Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 15 April 2016

:: NATIONAL ::

PM launched Gramodaya Se Bharatodaya Abhiyan

The 125thbirth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar saw leaders across the board compete for the legacy of India’s first Law Minister and Dalit icon.
PM Modi addressed a rally at Mhow in Madhya Pradesh, Dr. Ambedkar’s birthplace.
With Punjab, having the highest proportion of Dalits among Indian States (32 per cent), and Uttar Pradesh (21 per cent) going to the polls next year, the Dalit issue has acquired centrality in the political discourse. Dalits constitute 16 per cent of India’s population.
Mr. Modi launched Gramodaya Se Bharatodaya Abhiyan (Development of the Nation through Development of the Village), underlining that the growth of purchasing power in villages, rather than growth in cities or having some billionaires, would help develop India.
He sought to show this as part of Dr. Ambedkar’s vision for India.
He also showcased the Jan Dhan Yojana and the plan to offer the poor LPG connections as part of his government’s “pro-poor” vision.
Accusing the Congress of “undermining” the legacy of Dr. Ambedkar, Mr. Modi sought to know why the Congress had not developed places related to him when it was in power for several decades.

Second phase of Odd-even started in Delhi

Findings on how Delhi behaved and what it breathed between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. from April 15 to 30 will decide if the odd-even scheme will be repeated next month.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will take a final call based on the findings of an assessment of traffic congestion and pollution levels between April 15 and April 30.
Public opinion, too, will have a significant impact on the decision. Real-time data of congestion and air quality will be collated on a daily basis by the Transport Department and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee and studied in detail to reach a conclusion.
In either case, scientific data and public opinion will form the core of the Chief Minister's decision on whether or not the scheme will be enforced at least next month.
The odd-even scheme, which was launched in January with the objective of checking pollution, had only managed to bring down congestion on city roads.
This time, the Delhi government expects the scheme to better the quality of ambient air too. It aims to enforce the restrictions through a stringent prosecution regime and voluntary compliance from motorists.
The air quality challenge will be posed by ozone and nitrogen dioxide, which are the main pollutants during summer months. In winter, it was the particulate matter whose soaring levels had bothered the Delhi government.
Though the levels of particulate matter are lower now, they are still above the national standard, and reducing the number of vehicles on Delhi's streets is expected to lower them. Levels of ozone and nitrogen dioxide emanating from vehicles should also see a drop given the curb on the plying of vehicles.

United Nations described Dr. B.R. Ambedkar as a global icon

Describing Dr. B.R. Ambedkar as a global “icon” for marginalised people, United Nations has voiced it’s commitment to working closely with India to help realise the social reformer’s vision of empowerment and social and economic equality.
UNDP Administrator Helen Clark said this in her address at an event organised by the Permanent Mission of India to the U.N. to commemorate Ambedkar’s birth anniversary for the first time at the world body.

Major reservoirs in country are drying

Water levels in major reservoirs of the country are alarmingly low, weekly data released by Central Water Commission (CWC) shows.
CWC, a technical organisation under the aegis of Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, monitors live storage status of 91 major reservoirs in the country.
Live storage capacity of these reservoirs is 157.799 BCM (Billion Cubic Meters), which is 62 per cent of the live storage capacity that is estimated to have been created in India.
‘Live storage’ is the portion of the reservoir that can be utilised for flood control, power production, navigation and downstream releases.
As per the latest report released on April 13, 2016, live storage available in these reservoirs is 35.839 BCM, which is 23 per cent of the total live storage capacity of these reservoirs.
The report states that current storage is 67 per cent of the storage of corresponding period of last year and 77 per cent of storage of average of last ten years.
The western and southern regions are the most affected. The live storage level in 27 reservoirs of the western region, which includes Maharashtra and Gujarat, is a mere 18 per cent, compared to 36 per cent last year.
In the southern region, the situation is even worse, with water levels at 15 per cent of the total live storage capacity in 31 reservoirs of this region.
In fact, four reservoirs – three in Maharashtra and one in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (combined project in both States) – are left with no water at the moment.
Overall, 74 of the total 91 reservoirs have storage levels lower than the average of last ten years.
Looking at States, apart from West Bengal, Tripura and Madhya Pradesh, all other 16 States housing these reservoirs have below normal storage levels.

