Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 09 March 2022

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 09 March 2022

::NATIONAL::

‘Will fight for peace, harmony’: Telangana CM hits out at BJP

Reiterating his resolve to fight against the divisive forces in the country, Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao called upon the people to pull down the BharatiyaJanata Party from power in the next general elections.
“We must teach a lesson to Prime Minister NarendraModi and the other religious fanatics of the BJP. It is time the people throw them into the Bay of Bengal,” KCR, as the chief minister is known, said, while addressing a public meeting at Wanaparthy.
The chief minister lashed out at the BJP for spreading hatred and disharmony among the people in the name of religion and caste. “Such tactics will not work for the BJP in Telangana, which is a classic example for communal harmony. Here, people of all castes and religions remain united and are on the path of progress,” he said.
He said Telangana had witnessed all round development in the last seven years. “There are no suicides and starvation deaths in Telangana. There are no power cuts and migration of labour. We have proved that we can achieve progress if Telangana becomes a separate state,” he said.
“As a son of Telangana, I have taken a step forward in this direction. I am ready to sacrifice my life for safeguarding peace, harmony and brotherhood in the country,” he said.
He also sought people’s support in his endeavour. “Let us fight together and see that the cancer of communalism doesn’t spread to the entire country,” he said.

::INTERNATIONAL::

Ukraine war: Joe Biden announces ban on Russian oil, gas imports

Deploying yet another tool in its sanctions arsenal, after intense political pressure from the Congress, and despite worries about its implication for the United States’ own and global energy prices, US President Joe Biden announced a ban on oil, gas and energy imports from Russia.
I am announcing that the US is targeting the main artery of Russia’s economy. We are banning all imports of Russian oil, gas and energy. That means that Russian oil will no longer be acceptable at US ports. The American people will deal another powerful blow at (Vladimir) Putin’s war machine.”
While saying that he had made the decision in close coordination with allies and partners, Biden said that the US understood that not all of its allies and partners in Europe would be able to join America in this ban. “We produce far more oil domestically than all of European countries combined. In fact, we are a net exporter of energy. We can take this step when others can’t.”
But he said that the US was working closely with European countries to find ways to reduce their long-term dependence on Russian energy.
Joe Biden also acknowledged that while the aim was to inflict further pain on Putin, there would be costs for the American people. “Defending freedom is going to cost us as well…Republicans and Democrats alike have been clear that we must do this.”
He said that Putin’s war was already costing American families, and gas prices would go up further, but added that the administration would do all it can to minimise pain at home and ensure reliable supply of global energy.
Joe Biden warned oil and gas companies not to exploit the situation with excessive prices and profiteering.

::ECONOMY::

RBI deepens digital pay infra, launches UPI for 400 mn feature phone users

To deepen the adoption of digital payments in the country, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday launched a Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for feature phone users. This will ensure further democratisation of UPI in the country and make digital payments more inclusive by including the participation of people belonging to the economically lower strata of society.
The UPI for feature phone users will be known as UPI123Pay, and will have almost all the features of UPI that are there on smartphones. The UPI can, in fact, be used on the feature phones even currently, but the process is USSD based, which is cumbersome, resulting in it not taking off in a significant manner. Hence, it is expected that UPI123 Pay will fill in the gap and take adoption of digital payments and UPI to the next level.
In India, there are roughly 1.18 billion mobile phone users of which 780 million use smart phones, and the rest use feature phones. So, a large chunk of the consumer base, who are feature phone users, had limited options when it comes to digital payments.
In his statement in December, the RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had indicated about RBI's intention to launch UPI-based payment products for feature phone users, leveraging on innovative products from the RBI’s regulatory sandbox on retail payments.
“We believe the innovative functionalities offered on feature phones will provide a push to UPI in various geographies across the country and will transform the way payments are perceived”, said BiswamohanMahapatra, Chairman, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the umbrella organisation for retail digital payments in the country.
Further, enabling UPI for feature phone users will help NPCI in realising its target of processing 1 billion transactions a day. Also, it will give a boost to RBI’s objective of achieving a less cash economy.
“While we have been growing impressively in terms of digital payments, with number of transactions growing over 5 times, but a large part of this digitisation is getting limited to people who have a smart phone”, said Deputy Governor, T Rabi Sankar.

::Science and tech::

First photos from the Moon under the hammer in Denmark

The first NASA photographs taken on the Moon, including the first shot of an "Earthrise" and Buzz Aldrin walking on the surface, will be auctioned off in Copenhagen.
"One of my favourite photos from this fantastic collection depicts a photo of Buzz Aldrin taken by Neil Armstrong, and you can actually see Neil Armstrong being reflected in Buzz Aldrin's visor", Kasper Nielsen, the head of the Bruun Rasmussen auction house's valuation team, told AFP.
A total of 74 unique NASA photographs are up for sale, including 26 taken on the Moon during the Apollo missions in the 1960s and 1970s.
"Of course, the highlight is the Apollo mission reaching the Moon for the first time" on July 20, 1969, said Nielsen.
Bruun Rasmussen -- which was contacted by a foreign collector who wanted to sell the photos and who has asked to remain anonymous -- has estimated the collection at 1.4 million kroner, or almost 190,000 euros ($205,000).
The collection also includes photos from the dramatic Apollo 13 mission, which never landed on the Moon due to a malfunction, instead looping around it before splashing down in the South Pacific Ocean after six days.
Several of the photos are on public display for the first time, having previously been part of NASA's archives.
Others have appeared on the cover of US magazines such as National Geographic or Life, illustrating America's success in the space race.

::SPORTS::

Russian football federation appeals against FIFA, UEFA bans

The Russian football federation appealed Tuesday to have its FIFA and UEFA bans frozen and other punishments overturned.
Russian teams were expelled from competition on Feb. 28 “until further notice” following the country's invasion of Ukraine. FIFA and UEFA did not specify their legal reasons.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport said it hoped to decide on the appeals in the coming days.
Russia's men's national team was scheduled to play Poland on March 24 in a World Cup qualifying playoff. Poland has refused to play Russia in the match. The winner of that match would have played the winner of the game between Sweden and the Czech Republic in the next round, but they also have refused to play against the Russians.