Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 14 April 2021

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 14 April 2021

::NATIONAL::

‘Poshan Gyan’, a digital repository on health and nutrition launched

New Delhi Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar said high malnutrition persists in the country despite being a food-surplus nation, and the situation can only improve through "behavioural change" among people.
Launching PoshanGyan, a national digital repository on health and nutrition, Kumar further said that PoshanGyan is an extremely important initiative and can help make nutrition a 'Jan Andolan', as envisioned by Prime Minister NarendraModi.
"Real change can be brought about only through changing behaviours on the ground. High malnutrition persists despite India being a food-surplus nation, which points towards a clear need for behavioural change," he said.
Also speaking at the event, NitiAayog CEO Amitabh Kant said the challenge of nutrition in India should be solved by targeting those especially vulnerable, such as pregnant women, and children below the age of 6 years, through the application of behavioural insights.
Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) secretary Ram Mohan Mishra lauded the establishment of the PoshanGyan portal, stating that knowledge is most useful when it aids in the betterment of society.
The crowd sourcing feature of the site, he said, can be used to disseminate nationwide solutions that have proved successful in local contexts, such as the use of a traditional grape-based concoction that was recently found to be efficacious in combating anaemia in Tamil Nadu.
According to an official statement, the Poshan Gyan repository was conceptualised as a resource, enabling search of communication materials on 14 thematic areas of health and nutrition across diverse languages, media types, target audiences and sources.

::INTERNATIONAL::

Japan releases 1 million tons of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant

Japan will release more than one million tonnes of contaminated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear station into the sea, the government said on Tuesday, a move opposed by neighbours including South Korea and its own fishing industry.
The first release of water will take place in about two years, giving plant operator Tokyo Electric Power time to begin filtering the water to remove harmful isotopes, build infrastructure and acquire regulatory approval.
Japan has argued the water release is necessary to press ahead with the complex decommissioning of the plant after it was crippled by a 2011 earthquake and tsunami, pointing out that similarly filtered water is routinely released from nuclear plants around the world.
Nearly 1.3 million tonnes of contaminated water, or enough to fill about 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools, is stored in huge tanks at the Fukushima Daiichi plant at an annual cost of about 100 billion yen ($912.66 million) — and space is running out.

::ECONOMY::

Atal Innovation Mission to collaborate with Bayer towards health and agriculture innovations

Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog today collaborated with Bayer- a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of healthcare and nutrition, to work towards the mission’s innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives across the country.
A Statement of Intent (SoI) of a strategic partnership between AIM and Bayer was signed and exchanged to formalize the collaboration. The SoI will span the promotion of science education, advancing digital solutions and agri-tech to strengthen supply chains as well as healthcare projects. Additionally, Bayer will collaborate with AIM to support their current and future programs and foster innovation & entrepreneurship across the agriculture and healthcare sectors.
A flagship program of AIM, ‘Atal Tinkering Labs’ (ATL) has played a pivotal role in fostering creativity and imagination amongst school children. Bayer will explore opportunities to mentor school children, inculcate design thinking, problem solving and adaptive learning skills amongst them and support and adopt mutually agreed schools. Additionally, as a part of the ‘Atal Incubation Centres’ (AIC) and ‘Atal Community Innovation Centres’ (ACIC), Bayer shall mentor young innovators and startups and collaborate with them to further the cause of innovation. Bayer would also explore association with the techno-preneurs from the ANIC and ARISE programs in the area of digital solutions both in agriculture and healthcare sectors.
Mission Director AIM, NITI Aayog, R Ramanan while exchanging the virtual SoI with Bayer said – “The collaboration with Bayer is a long term strategic one for Atal Innovation Mission as their areas of specialization Agriculture, Healthcare and Lifesciences are areas of national importance, especially more so in the times of the Pandemic. The partnership will be holistic in nature spurring and supporting knowledge and innovation at school, university and Startups leveraging Bayer’s domain expertise, global reach and facilities.”

::SPORTS::

Former hockey player Balbir Singh Jr (88) passed away

Balbir Singh Junior, who was a member of the silver medal- winning 1958 Asian Games Indian hockey team, died here at the age of 88, his daughter MandeepSamra said on Tuesday.
He is survived by his wife, daughter and son
Balbir Singh Junior was born on May 2, 1932, at Sansarpur in Jalandhar, also known as the nursery of hockey players in India.
Singh took to hockey when he was six years old. He studied at Lyallpur Khalsa College in Jalandhar and was first selected to play for the Indian hockey team in 1951.