Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 02 June 2016

:: National ::

Govt hiked MSP for pulses

In a bid to boost the domestic production of pulses during the kharif season, the Centre announced a hike by up to Rs. 425 per quintal in the minimum support price (MSP) for pulses.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), which met here gave approval to the MSP for kharif crops of the 2016-17 season.
It increased the MSP for the common paddy (rice) variety by Rs. 60 to Rs. 1,470 per quintal and Grade A variety to Rs. 1,510 per quintal.
The CCEA approved the MSP, inclusive of bonus, for tur (arhar) dal at Rs. 5,050 per quintal for this year as against Rs. 4,625 last year, moong dal at Rs. 5,225 against Rs. 4,850 and urad dal at Rs. 5,000 from Rs. 4,625.
In the oilseeds category, the MSP for groundnut has been increased by Rs. 190 per quintal to Rs. 4,220, while for soyabean and nigerseed it has been hiked by Rs. 175 per quintal each to Rs. 2,775 and Rs. 3,825, respectively.

Govt would have consultation with seed companies for new policy

The Agriculture Ministry would have a wider consultation with seed companies, seed technology companies and farmers before introducing a new policy for technology agreements between seed technology companies and private seed companies.
On May 18, the Ministry issued — and retracted in less than a week — a new set of terms that would govern contracts between licensors and licensees of genetically modified cotton seeds.
The short-lived notification, called the Licensing and Formats for GM Technology Agreement Guidelines, 2016, specified that companies that licensed GM technology could charge seed companies royalty no more than 10% of the government-specified maximum sale price of a packet of cotton for 5 years.
Moreover, they would have to reduce this value by 10% every year from the sixth year and were it proved that the potency of the technology was waning, the company could no longer claim this royalty.
Finally, technology firms also could not refuse any eligible seed company wanting genes and any request not followed upon within 30 days would be deemed to have been granted.
Genetically modified seeds are only permitted in cotton and the dominant player in the business of licensing seed technology is Monsanto Mahyco Biotech Ltd (MMBL).
It licenses technology to several seed companies and underlies at least 95% of commercially grown cotton in the country.
Earlier this year, the Central government capped the sale price of cotton seeds and the royalty that companies like MMBL could charge.
The government caps have been challenged in the courts and separately MMBL is also fighting a legal battle to recover royalty payments from the Andhra Pradesh-based Nuziveedu Seeds.
Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said the government order was to ensure that cotton seeds were cheaply and readily available to farmers.

Thai authorities found 40 dead tiger cubs in a freezer at the Tiger Temple

Thai wildlife authorities found 40 dead tiger cubs in a freezer at the Tiger Temple, a controversial tourist attraction in western Thailand.
The discovery came as Thai wildlife rangers were removing adult tigers from the temple in an effort to shut down the attraction after receiving complaints that the temple was trafficking in endangered species.
The temple, a Buddhist monastery that offered paying tourists close contact with tigers, has long been accused by conservationists and animal rights activists of exploiting and abusing the animals, accusations the temple has denied.
Tiger parts, while illegal to sell, are in high demand in Asia, particularly China, for use in traditional medicine. There is even a market for frozen tiger cubs, as the arrest last month of a Vietnamese man carrying four of them attests.
The wildlife agency has been trying for months to shut down the Tiger Temple’s zoo.
The temple has promoted itself as a spiritual centre where people and tigers lived in harmony, and it has charged tourists as much as $140 apiece for the chance to bathe, hand-feed and play with the tigers.
The temple was already under investigation on suspicion of illegally trading in tigers after a former veterinarian reported that three live adult tigers had vanished.
While adult tigers have more value, particularly for their pelts, teeth and claws, the cubs can be sold for their meat and for their bones, which are said to have medicinal value.

More casualties reported in Central Ammunition Depot fire

The Army recovered at least three more bodies from the debris in the Army’s Central Ammunition Depot (CAD) at Pulgaon in Maharashtra taking the death toll in Tuesday’s fire to 19
The war preparedness of the Army could have been dramatically affected had the fire spread to other storage facilities in the vicinity.
At least one more firefighter is suspected to be missing in the fire and blasts. About 130 tonnes of mines and other ammunition blew up in the fire, which luckily did not spread.
In such explosions much of the ammunition usually goes down into the earth, while the shards fly in all directions. The unexploded bombs make the cleaning-up process particularly dangerous.
The bigger task now is to sanitise the whole area, locate and defuse the ordnance.

:: Science and Technology ::

3D printing technology getting better

Scientists have developed a new interactive 3D printing system that can allow designers to make changes to the model while it is still in the printer.
WirePrint aimed to speed prototyping by creating a model of the shape of an object instead of printing the entire solid.

:: International ::

Pak army says U.S. drone strikes in Pakistani territory are regrettable and must stop

U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan “must stop”, Pakistan’s Army chief General Raheel Sharif said, days after American special forces killed Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a drone attack in the country’s restive Balochistan province.
Gen. Sharif said: “U.S. drone strikes in Pakistani territory are regrettable and must stop.”
U.S. President Barack Obama, hailing Mansour’s death as an “important milestone” in efforts to bring peace to Afghanistan, had said American forces would continue to go after threats on Pakistani soil.
Gen. Sharif added the border management with Afghanistan was improving and urged Kabul to take matching measures on its side of the border.
He declared that the $46-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was a national project and it would be completed at any cost.
The security situation in the country, especially in Karachi city and Balochistan province, is improving, he added.

