Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 15 August 2021

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 15 August 2021

::NATIONAL::

NDMC launches 'Cleancity App'

North Delhi Municipal Corporation(NDMC) on Friday launched 'Cleancity', a mobile driven application that will help residents living in that area to register complaints regarding picking up garbage in that area.
The app was launched by North Delhi Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh ahead of the 75th Independence Day.With the help ofthis app citizens can see GPS location of garbage-lifting vehicles, register their complaints and give suggestions to improve the services.
Citizens will be able to download the mobile app through the Google Playstore and Apple store in a few days, the NDMC said.
Singh and his South Delhi counterpart MukeshSuryan jointly hoisted the national flag at Civic Centre, headquarters of both the north corporation and south corporation, on Friday.
The North Delhi mayor later launched 'Cleancity' mobile app for the residents, officials said.
Municipal Commissioner Sanjay Goel said to celebrate 'AzadiKaAmritMahotsav' and to mark the 75th year of Independence, the NDMC has administered pledge to all municipal school students through online mode to discourage use of plastic, and make others stop using single-use plastic.

::INTERNATIONAL::

US President Biden faces flak at home for Afghan pull-out

CNN news anchor JakeTapper’s first question to US secretary of state Antony Blinken on his Sunday morning show captured the sense of how the rest of the United States was viewing President Joe Biden’s recent decisions on Afghanistan: “How did President Biden get this so wrong?”
As morning hour wore on and Al Jazeera news channel began running clips of Taliban fighters walking around inside the President Palace abandoned by former president Ashraf Ghani, Biden was facing similar questions from both supporters and critics, with varying degrees of outrage and frustration.
“This is going to be a stain on this president and this presidency,” said Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Relations Committee, on the same programme with Tapper. “I think he is going to have blood on his hands for what they did.”
Ryan Crocker, who was president Barack Obama’s ambassador to Afghanistan, could sense the impending disaster. “I’m left with some grave questions in my mind about his ability to lead our nation as commander-in-chief,” Crocker told The Spokesman-Review, a Washington state publication, on Sunday morning, shortly before news came of the Taliban entering Kabul.
Biden did not issue any statement or posted a tweet all day. He is vacationing at the Camp David presidential retreat in the adjoining state of Maryland. News reports suggested he is expected to address the nation in the next few days, which in itself is odd given the urgency of the situation.

::ECONOMY::

Kingfisher House sold for 52 crore in ninth bid

Businessman Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher House at Vile Parle in Mumbai was sold to Hyderabad-based Saturn Realtors for ₹52.25 crore in the ninth attempt by the Debt Recovery Tribunal, people familiar with the matter said. Kingfisher House was once the headquarters of the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines owned by Mallya, who has been accused of fraud and money laundering allegedly amounting to around ₹9,000 crore.
Saturn Realtors paid ₹2.612 crore as stamp duty to Maharashtra government for the deal which was registered on July 31, the people mentioned above cited. The property, which has been up for grabs since 2016, has a built-up area of 2401.70 square metres and is located near the Mumbai airport terminal.
The Debt Recovery Tribunal, Bengaluru, sold this house at a fraction of the initial reserve price of ₹135 crore. PankajKapoor, MD of LiasesForas, a real estate research firm, attributed the reduced rates to its location and market condition. “There is not much development potential in this plot due to height restrictions as it is close to the airport,” he said.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

Chandrayaan-2 orbiter detects water molecules on the lunar surface

The discovery was made by Chandrayaan-2 orbiter's imaging infrared spectrometer. The scientists said that more data will be made available in the future, giving a complete picture.
India's ambitious Chandrayaan-2 moon mission may have made a hard landing on the lunar surface in 2019, but the orbiter accompanying it has been providing useful information to scientists back on Earth. And earlier this week, a research paper revealed that the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter confirmed the presence of water molecules (H2o) and hydroxyl (OH) on the surface of the moon.
The findings were published in the journal Current Science. "The initial data analysis from IIRS clearly demonstrates the presence of widespread lunar hydration and unambiguous detection of OH and H2O signatures between 29 degrees north and 62 degrees north latitude," the August 10 research article said.
The discovery was made by the orbiter's imaging infrared spectrometer (IIRS).
"Plagioclase-rich rocks have been found to have higher OH or possibly H2O molecules when compared to the mare regions, which were found to have more dominance of OH at higher surface temperature," the group of researchers who studied the IIRS data further said.
The scientists also said that more data will be made available in the future, giving a complete picture.
The Chandrayaan-2 mission was launched by Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) in July 2019. But Vikram lander on-board the mission crash-landed on the lunar surface just 2.1 km from its destination in September that year.

::SPORTS::

Lahiri finishes 46th, retains PGA card for 2021-22

India's AnirbanLahiri survived some tense moments on the final day to end the Wyndham Championship with an even par 70, which was enough to ensure a full PGA Tour card for the upcoming season.
Lahiri's final Tied-46th placing earned him the 121st spot on the FedEx Cup standings, which ensured his playing rights for 2021-22 season, beginning in September.