Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 15 January 2021

::NATIONAL::

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had approved the Oxford University-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, which has been manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) and marketed as Covishield, and indigenously-developed Covaxin of Bharat Biotech for restricted emergency use in the country earlier this month.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually launch India's vaccination drive against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on Saturday as around 100 beneficiaries will be vaccinated at over 3,000 session sites across the country, the government has said.
"This vaccination programme is based on the principles of priority groups to be vaccinated and Health Care workers, both in government and private sectors including ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services) workers, will receive the vaccine during this phase.

In December 2020, the government had proposed to set up a "first of its kind" university covering the entire gamut of disability studies and rehabilitation sciences in an accessible environment.
Disability rights groups have sought withdrawal of a government proposal to set up a university for disability studies and rehabilitation sciences, saying it will take them backwards by promoting exclusion and segregation instead of inclusion.
Different disability rights groups including National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People and National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled have written to Shakuntala D Gamlin, secretary of Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry, opposing the move.
In December 2020, the government had proposed to set up a "first of its kind" university covering the entire gamut of disability studies and rehabilitation sciences in an accessible environment.

Nepal has reported 266,816 cases and 1,948 deaths from Covid-19 so far, according to official data.
Nepal on Friday granted approval for AstraZeneca's COVISHIELD vaccine against the novel coronavirus in the country.
"Conditional permission has been granted for emergency use authorization of COVISHIELD vaccine against Covid-19 in Nepal," a statement by the country's Department of Drug Administration said.
Nepal has reported 266,816 cases and 1,948 deaths from Covid-19 so far, according to official data.

In the budget speech, the Kerala finance minister Thomas Issac also criticised the Centre’s move to put severe restrictions on states for borrowing.
Three industrial corridors, a hike in welfare pension, free ration and several programmes for ailing tourism sector were some of the measures announced by Kerala finance minister Thomas Issac in the state budget for 2021-22.
Presenting the last budget of the Pinarayi Vijayan government, the state is set to go to polls in the next few months, he said money won’t be a constraint for welfare measures and some of the new measures will inject fresh blood into the state’s consumerist economy reeling under the impact of Covid-19. The minister said free food kits being distributed in the wake of the pandemic will continue for some more time and 50 lakh families will get additional rice for ₹15 and 10 a kg, respectively.
Though the minister announced three industrial corridors worth ₹5,000 crore he did not specify how funds will be met for this. In the budget speech, he also criticised the Centre’s move to put severe restrictions on states for borrowing.

The RBI is draining excess cash after money-market rates crashed way below its 3.35%-4.00% interest-rate corridor late last year, spurring calls from investors for it to remedy a situation that could distort banks’ asset pricing.
India’s central bank drained 2 trillion rupees ($27.4 billion) from the banking system on Friday, as it seeks to push up money-market rates that had crashed below the reverse repo rate.
The cutoff for the 14-day reverse repurchase operation was set at 3.55%, 20 basis points higher than the central bank’s reverse repo rate of 3.35%. A Bloomberg poll of seven traders had estimated it at 3.50%. The central bank got bids worth 3.06 trillion rupees, it said.
The RBI is draining excess cash after money-market rates crashed way below its 3.35%-4.00% interest-rate corridor late last year, spurring calls from investors for it to remedy a situation that could distort banks’ asset pricing. Too sharp a rise could drive volatility, though, and raise concerns that the central bank is withdrawing stimulus support.

Inspired by the color-changing skin of cuttlefish, octopuses and squids, Rutgers engineers have created a 3D-printed smart gel that changes shape when exposed to light, becomes “artificial muscle” and may lead to new military camouflage, soft robotics, and flexible displays.
The engineers also developed a 3D-printed stretchy material that can reveal colors when light changes, according to their study in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
Their invention is modeled after the amazing ability of cephalopods such as cuttlefish, octopuses, and squids to change the color and texture of their soft skin for camouflage and communication. This is achieved by the thousands of color-changing cells, called chromatophores, in their skin.
“Electronic displays are everywhere and despite remarkable advances, such as becoming thinner, larger and brighter, they’re based on rigid materials, limiting the shapes they can take and how they interface with 3D surfaces,” said senior author Howon Lee, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in the School of Engineering at Rutgers University–New Brunswick. “Our research supports a new engineering approach featuring camouflage that can be added to soft materials and create flexible, colorful displays.”

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) on Friday said it has approved the appointment of Belarus' Nikolai Snesarev as the middle and long-distance coach of the Indian athletics team, little less than two years after he quit the post.
The 72-year-old has been appointed till the end of September, a period which will include the Tokyo Olympics scheduled to take place in July-August.
He will be coaching 3000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable, who has already qualified for the Olympics, and other middle and long-distance runners in their bid to qualify for the Tokyo Games.