Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 26 August 2021

::NATIONAL::

Ministry of Jal Shakti launched 'Sujalam' campaign

The Ministry of Jal Shakti began ‘SUJALAM’, a ‘100 days campaign’ as part of the ‘AzadiKaAmritMahotsav’ celebrations to create more and more ODF Plus villages by undertaking waste water management at village level particularly through creation of 1 million Soak-pits and also other Grey water management activities.
The effort of campaign would be directed towards achieving the ODF plus status for villages across the country in an accelerated manner in a short time. The Campaign has started from today i.e. 25th August, 2021 and will continue to run for the next 100 days.
The campaign will not only build desired infrastructure i.e. soak pit for management of greywater in villages but will also aid in sustainable management of waterbodies.
The disposal of waste water and clogging of waterbodies in the villages or on the outskirts of the villages remain one of the major problems. The Campaign would help in management of the wastewater and in turn would help to revive the waterbodies.
The Campaign would use the platform of awareness and behaviour change achieved during the first phase of the SBMG and provide focus for sustaining the same along with achieving the visual cleanliness by the way of SLW Management.
The key activities that will be organised in the villages under this campaign include:
Organizing Community consultations, KhuliBaithaks and Gram Sabha meetings to analyze the current situation
Pass resolution to maintain ODF sustainability and achieve needed number of soak pits to manage the grey water
Develop a 100 days’ plan to undertake sustainability and soak pit construction related activities
Construct requisite number of soak pits
Retrofit toilets where needed through IEC and community mobilization and
Ensure all newly emerging Households in the village have access to toilets.

Printed Study Materials for IBPS, SBI Bank Exam

::International::

Covid-19 origin probe 'stalled', window of opportunity closing fast: WHO experts

The search for the origins of the Covid pandemic that has killed millions and crippled economies is at a standstill even as time is running out, scientists charged with the task by the UN warned.
An initial report by the team of independent, international experts sent to China by the World Health Organization in January concluded that it was most likely that the SARS-CoV-2 virus jumped from bats to humans via an intermediate animal.
A competing hypothesis that the virus somehow leaked from a lab, like the specialised virology laboratory in Wuhan, was deemed "extremely unlikely".
But in a comment in the journal Nature, 11 of the 17 scientists on that mission said it was only intended as a "first step in a process that has stalled."
"The search for the origins of SARS-CoV-2 is at a critical juncture," they wrote.
"The window of opportunity for conducting this crucial inquiry is closing fast."

::Economy::

Ministry of Electronics and IT launches SAMRIDH program

Startups are new types of wealth creators in our country, Prime Minister NarendraModi said in his Independence Day speech on 15 August, 2021, underscoring the need of the government to relentlessly work towards making India’s Startups and the Startup Ecosystem the best in the whole world. This vision of Prime Minister was also emphasised by Electronics and Information Technology Minister ShriAshwiniVaishnaw in a recent event whereby he stated, “Government will support startups and entrepreneurs in the most challenging phase which is the initial risk phase and also stated to serve 1.3 billion people India will scale up the network of incubators and accelerators to phenomenal levels.”
Above statements of ShriAshwiniVaishnaw today have taken the shape of “Start-up Accelerators of MeitY for pRoduct Innovation, Development and growth (SAMRIDH)”programme, which was launched today by Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology so as to create a conducive platform to Indian Software Product star-ups to enhance their products and securing investments for scaling their business. The programme is being implemented by MeitY Start-up Hub (MSH).
Speaking at the launch of SAMRIDH Scheme, ShriVaishnaw, said that the initiative will not only provide the funding support to the startups but will also help in bringing skill sets together which will help them to become successful. Reiterating the vision of Prime Minister, he stated that technology and energy of youngsters is a great potential source of energy for inclusive development.
The Minister, further said thatour society as we stand today requires lots of initiatives, new products and new services which will create a better life for the marginalized sections of the society and for those who are at bottom of pyramid and are living in remote parts of country, where main stream development has eluded them.
The technology can play a role in accelerating and in taking the quantum jump in reaching out to people which would have taken many years. Using the energy of startups these areas can be reached within months. He said, “Employment in traditional as well as new age industries is a stated mission of our government and is also the vision of Prime Minister ShriNarendraModi. Initiatives and schemes like SAMRIDH will helpaccelerate the implementation of that vision.”

::Science and tech::

Blue Origin to launch New Shepard spacecraft

Jeff Bezos’ space flight company Blue Origin is all set to launch its New Shepard (NS) spacecraft on Thursday from West Texas. The spacecraft will fly a NASA lunar landing technology demonstration on the exterior of the booster, and commercial and NASA-supported payloads inside the crew capsule, the company said in a statement.
“This will be the 4th flight for the New Shepard program this year and the 8th flight for this particular vehicle, which is dedicated to flying scientific and research payloads to space and back,” Blue Origin said in a statement on August 23.
The New Shepard spacecraft had flown Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark, Wally Funk, and a fourth passenger to space in July. Till date, the spacecraft has flown more than 100 payloads to space across 11 flights. New Shepard is a 60-foot-tall and fully autonomous rocket-and-capsule combo that cannot be piloted from inside the spacecraft. The launch will be webcasted live on the company’s website.

::Sports::

Sporjo secures $2mn in Pre Series A funding and joins hands with Leander Paes

Founded in May last year by G Srinivvasan—a sports industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience—Sporjo is a one-stop destination for building a successful career in the Indian sports industry.
India’s fastest growing sports edtech startup Sporjo has announced its association with the Indian tennis great Leander Paes and also stated that the company has raised $2 million in a Pre Series A round led by a private investor PunitBalan of PunitBalan Group &PunitBalan Studios, in participation with other private investors.