Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 13 JULY 2020
::NATIONAL::
Supreme court says PwD entitled to same benefits as SC/ST’s
- The Supreme Court, in a significant decision, confirmed that persons with disabilities are also socially backward and entitled to the same benefits of relaxation as Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates in public employment and education.
- “In AnamolBhandari, the High Court has correctly held that people suffering from disabilities are also socially backward, and are therefore, at the very least, entitled to the same benefits as given to the Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe candidates,” the Supreme Court held in a judgment on July 8.
- The decision by the Justice Nariman Bench came on a petition by Aryan Raj, a special needs person represented by senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, and advocate Rajan Mani, against the Government College of Arts, Chandigarh.
NATGRID signs MoU with NCRB to access centralised online database
- The National Intelligence Grid has signed anMoU with the National Crime Records Bureau to access the centralised online database on FIRs and stolen vehicles.
- First conceptualised in 2009, NATGRID seeks to become the one-stop destination for security and intelligence agencies to access database related to immigration entry and exit, banking and telephone details of a suspect on a “secured platform”. The project aims to go live by December 31.
- The MoU, signed in March, will give NATGRID access to the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems database, a platform that links around 14,000 police stations.
- Asked if the MoU infringes on the federal system of the Constitution, since the NCRB under the Union government is only a repository and the data pertaining to FIRs of a particular police station are a State subject, the official said, “It does not violate any legal provisions as FIRs are shared with all the police stations.”
::ECONOMY::
Centre increases borrowing limits of states for 2020-21
- Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman reviewed the implementation of AatmaNirbhar Bharat Package pertaining to Ministries of Finance and Corporate Affairs.
- The government has decided that Global tenders will be disallowed in Government procurement tenders up to Rs 200 crore. In the review it was decided that no Global Tender Enquiry (GTE) shall be invited for tenders uptoRs 200 crore, unless prior approval is obtained from Cabinet Secretariat.
- Giving relief to contractors, it was announced that all central agencies like Railways, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and Central Public Works Department will give extension of up to 6 months for completion of contractual obligations, including in respect of EPC and concession agreements.
- The Finance Minister announced that the Centre has decided to accede to the request and increase borrowing limits of States from 3 per cent to 5 per cent for 2020-21 only in view of the unprecedented situation. This will give States extra resources of Rs 4,28,000crore.
::INTERNATIONAL::
U.S remains India’s top trading partner in last fiscal
- The US remained India's top trading partner for the second consecutive fiscal in 2019-20, which shows increasing economic ties between the two countries. According to the data of the commerce ministry, in 2019-20, the bilateral trade between the US and India stood at USD 88.75 billion as against USD 87.96 billion in 2018-19.
- The US is one of the few countries with which India has a trade surplus. The trade gap between the countries has increased to USD 17.42 billion in 2019-20 from USD 16.86 billion in 2018-19, the data showed.
- The bilateral trade between India and China has dipped to USD 81.87 billion in 2019-20 from USD 87.08 billion in 2018-19. Trade deficit between the two neighbours have declined to USD 48.66 billion in 2019-20 from USD 53.57 billion in the previous fiscal.
- India is also considering certain steps like framing technical regulations and quality control orders for host of items with a view to cut import dependence on China and boost domestic manufacturing.
- India is seeking relaxation in US visa regime, exemption from high duties imposed by the US on certain steel and aluminium products, and greater market access for its products from sectors such as agriculture, automobile, automobile components and engineering.
::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::
India recorded 1.2million snakebites in 20 years
- India recorded a staggering 1.2 million snakebite deaths in the 20-year period from 2000 to 2019 with an average of 58,000 deaths caused by snakebite annually. Around 70% of these deaths occurred in low altitude, rural areas of eight States — Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
- The study, conducted by the Centre for Global Health Research (CGHR) at the University of Toronto, Canada, with Indian and U.K. partners, also points out that half of all the snakebite deaths occurred during the monsoon period from June to September. The study said that snakebite deaths occurred mostly in rural areas (97%), were more common in males (59%) than females (41%), and peaked in the age group of 15-29 years (25%).
- In the largest ever such survey published in 2011 and titled ‘Snakebite Mortality in India: A Nationally Representative Mortality Survey’, researchers of the Million Death Study project estimated 46,000 annual snakebite deaths in India. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognises snakebite as a top-priority neglected tropical disease.
- Romulus Whitaker, from the Centre for Herpetology/Madras Crocodile Bank and one of authors of the new study told The Hindu that the research revises the number of annual snakebite deaths in the country from 46,000 to 58,000.
- Experts suggest that targeting certain areas and educating people with simple methods such as ‘snake-safe’ harvest practices — using rubber boots and gloves, mosquito nets and rechargeable torches (or mobile phone flashlights) — could reduce the risk of snakebites.
