Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 11 DECEMBER 2018

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 11 December 2018

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to his fellow MPs to strive for a constructive atmosphere during the winter session of Parliament, the Opposition sounded a confrontational note by asserting that it would press for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the Rafale deal.
Misuse of investigative agencies and the tension with institutions like Reserve Bank of India (RBI) were other issues cited by the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, at the all-party meeting on Monday morning.
The meeting was convened by the newly appointed Parliamentary Affairs Minister Narendra Singh Tomar. Proceedings started with a two-minute homage to Ananth Kumar, his predecessor, who passed away last month.

Of the 110 anti-TB (tuberculosis) Fixed Dose Combinations (FDCs) available in India, only 32 (less than 30%) have been approved by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), the country’s drug regulator. In the case of malaria FDCs, only eight out of 20 (40%), have been approved.
These statistics, that give rise to safety and efficacy concerns, have been brought out in a study published online in the journal Tropical Medicine and International Health by researchers from the Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Aimed at assessing the proportion and sales of unapproved FDCs of anti-tubercular, antimalarial and antiretroviral (anti-HIV/AIDS) medicines available in India, the study analysed the available FDCs for these diseases and screened them against the CDSCO database of approved FDCs.
Pointing out that even the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) list of essential medicines mentions only 24 FDCs, Dr. Dengale said: “It is unfortunate that a majority of approved FDCs in the Indian market are irrational and lack scientific justification. The scientific rigour of the CDSCO in approving these FDCs has been questioned time and again in Parliamentary and academic reports”.

Reserve Bank Governor Urjit Patel on Monday stepped down from his post citing personal reasons.
In a statement, Dr. Patel said he is stepping down with immediate effect. He said it has been his privilege and honour to serve in the Reserve Bank of India in various capacities over the years.
Dr. Patel succeeded Raghuram Rajan as the 24th Governor of RBI in September 2016. He had been appointed for a three-year term.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that under the leadership of Dr Urjit Patel, the Reserve Bank of India brought financial stability, steered the banking system from chaos to order and ensured discipline.

The government on Monday announced a slew of changes to the National Pension Scheme (NPS), including increasing the government’s contribution, exempting withdrawals from tax, and also exempting up to ₹1.5 lakh of contributions to the scheme from tax.
The NPS was introduced for central government employees who joined service on or after January 1, 2004.
Prior to the change, NPS subscribers could withdraw 60% of the corpus, with 40% of mandatory being deposited in annuity schemes. Of the 60%, one-third was taxable and two-third was tax exempt. Following the changes, the entire 60% would be tax free.

Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot on Monday ordered businessman Vijay Mallya to be extradited to India, and referred the case to British Home Secretary Sajid Javid for signing the extradition order. Mr. Mallya will now have 14 days to lodge an appeal.
In ruling against Mr. Mallya, the judge at Westminster Magistrates Court pointed to factors such as numerous misrepresentations that had been made by Kingfisher Airlines, and the businessman during the course of obtaining loans from a consortium of banks including IDBI.
Mr. Mallya expressed his disappointment, said his legal team would review the options and decide on the route ahead. He reiterated his settlement offer before the Karnataka High Court, insisting that he had made clear that should it be accepted, he wanted former Kingfisher Airline employees to be paid first.
Once extradition is ordered by the Home Secretary, the Crown Prosecution Service’s barrister Mark Summers – acting for India - said they would be seeking to recover at least £260,000 in legal costs.
Under the treaty, Mr. Javid has two months to order the extradition, following which any appeal process would kick off. Mr. Mallya has the right to appeal to the High Court and should that go against him he could apply for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.

As Sri Lanka waits for Supreme Court decision over dissolution of parliament, President Maithripala Sirisena has said he looks forward to the constitutional interpretation of the court.
President said in a message that whatever may be the decision, he will take future political decisions accordingly, to the best interest of motherland and not to the benefit of any person, group or party.The President has already said he has no intention of reappointing Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister no matter what the outcome of the case is.
A source close to President office said that if the court decision is against dissolution, then there will be a government of United National Front (UNF) but the issue of Mr Ranil premiership is not resolved.
UNF has made it clear that Mr Ranil Wickremsinghe is their leader and choice for the post of Prime minister. The Supreme Court has deliberated on petitions filed against the dissolution of Parliament last week and is expected to deliver a judgement this week.
Meanwhile, a petition has been filed before the Supreme Court challenging the Speaker’s decision to convene the parliament despite a pending restraining order.
The petitioner stated that the Supreme Court issued an interim order only putting a stay on the gazette for dissolving the parliament.

Scientists have found that a series of self-guided, internet-based therapy platforms effectively reduce depression. Researchers from Indiana University (IU) in the U.S. reviewed 21 pre-existing studies with a total of 4,781 participants.
In the past several years, many internet-based apps and websites have made claims to treat depression.
The study, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research , focussed on those applications that provide treatment with cognitive behavioural therapy, which focuses on changing thought patterns and behaviour to alleviate symptoms of depression.
Before this study, I thought past studies were probably focused on people with very mild depression, those who did not have other mental health problems, and were at low risk for suicide,” said Lorenzo Lorenzo-Luaces, a professor at IU.

India beat Australia by 31 runs in the first Test to take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series at the Adelaide this morning. Chasing a target 323, Australia were all out for 291 in 119.5 overs on the final day. The home side resumed from overnight 104 for four, needing 219 more for an improbable victory.
Batting first, India were all out for 250 in their first innings and then bowled out the hosts for 235 to take a 15-run lead. India made 307 in their second innings to set Australia a challenging target