Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 19 November 2018

::NATIONAL::

Around 4.5 lakh people re apply for inclusion in NPR

About 4.5 lakh of the 40,07,707 people excluded from the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) have applied for re-inclusion in the list.
Simultaneously, the authorities have received 175 applications challenging the inclusion of names of suspected foreigners in the NRC meant for bona fide residents of Assam.
The complete draft of the Supreme Court-monitored NRC was published on July 30. It included the names of 2.9 crore of the total 3.29 croreapplicants.The claims and objections round of the exercise began on September 25 and is scheduled to end on December 15.
One of the reasons for the low turnout of applications is believed to have been the delay by the government in setting up a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the disposal of claims and objections.

PCI claims complete ban of word ‘dalit’ in media not possible

There cannot be a complete ban on use of word “Dalit” in media, the Press Council of India, the body that regulates print media, has ruled.
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry had issued an advisory to all media outlets to not use the word “Dalit” to refer to members belonging to the Scheduled Castes. The advisory was based on an order of the Bombay High Court on June 6 this year, on a petition filed by PankajMeshram.
In an earlier order on March 15 this year, the Ministry of Social Justice too had issued a similar advisory to all the State governments and Union Territories that in all official transactions, the constitutional term “Scheduled Caste” should be used instead of the word “Dalit”.
In its advisory, the I&B Ministry said: “It is accordingly advised that media may refrain from using the nomenclature “Dalit” while referring to members belonging to the Scheduled Caste in compliance with Bombay High Court..”
“Our reading of the Bombay High Court order is that it did not seek a ban on the word ‘Dalit’. We deliberated on the order and have come to the conclusion that it is advisable not to issue directions/orders prohibiting the use of word ‘Dalit’,” PCI chairman Justice C.K. Prasad said.

::ECONOMY::

DIPAM data shows current government divested more than the previous govt.

The current NDA government accounts for a whopping 58% of all the disinvestment that has taken place since 1991, an analysis by The Hindu of data released by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) showed.
The data showed disinvestments worth about ₹3.63 lakh crore have taken place since 1991, out of which about ₹2.1 lakh crore came in the last four years alone, with five months still left in this financial year. The disinvestment done by the current government so far is already almost twice that done by the UPA government over both its terms in power.
In the number of deals too, the current NDA administration seems ahead with 75 deals compared with 33 deals in UPA-II.
Further, the government has set a target of ₹80,000 crore of disinvestments for this financial year, of which it has so far achieved only ₹15,247.11 crore. If it does manage to meet its target, then the present government’s share in total disinvestment since 1991 will go up to nearly 65%.

Railways to offer PG medical courses

The Indian Railways is planning to establish medical colleges to offer Post Graduate courses for doctors at 10 of its existing hospitals across India.
“We are thinking of opening up medical colleges. The process is in a very nascent stage right now,” a senior Railways official said, adding that the national transporter has already identified 10 hospitals with 300 or more beds across India, where there courses will be taught.
The official said that the proposal has been cleared by the Railway Board and now, the Railways is in the process of getting permissions from the Medical Council of India (MCI).
Currently, a total of 125 Railways hospitals, with a capacity of about 40,000 beds, offer primary, secondary as well as tertiary healthcare services to about 65 lakh beneficiaries. These include current Railways employees, retired employees, and their families. These hospitals employ about 2,500 doctors and 40,000 paramedical staff.
The shortlisted hospitals include nine Central hospitals and one Divisional hospital, including the Northern Railways Central Hospitals, Eastern Railways Central Hospitals, Southern Railways Central Hospitals, North Eastern Railways Hospital, Western Railways Central Hospitals, and the Kharagpur Divisional Hospital.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

BIMSTEC aims to expand connectivity in the region

Following the fourth meeting of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) in Kathmandu in August, there is a renewed push to conclude a series of proposals to further cooperation and connectivity.
The top among them are a master plan on connectivity and the motor vehicle agreement, which have been in the works for almost a decade. Other proposals like a parliamentarians forum, cooperation on cyber and space cooperation and maritime security are under discussion.
The dialogue is an outcome of the first meeting of National Security Advisors held in March 2017 and the second meeting of security chiefs held in March 2018.
The draft connectivity master plan aims to improve movement between member states in all modes of transport and is likely to be adopted during the ministerial meeting early next year. The draft was prepared with financial and consultative support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The consultative support of ADB is available till December 31, 2018.
The dialogue has produced an outcome document which will now be circulated among members by the Secretariat. Top among the recommendations is upgrading cooperation in disaster management, terrorism, maritime security and transnational crime.
BIMSTEC is already looking at adopting the model of ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA) on disaster management

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Data shows air pollution in villages also rising amongst cities

Central Pollution Control Board data shows that air quality is bad not just in Delhi but in more than a hundred cities across the country, including our coastal metros. Also, in the brouhaha over cities and towns, we conveniently ignore the fact that people in our villages also suffer severely from the ill effects of air pollution.
A big source of air pollution in India is in people’s homes, particularly in villages and slum tenements. There have been 3.8 million deaths worldwide from indoor air pollution in 2016 alone, WHO says. India shares a large burden of the deaths.
Millions of women in both rural and urban areas cook on stoves or fires that fill the room with thick smoke from firewood and dung. This poses an enormous risk to health to women and children, who spend the most time near the domestic hearth. Over 60% of all premature deaths from household air pollution in 2012 were among women and children.
In poorly ventilated dwellings, indoor smoke can be 100 times higher than healthy levels for fine particles that are deposited deep into our lungs. This is a problem that can be easily solved by building efficient chimneys. In the past 50 years, innovators have come up with several models of smokeless cook stoves. But we have miserably failed to ensure their widespread use.
Unlike in rural homes, cleaning the poison from the ambient air in cities, unfortunately, does not have such a simple solution. India tops the list of countries with the largest number of cities where air quality poses a serious hazard for citizens. In a study done by WHO, air pollution has gone from bad to worse between 2007 and 2017.

::SPORTS::

Djokovic beats Anderson in ATP finals

Novak Djokovic produced a masterclass to beat Kevin Anderson on Saturday and set up a title decider with Alexander Zverev in the ATP Finals.
World No. 1 Djokovic comfortably saw off the South African fourth seed 6-2, 6-2, the Serb never looking even remotely troubled as he targeted a record-equalling sixth end-of-season title at London’s O2 Arena.
Anderson came into the contest knowing his serve had to fire on all cylinders if he was to stand any chance against Djokovic — one of the best returners in the game. But the giant South African landed just 48% of first serves in the first set and Djokovic was ruthless in punishing his opponent, breaking in the first game and repeating the feat before serving out the set.