Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 23 March 2021

::NATIONAL::

Election Commission of India reviews poll preparedness for Assam Assembly Election

The Election Commission of India (ECI) reviewed poll preparedness for the General Elections to the Assam Legislative Assembly 2021.
The review meeting was chaired by the Chief Election Commissioner of India, Sh Sunil Arora, in the presence of Election Commissioners ShSushil Chandra and Sh Rajiv Kumar at Tezpur as also later at Guwahati. Commission met with Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents of Police and other senior officers of all districts going to polls in the first and second phase of elections, as also nodal officers of the Enforcement Agencies. Specific review of Covid arrangements was done with Chief Secretary ShJishnuBarua and also issues with DGP Assam Sh B Mohanta.
Sr Deputy Election Commissioner and Incharge of State of Assam at ECI, ShDharmendra Sharma, Deputy Election Commissioner ShSudeep Jain along with Special General Observer Sh S. Srinivasan, Special Police Observer Sh Ashok Kumar and Special Expenditure Observer SmtNeena Nigam interacted with State officers. CEO, Assam ShNitinKhade, State Police Nodal Officer Sh Deepak Kedia, State Force Coordinator, CAPF MsSonal V Mishra, Divisional Commissioners of Upper and North Assam and DIGs of North-Eastern, Northern, Eastern, Central and Central-Western ranges participated in today’s review meeting held at Tezpur.
Chief Election Commissioner Sh Sunil Arora directed all the officials to ensure that elections in the State of Assam are conducted in a peaceful, free and fair and safe manner with high voter turnout. ShArora reiterated that this time Special General and Police Observers have been associated with randomization of State and Central Armed Police Forces to jointly decide the election security plan.

Ken-Betwa: First River Linking Project

Recently, a memorandum of agreement has been signed between the Union Minister of Jal Shakti and the chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to implement the Ken-Betwa Link Project
A brief note on the Ken-Betwa Link Project(KBLP)
It is the first project under the National Perspective Plan for interlinking of rivers. Under this project, water from the Ken river will be transferred to the Betwa river through a canal. Both these rivers are tributaries of river Yamuna.
Cost: As per the Comprehensive Detailed Project Report, the cost of Ken-Betwa Link Project is estimated at Rs 35,111.24 crore at 2017-18 prices.

Region covered & its benefits:

It would benefit the Bundelkhandregion , a drought-prone region, which spreads across 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
The project will benefit to the water-starved region of Bundelkhand, especially in the districts of Panna, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Sagar, Damoh, Datia, Vidisha, Shivpuri and Raisen of Madhya Pradesh and Banda, Mahoba, Jhansi and Lalitpur of Uttar Pradesh.
The project is expected to provide annual irrigation of 10.62 lakh hectares, drinking water supply to about 62 lakh people and also generate 103 MW of hydropower.

Printed Study Materials for IBPS, SBI Bank Exam

::International::

US to organize 'Group Arabian Sea Warfare Exercise' in Arabian Sea in Gulf of Oman

This exercise provides a unique opportunity for participating forces to enhance mutual interoperability and capabilities in maritime security, anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfare and anti-submarine warfare operations.
Participants include ships and aircraft from the French Charles De Gaulle carrier strike group, auxiliary ship FS Var (A 608), frigates FS Provence (D 652) and FS Chevalier Paul (D 621), Belgian frigate BNS Leopold I (F 930), and Japanese destroyer JS Ariake (DD 109).
U.S. forces include the Makin Island amphibious ready group (ARG) with embarked 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), guided-missile cruiser USS Port Royal (CG 73) and various aircraft including F-35, P-8, MH-60, Air Force F-16s, E-3 and tankers.
By cooperatively training together, exercises like this allow participating naval forces to effectively develop the necessary skills to address threats to regional security, freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce. This is one of many exercises in which the U.S. military participates with partner nations in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility each year intended to enhance partnerships and interoperability.

::Economy::

Govt lists out steps taken to increase Atal Pension Yojana enrolment

Union minister of state for finance and corporate affairs Anurag Singh Thakur on Monday listed out the measures being taken by the government to increase the enrolment of people under the Atal Pension Yojana (APY). APY, a pension scheme in which the government is a co-contributor, became operational in June 2015 and is open to all citizens in the age group of 18-40 years who have a savings bank account in a bank or post office.
Thakur said, in a written reply to a question in the LokSabha, that the co-contribution amount disbursed by the government in the scheme amounted to ₹57,078,22 lakh till February 2021.
Under the scheme, there are five pension slabs of ₹1000, ₹2000, ₹3000, ₹4000 and ₹5000 which are guaranteed by the government at the attainment of 60 years by the subscriber. In case of death of the subscriber, the same pension amount is guaranteed to the spouse of the subscriber.

Oil edges lower near $61 with near-term demand concerns in focus

Oil edged lower in Asian trading on concerns about the near-term demand outlook amid the uneven recovery from the pandemic.
Futures in New York slipped 0.6% to trade near $61 a barrel after two days of gains. Fuel consumption is facing a setback after some countries in Europe extended or reimposed lockdowns, while in the US, New York City’s mayor urged a pause on reopening. In Southeast Asia, demand has hit a plateau and is unlikely to reach pre-virus levels until the end of the year or later.
US crude stockpiles, meanwhile, probably expanded by 1.2 million barrels last week, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. If confirmed by government data on Wednesday, it would be a fifth weekly increase, the longest run of gains since May. Industry figures are due later Tuesday.
While oil’s sustained advance this year stalled recently, there is confidence in the longer-term outlook as Covid-19 vaccinations are rolled out worldwide and as the US unleashes significant stimulus.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

4 Indian astronaut candidates for Gaganyaan mission complete training in Russia

Four Indian officers, who were selected to become astronauts to crew Gaganyaan into orbit, have completed their one-year training course in Russia's Zvyozdnygorodok city near Moscow.
The Gaganyaan mission is aimed at sending astronauts to space in an orbital spacecraft.
"In the evening we met with Indian gaganauts who had completed their training at Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. We also discussed with the (Indian) ambassador the future bilateral space projects," Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the Russian state space corporation,said on his Telegram channel, as quoted by Sputnik.
The contract for the training of Indian officers was signed between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Russian launch service provider Glavcosmos in June 2019. The four pilots of the Indian Air Force (IAF) include a Group Captain and three Wing Commanders, according to the IAF sources.

::Sports::

Not a single player will be eliminated for one or two mistakes: Stimac

The Indian team is currently training here ahead of the FIFA friendlies against Oman and UAE.
India football coach Igor Stimac on Tuesday said the young players in the national side will be given ample chances to prove themselves at the international level as he looks to build a team for the future.
The Indian team is currently training here ahead of the FIFA friendlies against Oman and UAE.
The average age of the squad currently at the camp in Dubai is just over 24. Among them, 12 are below 25, and a couple of them are barely 19.