Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 22 December 2020

::NATIONAL::

High-level panel for commemoration of Subhas Chandra Bose’s 125th birth anniversary

The government has decided to constitute a high-level committee, headed by Home Minister Amit Shah, to decide on activities for a year-long commemoration of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's 125th birth anniversary starting next year.
The 125th birth anniversary of the noted freedom fighter and nationalist from West Bengal will fall on 23 January, 2022.
In a statement, the Ministry of Culture said the commemoration is being held as a tribute and a mark of gratitude to the colossal contribution Netaji made to India's freedom struggle.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also tweeted about the development. "Netaji Subhas Bose's bravery is well-known. A scholar, soldier & statesman par excellence, we are soon to commence his 125th Jayanti celebrations. For that, a high-level committee has been formed. Come, let us mark this special occasion in a grand manner.

Chennai Mathematical Institute to set up FC Kohli CoE for research

The Chennai Mathematical Institute will establish Dr FC Kohli Centre of Excellence for Advanced Research in Mathematical and Computing Sciences. It has a committed donation of ₹10 crore to establish the centre.
To augment this corpus, the institute will raise additional funds in honour of Kohli — founder and first CEO of Tata Consultancy Services and considered the father of Indian IT Industry. The Institute will establish a Centre of Excellence and Endowed Chairs, and provide grants for advanced research in data science, quantum computing and complexity theory, says a release from the institute.
Kohli’s efforts in working with different stakeholders — government, quasi-government bodies, technology majors, research labs and professional trade bodies — paved the way for India to emerge as a technology powerhouse that the world today admires, said N Lakshmi Narayanan, Managing Trustee, CMI.

Printed Study Materials for IBPS, SBI Bank Exam

::International::

Joint Statement - First India-Japan 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Meeting

Defence Minister of India, Mr. Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister of India, Dr. S. Jaishankar, met Foreign Affairs Minister of Japan, Mr. MOTEGI Toshimitsu, and Minister of Defense of Japan, Mr. KONO Taro, on 30 November 2019 in New Delhi for the first India-Japan 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Meeting.
The Ministers affirmed that this dialogue will further enhance the strategic depth of bilateral security and defence cooperation. Acknowledging emerging security challenges, the Ministers reiterated their commitment to advancing bilateral security cooperation based on the 2008 Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation and the 2009 Action Plan to advance Security Cooperation.
The Ministers welcomed the progress made in deepening bilateral defence cooperation last year. The Ministers noted with satisfaction that since last year India and Japan have initiated bilateral exercises between all three components of their defence forces. The Ministers shared the view to make continuous efforts for holding the bilateral exercises between the defence forces regularly and further expanding the same.
The Ministers welcomed the significant progress made in the negotiations of Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) since the announcement to commence the negotiations in October 2018.
The Ministers exchanged views on the recent developments in the South China Sea keeping in view also the Chairman's Statement of the 14th EAS. In this context, the Ministers reaffirmed the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight, unimpeded lawful commerce and peaceful resolution of disputes with full respect for legal and diplomatic processes in accordance with the universally recognized principles of international law, including those reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The Ministers also took note of the negotiations of a Code of Conduct (COC) and urged that it should be effective, substantive, and consistent with international law, including the UNCLOS, ensure freedom of navigation and must not prejudice the rights and interests of the stakeholders using the South China Sea and freedoms of all states under international law.

India and Israel sign agreement to expand cooperation in cyber security

India and Israel has indeed collaborated in the field of cyber security to further tackle the challenge of cuber security in the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic
This will enhance the exchange of technological assistance and mutual services towards each other, quoted in an MoU.
India and Israel have signed an agreement to further expand collaboration in dealing with cyber threats amid rapid digitisation due to the coronavirus pandemic that exposed the vulnerabilities of the virtual world.
The agreement was signed on Wednesday between the Director-General of Israel's National Cyber Directorate (INCD), Yigal Unna, and India's Ambassador to Israel, Sanjeev Singla.
“Cyber security is a growing and natural area of close cooperation between India and Israel. It has been emphasised strongly by our two Prime Ministers. And its relevance has been underscored by the latest COVID-19 pandemic.
Cyber security was identified as an important area of cooperation during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Israel in July 2017 and an agreement was signed between the two sides during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to India the following year.

::Economy::

Indian Army, Bank of Baroda sign MoU for ‘Baroda Military Salary Package’

The MoU was signed by Lt Gen Ravin Khosla, DG(MP&PS) and Vikramaditya Singh Khichi, Executive Director, Bank of Baroda in presence of Lt Gen Harsha Gupta, Adjutant General, Indian Army who also chaired the meeting.
The MoU lays down the basis on which banking services would be provided by Bank of Baroda to serving and retired personnel of Indian Army.
Services under ‘Baroda Military Salary Package’ will be offered to serving and retired personnel of Indian Army through the Bank’s network of over 8,200 domestic branches and around 20,000 business correspondent touchpoints, an official release said.
The package offers very attractive benefits including free Personal Accidental Insurance cover, Permanent Total Disability cover, Partial disability Cover and Air Accident Insurance Cover of sizeable amounts, as well as Higher Education Cover and Girl Child Marriage Cover on death in case of serving personnel.

::Science and Technology::

ISRO Launched CMS - 01 Satellite

The Indian Space Research Organization - ISRO launched a communications satellite CMS-01 on the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C50) of its Satish Dhawan Space Center in Andhra Pradesh.
Previously, in November 2020, ISRO launched India’s Earth observation satellite, EOS-01 and nine other customer satellites.
CMS-01 is a Communications satellite designed to provide services in extended C-Band Frequency Spectrum.
♦ C-band is the name of a portion of the Electromagnetic Spectrum in the microwave range in the frequency range of 4.0 to 8.0 gigahertz (GHz).
♦ Its coverage will include the Indian mainland as well as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Lakshadweep islands
♦ The lifetime of the satellite is expected to exceed more than 7 years.
♦ The satellite is precisely injected into its predefinedSub-Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). Finally, after a series of operations, it will be placed in a designated slot in the Geosynchronous orbit.
♦ CMS-01 will replace and enhance the service of GSAT-12.