Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 01 September 2016

:: National ::

SC quashed the acquisition of land in Singur

The Supreme Court quashed the CPI (M)-led West Bengal government’s acquisition of 997 acres of agricultural land for industry captain Tata Motors’ Nano “small car” plant in Singur.
Judgement said though it is “completely understandable” for the government to acquire land to set up industrial units, the “brunt of development” should not be borne by the “weakest sections of the society.”
The judgment questions the former CPI(M) government’s acquisition of the land over the objections raised by farmers and even proceeding to install equipment and factory machinery.
The acquisition had seen widespread protests in the State, compelling the Tatas to shift base to Gujarat in 2008.
The issue led to an electoral victory for the Mamata Banerjee government, which went on to enact the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act in 2011 to re-claim the land from the Tatas.

Election Commission issued directions for use of an integrated violet sketch pen

The Election Commission issued directions for use of an integrated violet sketch pen of “approved” design, which would be manufactured by a particular firm, in future Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council polls.
The decision comes over two months after votes of 12 Congress legislators marked using a “wrong” pen were declared invalid in Rajya Sabha polls in Haryana.
In its order, the Election Commission said: “integrated violet sketch pen of specific design and manufactured by a particular firm, both approved by the Election Commission of India, shall be used in all future elections”.

Hundreds of tonnes of gold could be recovered from old electronic devices now

Hundreds of tonnes of gold could be recovered from old electronic devices such as smartphones, TV sets and computers each year, thanks to a simple chemical method developed by researchers.
Current methods for extracting gold from old gadgets are inefficient and can be hazardous to health, as they often use toxic chemicals such as cyanide, researchers said.
Electrical waste — including old mobile phones, televisions and computers — is thought to contain as much as seven per cent of all the world’s gold, a key component of the printed circuit boards found inside electrical devices.
Improving how the precious metal is recovered from discarded electronic devices could help reduce the environmental impact of gold mining and cut carbon dioxide emissions.
They developed a simple extraction method that does not use toxic chemicals and recovers gold more effectively than current methods.
The finding could help salvage some of the estimated 300 tonnes of gold used in electronics each year, researchers said.
The findings could aid the development of methods for large-scale recovery of gold and other precious metals from waste electronics, researchers said.

Enemy property ordinance approved by the cabinet

The Union Cabinet gave ‘post facto approval’ to the ordinance, a first in the independent parliamentary history of the country, promulgated by President Pranab Mukherjee to amend the Enemy Property Act.
Since the government could not get the required parliamentary approval in the just-concluded session, PM Modi invoked Rule 12 of business and transactions to seek re-promulgation of the ordinance by the President.
The amended provisions are to guard against claims of succession or transfer of properties left by people who migrated to Pakistan and China after the wars in 1965 and 1962.
Thanks to the amended version now, once a property is deemed as enemy property, no claims of ownership will be entertained, even if classification of the enemy changes in due course of time.
In the last two years, questions have been raised on the frequent recourse of the Modi government to the ordinance route and whether the President should have assented to all the governments for issue of ordinances.

:: International ::

Dilma Rousseff was stripped of the Brazil’s presidency

Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff was stripped of the country’s presidency in a Senate impeachment vote, ending 13 years of Leftist rule in Latin America’s biggest economy.
Ms. Rousseff (68) was convicted by 61 of the 81 Senators of illegally manipulating the national budget. The vote, passing the needed two-thirds majority, meant she was immediately removed from office.
Brazil’s first woman President, holed up in the presidential palace on the outskirts of the capital Brasilia with close aides, was expected to make a statement soon after the vote.
Her Vice-President-turned-bitter-political-enemy, Michel Temer, was to be sworn as her replacement
Ms. Rousseff, from the leftist Workers’ Party, is accused of taking illegal state loans to patch budget holes in 2014, masking the country’s problems as it slid into its deepest recession in decades.

China will provide at least 8 submarines to Pakistan

Pakistan will acquire at least eight modified diesel-electric attack submarines from China by 2028 in a nearly $5 billion agreement, said to be the biggest arms export deal for Beijing.
China is expected to extend a long term loan to Pakistan at a low interest rate to cover the cost of the project, the report said.
It has not officially been confirmed what type of submarines will be supplied to the Pakistan Navy by the China Shipbuilding Trading Company (CSTC).
The first four submarines are expected to be delivered by the end of 2023 while the remaining four will be assembled in Karachi by 2028.
China is Pakistan’s biggest supplier of military hardware and the two jointly manufacture J-17 Thunder warplane.
Pakistan’s submarine fleet comprises five Agostas of which one — Hamza (Khalid Class) — was indigenously constructed and commissioned in 2008.

:: Business and Economy ::

First quarter saw decline in GDP growth

India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth slowed to 7.1 per cent in the first quarter of this financial year, with private consumption still the mainstay of the expansion.
GDP growth stood at 7.9 per cent in the fourth quarter (January-March) of the previous financial year and at 7.5 per cent in Q1 of 2015-16.
The slowdown in the first quarter of this year was mainly driven by a slowdown in mining, construction and agriculture sectors.
The construction sector grew at only 1.5 per cent in Q1 of 2016-17 compared with 5.6 per cent in the same quarter of the previous year.
The mining sector saw a contraction of 0.4 per cent in Q1 of 2016-17 compared with a strong growth of 8.5 per cent in April-June last year.
In agriculture, the effect of a better monsoon will be reflected more in the next quarter rather than in April-June.
The sector grew at 1.8 per cent in the period under review compared with 2.6 in the same quarter of the previous year.
Another concern is to do with the imbalance between private consumption and capital formation, with the former being the main bolster for growth.
Private consumption expenditure grew 6.8 per cent in the first quarter, slightly slower than the 6.9 per cent in the year earlier period.

Union Cabinet approval for permanent residency status to all foreign investors

The Union Cabinet approved a scheme to grant permanent residency status (PRS) to all foreign investors, except those from Pakistan, subject to the relevant conditions.
The PRS will be granted for a period of 10 years with multiple entry, the Centre added.
In order to avail this scheme, the foreign investor will have to invest a minimum of Rs.10 crore to be brought within 18 months or Rs.25 crore to be brought within 36 months
The Cabinet also gave its ex-post facto approval for the FDI policy amendments which opened up FDI norms for almost all sectors including food manufacturing, defence, broadcasting, pharmaceuticals, civil aviation etc.
The Cabinet also gave its approval to create a Project Development Fund (PDF) with a corpus of Rs.500 Crore “for catalysing Indian economic presence in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam”.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved a Rs.1,145 crore project at Mormugao Port for the redevelopment of berths on public private partnership (PPP) mode.

Scheme to promote electric and hybrid vehicles will help save fuel

The Centre’s scheme to promote electric and hybrid vehicles in the country will help save fuel worth Rs.60,000 crore.
The environment is one of the biggest concerns for the (auto) sector. Govt has therefore allocated Rs. 14,000 crore for the FAME scheme for promoting hybrid and electric mobility which will save Rs.60,000 crore fuel.
In April 2015, to promote eco-friendly vehicles, the government unveiled the FAME India, offering incentives on electric and hybrid vehicles of up to Rs.29,000 for bikes and Rs.1.38 lakh for cars.
The scheme is part of the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan.