Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 13 December 2018
::NATIONAL::
India to support neighbouring countries to attain SDG’s
- Prime Minister NarendraModi has said, India is one of the
first countries to advocate focused attention on adolescence and
implement a full-fledged health promotion and prevention programme for
them.
- He said, India stands ready to support its fellow countries in
the march to achieving their development goals through skill building
and training programmes, providing affordable medicines and vaccines,
knowledge transfers and exchange programs.
- MrModi stressed on partnerships between citizens, partnerships
between communities and partnerships between countries. He said, goals
can be achieved through partnership.
- Inaugurating the fourth Partners’ Forum in New Delhi today,
MrModi said, a lot of interventions required, from bigger budgets to
better outcomes and from mindset change to monitoring.
- He said, with sustained momentum, and a faster rate of decline
during the last few years, India is on course to attend the SDG targets
for maternal and child health, much ahead of the agreed date of 2030.
::ECONOMY::
Govt.considering implementation of swaminathan committee report
- Government fixes-the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) of various
agricultural crops on the recommendations of the Commission for
Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP), after ascertaining the views of
State Governments and Central Ministries/ Departments concerned.
- While recommending MSPs, CACP considers the cost of production
and host of factors such as demand-supply situation, trends in domestic
and international prices, inter-crop price parity, terms of trade
between agricultural and non-agricultural sectors and the likely impact
of MSP on consumers and overall economy along with rational utilization
of scarce natural resources like land and water.
- National Commission on Farmers headed by Dr. M. S. Swaminathan
submitted its report in 2006. One of the recommendations of Commission
was that MSP should be at least 50 percent more than the weighted
average cost of production. This recommendation was not incorporated in
the National policy for Farmers 2007.
- However, recently Government has increased the MSP for all
Kharif and Rabi crops and other commercial crops for the season 2018-19
with a return of atleast 50 percent over cost of production, which was a
historic decision by the Government.
SEBI to prescribe guidelines for listing of corporate bonds
- As part of its measures to minimise an industry-wide impact of
a debt default, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has
allowed mutual fund (MF) houses to segregate bad assets — known as side
pocketing in industry parlance — in their debt and money market schemes.
- The capital markets regulator would also soon prescribe
guidelines for uniformity in pricing of corporate bonds and evolve a
regulatory framework for such pricing by agencies like CRISIL and ICRA.
- Addressing the media, SEBI chairman Ajay Tyagi said that the
regulator would soon issue the regulatory framework for such segregation
and include safeguards so that it did not in any way lead to fund
managers misusing the facility and taking undue risk.
- Interestingly, SEBI’s decisions are largely triggered by the
developments at IL&FS, which has defaulted on its various repayment
obligations, leading to a liquidity crisis across segments like mutual
funds and non-banking financial companies.
- The regulator has also expanded the universe of companies for
whom the Offer For Sale (OFS) mechanism is available. Shareholders of
any company with a market capitalisation of over Rs. 1,000 crore would
be able to use the OFS mechanism instead of the current limit of the top
200 companies.
::INTERNATIONAL::
India to support reconstruction & economic development in Myanmar
- President Ram NathKovind has reiterated India's readiness to
offer assistance to Myanmar in addressing its challenges of national
reconciliation, reconstruction and economic development during its
transition towards democracy.
- Addressing a gathering of the Indian community in Yangon,
MrKovind said that New Delhi fully respects the unity and territorial
integrity of Myanmar, which is also important for Indian and regional
security.
- In his address, President extended India's full support to the
peaceful dialogue between all stakeholders in Myanmar to make the
Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement more inclusive. He reminded that
terrorism and violent extremism are among the biggest dangers to
humankind, especially the democracies with diversity.
- He urged the countries for greater cooperation and capacity
sharing in the light of the increased competition for the global commons
such as outer space, the high seas and cyberspace.
- Myanmar considers India's security concerns very seriously and
is eager to take the relations to new heights. He added that New bus
service between Mandlay and Manipur is going to start soon.
- He also mentioned that visa on arrival facility for Indian
fliers to Myanmar has been brought into force with immediate effect,
crucial for people to people contact.
::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::
India gets new submarine rescue system
- The Indian Navy joined a select group of naval forces in the
world on Wednesday when it inducted its first non-tethered Deep
Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV) system at the Naval Dockyard in
Mumbai. The DSRV is used to rescue crew members from submarines stranded
under water in the high seas.
- The DSRV can be operated at a depth of 650 metres and can
rescue 14 people at a time. The state-of-the-art system is also equipped
with a decompression chamber that can accommodate submariners and a
remotely operated vehicle (ROV), which can be used to beam images and
provide immediate assistance. The Western Naval Command had recently
successfully held trials with actual simulations with different classes
of submarines.
- The DSRV can also be transported by air, enabling it to
conduct rescue operations across the globe. “Our endeavour is to train
our crew to provide submarine rescue services in the Indian Ocean region
and beyond,” Admiral Lanba said.
- In March 2016, the Indian Navy had signed a Rs. 2,000 crore
contract with the U.K.-based James Fisher Defence (JFD) for two
submarine rescue systems as well as maintenance for 25 years. Admiral
Lanba said the second system would be inducted in April and would be
based at the Eastern Naval Command in Vishakapatnam.
- The Indian Navy has also signed a Rs. 9,000 crore contract
with the Hindustan Shipyard Limited for two ships, which would serve as
the dedicated mother ships for the submarine rescue system, the first of
which is expected to arrive by 2022.
::SPORTS::
Viratkohli maintains top spot in ICC rankings
- In the latest ICC cricket rankings, India Captain ViratKohli
maintains his top spot.
- CheteshwarPujara's knocks of 123 and 71 were the cornerstone
of India's victory in the opening Test against Australia at the Adelaide
Oval.
- This has given him the career-best ranking to top five. India
fast bowler Bumrah has achieved a career-high ranking of 33rd, after his
three for 47 and three for 68 at Adelaide which helped him to rise five
places.
