Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 28 January 2021

::NATIONAL::

Covid-19: Govt extends guidelines till Feb-end

The Central government extended the Covid-19 guidelines till 28 February, 2021 as well as maintained strict surveillance and caution during this period. The new guidelines, which permits most activities outside containment zones, will come into effect from 1 February and will remain in force till the end of the month, the Ministry of Home Affairs stated.
"The main focus of the Guidelines is to consolidate the substantial gains that have been achieved against the spread of COVID-19 which is visible in the steady decline in number of active and new cases in the country over the last four months," MHA said in a statement.

The statue of Govind Ballabh Pant was unveiled in Delhi

The statue was the first to be moved out as construction for the new Parliament complex began on January 15.
Freedom fighter and late former Union home minister Govind Ballabh Pant’s nine-foot-tall statue relocated from the Parliament complex will be unveiled on Wednesday at a roundabout facing the Gurudwara Rakab Ganj on New Delhi’s Pandit Pant Marg.
Mahatma Gandhi’s iconic 16-feet bronze statue in the complex was last week shifted prematurely from its place facing the main gate to a space overlooking gate number 3. It is eventually planned to be installed just outside the current Parliament building, where Govind Ballabh Pant statue stood.

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::International::

India signs MoU with IEA for global energy security, sustainability

India inked a strategic partnership agreement with the International Energy Agency (IEA) to strengthen cooperation in global energy security, stability and sustainability.
This partnership will lead to an extensive exchange of knowledge and would be a stepping stone towards India becoming a full member of IEA, a power ministry statement said.
"The Framework for Strategic Partnership between the IEA members and the Government of India was signed on 27th January, 2021 to strengthen mutual trust and cooperation & enhance global energy security, stability and sustainability," it said.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Power Secretary Sanjiv Nandan Sahai and IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.
"The contents of the strategic partnership will be jointly decided by IEA members and India, including a phased increase in benefits and responsibilities for India as an IEA strategic partner, and building on existing areas of work within Association and the Clean Energy Transitions Programme, such as Energy Security, Clean & Sustainable Energy...Expansion of gas-based economy in India etc," it said.

::Economy::

Ministry of Textiles signs MoU with Japan's Nisenken Quality Assessment Center

A formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony was held between Textiles Committee, Ministry of Textiles and Nissenken Quality Evaluation Centre Japan.
The MoU is to provide required support to textile’s trade and industry for ensuring quality as per the requirement of Japanese buyers through testing, inspection & conformity assessment, training & capacity building, R&D and consultancy.
The MoU is also expected to strengthen the bilateral trade by enhancing India’s export of textile and apparels to Japan, which is the third largest export destination of the world.
India is 6th largest exporter and there is huge untapped potential for trade which remains unharnessed.
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister in its meeting held on 2 September 2020 had given the approval for signing of a MoU between the two organisations.
The signing ceremony was presided over by Minister of Textiles Smriti Irani on the Indian side and Yasumasa Nagasaka, State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Govt. of Japan from the Japanese side.
This MoU will formalise mutual interaction and strengthen the relationship in accordance with their respective areas of specialisation.
Both the institutions have agreed to share and exchange relevant technical information and documentation on a regular basis and carry out activities relating to standards, quality assurance norms, joint research projects on testing, development of user-friendly tools for dissemination of data to the industry and facilitate sourcing across the textiles value chain (TVC) from both the countries.

International Customs Day was observed on 27 January

January 26 is celebrated as the International Customs Day (ICD). It is the day designated to honour the custom officials and agencies for their function in taking care of the flow of goods across the world borders.
In simpler words, it is the day to commemorate the vital role of customs officials in handling the entire flow of goods across international borders. They ensure that world trade management is safe and secured.
The flow of goods (ranging from personal items, animals, precarious objects) in and out of the country is monitored by the customs. The aim of this agency is to safely bridge gaps while borders continue to demarcate. The agencies believe that by lending support and guidance to the customs administration process, they connect countries.
Customs management works towards creating a sustainable future by facilitating economic, social, environmental needs in the process.
The day is celebrated by giving due importance to the customs employees; by organising appreciation events whereby officials are recognized for their contribution, exceptional service in the domain.
Through speeches, conducting workshops, educational seminars the occasion finds its proper culmination.

::Science and tech::

Blood stem cells maintain their lifelong potential for self-renewal

A team of scientists has discovered that cells in the so-called "stem cell niche" are responsible for the lifelong self-renewal capacity.
The study on mice stem cells suggested that the blood vessel cells of the niche produce a factor that stimulates blood stem cells and thus maintains their self-renewal capacity. However, during aging, the production of this factor ceases and blood stem cells begin to age.
The study led by scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine* (HI-STEM) was published in the journal Nature Communications.
Throughout life, blood stem cells in the bone marrow ensure that our body is adequately supplied with mature blood cells. If there is no current need for cell replenishment, the blood stem cells remain in a deep sleep to protect themselves from damage to the genome, which can lead to cancer.
Blood loss, infections, and inflammations act like an alarm clock: immediately, the blood stem cells begin to divide and produce new cells - for example, to provide immune cells to fight viruses or to compensate for a loss of red blood cells or platelets. With each cell division, the stem cells always regenerate themselves as well, so that the stem cell pool is maintained. This is what scientists call self-renewal.
"The dormancy is the prerequisite for this unique ability of stem cells," explained Andreas Trumpp, a stem cell expert at DKFZ and HI-STEM.

::SPORTS::

Juventus, Atalanta reach Italian Cup semifinals

Juventus eased past second-division team Spal 4-0 Wednesday to reach the Italian Cup semifinals despite resting regulars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala.
Alvaro Morata and Gianluca Frabotta scored first-half goals for Juventus while Dejan Kulusevski and Federico Chiesa added late strikes.
Morata converted a penalty after a foul on Adrien Rabiot before Frabotta added the second in the 33rd minute.
Kulusevski scored Juve's third in the 78th on a counterattack after being set up by Chiesa, who completed the rout in injury time by dribbling around the goalkeeper to deposit the ball into an empty net.