Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 12 July 2022

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 12 July 2022

::NATIONAL::

Mamata to attend oath-taking function of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee will attend the oath-taking ceremony of the newly-elected members of the semi-autonomous Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) in Darjeeling.
Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), which Banerjee calls a friendly party, won the GTA elections held last month after 10 years. Formed nine months ago, BGPM contested 36 of the 45 GTA seats and won 27. Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) won five of the 10 seats it contested. Another recently founded Hamro Party won eight seats and independents the remaining five.
BGPM president AnitThapa will be sworn in as the GTA chief executive. He lost the Darjeeling municipal election earlier this year. Hamro Party won the polls.
BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP), which has won the Darjeeling LokSabha seat thrice in a row since 2009, and Gorkha National Liberation Front were among the parties which opposed the polls saying Banerjee held them polls against people’s wishes.
Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief president BimalGurung, who allied with TMC before the 2021 assembly polls, boycotted the GTA polls. Many of his former leaders contested as independents.

::INTERNATIONAL::

Destroyed Russian military equipment from Ukraine war displayed in Prague

The Russia-Ukraine war has entered its fifth month with no sign on ending even as Moscow claimed control over the last Ukrainian stronghold in an eastern province, a key to achieving a major goal of Russia's grinding war.
An exhibition of Russian military equipment destroyed by Ukrainian forces in the ongoing war is being held Czech capital, Prague. The captured war trophies that were put on display include a damaged T-90 tank, Buk air defence system, Khosta self-propelled mortar, Msta howitzer, and casings and fragments from rockets and missiles. The destroyed armour from the battlefield was displayed on Letna Plain, a large open space a short distance from Prague Castle.
Ukrainian embassy spokesperson TetianaOkopna told Czech Television that they hope to show once again the “horrors of war that Russia's aggression has brought to Ukraine”, reported BBC
Meanwhile, Germany and the Czech Republic signed a joint declaration pledging to overcome dependency on Russian fossil fuel dependency and to accelerate the transition to low carbon energy.
"We are going to finalise the agreement on solidarity measures to safeguard the security of gas supply between our countries prior to the start of the upcoming winter season," the declaration read.

::ECONOMY::

GoM on GST Appellate Tribunal set up, to be headed by Dushyant Chautala

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has set up a six-member group of ministers (GoM) to recommend necessary amendments required in the GST laws and other legal changes for setting up the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT).
The GoM will be headed by Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala.
The 47th GST Council meeting, chaired by Finance minister NirmalaSitharaman, had last month decided to constitute a GoM to address various concerns raised by the states in relation to the constitution of the GSTAT.
"In its 47th meeting held on June 28-29 in Chandigarh, the GST Council discussed the changes required in provisions pertaining to the GST Appellate Tribunal in the GST Laws to bring it in conformity with judgements of the courts in relation to various aspects concerning Tribunals," a Finance Ministry statement said.
It said that accordingly the Council has decided to constitute a GoM to look into the issues involved. The other members of the GoM include Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Buggana
The GOM on GSTAT shall recommend necessary amendments required in the GST laws to ensure that the legal provisions to maintain the right federal balance, and are in line with the overall objective of uniform taxation within the country, said the notification.

::Science and tech::

Why deepest-ever infrared image of distant universe is iconic, NASA explains

It’s out now. A slice of the vast universe captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in “the deepest, and the sharpest infrared view to date”. US president Joe Biden unveiled the image of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 - Webb’s First Deep Field - on Monday (local time) at a White House event. Thousands of galaxies are revealed in a tiny sliver of the vast universe in the image, says the US space agency.

Why is it iconic? Here are more details:

1. The image shows the galaxy cluster - SMACS 0723 - as it was 4.6 billion years ago. “The combined mass of this galaxy cluster acts as a gravitational lens, magnifying much more distant galaxies behind it.,” says NASA.
2. With the world's largest and most powerful telescope seeking the earliest galaxies, a path is set for the researchers to learn more about their masses, ages, histories, and compositions.
3. “The first image from the Webb Space Telescope represents a historic moment for science and technology. For astronomy and space exploration. And for America and all humanity,” said Biden in a tweet after revealing the image.
4. “These images are going to remind the world that America can do big things, and remind the American people – especially our children – that there’s nothing beyond our capacity. We can see possibilities no one has ever seen before. We can go places no one has ever gone before,” he added.
5. The highest-resolution images of the infrared universe ever captured by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) brings into focus never-seen-before tiny, faint structures, including star clusters and diffuse features.
6. "Webb's First Deep Field is not only the first full-color image from the James Webb Space Telescope, it’s the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe, so far. This image covers a patch of sky approximately the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length. It’s just a tiny sliver of the vast universe," said NASA administrator Bill Nelson. “This mission was made possible by human ingenuity – the incredible NASA Webb team and our international partners at the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. Webb is just the start of what we can accomplish in the future when we work together for the benefit of humanity."

::Sports::

Roger Federer sinks to all-time career low after missing Wimbledon 2022

His prolonged struggle with knee injury saw Roger Federer miss the Wimbledon Championships for the very first time in his career. He had won the Junior title in 1998 and made his men's singles main draw debut at the Wimbledon the following year and has since continued his annual visit to the All England Club where he won an Open Era record of eight of his 20 Grand Slam titles. However, after missing the 2022 Wimbledon tournament Federer sank to an all-time low in his career.
It was at the SW19 that Federer had last made his official appearance in a tennis match. He had lost to Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinal in straight sets. Following the heartbreaking loss, Federer underwent a knee treatment that kept him away from ATP tour for exactly a year.
On Monday, ATP released the fresh rankings update and Federer, for the first time in his career, dropped outside the top 1000.