Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 23 April 2021

::NATIONAL::

The Centre directed states to ensure uninterrupted production and supply of medical oxygen and its transport along inter-state borders and said the district magistrate and superintendent of police of the district concerned will be held responsible if there is any violation of its order.
The directive under the stringent Disaster Management Act 2005 was issued by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla in the wake of reports that some states blocked supply of medical oxygen to other states amid sudden spike in coronavirus cases and demand for it.
Bhalla said the availability of adequate and uninterrupted supply of medical oxygen is an important pre-requisite for managing moderate and severe cases of COVID-19 and with the increasing cases, the medical oxygen supply will need to keep pace with the requirements of the states and union territories.

President Biden invited 40 world leaders to the Leaders’ Summit on Climate he will host on April 22 and 23. The virtual Leaders’ Summit will be live streamed for public viewing.
President Biden took action his first day in office to return the United States to the Paris Agreement. Days later, on January 27, he announced that he would soon convene a leader’s summit to galvanize efforts by the major economies to tackle the climate crisis.
The Leaders’ Summit on Climate will underscore the urgency – and the economic benefits – of stronger climate action. It will be a key milestone on the road to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) this November in Glasgow.
In recent years, scientists have underscored the need to limit planetary warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius in order to stave off the worst impacts of climate change. A key goal of both the Leaders’ Summit and COP26 will be to catalyze efforts that keep that 1.5-degree goal within reach.

S&P Global Ratings said the Indian economy is projected to grow at 11 per cent in the current fiscal, but flagged the "substantial" impact of broader lockdowns on the economy.
In its report on Asia-Pacific Financial Institutions, S&P said the control of COVID-19 remains a key risk for the economy. New infections have spiked in recent weeks and the country is in the middle of a second pandemic wave.
"Our forecast growth of 11 per cent for India in 2021 is followed by a 6.1 per cent-6.4 per cent forecast increase for the next couple of years... Some targeted lockdowns have already been implemented and more will likely be needed.
The impact of broader lockdowns on the economy could be substantial, depending on their length and scope," it said.

The country needs over USD 400 billion in capital investment which could save over 100 GW of energy and 1.1 billion tonne of greenhouse gasses between 2015 and 2030, if it goes ahead with the measures to control pollution under the Paris climate agreement, says a report.
Since the country is set to far exceed most of its 2015 Paris Agreement targets on climate change, analysts are keenly watching whether India raises its pollution curtailment targets or signals a 'net carbon neutrality' deadline at the two-day Climate Summit that began on Thursday.
The government's push towards blending ethanol up to 25 per cent and move towards green hydrogen are encouraging, Bank of America Securities said in a note -- which is the Earth Day and also the opening day of the two-day climate summit being pushed by US President Joe Biden.
'Over 2015-30, India could drive USD401 billion in capex, which could lead to over 106 gw in energy savings, and 1.1 billion tonne per annum reduction in Co2 and impacting 99 stocks with a market capitalisation of USD 1.4 trillion,' BofA said in a note.

NASA’s Perseverance rover has been marking milestones on Mars since landing on the Red Planet in February. Its latest historic accomplishment is the first creation of oxygen from carbon dioxide in the thin Mars atmosphere. Mission time is measured in sols, or Martian days. Oxygen production was achieved early in the evening of April 20, or early morning on Sol 60 in Jezero Crater.
MOXIE (Mars Oxygen In-situ Resource Utilization Experiment), a small, gold box-shaped instrument on the rover, successfully demonstrated a solid oxide electrolysis technology for converting the Martian atmosphere to oxygen. The atmosphere on Mars is about 95% carbon dioxide.
MOXIE’s first oxygen run produced 5.4 grams of oxygen in an hour. The power supply limits potential production to 12 g/hr — about the same amount that a large tree would produce.

Seven Indian women boxers clinched gold medals in their respective weight categories on the penultimate day of the 2021 AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships in Kielce, Poland on Thursday.
Gitika (48kg), NaoremBabyrojisanaChanu (51kg), Poonam (57kg), Vinka (60kg), ArundhatiChoudhary (69kg), T SanamachaChanu (75kg) and AlfiyaPathan (+81kg) will return home as champions.
The Indian women boxers thus finished as the No. 1 team in the ongoing championship. Their previous best effort at the youth world meet was five golds in the 2017 edition in Guwahati.