Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 10 February 2017

:: National ::

Political crisis in Tamil Nadu deepened

AIADMK interim general secretary V.K. Sasikala met Governor and staked claim to form the next government in Tamil Nadu, contending that she enjoyed the support of a majority of party legislators.
Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, who separately met Mr Rao at the Raj Bhavan earlier , is learnt to have submitted a memorandum seeking time to prove his majority in the Assembly.
No clarity emerged late in the evening as to who would receive a call from the Governor to head the government in the State where none of the Cabinet Ministers has accepted the command of Chief Minister Panneerselvam.
Governor said he would “consider” their claims. He is likely to consult constitutional experts before taking a decision on government formation.
Governor Rao, who returned to Chennai from Mumbai late in the afternoon, granted time to Mr. Panneerselvam to meet him at 5 p.m., while Ms. Sasikala was granted an appointment at 7.30 p.m.

India began the process for extradition of Vijay Mallya

Beginning a formal process, India sought extradition of absconding tycoon Vijay Mallya from the United Kingdom.
The government reached out to the U.K. days after the Central Bureau of Investigation advised extradition of the millionaire, who is wanted by a number of banks for defaulting on loans.
The development came two days after the Karnataka High Court ordered winding up of United Breweries (Holding) Ltd, the 102-year- old parent company of the UB Group.
The order followed UBL’s failure to pay back banks and individual creditors as per guarantees extended to the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. (KFA).
Extradition process was necessary as UK in its communication had stated that it recognised the seriousness of charges against Mr Mallya which included defaulting in paying loans amounting to Rs. 9,000 crore to a consortium of 17 banks.

Data analysis shows unarmed civilians fall victim to IED more

A detailed data analysis carried out by the National Security Guard, a counter-terror and counter-hijack force, show it is the unarmed civilians who often fall victim to IED blasts set off by terrorists across India. The VIPs are the least targeted.
Between 2012 and 2016, anywhere between 49% and 72% of the attacks have been targeted at ordinary civilians in each of these years. In contrast, attacks targeting VIPs were in the range of 1% to 7%.
In 2016, only 7% of the IED attacks were targeted at the VIPs. In comparison, 55% of all IED explosions across India in 2016 were targeted at public places. The remaining 37% were against security forces.
The Union government provides security to more than 300 VIPs. While the Special Protection Group provides security to the Prime Minister, the former Prime Ministers and their close family members.
The NSG report said that three VIPs each were targeted in Northeast India and areas affected by Left-wing extremism, one in Jammu and Kashmir and remaining 16 in the rest of India.
In all, 337 bomb-related incidents were reported in the country, the highest in five years.The States affected by LWE contributed the most number of IED blasts at 159, followed by the north-eastern States at 59 and Jammu and Kashmir at 31.
In 2016, the number of IED blasts rose from six to 33 in Kerala and from 12 to 32 in Tamil Nadu. Chhattisgarh saw an increase from 39 to 60.
The report said Jammu and Kashmir saw an increase in number of blasts after the Hizbul Mujahideen militant BurhanWani was killed in an encounter with the security forces.

Aadhaar number mandatory for food subsidy

Proof of possession of ‘Aadhaar’ number will be mandatory to avail oneself of the subsidised food grains or cash transfer of food subsidy under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
The notification under the Aadhaar Act requires individual beneficiaries having ration cards to furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar number or undergo Aadhaar authentication to receive subsidies. This condition will also be applicable for all new beneficiaries.
“This notification shall come into effect from 08-2-2017 in all States and Union territories, except the States of Assam, Meghalaya and Jammu and Kashmir,” said an official statement.
Beneficiaries under NFSA who do not possess the Aadhaar Number or are not yet enrolled for Aadhaar but are desirous of availing [themselves of] subsidies under NFSA are required to make application for Aadhaar enrolment by June 30, 2017.

