Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 02 May 2022

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 02 May 2022

::NATIONAL::

Central panel to keep track of essentials as prices soar

The Union government has formed an inter-ministerial committee to monitor domestic prices, shipments and availability of agri commodities, especially edible oil, as higher fertiliser and global commodity rates have sent domestic food prices soaring, an official said, requesting anonymity.
India imports up to two-thirds of its cooking oil requirement to meet domestic demand. A sudden decision this week by Indonesia, the world’s largest palm oil shipper, to ban palm oil exports has sent edible-oil prices into a tailspin, straining supplies already choked by drought and shortages after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The committee, headed by Union food secretary Sudhanshu Pandey, this week reviewed the availability of edible oils in the country and met representatives of major oil processing associations, the official added.
According to data provided by the food ministry, India’s current stock of all types of edible oil is estimated to be 2.1 million tonne approximately, which is sufficient for the month of May. Another 1.5 million tonne of imported edible oil is in transit, which will arrive in batches during the course of the month, the data showed.
India imports nearly eight million tonne annually to meet its domestic demand. In March, retail inflation quickened to 6.95% — a 17-month high — compared to 6.07% in the previous month, driven by a sharp jump in food price, according to latest available official data.
“The Centre is keeping close watch on prices of edible oils so that appropriate measures can be taken to keep a check on the prices,” a statement by the food ministry said on Sunday.
Edible oil prices have remained elevated due to global supply disruptions and have knocked household budgets. Palm is used in most processed food items, from ice-creams to cookies, and in personal care products, such as soaps.
The inter-ministerial panel has been tasked with reviewing price movements on a weekly basis of edible oils and other food items. It is also assessing domestic output, demand, global prices and international trade volumes, the official said.

::INTERNATIONAL::

EU energy ministers hold crisis talks after Russian gas cuts

Energy ministers from European Union countries hold emergency talks on Monday, as the bloc strives for a united response to Moscow's demand that European buyers pay for Russian gas in roubles or face their supply being cut off.
Russia halted gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland last week after they refused to meet its demand to effectively pay in roubles.
Those countries already planned to stop using Russian gas this year and say they can cope with the stoppage, but it has raised fears that other EU countries, including Europe's gas-reliant economic powerhouse Germany, could be next.
It has also threatened to crack the EU's united front against Russia amid disagreement on the right course of action.
With many European companies facing gas payment deadlines later this month, EU states have a pressing need to clarify whether companies can keep buying the fuel without breaching the EU's sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
Moscow has said foreign gas buyers must deposit euros or dollars into an account at the privately owned Russian bank Gazprombank, which would convert them into roubles.
The European Commission has told countries that complying with Russia's scheme could breach EU sanctions, while also suggesting countries could make sanctions-compliant payments if they declare the payment complete once it has been made in euros and before its conversion into roubles.
After Bulgaria, Denmark, Greece, Poland, Slovakia and others last week urged clearer advice, Brussels is drafting extra guidance.

::ECONOMY::

RBI issues norms for compensation key managerial staff at NBFCs

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday issued guidelines for compensation of key managerial personnel and senior management of non-banking finance companies, wherein it has said that the finance companies have to constitute a nomination and remuneration committee (NRC), which will have the mandate to oversee the framing, review and implementation of compensation policy of the company with the approval of the board.
Further, the NRC will also have to work with the risk management committee of the company to achieve effective alignment between compensation and risks.
“NRC may ensure that compensation levels are supported by the need to retain earnings of the company and the need to maintain adequate capital based on Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process (ICAAP). NRC may also ensure ‘fit and proper’ status of proposed/existing directors and that there is no conflict of interest in appointment of directors on Board of the company, KMPs and senior management”, RBI said.
These guidelines will come into effect from April 1, 2023 and will be effective on all the finance companies, apart from the ones in the base layer. These guidelines are as per the scale-based regulation for NBFCs introduced by RBI in October last year.
As per the guidelines, the compensation packages will comprise of fixed and variable pay components aligned effectively with prudent risk taking to ensure that compensation is adjusted for all types of risks. Further, the compensation outcomes should be symmetric with risk outcomes and compensation pay-outs have to be sensitive to the time horizon of the risks.

::Science and tech::

In 50 years, increased risks of viruses spread by mammals, and several pandemics

The rising temperatures and rapid climate change across the globe is likely to drive 15,000 new instances of viruses being transmitted from mammals to mammals by 2070, a study published by Nature journal has predicted. This will increase the risk of new viruses infecting humans manifold, leaving room for several pandemics in the coming future, the study warned.
Several researchers have attributed the Covid-19 virus to the zoonotic transmission - passing of a previously unknown virus (Coronavirus in this case) from a wild animal to a human.
The study's co-author Colin Carlson, a global change biologist also at Georgetown, said climate change is "creating innumerable hotspots of future zoonotic risk - or present day zoonotic risk - right in our backyard. We have to acknowledge that climate change is going to be the biggest upstream driver of disease emergence, and we have to build health systems that are ready for that."
As the temperature rises, several animal species will abandon their native places and move to cooler land where they will meet several other new species for the first time. This will give rise to virus-transmission among mammals, the study says.
A rise in viruses jumping between species will trigger more outbreaks like the Covid-19 pandemic, posing a serious threat to human and animal health alike, the study warns.
The hotspots of virus-jumping will be regions with species-rich ecosystems (particularly areas of Africa and Asia) and areas that are densely populated by humans - India and Indonesia.
The transfer of viruses and pathogens from animals to humans will take place in densely populated regions of the world.
This process has likely already begun, and will continue even if the world acts quickly to reduce carbon emissions and poses a major threat to both animals and humans, the researchers said.
Thought to be part of the origins of Covid-19, bats are believed to be reservoirs of viruses and will go through virus transmission regardless of climate change.

::Sports::

Carolina Marin shows the heart of a champion, wins European title on return

As Kirsty Gilmour’s tap hit the net, Carolina Marin roared in celebration and sank to the court. All the pain, angst and frustration of a year seemed to melt away in tears. Wearing a shirt with the slogan ‘Vamos Carolina’, Marin’s mother, with her eyes moist, clapped from the packed stands at Gallus Municipal Centre in Madrid as the fans rose to celebrate the home girl’s record sixth European badminton title on Saturday.
The title apart, it was more heartening to see Marin, 28, the three-time world champion and 2016 Rio Olympics gold medallist, back to her feet and make another gritty comeback from injury; gliding, lunging and smashing through the week to let the badminton world know she was back.
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