the company pegged at Rs 776.44 crore will be provided as grant from the Government of India.
"The decisions will pave the way for an early beginning of work on the project. All the clearances for the project are already in place; hence the project is expected to be completed within 36 months of the start of work," an official statement said.
The Government of J&K had been consistently arguing for execution of the work in the JV mode as agreed in the Feb 2109 MoU.
J&K has over 20,000 MW of hydro power potential, out of which 16,000 MW has been identified. While the 1,000 MW PakalDul project and 624 MW Kiru are already under execution by Chenab Valley Power Project Private Limited (CVPPL), a Joint Venture of JKSPDC, NHPC and PTC India limited, the 540 MW Kwar is likely to be taken up shortly.

India’s fuel sales faltered in the first fortnight of January as festive and holiday season demands evaporated, indicating the economy may be pausing to catch its breath.
Latest market data shows diesel demand falling 3.5% short of the same period of 2020. This shows a slowing demand as compared to December when sales had risen to 97% of the pre-pandemic level.
Jet fuel sales were 48% down from the same period of 2020 as the number of flights still remained curtailed. Here too signs of faltering demand become evident, considering sales were only 43% short of the pre-pandemic level in December. Compared to the first fortnight of December, sales were down nearly 5% in the period under review.
Diesel consumption, one of the key barometers of economic activity, had covered slack to reach 97% of the year-ago period in December. It had dropped 7% from the year-ago period in November after shooting past the pre-pandemic level for the first time in eight months in October by clocking a 6% year-on-year growth.

The 24-nation tournament, a major revenue generator for European football's governing body and the national federations, was postponed by 12 months due to the pandemic.
Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said UEFA President AleksanderCeferin is weighing up whether to stage the European Championship in one country this summer rather than across the continent as planned due to COVID-19 concerns.
"We must not forget that the idea of this special hosting of the tournament came about when the coronavirus didn't exist ... it was an initiative of the EU Commission that wanted to have football shown all over Europe," he told German newspaper MuenchnerMerkur/TZ.