Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 20 January 2021

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 20 January 2021

::NATIONAL::

Kiren Rijiju Gets Additional Charge Of AYUSH Ministry

The Youth Affairs and Sports Minister, Kiren Rijiju, has been temporarily assigned the charge of the Ministry of AYUSH, according to a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique issued on Tuesday.
The move was necessitated as Shripad Yesso Naik, the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy (AYUSH) was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Goa.
Mr Naik, 68, was admitted to the hospital on January 12 after he met with an accident while on his way back to Goa from Karnataka.
The minister's wife and his close aide died in the accident.

23rd January to be celebrated as “PARAKRAM DIWAS” every year

The Minister of Culture and Tourism Shri Prahlad Singh Patel announced today that the yearlong celebrations to commemorate 125th birth anniversary year of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose will formally commence on 23rd January, 2021. Prime Minister ,Sh Narendra Modi will preside over the inaugural event of the celebrations being held at Kolkata, the Minister disclosed while addressing mediapersons in New Delhi today. The Government has decided to celebrate 23rd January as PARAKRAM DIWAS every year and a Gazette Notification to this effect has been issued today, the Minister said.
The 125th Birth Anniversary year of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose will be celebrated in a befitting manner at national and international level. Shri Patel informed that a High Level Committee, headed by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has been constituted for deciding the programs, and to supervise and guide the commemorationthroughout the year. The Committee will provide guidance for the commemoration activities in Delhi, Kolkata and other places associated with Netaji and Azad Hind Fauj, both in India as well as overseas.
The Minister further informedthat the Ministry of Culture has proposed a number of activities and projects for this year-long commemoration. The inaugural function of the commemoration will be held at Victoria Memorial in Kolkata on 23rd January 2021 presided over by the Prime Minister. A permanent exhibition on Netaji and a Projection Mapping Show will be inaugurated on the occasion. A cultural program "AmraNutonJouboneriDoot" will also be held based on the theme of Netaji. Shri Patel said “a commemorative coin and postage stamp will also be released on this day. An International Conference ‘Re-visiting the legacy of Netaji Subhash in 21st century’ and an Artists' Camp are being organized at National Library, Kolkata on the same day.”

::ECONOMY::

Adani Group signs pact with AAI for development of three airports

The Adani Group on Tuesday signed a concession agreement with state-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI) for the operation, development and management of airports at Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram, almost two years after winning the bids.
According to terms and conditions specified in the concession agreement, the Adani Group will have to take over the airports within six months. The concessionaire will manage, develop and operate the airports for 50 years.
The Gautam Adani-led Adani Enterprises had in February 2019 emerged as the highest bidders for AAI-operated airports in Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram and Lucknow, which were put up for privatization under the public private partnership (PPP) model.
However, the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front government in Kerala, moved the Supreme Court against the handover of the Thiruvananthapuram airport to the group. While the apex court is yet to hear the matter, the Kerala high court had dismissed the state’s plea in October.

::INTERNATIONAL::

Russian Embassy in India honours military specialists heading for S-400 training courses

The Russian Embassy in India on Monday hosted a farewell event in the honour of the first group of the Indian military specialists heading to Moscow for the S-400 air defence systems training courses.
According to an official statement, in his welcoming speech, Nikolay R Kudashev, Russian Ambassador to India, noted that agreement on the S-400 supplies is one of the flagship initiatives of bilateral military and military-technical cooperation, which constitutes the main pillar of the special and privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India.
The event was held in a warm and friendly atmosphere and the participants also visited the Russian Embassy's Alexander M Kadakin Museum.

SCIENCE AND TECH

Study reveals how efficient brain circuitry develops spontaneously

A KAIST team's mathematical modelling has revealed that efficient brain circuitry develops spontaneously by showing that the topographic tiling of cortical maps originates from bottom-up projections from the periphery.
This new finding provides advanced insights into the mechanisms underlying a biological strategy of brain circuitry for the efficient tiling of sensory modules. The study was published in Cell Reports.
Researchers have explained how the regularly structured topographic maps in the visual cortex of the brain could arise spontaneously to efficiently process visual information. This research provides a new framework for understanding functional architectures in the visual cortex during early developmental stages.
A KAIST research team led by Professor Se-Bum Paik from the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering has demonstrated that the orthogonal organization of retinal mosaics in the periphery is mirrored onto the primary visual cortex and initiates the clustered topography of higher visual areas in the brain.

Sports

India vs Australia Test Series 2020-21

Team India created history by winning its second consecutive Test series Down Under and etched their names in the history books, and made it a series to remember for ages.
The Ajinkya Rahane-led side won the fourth and final Test against Australia to clinch the series 2-1 and retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy.
Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21:
India captain Ajinkya Rahane collects the trophy
Player of the match in Brisbane Test: Rishabh Pant
Player of the tournament: Pat Cummins