Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 06 APRIL 2019
::NATIONAL::
Vice President expresses concern over rise in non communicable diseases
- The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has described the
rise in non-communicable diseases as a “deeply disturbing trend” and called
upon the medical fraternity to educate the people on the dangers of leading
sedentary lifestyles.
- Addressing the Annual Meeting of the National Interventional Council (NIC)
he said that disease burden from non-communicable diseases increased from 30
per cent to 55 per cent between 1990 and 2016, while the communicable
diseases dropped from 61 per cent to 33 per cent in the same period.
- Pointing out that factors such as high levels of stress, increased
incidence of diabetes, blood pressure, smoking, excessive consumption of
alcohol, lack of exercise and lack of proper sleep were contributing to
cardiovascular diseases, he said that lifestyle modification was one of the
key interventions needed to prevent premature heart attacks.
- Shri Naidu said that it had been proven beyond doubt that regular
moderate intensity aerobic exercise like brisk walking, cycling, jogging,
and swimming for five days a week would help in reducing the probability of
heart disease.
- He stressed the need to encourage children to be physically active and
be involved in sports and games right from school days to avoid NCDs.
- Observing that primary health centres must serve as bulwarks in our
battle against cardiovascular disease, the Vice President stressed that
transforming PHCs into a robust, responsive and well equipped network of
institutions was important.
- The Vice President also advised medical students to render service for
at least three years in Primary Health Centres in rural areas, before taking
up new assignments.
- Stating that India must invest more resources in R & D, he said
unimaginable advancements were being made in Medical Science. “Cutting edge
research in disruptive technologies such as Cybernetics and Artificial
Intelligence (AI), including machine learning and augmented reality are
altering the paradigms of medical science”, he added.
SC rejects pleas against Gujjar quota
- The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea challenging the
grant of 5% quota to Gujjars and four other castes in jobs and educational
institutions in Rajasthan through an amendment in February.
- A Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi dismissed the appeal filed
by Arvind Sharma against a Rajsthan High Court order refusing to grant
interim relief on the petition challenging the quota to Gujjars and others,
treating them as socially and economically backward classes.
- It was argued that the reservation would breach the 50% ceiling on total
quantum of quota.
- “The plea for relief is already pending in High Court, therefore, we are
not inclined to entertain it,” said the Bench comprising Justices Deepak
Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna.
- The Rajasthan Backward Classes (Reservation of Seats in Educational
Institutions in the State and of Appointments and Posts in Services under
the State) (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed by the Assembly on February 13.
::ECONOMY::
RBI squeezes LCR norm to release additional funds
- In a bid to further improve the cash position of banks, RBI has tweaked
liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) norms to provide an additional 2 per cent
window to lenders.
- Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said, this
move will harmonise the liquidity requirements of banks and release
additional money for lending.
- LCR indicates the proportion of highly liquid assets held by banks to
ensure their ability to meet short-term obligations.
- In a statement on ‘Developmental and Regulatory Policies’ the RBI has
extended the timeline for linking floating interest rates on personal, home,
auto and MSEs loans to external benchmarks.
- It said that further discussions with stakeholders is required on
various aspects like management of interest rate risk and time required for
IT system upgradation.
- In another decision, the Apex Bank said it, will set up a task force to
study the relevant aspects, including best international practices for
developing a thriving secondary market for corporate loans in India.
NITI aayog releases report on FAME-2 scheme
- The NITI Aayog and the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) released a report
on opportunities for the automobile sector and government under the Faster
Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles II (FAME II) scheme.
- The technical report titled ‘India’s Electric Mobility Transformation:
Progress to Date and Future Opportunities’,quantifies the direct oil and
carbon savings that the vehicles incentivized under FAME II will deliver.
RMI is an Indian and global nonprofit organisation focused on driving the
efficient and restorative use of resources.
- The report also quantifies the catalytic effect that FAME II and other
measures could have on the overall Electric Vehicle(EV) market. According to
the analysis, if FAME II and other measures – in public and private space -
are successful, India could realize EV sales penetration of 30% of private
cars, 70% of commercial cars, 40% of buses and 80% of two and three-wheelers
by 2030.
- Extrapolating from the same, the lifetime cumulative oil and carbon
savings of all electric vehicles deployed through 2030 could be many-fold
larger than the direct savings from FAME II.For example,achieving these
levels of market share by 2030 could generate cumulative savings of
846million tonnes of CO2 over the total deployedvehicles’ lifetime.
- The FAME II scheme, which was notified by the Union Cabinet in February
2019, aims to further accelerate the government of India’scommitment to a
clean mobility future, sees the electrification of transportation as a
primary focus area. FAME IIintends to catalyze the market for faster
adoption of EVs to ensure durable economic growth and global competitiveness
for India’s automotive industry.
::INTERNATIONAL::
U.S and allies to de-escalate tensions in Libya
- The United States and its allies yesterday called for an immediate
de-escalation of tensions in Libya. They warned any military action would
have consequences after Libyan army commander Khalifa Haftar ordered forces
to advance on Tripoli, the capital of the UN-backed government, in Libya.
- The United States, France, Britain, Italy and the United Arab Emirates
in a joint statement in Washington said they oppose any military action in
Libya and will hold accountable any Libyan faction that precipitates further
civil conflict.
- The statement further said military posturing and threats of unilateral
action will only risk propelling Libya back toward chaos.
- Dozens of militias have fought for control of the North African country
since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Muammar
Gaddafi in 2011.
- Haftar's forces have emerged as a key player, opposing the government in
Tripoli and backing a parallel administration in the east.
::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::
Study claims rise in obesity and vision related diseases amongst Indian
children
- Obesity, vision and dental issues are the major health problems faced by
schoolgoing children in the age group 2 to 17 years across India, according
to a report.
- The report, “Enhancing the Effectiveness and Impact of Schools: Insights
from School Health Screening Program”, released by Jarma Wellness, an
organisation working in the area of healthcare consultation, assessed nearly
two lakh children belonging to various socio-economic backgrounds from 20
cities.
- The report adds that hygiene is a major issue. According to the report,
vision screening of 1,55,584 children shows that an overall of 39,674
(25.5%) of children have abnormal vision.
- The number of children with uncorrected myopia/ hyperopia and wearing
glasses touches nearly 50% in higher-secondary section, indicating that
potentially one in every two children may need glasses.
::SPORTS::
AIFF president becomes first Indian member to be elected to FIFA EC
- All India Football Federation president Praful Patel has become the
first Indian to be elected as a member of the FIFA Executive Council. He got
38 out of 46 votes.
- Mr Patel was one of the eight candidates vying for the spot in the
election which was held during the 29th Asian Football Confederations
Congress in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. The membership in the council will be
for four years, from 2019 to 2023.
