Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 24 February 2021

::NATIONAL::

Cabinet approves President's Rule in Puducherry

Announcing the Cabinet decision, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters that the decision was taken as no party claimed to form a government in Puducherry following the resignation of the chief minister there.
After the President's assent, the assembly will get resolved, Javadekar said, while adding that further necessary steps for administrative work in Puducherry would be taken soon.
He also noted that the model code of conduct was expected to come into effect soon after the Election Commission announces the dates for elections there, along with four states.

5 top-performing states under PM-Kisan scheme

Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar awarded five states for effectively implementing the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi or PM-Kisan scheme as it completed two years.
This flagship scheme of the Narendra Modi government was launched on February 24, 2019. Under this initiative, ₹6,000 is disbursed to farmers with cultivable landholdings, through direct benefit transfer mode in three instalments of ₹2,000 each.
The states highlighted by the agriculture minister for their performance are:
Karnataka: In terms of the highest number of beneficiaries authenticated under the PM-Kisan scheme, Karnataka emerged as the winner with 97 per cent authentication. According to official data, over 90 per cent of beneficiaries have been successfully receiving the benefits of the scheme
Maharashtra: Maharashtra received an award for effective physical verification and prompt grievance redressal. The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ruled state has completed 99 per cent physical verification and 60 per cent of grievances have been properly redressed.
Uttar Pradesh: Uttar Pradesh was awarded for the fastest implementation of the PM-Kisan scheme. For the period between December 18 to March 19, the Yogi Adityanath led government enrolled nearly 15.3 million farmers as beneficiaries, as per government data.
Arunachal Pradesh: For the northeast and hilly areas Arunachal Pradesh emerged the winner for completing the highest number of Aadhar verifications, with 98 per cent of beneficiaries being verified.
Himachal Pradesh: The state of Himachal Pradesh also received an award for stellar performance in physical verification of beneficiaries and grievance redressal. Districts of Lahaul and Spiti topped the list of Aadhaar verification and the district of Kangra performed the best in terms of physical verification.

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::International::

Inauguration of new Chancery building of Indian High Commission in Mauritius

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar inaugurated a new and environment-friendly chancery building of the Indian High Commission in Mauritius and reviewed over 950 housing units built with Indian support in the country.
Jaishankar arrived here on Sunday night from the Maldives on the last leg of his two-nation tour.
'Inaugurated the new High Commission building in Mauritius. This green & efficient project reflects New India,' Jaishankar tweeted.
He expressed confidence that the new building will inspire the work of the Indian mission even more.
Jaishankar inaugurated the new Chancery-cum-Residence building of the High Commission of India in Ebene in the presence of Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and Foreign Minister Alan Ganoo, the Indian High Commission in Mauritius said.
Jaishankar thanked Prime Minister Jugnauth and foreign minister Ganoo for joining him at the ceremony.
He also reviewed over 950 housing units built with Indian support.
'An exemplary cooperation. Reviewed the Dagotiere Social Housing Project, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister & Housing Minister Louis Steven Obeegadoo. Delighted that the 956 Housing Units, built with Indian support, will be occupied soon.

::Economy::

India and Mauritius signed CECPA

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved signing of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) between India and Mauritius.
The salient features of India-Mauritius CECPA are as follows:
The India-Mauritius CECPA will be the first trade Agreement to be signed by India with a country in Africa. The Agreement is a limited agreement, which will cover Trade in Goods, Rules of Origin, Trade in Services, Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, Dispute Settlement, Movement of Natural Persons, Telecom, Financial services, Customs Procedures and Cooperation in other Areas

Impact or benefits:

CECPA provides for an institutional mechanism to encourage and improve trade between the two countries. The CECPA between India and Mauritius covers 310 export items for India, including food stuff and beverages (80 lines), agricultural products (25 lines), textile and textile articles (27 lines), base metals and articles thereof (32 lines), electricals and electronic item (13 lines), plastics and chemicals (20 lines), wood and articles thereof (15 lines), and others. Mauritius will benefit from preferential market access into India for its 615 products, including frozen fish, speciality sugar, biscuits, fresh fruits, juices, mineral water, beer, alcoholic drinks, soaps, bags, medical and surgical equipment, and apparel.
As regards trade in services, Indian service providers will have access to around 115 sub-sectors from the 11 broad service sectors such as professional services, computer related services, research & development, other business services, telecommunication, construction, distribution, education, environmental, financial, tourism & travel related, recreational, yoga, audio-visual services, and transport services.
India has offered around 95 sub-sectors from the 11 broad services sectors, including professional services, R&D, other business services, telecommunication, financial, distribution, higher education, environmental, health, tourism and travel related services, recreational services and transport services.

AIIB to provide loan for Assam intra-state transmission system enhancement project

Union Government and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) today signed a loan agreement for a 304 million dollar Assam Intra-State Transmission System Enhancement Project to improve reliability, capacity and security of the power transmission network in the State of Assam.
The project aims to strengthen Assam’s electricity transmission system by constructing 10 transmission substations and laying transmission lines, upgrading 15 existing substations and providing technical assistance to support project implementation.
The programme would strengthen the existing intrastate transmission network of Assam by augmenting it with newer networks to achieve affordable, secure, efficient and reliable round the clock power. This would, in turn, bring Assam closer to ensuring long-term sustainability of its electricity supply.
The loan agreement was signed by Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Baldeo Purushartha and Acting Director General, Investment Operations Rajat Misra on behalf of the AIIB. Mr Purushartha said that the project is expected to improve the transmission network and reduce transmission losses. The total estimated cost of the project is USD 365 million of which USD 304 million will be financed by the AIIB.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

Satellite by Indian start-up will not be launched aboard PSLV-C51 mission

One of the two Indian space start-ups that were to send their satellites aboard this week’s PSLV-C51 mission has delayed the launch after some “software issues” were identified during the final round of testing.
“Due to certain software issues that surfaced during the final satellite testing, we have decided not to proceed with our launch on the PSLV-C51 mission. Given the time and effort that has gone into making the satellite, it did not make sense to rush a satellite to launch in which we do not have complete confidence at this time,” said a statement from Pixxel (incorporated as Sygyzy).
The satellite will be launched at the next available opportunity, the company said.
For Pixxel, this satellite – called Anand -- was a technology demonstration for a constellation of 30 Earth Observation Satellites that would provide global coverage every 24 hours.
This will enable organisations to detect and monitor global phenomenon in near realtime. The data will be available on an Artificial Intelligence-based platform, making the extraction of the data easy.
It will have uses in agriculture, forestry, urban monitoring, and climate. The organisation hopes to complete the constellation by December next year.

::SPORTS::

Acrobatic Giroud gives Chelsea advantage over Atletico

The French striker broke the deadlock in the 68th minute with an outrageous bicycle kick which was flagged offside but eventually given following a lengthy VAR review as the ball had come off Atletico's Mario Hermoso before Giroud hit it.
A spectacular Olivier Giroud overhead kick gave Chelsea a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid Champions League last-16 first leg in Bucharest.