Central govt to provide 90% subsidy under HathkarghaSamvarthanSahayata scheme

The Development Commissioner for Handlooms, under the Union Ministry of Textiles, has come forward to supply Asu machine, for winding of yarn mechanically required for weaving a Pochamapally ‘Tie and Dye’ sari.
Under the HathkarghaSamvarthanSahayata scheme for technical upgradation, cluster development programme of National Handloom Development Programme, the Central Government would provide 90 % subsidy and the beneficiary would have to bear only 10 % for the purchase of an Asu machine.
The manual Asu activity, a pre-weaving process. It is a time consuming and physically painful activity mostly done by women.
The process requires the women to move their arms back and forth several thousand times to process the yarn, which is the raw material for weaving the Pochampalli sari in ‘Ikat’ tradition.
A release from the Development Commissioner of Handlooms said that the machine was capable of providing processed yarn material required for eight saris in a day against one woman’s output of two saris after working for 10 hours a day.
The department in the past supplied 1,000 Asu machines to the weaving sector in the districts of Nalgonda, Jangaon, Yadadri and Warangal in Telangana State and to the Naupatna area of Odisha.

:: India and World ::

India and US agreed to expand cooperation in defence

In the first high level contact between the defence departments of India and the U.S. since President Donald Trump took charge, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his U.S. counterpart agreed to expand cooperation.
Two discussed cooperation under the Defence Technology Trade Initiative (DTTI) and the Major Defence Partner status and agreed to take forward the joint development of defence platforms.
The Defence Ministry said Mr. Parrikar and Gen. Mattis emphasised the high priority placed by both countries on the relationship, and resolved to work together to expand this partnership.
Earlier Mr. Parrikar had written a letter congratulating Gen. Mattis after his appointment. On the course of the defence cooperation.
Key appointments in the Pentagon are yet to made. There will be some clarity only after that on the defence front.
For instance the portfolio of Frank Kendall, Under Secretary for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics is likely to be bifurcated. He heads the DTTI from the U.S. side.

India rejects criticism from U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

India rejected criticism from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) that religious minorities in the country continued to face vigilantism and constitutional challenges.
In the report titled “Constitutional and Legal Challenges Faced by Religious Minorities in India” made available online, the USCIRF cited the killing of Mohammed Akhlaq in September 2015 over beef eating, and said such violence.
It further criticised the Indian Constitution for giving favourable treatment to the majority Hindu community and curtailing the unique identity of the minority groups.
Questioning the authority of the report, the Ministry said the government did not see the locus standi of the USCIRF to pronounce on the state of Indian citizens’ constitutionally protected rights.

:: Science and Technology ::

Decades old radioactive glass used to examine the Moon’s formation theory

Scientists have used decades-old radioactive glass, found blanketing the ground after the first nuclear test bomb explosion, to examine theories about the Moon’s formation about 4.5 billion years ago.
Researchers from University of California San Diego in the U.S. examined the chemical composition of zinc and other volatile elements contained in the green-coloured glass.
It is called trinitite, which were radioactive materials formed under the extreme temperatures that resulted from the 1945 plutonium bomb explosion.
Scientists have long suggested that similar chemical reactions took place when a collision between Earth and a Mars-sized planetary body produced debris that formed the Moon.
The analysis found similarities between the trinitite and lunar rocks.

:: Business and Economy ::

Finance Minister says no disclosure of electoral bond purchasers

FM says that there should be no fear of disclosure of names of those buying electoral bonds since banking confidentiality laws state that banks cannot divulge account details to the government or even to the courts.
Mr. Jaitley further urged the opposition to not “find problems with every solution” and that he was ready for a discussion if they had any improvements to proposals on electoral funding.
On the Opposition’s charges that banks’ NPAs had grown under the current govt,FM said that one major reason for the increase in NPA levels was that several such bad loans were kept hidden until the RBI conducted its Asset Quality Review last year.
The banking companies regulation act has a secrecy law which says that banks cannot give account details to the government or even the courts.
The Rs. 2,000 limit on cash donations to parties was suggested by the Election Commission, Mr. Jaitley added.

India to expedite negotiations on food security issues

The Centre will send an expert team to the WTO next month to ensure that negotiations on food security issues and the proposed global services pact are expedited, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
This development follows Ms. Sitharaman’s meeting with WTO Director General Roberto Azevêdo, who is on a two-day visit to India.
The Minister maintained that India was against introduction of ‘new issues’ including e-commerce into the formal agenda of the WTO-level negotiations on liberalisation of global trade without consensus among all the WTO Members.
The Minister also reiterated India’s opposition to attempts by some rich countries to work towards a global investment agreement at the WTO-level that would incorporate a contentious Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanism.
Besides, she said, India would consider the proposed multilateral disciplines on fisheries subsidies, provided they ensure that the country’s resource-poor fisherfolk were protected.