The UN children’s fund issued warning to Iraqi troops and IS militants for children

The UN children’s fund on Wednesday issued a stark warning to Iraqi troops and Islamic State (IS) militants in the battle for Fallujah to spare the children.
Children are the most vulnerable among tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the city west of Baghdad.
Iraqi forces, backed by U.S.-led air strikes and mainly Shia militias, launched an operation more than a week ago to recapture Fallujah, which has been held by the extremist group for more than two years.
More than 50,000 people are believed to be trapped inside the Sunni majority city. Government forces have imposed a tight blockade on the city and IS militants are reportedly preventing residents from leaving.
UNICEF estimated the number of the children trapped with their families inside the city at about 20,000, warning that they face a dire humanitarian situation, in addition to the risk of forced recruitment by IS.
Iraqi special forces, meanwhile, continued their push into the city from its southern edge, said Brig. Haider al-Obeidi, who said “fierce” clashes were under way on Wednesday.
The fight for Fallujah is expected to be protracted because IS has had more than two years to dig in. Hidden bombs are believed to be strewn throughout the city, and the presence of trapped civilians will limit the use of supporting airstrikes.

NIIT to provide training to 50000 Chinese students

At a brand new industrial park in southwest China, where buildings still smell of fresh paint and masonry, the National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT) is gearing up to train 50,000 Chinese students over the next five years.
The training contract was signed on the sidelines of China’s ‘Big Data’ conference and exhibition at Guiyang.
Separately, the company sealed an agreement with the provincial government to establish a Big Data Talent Research Centre in Guiyang “to enhance innovation and research”.
The once impoverished city of Guiyang, well known in history for its role during Mao Zedong’s Long March — is now fast emerging as one of the most prominent landmarks in China’s cyberspace.
Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, who addressed a conference last week, formally endorsed Guiyang as the country’s ‘Big Data’ hub.
Analysts say this endorsement dovetails with China’s transition from a low-end manufacturing hub to an advanced digital economy based on high-end consumption and production.
‘Big Data’ refers to a massive accumulation of information, siphoned from multiple sources and domains, which can then be analysed to make informed decisions.
Several factors have gone Guiyang’s way to emerge as China’s ‘Big Data’ core.
The climate here is mild, power is plentiful and cost of establishing businesses lower than in China’s more developed parts along the coast. Besides, the local government has been relentless in pushing the hi-tech industry.

:: Business and Economy ::

The Cabinet approved amending public sector recruitment rules

The Cabinet gave an ‘ex-post facto’ approval for amending public sector recruitment rules to allow the selection of candidates from the private sector and state public sector enterprises.
The nod is for the selection of candidates from state public sector enterprises and the private sector as “non-internal candidates for a period of five years for appointment in Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs).
The move is expected to bring in greater efficiency but there are some concerns that need to be addressed.
Those who do well in the private sector will get better returns there than in the public sector while the public sector offers greater job security.
The good talent at the top of the private sector will not migrate. Those not in the top rungs may see an advantage in PSUs.
The Cabinet also approved the decision that the chairperson and members of the public enterprises selection board (PESB) should hold office for a period of three years from the assumption of charge or until they turn 65 years of age, whichever is earlier.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its nod to develop a new 51 kilometer broad-gauge line in Uttar Pradesh between Mau station of North Eastern Railway and Tarighat terminal station of East Central Railway.
The CCEA also approved the Telecom Ministry’s proposal for the continuation of 30 per cent quota reserved for Indian Telephone Industries (ITI) on procurement orders by state-owned BSNL, MTNL and BBNL.
Also, 20 per cent of the network roll-out orders for turnkey projects such as GSM network roll-out of BSNL and MTNL, and National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) of BBNL will be reserved for ITI.
The Cabinet approved the signing of three memoranda of understanding (MoU) between India and Qatar for cooperation in skill development and ‘recognition of qualifications.’
Another MoU approved by the Cabinet was one between the United States of America and India to enhance cooperation in wildlife conservation and combating wildlife trafficking.

The government is considering an ‘outcome-linked’ payment package for NIIF CEO

The government is considering an ‘outcome-linked’ payment package as part of incentives for the recruitment of a chief executive of India’s first sovereign wealth fund, the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF).
Negotiations on the incentive payment, which will be paid for every $10 billion the fund succeeds in raising, are still on. But an official source said that it could be as high as Rs.10 crore.
Another source privy to the details of the negotiations said that efforts are on to have it pegged closer to Rs.2 crore.
The government is expected to announce the appointment of the executive soon.
After much delay, the search committee has finalised a candidate, Sujoy Bose, global co-head of infrastructure and natural resources of the International Finance Corporation, from about 70 applicants for the post.
The Rs.40,000 crore NIIF will act as the nodal agency for the development of greenfield and brownfield infrastructure projects and help revive stalled projects. The Centre will invest Rs 20,000 crore in the fund.
The remaining is expected to come from private investors. The government’s share in the corpus will not exceed 49 per cent.
Sovereign funds and pension funds from a number of countries, including the U.K., UAE, Russia and Singapore, have already expressed interest in investing in NIIF.

Government to come out with MSME policy

The national policy for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which seeks to boost the overall growth of the sector, is expected to be released by the end of this year.
MSME Minister Kalraj Mishra said a committee headed by Former Cabinet Secretary Prabhat Kumar is drafting the policy and govt is expecting the report by October 31.
He said the committee would meet some more stakeholders for the proposed policy and they are also looking at policies of other countries.
A committee will be set up by the end of this month to look after the revival and rehabilitation of sick MSME units, he added.