Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 31 December 2021

::National::

Kerala governor refuses to accept HC notice on V-C’s reappointment

Kerala governor Arif Mohammad Khan clarified that he will not return as the chancellor and has asked the PinarayiVijayan led-government to deal with the notice issued by the Kerala high court seeking clarification on the re-appointment of Kannur vice-chancellor GopinathRaveendran.
Talking to newsmen Khan said he abdicated his position as the chancellor on December 8 and there is no plan to withdraw the decision. “The court has issued notice to the chancellor, not Arif Mohammad Khan. You know, from Dec 8 onwards I am not the chancellor,” he said, suggesting the tiff with the Communist Party of India (Maoist) or CPI (M) government is far from over.
Earlier, he had asked his office not to accept any files regarding universities in the state. “I am no more in that position. Let the government decide,” he said.
Governor Khan reappointed Raveendran as the Kannur University V-C for four more years on November 24, the first in the state’s higher education sector history, despite the government constituting a search committee to select a new candidate. Khan had pointed out that the government “pressurized him to sign the re-appointment order”.
On December 8, Khan sent a strongly-worded letter to CM PinarayiVijayan, saying that he was hurt over the “dipping standard” of the higher education sector and blamed “brazen political interference” as a reason in varsities for this. He asked the government to take up the chancellor’s post if political interference continued and he can’t bend further. He also slammed state higher education minister R Bindhu for prompting Raveendran’s reappointment through several letters.
After the reappointment of Kannur VC, syndicate member DrPremachandran K and academic council member Shino Jose moved the high court to quash the re-appointment. But on December 15, the court rejected the plea after the government contended that all procedures were met by the governor. After the governor’s outburst, an appeal was filed in the division bench, which sent notices to all respondents, including Khan.

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::International::

Indonesia to lift ban on Boeing 737 MAX

Indonesia is rescinding its ban on Boeing 737 Max aircrafts three years after the fatal crash into the Java Sea that killed all 189 passengers on one plane. Indonesia's government is the latest to end its grounding of the Boeing aircrafts after the 2018 Lion Air flight crash and another Ethiopian Airlines flight crash in 2019 killed a total of 346 people.
Investigators determined the crashes were caused by a computer system that tipped the noses of the aircrafts down while in flight, an issue those pilots could not override. Boeing had completed technical upgrades on the planes to remedy the flaw.
The Transportation Ministry said in a statement that the lifting of the ban is effective immediately and came after a regulator evaluation of the aircraft system changes,
Before the aircrafts will be allowed to operate in Indonesia, airlines will have to carry out airworthiness directives, Indonesia's Transportation Ministry said in a statement Wednesday. NovieRiyanto, the ministry's director-general of Civil Aviation, said that the planes will also have to undergo inspections before they can start flying in Indonesia again.
Several flight operators have stated that they have carried out airworthiness orders for 737 MAX aircraft, in accordance with FAA provisions and will prepare training and simulators at the nearest facility, in Singapore," Riyanto said.
The lifting of the ban was effective immediately and it follows the evaluation of changes to the aircraft's system by regulators, the ministry said in a statement.
Sahadi was referring to complaints by some families of crash victims that a $2.5 billion settlement between Boeing and the U.S.

::Economy::

Fully support idea of deploying 5G 'small cells' on electric poles: COAI

Industry body COAI on Thursday said it fully supports the idea of deploying 5G 'small cells' on electric poles.
The association noted that a key driver of effective 5G implementation is deployment of small cells which is a critical part of upgrading and expanding 4G networks.
"In line with this, the committee led by Senior DDG, Kerala LSA, and members from State Electricity Department and COAI, telecom service providers and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) provided a concrete proposal for the use of electric pole for 5G small cell deployment," SP Kochhar, director general of COAI said in a statement.
COAI emphasised that to combat the challenges of laying aerial OFC (optical fibre cable), which serves as the backbone for 'small cell towers', it is important to enable initiatives for sharing existing infrastructure.
"...we completely support the idea of deploying 5G small cells on electric poles and have provided the international best practices to the committee," Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) said.
"With regard to the deployment of small cells over poles, we're in close contact with Department of Telecom and coordinating with OEMs to provide inputs on technical specifications, aesthetics, power requirements, backhaul requirements," it added.

Firms can submit proposals for semiconductor fabs, display units from Jan 1

Information Technology Minister AshwiniVaishnaw launched the India Semiconductor Mission on Wednesday. Speaking to journalists, Vaishnaw said that companies which are interested in tapping the Rs 76,000-crore incentives earmarked, by the centre, for development of semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystem in India can begin applying for the same from January 1.
“The schemes have been notified and uploaded on the website. A portal for the same has been prepared for receiving the applications. Come January 1, 2022 onwards, we will start receiving the applications,” Vaishnaw said.
The India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) is a specialized and independent Business Division within the Digital India Corporation. It has been institutionalised with the aim to build a vibrant semiconductor and display ecosystem to enable India’s emergence as a global hub for electronics manufacturing and design.
The mission is authorized to negotiate with the applicants under the Semiconductor Fab Scheme and the Display Fab Scheme. This mission has been given the autonomy to decide the appropriate technology mix, applications, node generation, capacity, among.
These schemes were among the four notified by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on December 21. A fiscal support of up to 50 per cent of the project cost has been approved for setting up certain variants of silicon-based semiconductor fab in India. According to the policy notification, the financial support is for six years from the date of approval. Semiconductor Fabs set up in India will also be eligible for a purchase preference in procurement of electronic products by the government.

::Science and tech::

Iran state TV says Tehran launched rocket into space

Iran announced it launched a satellite carrier rocket bearing three devices into space, though it's unclear whether any of the objects entered orbit around the Earth.
The state TV report, as well as others by Iran's semiofficial news agencies, did not say when the launch was conducted nor what devices the carrier brought with it. However, the launch comes amid difficult negotiations in Vienna over Iran's tattered nuclear deal.
Previous launches have drawn rebukes from the United States. The U.S. State Department, Space Force and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Ahmad Hosseini, a Defense Ministry spokesman, identified the rocket as a Simorgh, or “Phoenix,” rocket. He said the three devices were sent up 470 kilometers (290 miles).
Hosseini was quoted as saying the “performance of the space center and the performance of the satellite carrier was done properly.” He described the launch as “initial," suggesting more are on the way.
However, officials were silent on whether the launched objects had actually reached orbit. Iran's civilian space program has suffered a series of setbacks in recent years, including fatal fires and a launchpad rocket explosion that drew the attention of former President Donald Trump.
Iranian state media recently offered a list of upcoming planned satellite launches for the Islamic Republic’s civilian space program. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard runs its own parallel program that successfully put a satellite into orbit last year.

::Sport::

‘An attack that can pick 20 wickets anywhere in the world’: Sachin Tendulkar

ViratKohli's unit scripted history on Thursday as he led India to their maiden Test win at Centurion. As India chase for their first-ever Test series win on South African soil, Kohli and co kicked-off their campaign on a strong note and went to secure a resounding 113 runs win in the opening encounter.
Moments after India's win, Kohli's unit was showered with praises from the game's legend as Sachin Tendulkar, SouravGanguly and other ex-India cricketers took to Twitter to laud the team's achievement.
The contest at Centurion saw KL Rahul flourishing with the bat yet again in an overseas Test, as he scored a ton to lay the perfect foundation for the bowlers to build on. Meanwhile with the ball it was Mohammed Shami, who completed a five-wicket haul and also joined the 200 Test wickets club.