Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 09 December 2020
Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 09 December 2020
::NATIONAL::
Cabinet approves laying submarine optical fibre to provide high-speed broadband to Lakshadweep
- The Union Cabinet approved laying of an undersea optical fibre cable to 11 Lakshadweep Islands to provide high-speed broadband internet connectivity, information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar.
- This would be on the lines of the one recently laid to Andaman and Nicobar islands.
- The Cabinet also approved setting up of 1 crore data centres.
Smuggling in India Report 2019-20
- Union Finance Minister releases the Smuggling in India Report 2019-20 which analyses organised smuggling trends on Gold and Foreign Currency, Narcotic Drugs, Security, Environment and Commercial Frauds.
- The report has been compiled by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).
- The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has detected 412 cases of smuggling resulting in the seizure of contraband worth ₹1,949 crore in 2019-20.
- It arrested 837 economic offenders and also unearthed 761 complex cases of Customs duty evasion amounting to ₹2,183 crore.
::ECONOMY::
Bangladesh signs first Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) since its independence
- Bangladesh signed its first Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Bhutan allowing duty free access to a range of goods between the two countries.
- This is the first PTA Bangladesh has signed with any country in the world.
- In 1971, Bhutan was the first country in the world, followed by India as the second, to recognise Bangladesh as an independent country.
- The trade volume between the two countries is approximately 50 million dollars with 7.56 million of export and 42.09 million import into Bangladesh.
- Bangladesh is expected to sign 11 more PTAs and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with countries like Indonesia and Nepal by June next year.
::INTERNATIONAL::
Emissions hit new record, world on track for 3C warming, says UN
- Greenhouse gas emissions reached a new high last year, putting the world on track for an average temperature rise of 3 degrees Celsius.
- United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) - the latest to suggest the world is hurtling toward extreme climate change - follows a year of sobering weather extremes, including rapid ice loss in the Arctic as well as record heat waves and wildfires in Siberia and the US West.
- The annual “emissions gap” report measures the gap between anticipated emissions and those consistent with limiting the global temperature rise this century as agreed in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
- Under the global climate pact, nations have committed to a long-term goal of limiting the average temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit it even further to 1.5C.
Lebanon Reform, Recovery and Reconstruction Framework (3RF)
- Lebanon Reform, Recovery and Reconstruction Frameworkis part of a comprehensive people-centered response to the massive explosion on the Port of Beirut inAugust 2020.
- It has been launched by the European Union, UN and the World Bank for a period of 18-month.
- The 3RF aims to help Lebanon achieve three central goals in response to the Beirut port explosion.
::SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY::
Light Detection and Ranging Survey technique
- National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited will be adopting LiDAR technique to conduct ground survey forthe proposed Delhi-Varanasi High Speed Rail corridor.
- Light Detection and Ranging Survey (LiDAR) is a remote sensing technology that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges(distances) to a target.
- These light pulses are combined with other data recorded by the airborne system to generate precise,three-dimensional information about the shape of the Earth and its surface characteristics.
- It is similar to radar and sonar (that use radio and sound waves, respectively).
Sports
Jehan Daruvala
- Jehan Daruvala became the first Indian to win a Formula 2 race during the Sakhir Grand Prix.
- A thrilling battle against F2 champion Mick Schumacher and Daniel Ticktum saw the 22-year-old Indian emerge on top in the support race of the season-ending Formula 1 Grand Prix.
- The FIA Formula 2 Championship is a second-tier single-seater racing championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).
- The championship was introduced in 2017, following the rebranding of the long-term Formula One feeder series GP2.