Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 26 February 2022

::National::

Odisha’s first tribal CM HemanandaBiswal passes away

Odisha’s first tribal chief minister as well as last Congress chief minister of the state, HemanandaBiswal passed away at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar after a brief illness, on Friday. He was 82.
Biswal, a Bhuyan tribal from Jharsuguda district, served as the chief minister twice from 1989 to 1990 and 1999 to 2000. In December 1989, he replaced the then chief minister JB Patnaik, after the Congress(I) was routed in the LokSabha elections. In December 1999, he was again made chief minister after erstwhile chief minister GiridhariGamang was replaced over his failure in relief and rehabilitation measures in the aftermath of 1999 super cyclone that ripped through Odisha coast.
In 2000 assembly polls, the Congress was routed by BJD-BJP combine and the party has never been able to come back to power since then.
Biswal began his political journey as a chairman of Kirimirapanchayatsamiti in Jharsuguda district. He was elected to the Odisha assembly for the first time in 1974 from Laikera constituency. He was elected to assembly as MLA six times from the same seat. In 2009 he was elected as an MP from Sundargarh.

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::International::

Biden's response to Putin's 'greatest consequences..' threat, Ukraine

The United States announced new sanctions on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine as other nations too joined in to punish Kremlin.
As Russia launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine on Thursday, United States President Joe Biden reacted to Vladimir Putin's "threat" to the West "with the greatest consequences in history". On a question if Putin was threatening a nuclear strike, Biden said: “I have no idea what he (Vladimir Putin) is threatening. I know what he has done,” the US President replied as he addressed the United States on Thursday the Ukraine crisis. After attack on Ukraine, Putin had warned other countries that an attempt of interference could have consequences that have been never seen before.
“No one expected the sanctions to prevent anything from happening. This is going to take time. And we have to show resolve so he knows what is coming and so the people of Russia know what he’s brought on them. That is what this is all about,” Biden told at a briefing as Ukraine saw one of the worst attacks from Kremlin in recent times. “This is going to take time. It’s not going to occur — he’s (Putin) going to say, “Oh my God, these sanctions are coming. I’m going to stand down,” he added.
President Biden said that the US will block assets of large Russian banks, impose export controls aimed at the nation’s high-tech needs and sanction its business oligarchs.
Additionally, the US will also deploy additional forces to Germany to bolster NATO after Ukraine’s invasion. “Specifically, the sanctions we’ve imposed exceed SWIFT. The sanctions we imposed exceed anything that’s ever been done. The sanctions we imposed have generated two-thirds of the world joining us. They are profound sanctions. Let’s have a conversation in another month or so to see if they’re working,” Biden said.

::Economy::

Threat to global peace a challenge for economic revival: FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman said on Friday that global peace was necessary for all countries, including India, to recover from the pandemic-induced economic slowdown. Speaking at the Asia Economic Dialogue, the FM said she hoped for peace to be restored soon in Europe so that global economic recovery could take place in a sustained manner.
"Peace is being threatened today. At a time when global value chain is so integrated, India's development is going to be challenged by newer challenges emanating in the world. No one country can plan its recovery alone," Sitharaman said.
A war of this impact on the globe has not been seen since the World War-II, the FM said, while expressing hope for restoration of peace at the earliest.
The finance minister's comments came as Russian forces encircled Ukraine's capital Kiev. While the militaries intensified the fight, the Russian government said it would send send representatives to Ukraine to hold talks.
Speaking on other issues, Sitharaman said that there are three planks on which the government is focusing on as India heads towards 100 years of independence in 2047. These are transition to clean energy, capacity building through infrastructure, health and education.
"Transition to cleaner sources of energy is an important plank for us and it will feature in every budget. The older thermal plants will have to be converted to produce electricity from cleaner sources," she said.
The FM said that focus is on expanding physical as well as digital infrastructure so that jobs and opportunities can be created for India's youth. The Union Budget 2022 has provided the largest ever capital expenditure outlay at Rs 7.5 trillion for FY23, although Rs 1 trillion out of this is in the form of long- term loan to states to support capex needs.
"The third element I will put money into is health and education," Sitharaman said, adding that success of all these three planks required seamless coordination between the Centre and states.

::Science and tech::

Canada clears world's 1st plant-based Covid vaccine

Canada approved the use of Covifenz, the world’s first plant-derived Covid-19 vaccine jointly developed by Medicago Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline Plc. The vaccine has been cleared for people aged 18 to 64 since its safety and effectiveness, according to Health Canada, have not been established in people younger than 18 or older than 64 years of age.
Covifenz is made from plant-based proteins that look like coronavirus and uses Glaxo’s adjuvant that contains DL-alpha-tocopherol, squalene, polysorbate 80, phosphate-buffered saline. The other ingredients include potassium phosphate monobasic anhydrous, anhydroussodium chloride, sodium phosphate dibasic anhydrous, and water for injection.
Medicago uses living plants as bioreactors to produce a particle that mimics the target virus. The virus-like particles, or VLPs, are developed through a process of synthesis, infiltration, incubation, harvest, and purification.
The virus code containing genetic instructions which can be 'read' by plants are inserted into bacteria that carries the information into the plant’s cells, according to the vaccine maker. During the incubation period, the plants are placed for at least four days in a carefully controlled greenhouse.
Medicago said that a severe allergic reaction, called anaphylaxis, is rare post-vaccination with Covifenz. The signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis may include hives, swelling of the lips, face, tongue or airway, difficulty breathing, increased heart rate, loss of consciousness, sudden low blood pressure, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea.

::Sport::

International Chess Federation strip Russia of Olympiad, FIDE Congress

The International Chess Federation on Friday decided that the 44th Chess Olympiad, including the competition for players with disabilities, and the FIDE Congress, will not take place in Russia.
"FIDE Council has decided that the 44th Chess Olympiad, including the competition for players with disabilities and the FIDE Congress, will not take place in Russia. FIDE will do our utmost to find another organizer for the Olympiad and provide more information in due time," FIDE tweeted.
The chess federation also confirmed that FIDE Congress will take place in 2022, but its location and dates will be announced later.
Earlier in the day, the Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) urged all International Sports Federations to relocate or cancel their sports events currently planned in Russia or Belarus.