Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 20 January 2021

::NATIONAL::

In a move to encourage employment opportunities, Uttarakhand Government has announced that the number of working days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) will be increased from 100 to 150, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said on Monday.
While addressing the gathering at his office, Rawat said that government will increase the number of working days from 100 to 150 under MGNREGA and the entire cost will be borne by the state government.
This decision was taken during a meeting of the State Employment Guarantee Council held on Monday.
Uttarakhand is expected to conduct Assembly polls in 2022.
Rawat said, "Some districts have performed well in the state. I request all the districts to share their experiences with me. I have also instructed the district officers to review the quality of work being done under this scheme and submit me a report within 15 days."

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday laid foundation stone of Science City at Tepesia in the outskirts of the city for popularising science and technology at the grassroots. The Science City would be built for a total expenditure of Rs.
184 crore covering an area of 250 bighas of land and roads, drainage system etc. have already been completed there by the Government. The main building of the Science City would cost an amount of Rs. 110 crore and it being built jointly by National Council of Science Museum under the Cultural Affairs department of the Central Government and Science and Technology Department of the State government.
Both the Centre and the State governments would share the total cost of the construction of the science city in 90:10 ratio.
Speaking at the foundation stone laying programme, the Chief Minister said that 21st century is the age of science and technology and therefore, the young generation of the State must acquire knowledge in this field to become human resource of highest quality.
The State government is endeavouring to make Guwahati the gateway to entire South East Asia and that is why infrastructure is being developed in and around the city at a rapid pace, he added.

The Indian government Tuesday said that it has received several requests from neighbouring counties for the supply of Indian manufactured Covid-19 vaccines. Following the request, the government announced that it will supply COVID-19 vaccines under grant assistance to Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Seychelles from 20-01-2021.
The Ministry of External Affairs said India will supply COVID-19 vaccines to partner countries over the coming weeks and months in a phased manner keeping in view the domestic requirements.
MEA also said that India is awaiting confirmation of necessary regulatory clearances from Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Mauritius for supply of the vaccines

The Finance Ministry on Tuesday said Madhya Pradesh has been permitted to raise additional Rs 1,423 crore through market borrowing after the state implemented power sector reforms. In a statement, the ministry said Madhya Pradesh has started Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) of electricity subsidy to farmers in one district of the state with effect from December 2020.
Successful implementation of the reform has made the state eligible to mobilise additional financial resources equivalent to 0.15 per cent of its Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).
"Accordingly, the Department of Expenditure has granted permission to the State to mobilise additional financial resources of Rs 1,423 crore through Open Market Borrowings.
The Centre had in May last year enhanced the borrowing limit of the states by 2 per cent of their GSDP. Half of this special dispensation was linked to undertaking citizen-centric reforms by the states. The states get permission to raise additional funds equivalent to 0.25 per cent of GSDP on completion of reforms in each sector.
The four citizen-centric areas identified for reforms were (a) Implementation of One Nation One Ration Card System, (b) Ease of doing business reform, (c) Urban Local body/ utility reforms and (d) Power Sector reforms.

The Central government has decided to prevent flipping of startups in order to boost the domestic ecosystem.
A National Startup Advisory Council has been set up to advise the government on measures related to growth and development of Startups.
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) had set up the National Startup Advisory Council a year back to advise the government on measures needed to build an ecosystem for nurturing innovation and startups in the country.
DPIIT in a statement said today that panel of members constituting the council will suggest measures to foster a culture of innovation among citizens and students in particular, promote innovation in all sectors and across semi-urban and rural areas, promote creation, protection and commercialization of intellectual property rights and make it easier to start, operate, grow and exit businesses by reducing regulatory compliances and costs.

A KAIST team's mathematical modelling has revealed that efficient brain circuitry develops spontaneously by showing that the topographic tiling of cortical maps originates from bottom-up projections from the periphery.
This new finding provides advanced insights into the mechanisms underlying a biological strategy of brain circuitry for the efficient tiling of sensory modules. The study was published in Cell Reports.
Researchers have explained how the regularly structured topographic maps in the visual cortex of the brain could arise spontaneously to efficiently process visual information. This research provides a new framework for understanding functional architectures in the visual cortex during early developmental stages.
A KAIST research team led by Professor Se-Bum Paik from the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering has demonstrated that the orthogonal organization of retinal mosaics in the periphery is mirrored onto the primary visual cortex and initiates the clustered topography of higher visual areas in the brain.

Team India created history by winning its second consecutive Test series Down Under and etched their names in the history books, and made it a series to remember for ages.
The Ajinkya Rahane-led side won the fourth and final Test against Australia to clinch the series 2-1 and retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy.
Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21:
India captain Ajinkya Rahane collects the trophy
Player of the match in Brisbane Test: Rishabh Pant
Player of the tournament: Pat Cummins