Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 15 September 2021

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 15 September 2021

::NATIONAL::

Chhattisgarh launched Millet Mission

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister BhupeshBaghel recently said that the state will become the millet hub of the country in the coming times. He said that "Millet Mission" initiative is aimed at giving the farmers right price for small cereal crops, provide input assistance, procurement arrangements, processing and ensure that the farmers get benefit of the expertise of experts. "Like minor forest produce, we want to make small grain crops also the strength of Chhattisgarh," said Baghel at an event organised for signing of MoU between Indian Institute of Millet Research, Hyderabad and the collectors of 14 Chhattisgarh districts under "Millet Mission" of the state.
The districts are Kanker, Kondagaon, Bastar, Dantewada, Bijapur, Sukma, Narayanpur, Rajnandgaon, Kawardha, Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi,Balrampur, Koriya, Surajpur and Jashpur. Under the MoU, the Indian Institute of Millet Research, Hyderabad will provide support and guidance for increasing the productivity of Kodo, Kutki and Ragi, technical know-how, availability of high quality seeds and establishment of seed bank in Chhattisgarh. Apart from this, arrangements will be made for training the farmers of Chhattisgarh through KrishiVigyan Kendra for spreading the scientific technology developed at the national level related to millet production by IIMR Hyderabad at the field level.

::INTERNATIONAL::

PM NarendraModi to attend Quad Summit at White House

Prime Minister NarendraModi is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden on September 24, followed by a meeting of the Quad leaders at the White House, with focus on Afghanistan, the Indo-Pacific, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the climate crisis, according to people aware of the matter.
Modi will first have separate bilateral meetings with comprehensive strategic partners Japan and Australia on September 23, officials based in Washington and New Delhi said. With Japanese Prime Minister YoshihideSuga and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, PM Modi will advance the shared objective of an open, free, prosperous, and rules-based Indo-Pacific region as India steps up its engagement through various initiatives, the officials said on condition of anonymity.
India has two-plus-two dialogues with all its three Quad partners, with the first India-Australia dialogue held in New Delhi on September 11.
On September 24, Modi will first hold a bilateral dialogue with US Vice President Kamala Harris followed by the first dialogue in person with President Joe Biden. This will be followed by the Quad summit. All the engagements will be held at the White House.
Just as PM Modi will hold bilateral meetings with all three Quad partners, other leaders are also expected to hold bilateral meetings before converging for the summit, the people quoted above said. External affairs minister S Jaishankar is leaving for the US on September 20 to attend the United Nations General Assembly and prepare the groundwork for the Quad Summit. There is no meeting scheduled between Quad foreign ministers.

::ECONOMY::

Paytm Payments Bank launches FASTag based metro parking facility

Digital payment startup Paytm has partnered with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to enable the country's first FASTag-based metro parking facility. Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL), which is the acquiring bank for the parking site at the Kashmere Gate metro station, said that it will collect parking fees via FASTag. PaytmFASTag will eliminate the need for stopping the car.
Paytm Payments Bank will also allow two-wheelers at the parking facility to pay using UPI. DMRC Managing Director Mangu Singh called it a step towards digitalisation and said that contactless transactions are the need of the hour.
A FASTag is an electronic toll collection system operated by NHAI. It uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to collect toll payments directly from a linked account. It is fixed in the front of the vehicle and allows to drive through tolls without stopping for payments.
Making FASTag mandatory won't breach right to freedom of movement: Centre PPBL plans to expand digital payments solutions across the country
In a statement, Paytm said, "PPBL will digitalise parking facilities across the country with Kashmere Gate metro station being the first one to be powered by the bank's digital payment solution." It stated that the bank is working with civic bodies across states to initiate FASTag-based parking facilities both at organised and unorganised sites.
PPBL added that the bank is working with various stakeholders to provide digital payment solutions for parking areas at hospitals, shopping malls and airports.
"It has been our endeavour to expand the FASTag network in our country. In this quest, we are excited to partner with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation for enabling digital payment solutions at their parking facility," PPBL managing director and CEO Satish Gupta said, "We will continue to work with other parking providers across the country to adopt a safe and contactless payment solution by implementing the FASTag system."
In July, Paytm became the first ban to issue one croreFASTags. According to the National Payments Corporation of India (NCPI) more than 3.47 croreFASTags were issued by all financial institutions together till the end of June 2021. PPBL had also informed that of the total 851 toll plazas across the country, 280 are using Paytm's payment gateway.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

IIT Bombay launches 'Project Udaan'

On the occasion of Hindi Diwas, IIT-Bombay launched “Project Udaan” on 14 September 2021. The program is able to finally see the light of day, after seven years of toil.
Prof. Ganesh Ramakrishnan envisaged this project from the Department of Computer Science & Engineering in IIT Bombay. It was launched to break the language barrier that many students face while joining higher education institutes.
Project Udaan enables the translation of textbooks and other study material of engineering and other streams from English to Hindi and other Indian languages. It is a donation-based and artificial intelligence-based translation ecosystem. It helps in translating engineering textbooks and learning materials in one-sixth the time as compared to manual tasking. This machine translation will be aided by human effort.
Every year, more than one crore students appear in CBSE, ICSE, and state board class 10th and 12th exams in India. Of these students, more than 65% study in non-English medium schools. Often, when joining higher education institutes where the primary language of instruction is English, such students face language barriers.
Lack of textbooks and other educational resources in native languages add more to the issue for these students. Even when trying to understand the content from supplementary resources such as the internet or keeping up with contemporary research, they face a similar issue. Leaving behind such potential minds will retard the growth potential for the country. Project Udaan will play a significant role in accelerating the said growth and uplifting the overall potential of the nation’s young minds.

::SPORTS::

Raja Randhir Singh appointed as Acting President of Asia Olympic Council

India's Raja Randhir Singh has taken over as acting president of the Olympic Council of Asia as Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah appeals a guilty verdict in a Swiss forgery trial.
A five-time Olympic shooter and an Asian Games gold medallist in 1978, Singh was promoted to the role from his position as an honorary life vice president.
"Whilst I have every confidence that Sheikh Ahmad will be successful in his appeal, I would be honoured to step in temporarily as the acting president of the OCA to ensure the continued smooth running of the organisation in the critical period ahead," Singh said in a statement.