Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 16 September 2021

::National::

PM Modi launched Parliament TV

Prime Minister NarendraModi said on that Parliament is not only about politics but policy too and described content as "connect", saying this is as much applicable to the parliamentary system as to the media.
Launching Sansad TV, which has been created by merging LokSabha TV and RajyaSabha TV, jointly with Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and LokSabha Speaker Om Birla, he said it is very important that the common man connects with Parliament and feels he is part of it.
Parliament is in fact more about policy that politics, Modi said.
The new channel adds another important chapter in the country's parliamentary system, he said.
Noting that the launch coincides with International Day of Democracy, Modi reiterated that India is mother of democracy, saying democracy is not just a system but an idea and not merely a constitutional structure but spirit.
Democracy in India is not just a collection of the Articles of the Constitutions but it is our life stream, the prime minister added.

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::International::

US, UK and Australia announce new partnership "Ocus"

Britain, the US and Australia have announced a new trilateral security alliance ‘Aukus’ (AUKUS) for the strategically important region, amid China’s growing influence in the Indian Pacific, to protect their common interests and Better share defense capabilities, including helping Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines.
Touted as ‘historic’, the new alliance occupancy was launched digitally during a joint televised address. Under this alliance, the three nations agreed to develop joint capabilities, share technology, promote deeper integration of security and strengthen defense related science, technology, industrial centers and supply chains.
Australia will build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, with the help of the US and UK, in the first major initiative of the Ocus, aimed at promoting stability in the Indo-Pacific region. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on the occasion, “Britain, Australia and America are natural allies. We may be geographically separated, but we share common interests and values.” During this digital address, US President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison were also present with Johnson. A joint statement was issued during this address. Morrison said, “The Ocus will enhance our contribution to our growing network of partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region … with our ASEAN friends, our bilateral strategic partners, the Quad, Five Eyes countries and of course our beloved Indo-Pacific family.” Providing Australia with a fleet of nuclear powered submarines will be the first major initiative of the Ocas.
Biden told the East Room of the White House that the three countries will enhance their shared ability to deal with the threats of the 21st century as in the 20th century. “Our nation and our brave forces have stood shoulder to shoulder for over 100 years,” he said. are close. We are taking another historic step today to deepen and formalize cooperation between our three countries as we all recognize the need to ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific for a long time.

::Economy::

Infosys launches digital commerce platform Equinox

Infosys on Thursday launched ‘Equinox’ platform to help enterprises securely deliver hyper-segmented, personalized omnichannel commerce experiences for B2B and B2C buyers.
The platform’s future-ready architecture offers unprecedented flexibility for enterprises to pick and choose out-of-the-box microservices and pre-built experiences to build curated digital journeys that enhance their digital commerce or launch it grounds-up in a matter of weeks, the IT major said in a statement.
This delivers end-to-end commerce-as-a-service for enterprises to drive results, throughout the purchase lifecycle, that shoppers care about.
Equinox is used by several leading global enterprises in retail, CPG, telecom, manufacturing, automotive and media, and helps drive $15B+ in annual eCommerce gross merchandise value, the company stated.
Equinox helps businesses transform their digital commerce across marketing, merchandizing, ecommerce, store operations, supply chain and customer service through its four offerings: Infosys Equinox Microservices, Infosys Equinox Commerce, Infosys Equinox Experiences, and Infosys Equinox Marketing.
KarmeshVaswani, Executive Vice President & Global Head Consumer, Retail & Logistics, Infosys, said that with the customer experience landscape evolving every week, companies can’t afford to get into a ‘set it-forget it’ mode. “It will take embracing a human-centric approach to create distinctive shopping experiences that match the pulse of consumers."

Cabinet approves relief package for telecom companies

In a much-awaited relief, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a relief package for the country's cash-strapped telecom sector, along with several structural reforms to strengthen the sector. All those who will avail of the moratorium will have to pay some interest, ministerAshwiniVaishnaw announced. The moratorium will start from October 1, the Cabinet said.
“The reforms are deep and broad. They are structural. These reforms will bring in change today, tomorrow and in the future. I do not like to put a number on the package as it is revenue-neutral for the government,” the minister said. The moratorium will not impact the government's revenue, the minister said.
The package comes six weeks after Kumar Mangalam Birla resigned from teh chairman post of Vodafone Idea Limited on August 4. Vodafone, which was created from the merger of British telecom giant Vodafone's India unit and Birla's Idea Cellular Ltd, has to pay about ₹50,399.63 crore in statutory dues dating back over past many years.
The relief package includes a moratorium on payments for airwaves and is aimed at helping BhartiAirtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea. Shares in wireless carriers BhartiAirtel rose 5.4% and Vodafone Idea went up 2.9% after the news surfaced.
The relief package for the ailing sector, which has the option for the telecom firms to convert interest on spectrum dues of the four-year moratorium period into government equity, was long due.

::Science and tech::

SpaceX launches first all-tourist crew into orbit

Four private citizens are set to launch into orbit in what will be the first mission to space without any professional astronauts on board.
The all-civilian crew will ride to space aboard a rocket and capsule developed by SpaceX. The mission, dubbed Inspiration4, is just the latest milestone flight in what has been a busy year for private spaceflight companies, following joyrides to suborbital space by billionaire entrepreneurs Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos over the summer.
Another billionaire, Jared Isaacman, is set to lead the historic all-civilian mission. Isaacman, the 38-year-old founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments, a Pennsylvania-based payment processing company, paid an unspecified amount for the three-day expedition in SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule.
The spacecraft is scheduled to launch Wednesday atop a reusable Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The five-hour launch window opens at 8:02 p.m. EDT, and SpaceX is planning to broadcast the event live. Forecasts currently project a 70 percent chance of favorable weather conditions for the evening launch.
The Crew Dragon capsule will spend three days circling Earth before re-entering the atmosphere and splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Florida, according to SpaceX.
“From the start of this mission, I’ve been very aware of how fortunate we are to be part of this history SpaceX is creating right now,” Isaacmansaid in a preflight briefing, adding that the orbital outing is designed to inspire people.

::Sports::

PSG fail to shine on Europe’s night for underdogs

On successive nights, Cristiano Ronaldo lost and Lionel Messi didn’t win. This is not to suggest that their magical powers are on the wane, rather the opposite. Even when they have ordinary games, like in Europe this midweek, they score or hit the crossbar, get shots on target (two for Ronaldo, one for Messi), make successful dribbles (3 for Messi, according to SofaScore.com) and key passes (3 for Messi).
First it was Young Boys beating Manchester United. Now it's Club Brugge holding PSG. Over two nights, fairytale runs show why the Super League is such a bad idea.