Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 11 JANUARY 2020

SSC CGL Current Affairs

::NATIONAL::

Over 1000 Fast Track Special Courts will be set up across the country for speedy disposal of cases relating to rape and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Out of these, 389 courts have been proposed to be set up exclusively for POCSO Act related cases in districts where the pendency of such cases is more than 100. The Law Ministry has said, these courts will be set-up as a part of the National Mission for Safety of Women.
It said, the scheme was circulated to the concerned State Governments and Union Territory Administrations in September last year.
The Ministry said, 24 States and Union Territories have joined this scheme for setting up 792 Fast Track Special Courts. These include 354 exclusive courts for trial of POCSO offences. The Ministry said, 216 POCSO courts are already functional in 12 States.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has emphasised the need to evolve simultaneous system to hold elections from Parliament to down Panchayat level and raise awareness among people to help reduce money power in politics.
He was speaking after addressing a two-day conference "Money power in Politics" held at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad this morning.
Expressing concerns over increasing money power in elections, the Vice President said holding simultaneous elections at all levels, will help reduce the influence of money power. Stressing the need for constructive and practical suggestions from different stakeholders, the vice president opined that electoral reforms should be speeded up.
He said Indian electoral system helped the Indian democracy flourish into the world’s biggest democracy during the last seven decades. Referring to the free schemes that the political parties assure before elections, Mr Naidu said efforts should be made to enhance awareness among people for taking accountability of the parties and candidates into consideration.

The RBI has amended the KYC norms allowing banks and other lending institutions regulated by it to use Video based Customer Identification Process (V-CIP), a move which will help them onboard customers remotely.
The V-CIP, which will be consent-based, will make it easier for banks and other regulated entities to adhere to the RBI's Know Your Customer (KYC) norms by leveraging the digital technology.
The Reserve Bank said it decided to permit video based Customer Identification Process (V-CIP) as a consent based alternate method of establishing the customer's identity, for customer onboarding with a view to leveraging the digital channels for Customer Identification Process (CIP) by regulated entities (REs).
The RBI further said that the regulated entities will have to ensure that the video recording is stored in a safe and secure manner and bears the date and time stamp.
Last year, the government had notified amendment to the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005. As per the circular, the reporting entity should capture a clear image of PAN card to be displayed by the customer during the process.

The environment ministry has decided to waive green clearance requirements for distilleries planning to produce up to 50% more ethanol than their nameplate capacity without increasing pollution.
The decision will enable sugar mills to divert more raw material towards producing ethanol this season, helping them fight sugar supply glut and provide more ethanol for blending with petrol without having to wait for green clearances, which could have taken six months to a year and, in many cases, forced units to miss the opportunity of additional ethanol output this sugar year.
The country’s sugar industry is facing a glut this season, prompting the government to enhance sugar export subsidy and permit mills to use sugar, sugarcane juice and B-heavy molasses to produce ethanol, which oil marketing companies can buy. Mills could earlier use only C-molasses, which contain comparatively less sugar.
With the use of sugarcane juice and B-heavy molasses, the distilleries are able to produce more ethanol with the same quantum of raw material. But a production that’s higher than the nameplate capacity created a new challenge for mills – the need for a new green clearance.
For capacity expansion, distilleries must obtain environment clearances, which involve public hearing and environment impact assessment and can take up to a year. By waiving off such requirements, the government is aiming to make it easier for industry without hurting the environment.

Britain's Parliament will finally approve the terms of Brexit today, clearing the divided country's exit from the European Union on 31st of January. The House of Commons will rush through a final day of hearings and ratify Prime Minister Boris Johnson's divorce deal with Brussels.
For much of the time since the 2016 Brexit Referendum, lawmakers have been deadlocked over how, when and even if Britain should leave its closest trading partners after nearly 50 years.
MPs gave their initial blessing to the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill before Christmas and the government set aside just three days this week for detailed scrutiny of the complex text.
The Brexit Bill must be passed by the unelected House of Lords and the European Parliament, but this is expected before 31st of January.
The Brexit deal covers separation issues such as EU citizens' rights and Britain's financial settlement and sets out an 11-month transition period in which to agree a wider partnership.

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has notified the new Wetland Conservation Rules which prohibit setting up or expansion of industries and disposal of construction and demolition waste within the wetlands.
A wetland is a land area that is saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, and it takes on the characteristics of a distinct ecosystem. The Ministry has said that each state and Union Territory will have to set up an authority that will define strategies for conservation and wise use of wetlands within their jurisdiction.
The Authority will prepare a list of all wetlands of the State or UT within three months from the date of publication of these rules. It will develop a comprehensive list of activities to be regulated and permitted within the notified wetlands and their zone of influence.
It will also recommend mechanisms for maintenance of ecological character through promotional activities for land within the boundary of notified wetlands.