Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 02 March 2019

::NATIONAL::

Nation erupts in joy as wing commander Abhinandan returns home

Indian Air Force fighter pilot Wing Commander AbhinandanVarthaman was freed by Pakistan on Friday, two days after his MiG-21 fighter jet came down in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
“Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has been handed over to us as per standard operating procedure of the IAF. He is now being taken for a detailed medical checkup,” Air Vice- Marshal R.G.K. Kapoor, Assistant Chief of Air Staff (ACAS) Operations (Space), told reporters at Attari in Amritsar, reading from a text.
He said a medical checkup is mandated, particularly because the officer has had to eject from an aeroplane, which could have put his entire body under great stress. “IAF is happy to have Abhinandan back,” he added.
Wg. Cdr. Varthaman was brought from Islamabad to Wagah by the Pakistani authorities and handed over to Indian High Commission officials after completing the formalities.
Expressing happiness that talks to further thrash out the modalities for the Kartarpur Corridor were on track despite the tensions, Capt. Amarinder requested the central government to allow 5,000-10,000 pilgrims to cross through every day once the corridor becomes operational.

Vice president stresses on importance of education

The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that the education we impart in our schools, colleges and universities must lead to self discovery, enlightenment and awakening of an individual. He was addressingat Hyderabad today.
Shri Naidu said that investing in people through healthcare, quality education, jobs and skills helps build human capital. He further said that though India has made considerable gains in human development, it still grapples from challenges of illiteracy, big barriers to secondary schooling, low-quality public services, and gender discrimination. It is time for India to pursue a much more aggressive education plan, exploiting the new technology opportunities, he added.
The Vice President said that there should be renewed focus on gender equality and safety of women through gender sensitization and gender sensitization must begin at the home, schools and colleges. He urged the institution to do everything in its power to encourage more and more young women to avail opportunities of higher education.
Saying that even when jobs are available, candidates with the right skill set that fit the job are not available, the Vice President suggested to tackle this issue with the PradhanMantriKaushalVikasYojna 2.0 which has been launched in October 2016 and aims to train 10 Million Youth over a period of 4 years.
Advising to pay attention to equity in access to education, the Vice President said that women and girls, Scheduled Castes and Tribes, differently-abled and minority groups need to have a barrier free and equitable access to higher education.

::ECONOMY::

RBI signs bilateral swap agreement with Japan

Reserve Bank of India and Bank of Japan have signed a Bilateral Swap Arrangement (BSA). It may be recalled that the BSA was negotiated between India and Japan during the visit of Prime Minister NarendraModi to Tokyo in October last year.
The BSA provides for India to access 75 billion US dollars whereas the earlier BSA had provided for 50 billion dollars. The BSA was approved by the Union Cabinet in January this year. The agreement for the BSA has become effective from today. India can access the agreed amount of 75 billion dollars for its domestic currency, for the purpose of maintaining an appropriate level of balance of payments or short-term liquidity.
The government of India has welcomed BSA effectiveness and expressed its gratitude to Japan for agreeing to enter into this arrangement. In a statement, the Ministry of Finance said, it is in the spirit of strong partnership and carries out its strategic partnership further. It said the financial cooperation would further enhance the strong economic ties between India and Japan

Click Here for Study Material for SSC CGL Exam

SSC CGL (Tier-1) Exam Crash Course

::INTERNATIONAL::

China to take issue of North Korean sanctions at UNSC

China has called for North Korean sanctions relief to be discussed at the UN Security Council after US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un ended a summit without a deal.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in Beijing today, the UN Security Council should start discussions on the reversible clauses of the resolutions, which imposed sanctions on North Korea.
He said the council should adjust the sanctions in accordance with the principle of simultaneous reciprocity.
The Chinese spokesman further said, both the countries note that lifting sanctions is an important part of the denuclearisation process.
Beijing is the North's main trade partner and sole major ally, but it has backed a raft of UN sanctions following Pyongyang's repeated nuclear and missile tests in recent years.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Scientists believe Arctic ocean to be ice free soon

The Arctic Ocean could experience ice-free summers within the next 20 years, much earlier than previously predicted. A new study has warned that unless human greenhouse gas emissions are greatly reduced, the Arctic will be nearly free of sea ice during the summer by the middle of this century.
In addition to the human-caused warming, the melting of ice may also occur due to a natural, long-term warming phase in the tropical Pacific.
Ocean temperatures in the Pacific always vary from month-to-month and from year-to-year, but slowly evolving ocean processes cause long-term temperature shifts lasting between 10 and 30 years.
These shifts in temperature, known as the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO), translate into an approximately 0.5 degree Celsius shift in ocean surface temperature in the tropics.
The researchers used a computer climate model to predict climate change. The study was published in the AGU journal Geophysical Research Letters.

::SPORTS::

India wins massively over Turkmenistan in Turkish Women’s cup

With a goal hattrick by Sanju, Indian women's team romped to a massive 10-0 victory against Turkmenistan in their second match of the Turkish Women's Cup in Alanya today.
Sanju who scored goals at 17th, 37th, 71st minutes of the game, was the highest scorer of the match. AnjuTamang scored goals at 51st and 83rd minutes, Ranjana at 60th and 62nd while Dangmei Grace at 7th, Sumithra at 77th and IndumathiKathiresan at 87th also scored one goal each.
India thus bounced back from their 0-1 defeat against Uzbekistan on Wednesday. India is next set to face Romania on Sunday.