Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 10 April 2022

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 10 April 2022

::NATIONAL::

Supreme Court to hear plea on Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea related to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014.
The plea contended that the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act was passed by both houses of Parliament in a “controversial” manner.
A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana was told by advocate PrashantBhushan, appearing for a petitioner, that though the challenge to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, one of the key aspects of the petition, has become “infructuous” with the passage of time, there are other important issues which needed to be adjudicated upon.
“This case is regarding the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. That part may have become infructuous but there are other questions which are involved regarding the bifurcation of states. Please list it some day,” he said.
“We will see,” the bench which also comprised Justices Krishna Murari and HimaKohli said.
The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act was passed in LokSabha and RajyaSabha on February 18 and 20 respectively and got the assent of the then President Pranab Mukherjee on March 1. It was published in the official gazette a day later.
Several petitions, including the one which was filed by former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Kiran Reddy, challenging the bifurcation and the “controversial manner” in which the bill was cleared in Parliament were filed in the apex court in 2014 and they are pending.
The petitioners contended that the bifurcation of the state was illegal and unconstitutional.
They had questioned the Centre’s decision to pass the bill pertaining to the bifurcation of the state in Parliament despite it being rejected by the AP state assembly.

::INTERNATIONAL::

Austrian chancellor to meet Russia's Putin in Moscow after Kyiv visit

Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer will meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday in an attempt to build dialogue with the Russian President as the war in Ukraine continues.
Nehammer announced the visit to journalists, and on Twitter, after returning from a trip to Kyiv, where he met with Ukrainian leaders and also visited the town of Bucha, site of alleged Russian military atrocities,.
Plans for the Putin meeting were coordinated with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, among others, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
The meeting is an unusual step for Nehammer, chancellor since December and a novice in diplomatic circles who’ll look to build on militarily-neutral Austria’s perceived role as a bridge between Europe’s east and west.
Earlier talks between Putin and other European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, have failed to yield any meaningful concessions from the Russian President.

::ECONOMY::

RBI to revisit KYC rules after digital lending fraud

Recent instances of fraud in digital lending activities have forced the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to relook the Know Your Customer –Anti-Money Laundering (KYC-AML) norms to plug the loopholes.
“Wherever we have seen cases where irregularities have happened, we are looking into it and based on the investigation, appropriate action could be initiated,” M RajeshwarRao, deputy governor of RBI, said during the post-policy interaction with the media.
“As for the KYC issues, there are certain operational issues, we are engaging internally and, if required, we will look at what kind of amendments are required for the regulations, and make it simple but effective and address concerns around KYC on an ongoing basis,” Rao said.
There have been a series of instances when customers who used certain digital lending apps were defrauded. Recently, fraudsters used PAN numbers to avail of loan from Dhani Loans and Services Limited, which was formerly known as Indiabulls Consumer Finance Limited, a non-deposit taking NBFC registered with the RBI and a 100 per cent subsidiary of Dhani Services Limited.
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the RBI actions on KYC rules have to be in consonance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He also said the RBI gets many complaints from customers, who fall prey to fraudsters while using the digital lending platforms.

::Science and tech::

Amazon ties up with three firms to launch its satellite internet

Though satellite internet has existed for years, the competition is about to rapidly intensify, with companies planning to launch thousands of their own systems into low Earth orbit.
The latest move in the industry came on April 5 from Amazon, which took a major step towards getting its $10 billion Kuiper constellation off the ground by sealing deals with three rocket companies.
The U.S. online retail giant wants to strengthen its lucrative diversification into IT services, and “provide low-latency broadband to a wide range of customers,” including those “working in locations without a reliable internet connection.”
“Satellite solutions are an indispensable complement to fiber,” said Stephane Israel, chief executive of Arianespace, one of the Amazon rocket providers.
“There are situations in which fiber is much too expensive compared to satellite connections, especially to reach the last inhabitant of a remote area,” he explained.
In addition to the satellites themselves, Amazon plans “small, affordable client terminals” along the lines of Echo smart-homes and Kindle e-readers, and promises to “provide service at a price that is affordable and accessible to customers,” with no further pricing details immediately.
Costs for users start under 60 euros ($70) per month, excluding terminal and antenna, and increase according to the bandwidth.
But because these services use satellites at geostationary orbit - more than 35,000 kilometers from Earth’s surface - their speed cannot match that of fiber, prohibiting use for high-speed tasks like gaming.
Amazon’s future satellites, like those already launched by Starlink, a subsidiary of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, will operate in low Earth orbit (LEO), only 600 km high.
“The advantage of LEO is that you reduce the latency, [and] by reducing the latency you maximize the uses,” said Israel.

::Sports::

Hammer thrower Sarita Romit Singh gunning for podium at CWG and Asian Games

From long jump to triple jump and then hammer throwing, SaritaRomit Singh has tried her best to make a mark in athletics with varying degrees of success. While her jumps career was limited to junior nationals where she could not win a medal, Sarita forayed into hammer throw in 2008. Then 19, it was, many believed, too late for her to try a new sport, but Sarita was undaunted. Within a few months, she won a silver medal at the All-India Inter-University for Hindu College.
That medal fuelled her ambition and after getting a job in Western Railway in 2011, her love for hammer throw grew. “It was only after winning a silver medal that I started dreaming of winning a medal for India at the international level and when I got the job in railways, I decided to win an international medal for sure in my career,” said Sarita, 32.
Hailing from Sambhal district in Uttar Pradesh, Sarita secured a fifth-place finish at the 2018 Asian Games. She breached the qualifying mark for this year's Commonwealth Games and Asian Games at the Federation Cup in Kozhikode recently, throwing the iron ball to a distance of 64.16 metres.