Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 06 April 2016

:: NATIONAL ::

Bihar prohibited sale and consumption of liquor

The Nitish Kumar government declared Bihar a dry State while imposing total prohibition on the sale and consumption of liquor, both country-made and Indian-Made Foreign Liquor, with immediate effect.
Earlier, following an excise amendment law, the ban on country-made liquor had become effective across the State. The government will stick to the 1991 guidelines on the sale and consumption of toddy.
No new liquor licences will be issued to for sale and consumption of alcohol in places like hotels, bars and clubs, in towns and cities too. However,Army cantonment areas would be exempt as they regulate sale and consumption of alcohol in their own way.

Environment Ministry made it necessary to treat and recycle solid waste

The Environment Ministry has notified rules making it incumbent on a wide range of groups — hotels, bulk producers of consumer goods, ports, railway stations etc. to ensure that the solid waste generated in their facilities are treated and recycled.
Though the onus on garbage management would continue to be the responsibility of municipal bodies, they would be allowed to charge user fees and levy spot fines for littering and non-segregation.
Though these rules would take effect from April 6, there would be a “transition period” of two to five years, beyond which fines would be imposed.
Over the past month, the Central Environment Ministry has notified a bunch of rules spanning the recycling and treatment of a variety of refuse, including biomedical, plastic and electronic waste among others.
The rules on solid waste management have been amended after 16 years and a key provision is to formalise the profession of rag-picking.
Nearly 62 million tonnes of waste are generated annually in India, of which only 11.9 million are treated and nearly half — 31 million — is dumped in landfill sites.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board, municipal authorities, as of 2013-14, have so far set up only 553 compost and vermin-compost plants, 56 bio-methanation plants, 22 refuse derived fuel plants and 12 waste-to-energy plants.
By 2031, municipal solid waste is expected to increase to 165 million tonnes and, if untreated, would require 1240 hectares of land.
According to the new rules, local bodies with a population of one lakh or more were required to set up solid waste processing facilities within two years, census towns below a lakh would be given three years and old and abandoned dump sites would have to be closed or bio-remedied within five years.

J-e-M chief has been on Indian security radar for 25 years now

Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar, who allegedly masterminded the attack on the Pathankot airbase, has been on the radar of the Indian security establishment since 1993 when he was a member of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM).
India has told this to the United Nations Taliban/Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee.
India’s draft note was sent to the Committee where China blocked New Delhi’s effort to declare Azhar a global terrorist.
India also told the U.N. panel that Azhar (48) was one of the handlers of terrorists who attacked the airbase in January this year and that his outfit received arms training from the Taliban.
India said that he first came to the notice of Indian authorities in 1993 when he tried to arrange money and recruits for Al-Itihaad Al-Islamiya, an Al Qaeda-aligned Somali terrorist group.
India has conveyed to the world body that he and his terrorist group JeM have continuously engineered terror attacks against India, the latest instance being the strike at Pathankot.

:: International ::

PM of Iceland resigns due to panama papers

Iceland’s Prime Minister resigned, becoming the first political victim of a mushrooming worldwide scandal over hidden offshore financial dealings exposed in the so-called Panama Papers.
Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson was the biggest casualty of a worldwide media probe into 11.5 million leaked documents that purportedly reveal the offshore financial activities of 140 political figures, including 12 current or former heads of state.
Though the Prime Minister denied ever hiding money abroad, pressure on his government had mounted, with egg-throwing protesters gathering in the streets Monday and fresh demonstrations planned.
President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, who cut short a U.S. visit to return to Reykjavik earlier to deal with the crisis, told a televised press conference he wanted to consult the government’s junior coalition member.

Amnesty International Death Penalty Report shows increase in death penalty

At least 1,634 people were executed by 25 countries last year alone, according to Amnesty International (AI).
Its Death Penalty Report 2015-16, to be released, says the number shows an alarming 54 per cent increase over the previous year.
Significantly, the rise also represents the maximum number the group has recorded in a single year since 1989.
Most executions take place in China, where such data remains a state secret. Barring information from Beijing, the Asia-Pacific region saw 367 people subjected to the death penalty — more than a ten-fold rise from 2014.
Pakistan alone accounted for 326 of them (the highest recorded by AI).
West Asia and North Africa saw a 26 per cent rise in executions, even if there was no addition to the eight countries that resorted to the punishment in 2014. While Iran accounted for 82 per cent of executions in the region, for Saudi Arabia, the total rose by 76 per cent over 2014.
But the 158 executions were the highest i since 1995. For the seventh year running, the U.S. remained the lone country in the Americas to have executed convicts. But the numbers were the lowest since 1991.
Four more countries abolished the death penalty for all crimes in 2015, taking the tally of abolitionist states to 102.

Islamic State threatened to carry out terror attacks in London, Berlin and Rome

Islamic State (IS) threatened to carry out terror attacks in London, Berlin and Rome — as deadly as the Paris massacre — in a chilling video which shows images of the U.K. Parliament and Eiffel Tower crashing to the ground.
The video shows footage of the Paris and Brussels attacks as well as of the 9/11 strikes, calling the previous massacres a “cautionary message”.
It also shows other iconic European landmarks such as the Rome’s Coliseum interplayed with footage of executions and beheadings from Syria and Iraq.
The threat has come a week after British Prime Minister David Cameron warned that IS was willing to use “whatever materials they can get their hands on” to attack the West.
IS Syrian Army troops with mustard gas in an offensive against a Syrian military airport in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor that borders Iraq, state media said.
Syrian state media did not disclose how many casualties were sustained in the latest drive by the militants to capture the heavily defended airport.
Deir al-Zor is a strategic location. The Province links Islamic State (IS)’s de facto capital in Raqqa with its fighters in Iraq.

