Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 15 APRIL 2019
::NATIONAL::
Vice president inaugurates RCAP congress
- The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has called upon town
planners to make sustainable solutions such as harvesting solar energy,
enhancing green cover and water conservation an essential part of town
planning.
- Shri Naidu, while addressing the 4th Resilient Cities Asia-Pacific (RCAP)
Congress 2019 organized by the International Council for Local Environmental
Initiatives (ICLEI). Here today, asked municipal administrators to accord
priority to tree plantation, solid waste management, protection and
rejuvenation of water bodies.
- Saying that one must draw inspiration from our cultural roots,
especially the civilizational values that revered and urged us to protect
natural resources, the Vice President said that adopting green solutions,
providing good governance and building urban resilience was the way forward.
- Pointing that more than 60% of the world’s population resides in Asia
and the region was most affected by natural disasters, the Vice President
said that governments in Asia must build climate resilient habitats.
::ECONOMY::
UPI transaction growing strongly than other payment instruments
- While digital payments overall have been growing strongly, people are
changing the way they transact, choosing bank-to-bank methods such as the
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) over other instruments such as e-wallets.
- An analysis by The Hindu of data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI),
the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and some industry players
from April 2018 to March 2019 shows that not only is the UPI platform
outperforming e-wallets in terms of the value of transactions done, but it
is also eating away at e-wallets’ market share in specific areas such as
person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions.
- Payments made on the UPI platform saw a remarkable growth of over 400%
in the April to March period, from a little more than Rs. 27,000 crore in
April 2018 to Rs. 1.35 lakh crore in March 2019.
- The rapid growth of UPI is accompanied by a reasonably strong growth in
the value of transactions done using e-wallets, but the latter’s growth has
not taken off much following the fillip it received in the aftermath of
demonetisation in November 2016.
- While some of the growth can be attributed to the low base, the
astronomical increase in transactions has meant that UPI is now competing
seriously with the incumbent forms of digital payments such as credit cards
and debit cards.
- Debit cards are far more popular than credit cards as can be seen from
the fact that the value of debit card transactions stood at Rs. 3.05 lakh
crore in February 2019. Here too, UPI is fast catching up.
GeM witnesses high growth last fiscal
- Government e Marketplace (GeM), the national public procurement portal
offering end to end solution for all procurement needs of Central and State
govt. departments and PSUs has closed the FY 2018-19 on a high note.
- The year witnessed a four-fold increase in total value of transactions
on the portal and doubling of number of sellers in the marketplace.
- There has also been an overall growth in other dimensions like number of
categories, products and buyers.Despite such phenomenal growth in
transactions, average rejection rate of supplies remained below one percent,
which is proof of high quality of products/services offered on the portal.
- GeM facilitates procurement at the right price, right quality and right
quantity in a transparent and efficient manner. The platform reduces manual
process inefficiencies and human interventions in procurement and enables
increased coverage, access, and efficiency of faceless standardised public
procurement.
::INTERNATIONAL::
India- Bolivia sign MoU on traditional medicine systems
- The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister NarendraModi has given
ex-post facto approval to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between
India and Bolivia in the Field of Traditional Systems of Medicine and
Homoeopathy. The MoU was signed in Bolivia in March, 2019.
- The MoU will provide a framework for cooperation, and will be mutually
beneficial between the two countries for promotion of traditional systems of
medicine and homoeopathy.
- It will lead to promotion and propagation of Traditional Systems of
Medicine and Homoeopathy in Bolivia, and will boost the importance of AYUSH
(Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) systems of Medicine in
Bolivia.
- The MoU will further facilitate exchange of experts for training for the
practitioners and Scientists undertaking collaborative research, which will
lead to new innovations in drug development and practice in Traditional
Systems of Medicine.
::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::
Centre approves GSLV phase 4 continuationprogramme
- The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister ShriNarendraModi, has
approved ongoing GSLV continuation programme Phase-4 consisting of five GSLV
flights during the period 2021-2024.
- The GSLV Programme - Phase 4 will enable the launch of 2 tonne class of
satellites for Geo-imaging, Navigation, Data Relay Communication and Space
Sciences.
- The total fund requirement is Rs. 2729.13 Crores and includes the cost
of five GSLV vehicles, essential facility augmentation, Programme
Management, and Launch Campaign along with the additional funds required for
meeting the scope of the ongoing GSLV Continuation Programme.
- The GSLV Continuation Programme - Phase 4 will meet the launch
requirement of satellites for providing critical Satellite Navigation
Services, Data Relay Communication for supporting the Indian Human
spaceflight programme and the next interplanetary mission to Mars. This will
also ensure the continuity of production in Indian industry.
::SPORTS::
Tiger woods clinches his fifth masters title
- Golfer Tiger Woods clinched his fifth Masters and a 15th major title,
ending 11-year wait for a major title after overcoming career-threatening
back problems.
- There were raucous celebrations around the 18th green as 43-year-old
Woods finished with a two-under-par 70 to win on 13 under, one clear of
fellow Americans Dustin Johnson, XanderSchauffele and Brooks Koepka.
