Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 02 March 2022

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 02 March 2022

::NATIONAL::

Max temperatures likely to be below normal in North India

Parts of northwest India, including the national capital, are expected to experience normal-to-above normal minimum temperatures, while the maximum temperatures are likely to be below normal between March and May, a spring forecast by the India Meteorological Department released said.
Releasing its seasonal forecast for the period till May, the Met department said large parts of north, northwest and central India are likely to record above normal temperatures in this period. However, maximum temperature in the Indo-Gangetic Plains, including Delhi, east and northeast India along with most parts of southern India are expected to record below normal maximum temperatures.
Parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh are likely to record normal to above normal maximum temperatures in this period, the IMD forecast said.
Currently, La Niña conditions are prevailing over the equatorial Pacific region.
“The La Niña is likely to weaken during the northern hemisphere spring season and to reach cold El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) neutral conditions during the second quarter of 2022. However, few climate models including indicate La Niña conditions likely to continue during the forecast period...It is important to note that the La Nina and ENSO impact on the weather is not so black and white. For instance, this was a La Nina year, which is usually characterised by harsher winters but in December, January we did not see an extreme winter,” said M Mohapatra, director general, IMD.
The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a recurring climate pattern involving changes in the temperature of waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. La Nina, its colder counterpart, is a climate pattern that occurs in the Pacific Ocean every few years and affects weather around the world. While the general understanding is that this weather phenomenon is characterised by colder than normal temperatures, weather experts have pointed out that the impact of La Nina is not always seen in the actual temperature recordings of Indian states, and there have been exceptions.

::INTERNATIONAL::

Russians ‘unfazed’ by sanctions, Americans open to sending NATO troops: Report

Amid West’s attempt to force Kremlin to restore the status quo ante in Ukraine, Russians remain “unfazed” by the threat of crippling sanctions on their country and the newly-launched war with the neighbour, according to a new report. Data intelligence company Morning Consult said in its new survey titled ‘Tracking Global Opinion on Russia's Invasion of Ukraine’ that opinions, however, could shift in the coming weeks if domestic anti-war protests continue.
“Russians continue to think their country is generally moving in the right direction,” the survey noted.
While the rise in consumer confidence has waned in recent days as compared to early February, the net trend has been upward over the last month, as per Morning Consult’s index of consumer sentiment for Russia.
In the US, a large majority of voters are concerned about the Russian invasion and support sanctioning Moscow even if its results in further price rise. According to the report, the majority of US voters support cutting off Russia from the SWIFT messaging system and cancelling Nord Stream 2 pipeline. They are also open to sending troops to Eastern Europe as part of a NATO coalition but don’t support unilateral troop deployment.
The majority of Europeans share the belief that NATO did not do enough to prevent Russia from invading Ukraine and many support comprehensive sanctions targeting political and financial elites. The Europeans are less certain about keeping the doors open to Ukrainian NATO membership.

::ECONOMY::

Value of UPI transactions declined to Rs 8.27 trillion in Feb: NPCI data

India's cashless retail transactions on UPI platform were worth Rs 8.27 lakh crore in February, slightly lower than the amount recorded in the previous month, data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) showed.
There were a total of 452 crore (4.52 billion) transactions in February 2022.
In January, the value of cashless retail transactions on the BHIM UPI platform stood at Rs 8.32 lakh crore while the total number of transactions was at 461 crore (4.61 billion).
However, there was a slight uptick in the value of automatic collection at toll plazas through the NETC FASTag technology, with over 24.36 crore transactions (243.64 million) worth Rs 3,631.22 crore in February, NPCI said.
In the preceding month, NETC FASTag toll collections were valued at Rs 3,603.71 crore by way of 23.10 crore (231.01 million) transactions.
On the other hand, instant money transfer through 24x7 IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) fell to Rs 3.84 lakh crore in February as against Rs 3.87 lakh crore in January. During the same period, the number of such transactions stood at 42 crore (420.93 million) as against 44 crore (440.17 million), as per the data.

PNB to clear cheques of Rs 10 lakh & above only after customer confirmation

State-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Tuesday said high-value cheques of Rs 10 lakh and above will be cleared after reconfirmation with the issuer under the Positive Pay System (PPS) from April 4.
PNB said to protect the bank customers against large-value chequefrauds, it will make the Positive Pay System (PPS) mandatory from April 4, 2022.
The Delhi-headquartered lender introduced PPS for cheques of Rs 50,000 and above presented in CTS clearing from January 1, 2021, in accordance with the RBI guidelines.
The banking regulator had said that while availing of the facility is at the account holder's discretion, and banks may consider making it mandatory for the cheque value of Rs 5 lakh and above.
PNB in a release said that the PPS will now become mandatory from the next month for the cheques of Rs 10 lakh and above.
As per the Positive Pay System (PPS) developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), a customer issuing the high-value cheque has to reconfirm some essential details. The details are then cross-checked while presenting the cheque in clearing before payment.
The lender said its customers will have to share details like account number, cheque number, cheque alpha code, issue date, amount, beneficiary name for clearing the high value cheques under PPS.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

World poverty to rise as climate change shrinks food supplies: United Nations

Climate change and extreme weather are already hurting the world economy and if unchecked will plunge millions more into poverty while pushing up food prices and disrupting trade and labour markets, U.N. climate experts warned.
The finding was part of a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that concluded there remained only "a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all".
The report - the latest global consensus on climate science - made clear that climate change was impacting the world faster than scientists anticipated, even as countries failed to rein in carbon emissions driving the rise in global temperatures.
"Economic damages from climate change have been detected in climate-exposed sectors, with regional effects to agriculture, forestry, fishery, energy and tourism and through outdoor labour productivity," the report summary said.
"Individual livelihoods have been affected through changes in agricultural productivity, impacts on human health and food security, destruction of homes and infrastructure, and loss of property and income, with adverse effects on gender and social equity," it added.
"Significant regional variation in aggregate economic damages from climate change is projected with estimated economic damages per capita for developing countries often higher as a fraction of income," it concluded.
Under what it called a "high vulnerability-high warming scenario", it estimated that up to 183 million additional people would become undernourished in low-income countries due to climate change by 2050.
The report comes amid rising world fuel prices and inflation that have prompted some politicians to resist efforts to promote cleaner energy sources, arguing that doing so will only add to the overall cost of living for the poorest.

::SPORTS::

Badminton, rowing, skiing federations ban athletes from Russia and Belarus

More sporting bodies sanctioned Russian and Belarusian athletes on Tuesday over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with the governing bodies for badminton, rowing and skiing banning athletes from the two countries from international competition.
Since the start of what Russian President Vladimir Putin has called "a special military operation" last week, sports bodies across the world have already moved against Russia and Belarus by refusing to host or play against teams from the countries.
Belarus has been a key staging area for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
On Monday, the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) executive board recommended sports federations ban Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from competing in events.
The badminton federation's (BWF) move comes a day after it cancelled tournaments in Russia and Belarus.