Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 07 February 2019

::NATIONAL::

Environment expert panel defers large scale island resort project in Andaman & Nicobar islands

An expert committee of the Union Environment Ministry has “deferred” clearance to a Rs. 100 crore proposal by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation Limited (ANIIDCL) to develop an island resorton the grounds that it doesn’t take into account the biodiversity of the islands’ coast.
The Centre has been working on a long-term plan to make several of the islands more conducive to tourism. Last year, the Home Ministry revived an Island Development Agency that would coordinate infrastructure projects to aid tourism in the A&N islands as well as Lakshadweep.
Last month, the Environment Ministry approved a new set of rules for infrastructure development along the coasts. The new rules, in general, gave greater flexibility to development and infrastructure projects.
The panel also expressed “concern” over the management of solid waste collection, treatment and disposal and how these would be managed once the project was commissioned and handed over to the resort.
The arrival of domestic tourists in A&N islands rose from over 2.02 lakh in 2011 to over 3.84 lakh in 2016. The inflow of foreign tourists was stagnant at around 15,000, according to the NITI Aayog in a presentation in August 2018.

Centre’s rule on spread of fake messages to be tough call for social media giants

The Indian government’s proposal to make it mandatory for online platforms to trace the origin of unlawful messages is ‘overbroad’ and will require WhatsApp to re-architect the product into one without privacy, a spokesperson for the instant messaging app said on Wednesday.
The firm, however, did not elaborate on the plans for India, its largest market with over 200 million users, if the proposal is accepted.
The government and WhatsApp have been at loggerheads over the issue of tracing the origin of fake messages. The Facebook-owned instant messaging platform has said on multiple occasions that it would not comply with the government’s demand as it would undermine the privacy of WhatsApp users.
The government, on the other hand, said that it did not want WhatsApp to decrypt and read messages, but insisted that it should be able to trace the origin of messages that lead to serious crimes.
Mr.Woog head of communications stressed that WhatsApp ‘cares deeply about creating a space for private conversations online’ and that it was a private messaging platform. Asked if the company would quit India if the proposed norms are adopted, He said the company would take one step at a time.
On Thursday, the Parliamentary Committee on IT will meet representatives of the IT Ministry and Twitter to discuss issues related to ‘safeguarding citizens’ rights’ on such platforms.

::ECONOMY::

Transfer of contingency funds to centre unlikely

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is unlikely to give in to the government’s demand of transferring funds that was set aside for contingency reserves in 2016-17 and 2017-18, according to sources.
A total of Rs. 27,330 croreRs. 13,140 crore in FY17 and Rs. 14,190 crore in FY18 was set aside by the RBI for the contingency fund.The sources said there was no precedence of such a dividend being paid, that is, from funds that have already been set aside for contingencies.
Finance Minister PiyushGoyal, in a written response to the RajyaSabha, had said: “The government has requested the RBI for providing an interim surplus for the financial year 2018-19 on the analogy of previous financial year and transfer of the amount withheld from the surplus of 2016-17 and 2017-18.”
At the same time, the RBI has now decided to conduct statutory audit of its account twice a year, so that it can transfer the surplus to the government as many times. The government has been demanding more funds as dividend from the RBI which has become a bone of contention.

Cabinet approves setting up of unified regulator of IFSC’s

The Cabinet has approved the setting up of a unified authority that would regulate all the financial services in International Financial Services Centres (IFSC), such as the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) in Gandhinagar.
This is to be done through the International Financial Services Centres Authority Bill, 2019.
An IFSC is aimed at encouraging Indian companies that are conducting business in foreign financial centres such as London and Singapore, to bring that business to India by providing them with a global-standard regulatory and business environment.
“It would provide Indian corporates easier access to global financial markets,” the government said in a release. “IFSC would also complement and promote further development of financial markets in India.”
“Currently, the banking, capital markets and insurance sectors in IFSCs are regulated by multiple regulators, i.e. RBI, SEBI and IRDAI,” it added.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

India Brazil expands cooperation in the field of traditional medicines and homoeopathy

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister NarendraModi has approvedMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Brazil on cooperationin the field of Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy.
The MoU will enhance bilateral cooperation between India and Brazil in the areas of Traditional Systems of Medicine. This will be of immense importance to both countries considering their shared cultural heritage.
India is blessed with well-developed systems of traditional medicine including medicinal plants, which hold tremendous potential in the global health scenario.
India and Brazil share a very close and multi-fraceted relationship at bilateral level as well as in plurilateral for a such as BRICS, BASIC, G-20, G-4, BSA, and in the larger multilateral bodies such as the UN, WTO, UNESCO and Who. Brazil is one of the most important trading partners of India in the entire Latin America and Carribean region.
Both India and Brazil are rich in biodiversity with a large range of health practices based on medicinal plants and history of use of traditional medicine. Ayurveda, Yoga and other traditional systems are popular in Brazil.

Cabinet approves MoU on India-Norway ocean dialogue

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister NarendraModi has approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Norway on India-Norway Ocean Dialogue.
The MoU will promote cooperation in the areas of mutual interest pertaining to the development of blue economy. Norway is a global leader in the area of Blue Economy and has cutting-edge technologies and expertise in areas such as fisheries, hydrocarbons, renewable energy, sustainable harnessing of ocean resources and maritime transport.
The proposed MoU will contribute to create opportunities for collaboration in areas such as exploitation of hydrocarbons and other marine resources, as well as management of ports and tourism development for the mutual benefit of all stakeholders within the framework of the Joint Task Force (JTF).

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Centre to use space technology in border management

The government has approved a plan to use space technology in border management to check intrusion. In a written reply in RajyaSabha, Minister of State for Home KirenRijiju said, over three thousand incidents of intrusion on country’s borders took place in the last four years. He said, 27 such incidents were also reported till the 24th of last month.
Mr Rijiju said Island development, border security, communication and navigation, Geographic Information System and border infrastructure development are the areas which have been identified for use of space technology in improving border management.
The Minister said, to execute the project, a short, medium and long term plan has been approved for implementation in five years in coordination with Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO and Ministry of Defence.

::SPORTS::

Davis cup to witness India-Pakistan match after a long gap

The Indian Davis Cup team was on Wednesday drawn to meet Pakistan in an away tie which could well be shifted to a neutral venue provided the central government sticks to its policy of not allowing teams to travel to the neighbouring country.
No Indian Davis Cup squad has travelled to Pakistan since March 1964 and in that tie, held in Lahore, India had won 4-0.
The All India Tennis Association (AITA) said it will approach the government to know if the team will be allowed to travel. “AITA does not have a choice. We have to follow the government policy. We will speak to the government to know,” AITA secretary-general HironmoyChatterjee said.