Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 26 September 2021

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 26 September 2021

::NATIONAL::

PM Modi to launch National Digital Health Mission

Prime Minister Narendrawill, launch the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission via video conferencing. The project, also known as PradhanMantri Digital Health Mission or the National Digital Health Mission, was announced by PM Modi from the ramparts of the Red Fort during his Independence Day speech last year, and is currently being implemented in a pilot phase in six Union territories, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) noted in a statement.
A day before the launch, Prime Minister Modi took to Twitter, describing September 27 as an “important day for India's healthcare sector.” He tweeted, “The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission leverages technology to improve access to healthcare and opens doors for new innovation in the sector.”
Meanwhile, Union health minister MansukhMandaviya, who will be present at the event, tweeted, “This Mission will create a seamless online platform to enable information-sharing within the digital health ecosystem. Citizens will be able to access health facilities conveniently."
The health minister also laid out three key components of the project: a health ID for citizens, a healthcare professionals registry and healthcare facilities registries. “This will ensure ease of doing business by citizens and healthcare service providers. Now health is just a click away!” Mandaviya shared.
The National Digital Health Mission, the PMO noted, is based on the foundations laid down in the form of Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile (JAM) trinity, and other digital initiatives of the Government of India.
The nation-wide rollout of the initiative coincides with the National Health Authority (NHA) celebrating three years of the Ayushman Bharat PradhanMantri Jan AarogyaYojana (AB PM-JAY).

::INTERNATIONAL::

Kabul residents struggling due to price rise, medicine shortage under Taliban rule: Report

Residents of Kabul, Afghanistan's capital city, are facing issues such as rising food and fuel prices, shortage of medicines, restrictions on cash withdrawal etc. under the Taliban regime post its August 15 power grab in the country, according to a report by Russia's TASS news agency.
The rise in food prices in Afghanistan, TASS said, is due to imports from the neighbouring Pakistan and Iran. “Flour prices up by 30 per cent, vegetable costs up by 50 per cent. It is difficult to find certain cereals, while many require pharmaceuticals,” a resident of the Afghan capital was quoted as saying.
Fuel prices, too, have risen significantly, another Kabul resident, a driver, said. “Gasoline prices have increased by 20 to 40 per cent as against those during early August,” the driver said, referring to the time when the Ashraf Ghani-led government was still in power, though it was under tremendous pressure from Taliban forces advancing rapidly towards the city. “People who support their daily needs by driving taxis and small shuttle buses hardly earn anything because of the fuel price hike,” he further said.
Restrictions imposed on withdrawal of cash from banks have led to further complications, the reported stated. Not more than 20,000 Afghanis (national currency) can be withdrawn from banks, the regime has ruled.
“The issue of survival is now at the forefront, and the threat of misery is the primary cause of our despair,” yet another resident said.

::ECONOMY::

Yes Bank ties up with Visa

YES Bank entered into a partnership with Visa to issue credit cards to its customers on the payment platform, said the leading private sector bank in a recent statement. With the partnership, Yes Bank will begin the issuance of nine credit card variants - both consumer and commercial, on Visa's payment network.
It consists of nine credit card variants on the Visa platform that service all segments, including business cards, consumer cards, and corporate cards across YES Premia, YES First, and YES Prosperity, according to the statement by the full service commercial bank. The transition has been achieved within less than 60 days, for the convenience of customers across segments.
The Visa co-branded cards offer loyalty programs, under which the reward points never expire and can also be transferred or shared to the credit card holders of YES Bank.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

Around 23,000 years old human footprints in North America found in New Mexico

Fossilised footprints discovered in New Mexico indicate that early humans were walking across North America around 23,000 years ago, researchers reported Thursday.
The footprints were found in a dry lake bed in White Sands National Park, first spotted in 2009 by a park manager. Scientists at the US Geological Survey recently analysed seeds stuck in the footprints to determine their approximate age, ranging from around 22,800 and 21,130 years ago.
Most scientists believe ancient migration came by way of a now-submerged land bridge that connected Asia to Alaska. Based on various evidence — including stone tools, fossil bones and genetic analysis — other researchers have offered a range of possible dates for human arrival in the Americas, from 13,000 to 26,000 years ago or more.
The current study provides a more solid baseline for when humans definitely were in North America, although they could have arrived even earlier, the authors say. Fossil footprints are more indisputable and direct evidence than “cultural artifacts, modified bones, or other more conventional fossils,” they wrote.
“What we present here is evidence of a firm time and location,” they said.
Based on the size of the footprints, researchers believe that at least some were made by children and teenagers who lived during the last ice age.
The research was published Thursday in the journal Science.
Earlier excavations in White Sands National Park have uncovered fossilized tracks left by a saber-toothed cat, dire wolf, Columbian mammoth and other ice age animals. (AP) MGA MGA

::SPORTS::

Odisha to host Men's Hockey Junior World Cup

Bhubaneswar will stage the prestigious FIH Hockey Men's Junior World Cup 2021, after successfully hosting the 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup. This announcement was made in Bhubaneshwar byOdisha Chief Minister, Shri Naveen Patnaik.
The tournament will be held from 24 November to 5 December 2021 and, will feature 16 teams namely- India, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, South Africa, Egypt, Belgium, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, USA, Canada, Chile and Argentina.
While Odisha is also gearing up to host the 2023 FIH Men's Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, Patnaik accepted the proposal to host the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's Junior World Cup Bhubaneswar 2021 starting in November. He also launched the logo for the prestigious event.
"Odisha is the hub for hockey in the country and the Odisha State Government will continue to do everything in our capacity to help the sport grow further and achieve further laurels on the world level," stated Patnaik.