:: INTERNATIONAL ::

Canadian PM seeks to legalise assisted suicide

The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced legislation on Thursday that will legalise physician-assisted death for Canadians with serious medical conditions.
The Supreme Court of Canada overturned a criminal ban against assisted suicide in February 2015 and had given the previous government led by Stephen Harper one year to introduce a new law.
But his Conservative Party strongly opposed assisted death and did little to deal with the looming legal void. After Mr. Trudeau and his Liberal Party came into power in the fall, the Supreme Court extended its deadline until June.
Although criminal law is a federal matter in Canada, when it became apparent that the Conservative government was not acting on the court’s ruling, Quebec used its powers over health care to introduce a provincial assisted-dying system late last year.
Since the Supreme Court ruling, judges in other parts of Canada have also given individual patients permission for assisted deaths.
It is likely that the new legislation will pass, given the Liberal Party’s strong majority. However, a few Liberal Members of Parliament have said that it conflicts with their religious beliefs.

China still analysing India-US logistic support agreement

China has taken in its stride India’s decision to sign a logistics support agreement with the U.S., saying New Delhi “will make up its diplomatic policies based on its own interests”.
In New Delhi, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar announced that the two countries had agreed “in principle” to conclude a Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement in the coming months, which would allow the two militaries to use each other’s assets for repair and replenishment.
Earlier, China criticised Mr. Carter’s decision to drop Beijing from the itinerary of his Asia visit, which took him to India and the Philippines.
In a written statement to China Daily , the Chinese Defence Ministry noted that Mr. Carter’s visit to China “has been listed in the plan for this year’s China-U.S. military exchanges.
The defence authorities of the two countries have maintained normal communication and coordination over the concrete time of the visit”.
The website attributed comments to The Wall Street Journal , which said that Mr. Carter had dropped his plan to visit Beijing this month during his trip to India and the Philippines amid tensions between Beijing and Washington over the South China Sea issue.

India expressed concern over the hike in visa fee

India has expressed concern over the hike in visa fee by the U.S., saying it is “discriminatory” and largely affects Indian information technology professionals.
During a bilateral meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Michael Froman, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also underlined the need for early conclusion of Totalisation Agreement which would benefit Indians working in America.
Referring to the visa issue, Mr. Jaitely spoke about “India’s concern over the hike in the H-1B and L1 visa fee, which is discriminatory and in effect is largely targeted at Indian information technology companies”.
Last year, the U.S. Congress imposed a special fee of up to $4,500 on H-1B and L-1 visas — popular among Indian IT companies — to fund a 9/11 healthcare Act and biometric tracking system.
While agreeing on the $1.1 trillion spending Bill, Congressional leaders decided to impose a special fee of $4,000 on certain categories of H-1B visas and $4,500 on L-1 visas.

Finance minister says India is undergoing reform which is parallel to 1991

India is undergoing a phase next only to 1991 in terms of unleashing its productive forces, with resistance to reforms from sectorial interests and political parties on the wane, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.
There was a broad consensus on the desirable course for the country, Mr. Jaitley said while addressing delegates at the think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on India’s growth prospects.
The Finance Minister is in the U.S capital to attend a series of meetings at the World Bank, IMF and with U.S officials.
The Minister said the 7.5 per cent annual growth looked impressive relative to the current global standards, but considering the requirements of India, it was “not good enough.”
The government had turned around the economic and governance outlook of India through a three-pronged approach — “being decisive, consistent and transparent.”
“Many people ask where is the big bang idea of this government. But taking it all in totality, this government has undertaken the most critical and significant reforms after 1991,” he said.
Mr. Jaitley said the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had tackled corruption, eased procedures and empowered the states to take decisions.
Admitting that the easing of procedures is still a work in progress, Mr. Jaitley said what couldn’t be denied is the fact that “it is clear what the direction is.”
India has wisely used the gains made in declining oil prices by not transferring all of it to the consumers, the minister said.
The government kept significant part of the revenue gained and diverted it to social sector and infrastructure.
Agriculture was a priority for the Modi government and public spending in the sector would continue.
“We will have to see whether growth is reducing and eliminating poverty. Does it create jobs? Is it helping Indian villages? How much of the new resources is going to the vulnerable sections of the population?”
No reform has been abandoned because of politics. Yes, it may take time but it will happen. GST is hanging now, but it wont hang for too long.