Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 14 March 2021

::NATIONAL::

Indian Railways’ parcel services are geared towards providing transportation for small consignments, over a vast network of stations.
Small businesses and traders (especially in smaller cities and towns) have been using these services for transportation of their merchandise, etc, from bigger cities and production centres to the place of their business in a fast, reliable and cheap manner. Common man also uses these services for transportation of house-hold goods, furniture, two-wheelers, etc – for which parcel services are the only convenient mode of transportation.
The charging of Parcels is only on the basis of weight and volume, and not on the basis of type of commodity.
Modernization of Parcel Management System:
The computerization of parcel management system is being extended from 84 locations to additional 143 locations in phase-II and 523 locations in phase –III. This will bring following enhanced features in parcel system:
Enhanced user friendly interface for public website of Parcel Management System on www.parcel.indianrail.gov.in.
Provision of 120 days advance booking of parcel space has been enabled in PMS.
Showing availability of parcel space on the online e-forwarding note module on PMS website.
Generation of forwarding note online by registered customers with fare estimate.
Booking of parcel/luggage at parcel office at stations through computerized counters and automatic capturing of weight through electronic weighment of consignment.

ParikshaPeCharcha is part of the larger movement - ‘Exam Warriors’ - led by Prime Minister NarendraModi, to create a stress-free atmosphere for youngsters.
Students can register for it through the official site of My Gov on innovateindia.mygov.in.
This year’s ParikshaPeCharcha is the 4th edition and will be held virtually.Thistime, the Prime Minister’s massively popular interaction will not only have students but also parents and teachers.
To get a chance to participate, students, teachers or parents can participate in ParikshaPeCharcha competition hosted on MyGov Innovate platform.
The competition is open for school students of classes 9 to 12. Each winner will get a specially designed Certificate of Appreciation.
A small group of students from among the winners will get the opportunity to directly interact with the Prime Minister and ask him questions.

The death toll in the Rohingya refugee camp fire that took place late on Monday has gone up to 15. Another 400 are still missing and 560 are injured, said the UN Refugee agency.
The UNHCR said that it is rushing to provide critical support and protection to some 45,000 Rohingya refugees who lost their shelter and belongings in the devastating fire. At least 10,000 shelters are estimated to have been destroyed or damaged but the figures are expected to climb in the coming days as assessments continue.
A massive fire swept through the Rohingya refugee camp at Uikhya in Cox’s Bazar area of Bangladesh on Monday rendering thousands of people homeless. The started at the Balukhali camp in Cox’s Bazar late on Monday. As the fire erupted, people from the camp started running with their belongings recovered from their homes in the refugee camp.
Witnesses said that barbed fencing around the camp prevented people from escaping the fire causing casualties, reports Reuters.The fire at the Cox’s Bazar refugee camp was the third in the last few days. Bangladeshi officials have started investigating the cause of the massive fire.

The country's foreign exchange reserves declined by USD 4.255 billion to USD 580.299 billion in the week ended March 5, according to RBI data.
In the previous week ended February 26, the reserves rose by USD 689 million to USD 584.554 billion. It had touched a record high of USD 590.185 billion in the week ended January 29, 2021.
In the reporting week ended March 5, the fall in reserves was due to a decline in the Foreign Currency Assets (FCA).
The FCA dipped by USD 3.002 billion to USD 539.613 billion, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) weekly data showed.
Expressed in dollar terms, FCA includes the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.
The gold reserves declined by USD 1.206 billion to USD 34.215 billion in the reporting week, as per the data.

Retail inflation based on consumer price index (CPI) rose to three-month high of 5.03 per cent in February from 4.06 per cent in January.
The earlier high was in November 2020 at 6.93 per cent.
The rate of price rise in the food basket jumped to 3.87 per cent in February, as against 1.89 per cent in the preceding month, as per the NSO data.
Inflation in 'fuel and light' category remained elevated at 3.53 per cent during the month vis-a-vis 3.87 per cent in January.
The inflation print in 'oil and fats' moved up to 20.78 per cent from 19.71 per cent.
The inflation number stood within the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) target of 2-6 per cent for the third consecutive month.
The RBI mainly factors in the retail inflation while arriving at its bi-monthly monetary policy.
The RBI's monetary policy committee (MPC) has been tasked by the government to tame retail inflation based on consumer price index (CPI) at 4 per cent (+,-2 per cent).
In a separate set of data, industrial production re-entered the negative territory by contracting 1.6 per cent in January, mainly on account of the decline in output of capital goods, manufacturing and mining sectors.

A Hong Kong scientist has developed a method to use machine learning and artificial intelligence to scan retinas of children as young as six to detect early autism or the risk of autism and hopes to develop a commercial product this year.
Retinal eye scanning can help to improve early detection and treatment outcomes for children, said Benny Zee, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
“The importance of starting early intervention is that they are still growing, they are still developing. So there is a bigger chance of success,” Zee said.
His method uses a high-resolution camera with new computer software which analyses a combination of factors including fibre layers and blood vessels in the eye.
The technology can be used to identify children at risk of autism and get them into treatment programmes sooner, said Zee.
Seventy children were tested using the technology, 46 with autism and a control group of 24. The technology was able to identify the children with autism 95.7 percent of the time. The average age tested was 13, with the youngest being six.
Zee’s findings have been published in EClinicalMedicine, a peer-reviewed medical journal.

Union Sports Ministry has provided a financial assistance of Rs 2.5 Lakh to deaf tennis player JafreenShaik from the PanditDeendayalUpadhyaya National Welfare Fund for Sportspersons (PDUNWFS) to continue her training despite hurdles in the quest to win a gold at the Summer Deflympics scheduled in Brazil later this year or next year.
Jafreen, 23, was the recipient of a bronze medal at the 2017 Summer Deaflympics in the mixed doubles event, where she partnered PrithviShekhar. That was India’s very first medal at the Deaflympics in tennis. She had also represented India at the 2013 Deaflympics.