Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 09 March 2017

:: National ::

Defence Ministry has initiated the process to procure lakhs of service medals

The Defence Ministry has initiated the process to procure lakhs of service medals for armed forces personnel in the wake of a report that for almost a decade most military personnel were being forced to buy duplicate medals from local markets.
Tender process would be processed on a fast-track basis to clear the backlog. According to official figures, as on March 31, 2016, there was a backlog of 15,64,130 service medals.
Department of Medals in the Defence Ministry has not provided any medals since 2008, except for gallantry and Distinguished Service medals presented by the President of India during investiture ceremonies.
Due to this, personnel have been forced to purchase duplicate medals from the local markets. The original medals have the name of the soldier and badge number engraved on them.
Ministry had to receive rates from the Government Mint in Kolkata following which the tender would be floated.

Scientists have developed a ‘nanodote’, low-cost molecular gel, to counter snakebite

Scientists have developed a ‘nanodote’—a low-cost molecular gel — to counter snakebite in a manner far more effective than existing anti-venoms, an advance that may save thousands of lives in rural parts of India.
Worldwide,an estimated 4.5 million people are bitten annually.
Around 2.7 million suffer crippling injuries and more than 1,00,000 die, most of them farmworkers and children in poor, rural parts of India and sub-Saharan Africa that have little healthcare.
U.S. Researchers synthesised a polymer nanogel material that binds to several key protein toxins, keeping them from bursting cell membranes and causing widespread destruction.
The human serum in the test tubes stayed clear, rather than turning scarlet from the venom’s typical deadly rupture of red blood cells.

India and other G4 nations open to innovative ideas on UN

In a bid to get the U.N. reform process moving, India and other G4 nations have said they are open to innovative ideas and willing to not exercise veto as permanent members of a reformed Security Council until a decision on it has been taken.
In a joint statement delivered by India’s Permanent Representative to the U.N. Syed Akbaruddin at an inter-governmental negotiations meeting.
G4 nations — India, Brazil, Germany and Japan — emphasised that an overwhelming majority of the U.N. member-states supported the expansion of both permanent and non-permanent membership in a reformed Security Council.
Mr. Akbaruddin said the question of veto had been addressed by many from differing perspectives but the G4 approach was that the problem was not one of quantity but of quality — of introducing restrictions.
Mr. Akbaruddin, on behalf of the G4, said the group was open to “innovative” and differing ideas compiled in a composite text to achieve U.N. reform.

:: International ::

China came up with formula to defuse Korean Peninsula crisis

China proposed a “double suspension” formula to defuse the crisis on the Korean Peninsula as part of its new assertive approach to shoulder greater global responsibilities within the framework of the UN.
“As a first step, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) may suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for the suspension of large-scale U.S.-Republic of Korea (ROK) military exercises,” Chinese Foreign Minister said.
This will help the parties to break out of the security dilemma and return to the negotiating table, he observed.
The Chinese Foreign Minister compared the missile tests of the North and the joint drills across the border in South Korea to two “accelerating trains coming toward each other”.
Mr. Wang stressed that the DPRK and the U.S. were the main parties to the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, but as a next-door neighbour with a lips-and-teeth relationship with the Peninsula, China’s role in the resolution of the issue was indispensable.
At a time when the U.S. appeared to be looking inwards, the Chinese Minister affirmed that his country would champion inclusive globalisation, within the framework of the UN.
He said President Xi Jinping’s January visit to international organisations had sent out a clear message that China strongly supported multilateralism, along with its abiding commitment to the UN-centred multilateral system.
In his free-wheeling annual press conference that lasted nearly two hours, Mr. Wang signalled Beijing’s support for a trilateral relationship among China, Russia and the United States.

:: Business and Economy ::

Centre has initiated talks with FMCG companies to sell their products online

The Centre has initiated talks with FMCG companies to sell their products online in rural areas through common service centres (CSCs) as it looks to increase the business for such centres.
While a deal has already been worked out with Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurveda, negotiations are underway with the likes of Procter and Gamble and Crompton Greaves, an official said.
There are more than 2.5 lakh CSCs across the country which enable people, particularly in rural areas, to access government services online.
These services include ration card, birth certificate, train tickets and online form submission, among other things.
Going beyond delivery of public services through such centres, the Centre is now opening up to tie-ups with private companies for their products to be sold through CSCs to increase profits for Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs).
For example, CSC also has a tie up with Videocon d2h and Reliance Jio to sell their connections.
The move will help VLEs who run CSCs to earn commission on the products sold while also enabling access for customers in rural areas to these products.
Currently, by offering these online services, these centres together earn commission of more than Rs. 2 crore a day. The Centre is eyeing to ramp this up to Rs. 10 crore a day.

World Gold Council expects a revival in demand for the yellow metal

The World Gold Council (WGC) expects a revival in demand for the yellow metal in India in the current calendar year after 2016 ended on a dismal note on account of a surge in gold price coupled with factors like an increase in excise duty and demonetisation.
The global body expects Indian gold demand to be about 650-750 tonnes in 2017. Demand was just a little more than 600 tonnes in the last calendar year.
Incidentally, the year 2016 saw gold demand in India falling to its lowest level since 2009 as government policies along with weak rural sentiment kept consumers away.
While the gold trade body said that the outlook for 2017 was “cautious”, it added that demand was likely to improve going forward.
It added earlier attempts by the authorities to clamp down on gold had failed as gold is too intimately ingrained in the Indian society.
The global body further stated that while demonetisation did dent economic growth, it was helping large jewellery retailers and consumers in terms of transparency and quality.
Interestingly, WGC, conducted a consumer research in the first quarter of 2016 in which 63% of respondents in India agreed with the statement “I trust gold more than the currencies of countries”.

The government is mulling opening more ‘border haats’

The government is mulling opening more ‘border haats’ (border markets), encouraged by its success at the India-Myanmar border, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) Chairman Najib Shah said.
Mr. Shah pointed out that the “informal trade” with Myanmar through the ‘border haat’ was “functioning very well.”
Mr. Shah added that changes in some laws including the Customs Act will be made within the stipulated time-period to ensure the smooth implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement.
The Trade Facilitation Agreement, to which India is a signatory, had come into effect last month.

FM said that the electoral bonds will be made available ahead of the elections

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the electoral bonds will be made available ahead of the elections and would remain valid for a few days.
The concept of electoral bonds was introduced by Mr. Jaitley during his Budget 2017 speech in order to bring some transparency to the electoral funding process.
“These bonds have to be authorised under a scheme under the Income Tax Act,” Mr. Jaitley said while speaking at an event at the Nehru Memorial Museum & Library.
It will open for a limited period of time during the elections, or maybe a little before the elections.The life of a bond will be just a few days. Knowing the manner in which people have laundered money, the bond should not become a parallel currency.
A bond can be purchased by any donor only by cheque or electronic payment, only at authorised banks. You can donate these bonds only to a political party. These are redeemable in only one account of that party, registered with the EC.
Mr. Jaitley in his Budget speech had also announced that the cap on cash donations to political parties would be reduced to Rs. 2,000 from the earlier Rs. 20,000.