Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 08 September 2021

::National::

PM NarendraModi launches major education initiatives

Modi also announced the launch of Vidyanjali 2.0, a portal that will facilitate donations, contributions from Corporate Social Responsibility funds, and volunteering, all aimed at developing and improving schools.
From educational tools for the differently abled to an assessment framework for schools to a new teacher’s training programme, Prime Minister NarendraModi launched several important educational initiatives which he said were aimed at ushering an “education revolution” in the country and placing India’s educational system on the “global map”.
Addressing the inaugural session of an educational conclave organised by the union education ministry under its ongoing “ShikshakParv” celebration, the PM said “we have to constantly redefine and redesign our teaching-learning process in order to make our education sector world-class; in this rapidly changing era, our teachers also have to learn about new systems and techniques rapidly.”
The ‘shikshakparv’ is being observed between September 5 and September 17 to recognise the contributions of teachers. Between September 8 and September 17, the ministry will conduct webinars on themes including technology in education, nurturing inclusive classrooms, foundation literacy and numeracy, and other practices and initiatives which can be adopted by the schools across the country.

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::International::

El Salvador becomes first country to adopt bitcoin as legal currency

Tiny and impoverished El Salvador’s move to become the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as legal tender got off to a bumpy start, as the government took its bitcoin e-wallet offline for several hours after tens of thousands of people tried to download the app, overloading servers.
The administration of President NayibBukele, 40, plans to spend more than $225 million on the rollout, including a $30 credit in bitcoin to those who take up Chivo—local slang for “cool”—the government-run e-wallet that can be used for purchases in bitcoin or U.S. dollars.
But the Chivo wallet didn’t show up on major app stores early Tuesday. Some users said on social media that they weren’t able to sign up with their phone numbers or official IDs.
The crypto asset has proven to be much more volatile than traditional currencies, as it lacks economic fundamentals to support its value and trades entirely on sentiment.
Mr. Bukele said the government took advantage of the drop to buy 150 bitcoin. El Salvador now holds 550 bitcoin, Mr. Bukele wrote on Twitter, most of it purchased since Monday.
Crypto enthusiasts called Tuesday B-Day, or Bitcoin Day, “because we are very eager to see how the ecosystem develops,” said José Luis Guillén, founder of Coincaex, a Central American foreign-exchange platform to buy and sell bitcoin or U.S. dollars.

::Economy::

HDFC Bank ties up with NSIC (National Small Industries Corporation) to provide loan assistance to MSMEs

HDFC Bank said it has signed a pact with the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) for providing credit support to the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector.
Under this, the country's largest private sector bank will also provide MSMEs with a set of specially-tailored schemes to enhance their competitiveness.
"HDFC Bank has signed a memorandum of understanding with National Small Industries Corporation to offer credit support to MSMEs across the country," the bank said in a statement.
The bank branches will extend support to the MSME projects in the areas they are located and to other important industrial sectors across the country.
Rahul Shukla, group head (commercial and rural banking) of HDFC Bank, said the partnership will help reboot the economy and give it a required fillip.

Government constitutes task force and expert committee to prepare road map for coal based hydrogen production

The Centre said it has constituted a task force and expert committee to prepare a road map for coal-based hydrogen production. This is aimed at contributing to Prime Minister NarendraModi's agenda of a hydrogen-based economy in a clean manner.
"Ministry of Coal has constituted 2 Committees today, one to oversee the program and another of experts to give guidance to the Ministry," the coal ministry said in a statement.
The task force has been constituted under the chairmanship of Coal Additional Secretary Vinod Kumar Tiwari. Its broad terms of reference include monitoring of activities towards achieving coal-based hydrogen production and usage and coordination with Coal Gasification Mission and NITI Aayog.

::Science and tech::

NASA confirms first rock sample collection on Mars by Perseverance rover

NASA’s Perseverance rover today completed the collection of the first sample of Martian rock, a core from Jezero Crater slightly thicker than a pencil. Mission controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California received data that confirmed the historic milestone.
The core is now enclosed in an airtight titanium sample tube, making it available for retrieval in the future. Through the Mars Sample Return campaign, NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) are planning a series of future missions to return the rover’s sample tubes to Earth for closer study. These samples would be the first set of scientifically identified and selected materials returned to our planet from another.
“NASA has a history of setting ambitious goals and then accomplishing them, reflecting our nation’s commitment to discovery and innovation,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “This is a momentous achievement and I can’t wait to see the incredible discoveries produced by Perseverance and our team.”
Along with identifying and collecting samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and dust) while searching for signs of ancient microscopic life, Perseverance’s mission includes studying the Jezero region to understand the geology and ancient habitability of the area, as well as to characterize the past climate.
“For all of NASA science, this is truly a historic moment,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Just as the Apollo Moon missions demonstrated the enduring scientific value of returning samples from other worlds for analysis here on our planet, we will be doing the same with the samples Perseverance collects as part of our Mars Sample Return program.

::Sports::

Coal India Limited contributed Rs 75 crore to the National Sports Development Fund of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports

The Coal India Limited has contributed Rs 75 crore towards the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF), which will be utilised for the construction of three hostels at Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) Academies at Bangalore, Bhopal and Lakshmibai National Institute Of Physical Education, Gwalior.
Coal India handed over the cheque towards its contribution for NSDF, as part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), to Anurag Thakur, Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports here on Tuesday.
During his address, Thakur said that the contribution by Coal India to NSDF has come at an appropriate time in the backdrop of unprecedented performance by Indian sportspersons at the recent Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo. He congratulated the Indian athletes for their best-ever performance at the Paralympics and for winning 19 medals at the Tokyo Paralympic Games.