Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 02 February 2022

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 02 February 2022

::NATIONAL::

SC notice on Centre’s plea to modify order that protected Great Indian Bustard

The Supreme Court agreed to consider an application filed by Centre seeking modification of an order of the top court passed last year directing undergrounding of power cables in parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat, which serve as the natural habitat of critically endangered bird – the Great Indian Bustard (GIB).
Citing technical objections for carrying out the court’s directions, the Centre in its application filed through the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) said that the decision of the court will have “far and wide ramifications” on the development of renewable energy sector as the order will apply to an area extending to 80,688 square kilometre in the two states which are crucial for development of renewable energy sources – wind and solar power.
The Great Indian Bustard is listed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in its Red List of threatened species. They are also protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
The Great Indian Bustard is one of the heaviest flying birds in the world, about a metre in height and wingspan of around seven feet. It has disappeared from 90% of the habitat except for parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat. Because the bird lacks frontal vision, they cannot detect powerlines ahead of them from far, and are unable to manoeuvre around power lines within close distances because of their weight.
Representing the Centre, attorney general (A-G) KK Venugopal informed the court that the matter required consideration. There were other similar applications seeking modification of the court’s direction filed by solar developers’ association, wind independent power producers’ association and Rajasthan government.
A bench of justices Hemant Gupta and V Ramasubramanian issued notice on all applications and directed responses to be filed by the petitioner, noted wildlife activist MK Ranjitsinh, on whose petition the order was passed.
Senior advocate Shyam Divan, who appeared for Ranjitsinh, told the court that with great difficulty, the April 19 order was passed with an intention to save and preserve the existing population of the Great Indian Bustard. Though a time of one year was granted for implementing the order, Divan said that till date, there was no compliance by the Centre or state governments. The court granted liberty to the parties to mention the matter before CJI for getting a fixed date for hearing the applications.

::INTERNATIONAL::

US designates Qatar as a major non-NATO ally

To reflect the “importance of its bilateral relationship”, and its status as a “good friend and capable partner”, the United States has decided to designate Qatar as a major non-NATO ally, American President Joe Biden announced on Monday during a visit of Qatar’s emir Sheikh Tamim Al-Thani to Washington DC.
At a joint press appearance with the Qatari leader, Biden said, “This past year, our partnership with Qatar has been central to many of our most vital interests — relocating tens of thousands of Afghans; maintaining stability in Gaza and providing lifesaving assistance to the Palestinians; keeping pressure on ISIS and deterring threats across the Middle East; and a lot more.”
Biden indicated that the US and Qatar had shared interests in “ensuring the stability of global energy supplies”. The US is relying on Qatar, among others, to step in with the supply of natural gas if a conflict breaks out with Russia, jeopardising Russian gas supplies to Europe.
The US has designated 18 countries, including Pakistan, as major non-NATO allies. Unlike a NATO ally, whose defence becomes the collective responsibility of the alliance, the designation does not entail a defence commitment — but it enables a country to access military and financial advantages.
Biden called Qatar’s inclusion as a major non-NATO ally “long overdue”. He subsequently sent a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and President of the Senate, stating, “I am making this designation in recognition of Qatar’s many years of contributions to US-led efforts in the US Central Command area of responsibility and in recognition of our own national interest in deepening bilateral defence and security cooperation with the state of Qatar.”
Qatar played a key role in the negotiations between the US and Taliban, though contrary to the terms of the peace process signed in Doha, the Afghan government collapsed, there was chaotic withdrawal of American troops, and the Taliban assumed absolute power after running through the country in a violent offensive last year.

::ECONOMY::

Big Tech made more money than ever despite chip shortage

The depressive sentiment driven by chip shortage and supply chain constraints hasn’t really held back Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Intel and Tesla from clocking record numbers for the quarter. These companies ended the year on a high – the highlights being Apple recording its best ever quarter and Tesla almost delivering the promised 1 million vehicles for the year.
Apple reported that Q1 2022 (this is for the December 2021 quarter) was the biggest quarter for the company in terms of revenue. That’s $123.9 billion in revenue and $34.6 billion profit. Incidentally, this was the first full quarter for the Apple iPhone 13 series on the shelves, and the iPhone business raked in $71.63 billion, that is up 9 percent over the same quarter in 2020.
The iPad line-up was hit more than others by supply chain issues even as the Macs (up 25% year-over-year or YOY), services (up 24%) and wearables (up 13%) more than made up.
Samsung reported KRW 76.57 trillion (around $63.6 billion) in revenue and KRW 13.87 trillion (around $11.5 billion) profit for the three-month period, a revenue record for the Korean tech giant, in any quarter. In fact, the KRW 279.6 trillion (around $232.4 billion) revenue for the year was also a record.
Microsoft’s Q2 2022 results indicate Windows, Surface computing devices, Xbox gaming consoles, Office and cloud services have all recorded revenue spikes. Windows revenue from OEMs (the Windows 11 licenses for new PCs) was up 25% – Gartner indicates that 340 million PCs were shipped in 2021, while IDC indicates 348.8 million units were shipped.
Even though Microsoft was tempering expectations for the Surface line-up, the revenue increased 8% over the same quarter the year before. Xbox consoles, worst hit by the chip shortage, still recorded 4% higher revenue.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

Samsung overtakes Intel as world's top semiconductor company in 2021

Samsung Electronics surpassed Intel to become the leading chipmaker by revenue last year, according to industry data released Wednesday, thanks to a powerful lift from its memory business.
Samsung's semiconductor revenue surged 31.6% in 2021 to hit $75.9 billion, the ranking by U.S. research firm Gartner shows. The company last wore the crown in 2018. The standings are based on preliminary results by Gartner and exclude foundries such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
Sales from Samsung's memory business jumped 34.2% last year on stay-at-home demand. Shipments spiked for products found in personal computers and other electronics, as well as in servers.
End-product manufacturers increased their chip stockpiles ahead of production expansions, prompting a rise in semiconductor prices. Market prices are settling down as the stockpiling has waned, but chip demand for servers remains robust.
The semiconductor market as a whole grew 25.1% last year to $583.5 billion, according to Gartner, as sales topped half a trillion dollars for the first time.
Revenue for Intel, which fell to second place, grew only 0.5% to $73.1 billion. Sales by the U.S. chipmaker rose the slowest among the top 25 companies amid tough competition in the server CPU space, Intel's strength.
Direct rivals such as U.S. maker AMD, which rose to 10th place from 14th in the ranking, improved their market shares.
Qualcomm of the U.S. and Taiwan's MediaTek, which both make chips for the telecommunications industry, ranked fifth and seventh, respectively. In addition to 5G smartphones taking off, the American sanctions against China's Huawei Technologies caused a favorable shift in smartphone market shares.

::SPORTS::

Unnati Hooda and Kiran George win 2022 Odisha Open

Odisha’s first BWF event, the Odisha Open 2022 concluded at JN Indoor Stadium, Cuttack, on Sunday. The event that commenced on 25th January, has over the days, witnessed some nail biting matches between young badminton players. Unnati Hooda (India), aged 14, won her maiden super 100 title by defeating Smit Toshniwal (India). Kiran George (India) took home the men’s single title with a thrilling three-game win over Priyanshu Rajawat (India).
Sri Lankan pair – Sachin Dias/Thilini Hendahewa won the mixed doubles title, defeating the Indian pair MR Arjun/Treesa Jolly. Gayathri G/Treesa J (India) cruised to the Women’s Double Title with a clinical win over Sanyogita Ghorpade and Shruti M. Malaysian pair Nur Mohd/Lim KW won the men’s doubles title, defeating Indian pair PS Ravi and SP Uday.