Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 12 March 2021

::NATIONAL::

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Thursday urged the youth of the country to read the Bhagwad Gita as he launched an e-book version of Swami Chidbhavananda's commentaries on the ancient Hindu scripture, which is a part of the epic Mahabharata.
“In the middle of the fast-paced life, the Gita will provide an oasis. It is a practical guide for several dimensions of life,” PM Modi said as he extending his congratulations on the launch.
The Kindle version was launched to commemorate the sale of more than 500,000 copies of the Swami Chidbhavananda’s Bhagavad Gita.
The Prime Minister also said the Gita inspires us to question and makes us think. "It encourages debate and keeps our minds open. Anybody who is inspired by Gita will always be compassionate by nature and democratic in temperament," he added.
Swami Chidbhavanandaji, the founder of Sri Ramakrishna Tapovanam Ashram, has written 186 books in all genres of literary composition. However, his scholarly work on the Gita is one of the most celebrated ones.

The cumulative number of COVID19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed two crore 60 lakh. Union Health Ministry said, more than three lakh 18 thousand Covid Vaccine Doses administered across the country in the last 24 hours.
The Ministry said, more than 59 lakh 98 thousand beneficiaries above 60 years of age have been vaccinated till date.
The Ministry said, the daily COVID Vaccination coverage was on the lower side on Thursday as many people particularly women including ASHA workers and women vaccinators were observing fast on the occasion of MahaShivratri.
The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on 16th of January this year and vaccination of the Frontline Workers started from 2nd of last month.
Printed Study Materials for IBPS, SBI Bank Exam

US President Joe Biden has signed the 1.9 trillion dollar coronavirus rescue package into law, marking a significant legislative accomplishment as the new administration looks to shepherd the country through the pandemic.
President Biden, who signed the bill alongside Vice President Kamala Harris in the Oval Office, characterized the measure as historic legislation aimed at rebuilding the backbone of this country.
The passage of the bill marked the first major legislative achievement of the new administration and a Congress that is now under full Democratic control, with narrow majorities in the House and Senate.
The US House of Representatives on Wednesday had approved the Senate-passed version of the 1.9 trillion dollars Covid-19 relief bill, sending it to President Joe Biden's desk for signature.

Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers has chosen 11 pharmaceutical companies to manufacture nine key starting materials (KSMs), drug intermediates and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) under the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme.
Another list of companies that are eligible under the PLI scheme for products that come under the final Segment-IV category will be taken up for approval before February 28, the ministry stated.
The ministry said in a statement that the setting up of these plants will lead to a total committed investment of Rs 862.01 crore by the companies and employment generation of about 1,763.
"With this, a total of 19 applications with committed investment of Rs 4623.01 crore have been approved by the government. The commercial production is projected to commence from April 1, 2023 onwards and the disbursal of production linked incentive by the government over the six years period would be up to a maximum of Rs 4,870 crore.
Setting of these plants will make the country self-reliant to a large extent in respect of these bulk drugs," it stated.

Ministry of Civil Aviation and Directorate General of Civil Aviation have granted a conditional exemption to ICAR - Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research llSR, Lucknow for conducting the trials to evaluate drone spraying solution for controlling pest and diseases of sugarcane crop using drones.
The exemption is valid until 30th November this year. This exemption shall be valid only if all conditions and limitations are strictly adhered to.
In case of violation of any condition, this exemption shall become null and void and action may be initiated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

The space agencies of India and Japan on Thursday agreed on collaborative activities for rice crop area and air quality monitoring using satellite data, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said.
According to the ISRO, a virtual bilateral meeting was held on Thursday, where the Indian delegation was led by ISRO Chairman K. Sivan, and the Japanese delegation led by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) President Hiroshi Yamakawa.
Both agencies signed an implementing arrangement for collaborative activities on rice crop area and air quality monitoring using satellite data, ISRO said.
The two agencies, while reviewing their on-going programmes in earth observation, lunar cooperation and satellite navigation, also agreed to explore opportunities for cooperation in space situational awareness and professional exchange programme.
::Sports::

Manchester United's David De Gea has returned to England from his paternity leave in Spain but the goalkeeper's participation against West Ham United is in doubt as he is still self-isolating, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said.
De Gea has missed United's last three games after he was given time off to travel to Spain for the birth of his first child.
Spain international De Gea was expected to return to the starting lineup for Sunday's match but Solskjaer said he was unsure of his availability.