Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 31 January 2021

::NATIONAL::

Union Budget 2021-22 will be presented in the Parliament

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to present Union Budget 2021-22 in Lok Sabha.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Budget in the Lok Sabha at 11 AM. The Union Budget this year for the first time will be available only in digital format.
It can be accessed through the mobile app UNION BUDGET both on android and iOS platform.
The App can also be downloaded from the Union Budget Web Portal (www.indiabudget.gov.in). The App has been developed by the National Informatics Centre under the guidance of the Department of Economic Affairs.
In his statement to the media before the commencement of the budget session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed confidence that the Budget 2021-22 would be seen as part of the packages announced by the Finance Minister over the past 10 months to offset the impact of Covid-induced lockdowns.

High Commission of India reopens all Visa centres in Bangladesh

All the Indian Visa Application Centres (IVAC) in Bangladesh have been reopened by the High Commision of India. Announcing this on Sunday, the High Commission of India informed that IVACs in Rajshahi and Chattogram Divisions which include Rangpur, Bogura,Thakurgaon, Noakhali, Comilla and Brahmanbaria centres are now open.
They are accepting all visa applications except Tourist Visas. With this all the IVACs in Bangladesh are now functional.
The IVACs were closed down earlier due to the Corona pandemic. The IVAC at Dhaka was opened for issuing of Visa under medical, business, employment, entry and journalist category in October this year.
It had remained closed for more than 6 months after the first Corona positive case was reported from Bangladesh in March and travel restrictions were announced by India.
Bangladesh sends the largest number of foreign tourists to India. A large number of Bangladeshi citizens visit India for medical purposes and as students.
In 2019, the High Commission of India had issued more than 16 lakh Visas to Bangladeshi nationals for travel to India under various categories.
Currently, all categories of visa except tourist Visas are being issued in Bangladesh by the Indian High Commission.

Printed Study Materials for IBPS, SBI Bank Exam

::International::

UN condemns arrests, military control in Myanmar

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the arrest of the civilian government authorities and taking over the control of the country by the military in Myanmar.
In a statement released by the spokesperson of the Secretary-General, he voiced grave concern regarding the declaration of the transfer of all legislative, executive and judicial powers to the military. He said these developments represent a serious blow to democratic reforms in Myanmar.
Endorsing the results of the Nov. 8 Union Elections, the Secretary-General urged the military leadership to respect the will of the people of Myanmar and adhere to democratic norms. He urged to resolve any differences through peaceful dialogue.
The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also condemned the Myanmar coup and imprisonment of Aung San Suu Kyi. He said that the vote of the people must be respected and civilian leaders released.
The US also expressed alarm at the arrest of the civilian leaders in Myanmar. A statement issued by the White House said that the US is monitoring the situation closely. The US has urged the military to release the detained leaders. The US has said that it opposes any attempt to alter the outcome of the recent elections and warned that it will take action against those responsible if these steps are not reversed.
India has also voiced its concern over the developments in Myanmar. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement that India has always been steadfast in its support to the process of democratic transition in Myanmar. It said that rule of law and the democratic process must be upheld.

::Economy::

PM Modi says India's 'self-reliant' budget brought in exceptional circumstances

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded India's budget for 2021-2022 introduced by the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. He said that it has been introduced in exceptional circumstances, hinting at the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic which ravagedthe country's economy.
"This budget will bring several positive changes for individuals, investors, industry and infrastructure sector. I congratulate FM Nirmala Ji and her team on this Budget," PM Modi said.
"There is also a sense of reality in it and confidence of development," he added.
Detailing the highlights of budgets, PM Modi said, "We have taken the approach of widening new opportunities for growth, new openings for our youth, a new high to human resources, develop new regions for infrastructure, walking towards technology and bring new reforms in this Budget."
While stating that his government has always tried keeping the budget transparent, PM Modi said, "The government, while keeping in sync with fiscal sustainability, stressed on increasing the Budget size, and did not put pressure on the citizens."

Budget Live: 'My Budget speaks for itself

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her third Budget, the Budget which was like never before, in Parliament. Her two-hour-long speech got disrupted when the ministers talked elaborately on farm sectors, on her government's commitment to farmers' benefit.
In her speech, she also mentioned 'privatisation' several times, which is being seen as a departure from the general practice as government shies away from mentioning the word.
This was the first digital Budget presentation, where the finance minister read out the speech from a tab, made in India. The electronic copies were distributed to members of Parliament.
"Farmers are protesting on borders. We can understand. If any farmer has any question, then the agriculture minister is ready to discuss point-by-point. PM Modi has already said that the proposal is on the table. I will reiterate that as I believe that consultation is the only way," Nirmala Sitharaman said.

::Science and tech::

ISRO chief inaugurates satellite developed by engineering students in Coimbatore

ISRO Chief K Sivan inaugurated a private satellite, developed by a group of 12 students of Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology at the cost of Rs 2.5 crore.
The academic satellite will be launched on February 28 from Sriharikota Range by PSLV C-15.
This is the first time that a satellite developed by a private institute. The satellite will study Internet of Things (IoT) among other subjects.

::SPORTS::

Khelo India Zanskar Winter Sports and Youth Festival 2021 concludes

The 13 day long Khelo India Zanskar winter sports and youth festival concluded at Zanskar Valley of the Union Territory of Ladakh.
The festival, first of its kind was organized by the Department of Sports & Youth Services under the Khelo India banner in collaboration with the Ladakh Tourism Department.
The festival was organised to showcase potential in adventure tourism and sports and aims to open a new arena in Ladakh for adventure and economy. It is one of the biggest events that has been organised to promote winter tourism in Ladakh. The 13day long festival was started on January 18th and concluded on Saturday, January 30th 2021.
Member of Parliament (MP) Ladakh Jamyang Tsering Namgyal was the chief guest on the occasion while Councillor Cha Constituency Stanzin Lakpa was guest of honor.
Member of Parliament Ladakh Jamyang Tsering Namgyal said that the event is a great achievement towards promoting winter sports and tourism in Ladakh. He elaborated that so far tourists would visit religious places and other sites only, but this event will change the scenario in terms of expansion of economic activities and tourism. He thanked and appreciated the role played by UT administration and other concerned departments in making the event a huge success.
MP said that in upcoming year the event will be prolonged for around 70 days including trekking on the Chadar Trek.