Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 09 December 2018
::NATIONAL::
Know India programby external affairs ministry concludes
- A group of 40 Indian Diaspora youth called on the Union
Minister of State for Home Affairs, ShriKirenRijiju here today. The
participants from eight countries are in India as part of the 25-day
visit under the 49th 'Know India Programme' (KIP), being organised by
the Ministry of External Affairs in partnership with Andhra Pradesh
Government.
- Interacting with the participants, ShriRijiju said the Indian
Diaspora should act as ambassadors of India's growth story and spread
the good word about their experience in India upon their return.
- “Government recognizes the importance of the Indian Diaspora
and has a well laid down policy for engaging with the Diaspora
community.Our Diaspora community has been an important partner in
India's development. Over the course of your visit across India, you
must have seen the development happening across the country,” he said.
- The KIP is an important initiative of Government of India with
an aim to engage and make the young Indian Diaspora in the age group of
18 to 30 years feel a sense of connect with their motherland, to be
motivated and inspired by transformational changes taking place in India
and to give them an exposure to various aspects of contemporary India
and its varied forms of art, heritage and culture.
PM reiterates commitment to regional cooperation amongst SAARC members
- Prime Minister NarendraModi has expressed India's commitment
to strengthening regional cooperation and integration as a founding
member of SAARC.
- In his message on the occasion of the 34th SAARC Charter Day
which was observed yesterday, MrModi said SAARC has made progress in its
journey of over three decades but it has been below the region's full
potential.
- MrModi pointed out that terrorism remains the single largest
threat to peace and stability in the region and said it is necessary to
eliminate terrorism in all its forms.
- He stressed that an environment of peace and security is
essential for regional cooperation to flourish and achieve economic
development and prosperity.
::ECONOMY::
Canadian authorities claim Indian talc causing health hazards
- The debate over whether talcum powder poses serious health
risks is in the spotlight again.
- A risk assessment draft on talc published by Health Canada,
the country’s public health department, states that talcum powder is
harmful to the lungs when inhaled during breathing and could possibly
cause ovarian cancer when used by women in the genital area.
- The draft, which was opened for public comments on Saturday,
would be confirmed in a final assessment that would entail Canada adding
talc to a list of toxic substances if the proposed conclusions are
confirmed at the end of a 60-day feedback period.
- At that point in time the Canadian government would also
decide on the measures it would take to prohibit or restrict the use of
the clay mineral, which finds wide use including in cosmetics, paints,
ceramics.
- According to SnehaLimaye of Pune’s Chest Research Foundation,
the fine particles of talcum powder posed the same health risks as
particulate matter (PM) in polluted air as they could get lodged deep in
the lungs.
RBI moots new floating rates for MSME loans
- In a bid to ensure greater transparency, Reserve Bank has
proposed that floating interest rates on personal, home, auto and MSMEs
loans be linked to external benchmarks like repo rate or treasury
yields.
- In a statement issued from Mumbai yesterday, RBI said that the
final guidelines to link the interest rate to external benchmarks will
be issued by the end of this month.
- Currently, banks follow system of internal benchmarks,
including Prime Lending Rate, Benchmark Prime Lending Rate, Base rate
and Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate. The new system is likely
to become operational by 1st April 2019.
- RBI has said that the banks should decide the benchmark rate
system to be followed right at the inception of the loan and it should
remain unchanged through the life of the loan. It added that adoption of
multiple benchmarks by the same bank will not be allowed within a loan
category.
::INTERNATIONAL::
- 34th SAARC charter day observed
- Prime Minister of Nepal K.P.SharmaOli has greeted member
states of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and
people of South Asia on the occasion of 34th SAARC Charter Day. In a
tweet, Mr. Olisaid, it is pleasing to note that SAARC has made progress
in various sectors of regional cooperation since its inception.
- SAARC was established with the signing of the SAARC Charter in
Dhaka on 8 December 1985. SAARC comprises of eight Member States-
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and
Sri Lanka.
- The objectives of the Association as outlined in the SAARC
Charter are: to promote the welfare of the peoples of South Asia and to
improve their quality of life; to accelerate economic growth, social
progress and cultural development in the region and to provide all
individuals the opportunity to live in dignity and to realize their full
potentials;
- It also has the objective to promote and strengthen collective
self-reliance among the countries of South Asia; to contribute to mutual
trust, understanding and appreciation of one another's problems; to
promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic,
social, cultural, technical and scientific fields;
- And to strengthen cooperation with other developing countries;
to strengthen cooperation among themselves in international forums on
matters of common interests; and to cooperate with international and
regional organizations with similar aims and purposes.
UAE women gets 50% representation in National council
- In a landmark decision, UAE has increased the representation
of Emirati women in the Federal National Council to 50 per cent from the
coming Parliamentary term.
- A decree passed by the UAE President has directed the doubling
of the current percentage of women's representation in the Federal
National Council from 22.5 per cent to 50 per cent in the coming
parliamentary term.
- The Emirati News Agency reported that the decision aims to
rank the UAE in the top positions worldwide in terms of representation
of women in parliament. This will enable the UAE women to achieve in a
record time, what has been achieved by their counterparts globally in
decades.
- Last week the UAE Cabinet had adopted a new package of
national legislative policies and initiatives to empower the Emirati
women and make them partners in the country’s progress.
- In a tweet ,Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum,
Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai said
that “the Presidential decree allocating 50% of the seats in the Federal
National Council to women is a great leap forward in cementing the
legislative and parliamentary role of women in our nation's development
. Women are half of our society; they should be represented as such.”
- The Federal National Council (FNC) is the consultative
council, the parliamentary body of the UAE. It has 40 members. The
current FNC is the result of the latest elections in 2015. Dr. Amal Al
Qubaisi is the Chairperson and the Speaker of the Federal National
Council.
::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::
India water summit concludes
- The three days India Water Summit concluded in New Delhi
today. Key issues including afforestation, biodiversity, urban river
management, innovation in sewage and sewerage management were discussed
during the event.
- During the valedictory session, Secretary, Ministry of Water
Resources, U.P Singh emphasized on the creation of a working group which
will help in converting technology to working models.
- According to an official release, the Summit introduced the
Ganga Finance Forum, which brought together a number of national and
international financial sector experts.
- They highlighted the gaps but equally provided a plethora of
innovative financial instruments to support the Ganga Rejuvenation
programme.
- The India Water Impact Summit is an annual event to provide a
platform to start a discourse towards understanding water as a natural
resource.