:: Business and Economy ::

Central Bank cuts repo rate by 25 bps

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut the benchmark repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.5 per cent, as widely expected, with Governor Raghuram Rajan assuring that the monetary stance will remain “accommodative.”
Bankers said the comment signals that the central bank is leaving the door open for further reductions.
The rate cut could help lower the cost of loans for consumers, including automobile and home buyers.
The RBI said easing price pressures had been a key factor in determining the policy stance.
RBI also cited “government’s effective supply side measures keeping a check on food prices, and the government’s commendable commitment to fiscal consolidation.”
Retail inflation slowed to 5.18 per cent in February after accelerating for six consecutive months.
The repo rate, which is at its lowest in five years, will help banks reduce borrowing costs, helping boost economic growth.
The latest rate cut should be seen in the backdrop of banks reducing lending rates by 25 to 50 bps since adopting a new loan pricing mechanism — the marginal cost of funds based lending rate — in the first week of April, according to the RBI Governor.
The RBI also announced measures to ease liquidity in the banking system.
The daily requirement for maintaining cash reserve ratio has been reduced to 90 per cent from 95 per cent from April 16, the marginal standing facility rate (the penal rate at which banks borrow from the RBI) was cut by 75 basis points and the reverse repo rate (the rate banks earn when they park money with the RBI) raised by 25 bps.

Stand-up India campaign to provide entrepreneurship to SC,ST and women unveiled

PM unveiled the ‘Stand-up India’ scheme to promote entrepreneurship among women, scheduled castes and tribes by enabling them secure easier loans and said this could be an engine of job creation for the youth.
“Dalits and poor people, if given an opportunity, can bring in various reforms in the country. That’s my vision for Stand-up India…This scheme is going to transform the lives of Dalit and tribal communities,” Mr. Modi said
Under the scheme, SC/ST and women entrepreneurs will be provided loans of between Rs.10 lakh and Rs.1 crore for setting up new enterprises.
Mr. Modi said this will help in creating 2.5 lakh entrepreneurs throughout the country as every bank branch will be required to provide two such loans – to a Dalit or SC/ST person and a woman.
The Prime Minister said the scheme, which was announced during his Independence Day speech last year, is being unveiled on April 5 to mark the birth anniversary of Congress Dalit Leader Babu Jagjivan Ram.
Babu Jagjivan Ram did a lot to usher in the green revolution. During the 1971 war, which we won, he was the defence minister.
The prime minister said the scheme aims to empower every Indian and enable them to stand on their feet. It seeks to convert “job-seekers into job-creators.”
Mr. Modi also distributed 5,100 e-rickshaws under the scheme and 151 women were among those whoreceived the vehicles.

Group of joint secretaries to put substance and speed to flagship programmes

NDA Government has constituted a group of joint secretaries from select ministries to evolve strategies to put more substance and speed into the action plans for flagship programmes such as Digital India, Swachh Bharat, Skill India and Make in India.
The final presentations will be made to Prime Minister Narendra Modi
The mandate of this group, is to devise such plans, is to finalise a strategy over the next month and a half to ensure these programmes deliver outcomes with a greater visible impact on the ground before the 2019 general election.
Some new initiatives could be unveiled on the basis of these deliberations during the government’s second anniversary celebrations.
Marathon interactions are being held to evolve a fresh strategy for each of these that can be executed before the next general election.
The group of joint secretaries has been tasked with formulating a blueprint for each programme. Initial presentations have been circulated to the respective nodal ministries for their comments and inputs.
The ministers concerned have also been instructed to hold discussions with officials at the level of deputy secretary and above to finalise a strategy. The final presentations are to be made to the Prime Minister.
It is a good move if it helps to improve the ease of doing business in these sectors and accelerates investment flows. Monitoring and setting up committees alone, however, will not work if the officials working at the ground level are not helpful.
On the fourth Wednesday of every month, the Prime Minister usually meets secretaries of the Union government and chief secretaries of all State governments to review the progress of projects under implementation.
These meetings are held over video-conference, using an ICT-based multi-modal monitoring system called PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation).

Lagarde urged governments to take pro-growth reforms

Global economy is losing momentum and governments should take action to preserve the recovery has cautioned.
Advanced economies still face a hangover from the global financial crisis of 2007—2009 in terms of too much debt, low investment.
A stronger dollar has weighed on growth in the United States, while China’s economy has slowed.
The global outlook for the next six months had weakened, suggesting that IMF may be revising its forecasts.
In January, the IMF forecast global growth of 3.4 percent this year. Lagarde urged governments to take pro-growth reforms and to increase spending on public infrastructure.
Mediocre growth that doesn’t help ordinary people much risks political backlash that “has consequences for the social and political fabric in many countries,” she said.
She warned against turning to protectionism favouring domestic producers in competition with foreign firms as a response.

:: SPORTS ::

SC raps BCCI for not implementing Lodha committee report

Noting that the BCCI has done nothing to fulfil its mandate to develop cricket on an equal basis across the country, the Supreme Court said cricket bosses have transformed the Board into a “mutual benefit society,” which allocates “huge” amounts to members without bothering to ask how they spend it.
A Special Bench of Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur and Justice F.M.I. Kalifulla asked whether the ‘no-questions-asked’ policy of the BCCI was a ploy to influence voting patterns.
The Bench was hearing objections raised by the BCCI to several recommendations made by the Supreme Court-appointed committee, led by former Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha, to overhaul and bring transparency into Indian cricket administration.