Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 15 February 2017

:: National ::

SC found Sasikala guilty in disproportionate assets case

Indicting former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, albeit posthumously, for having criminally conspired with aide V.K. Sasikala to launder ill-gotten wealth, the Supreme Court set aside High Court’s acquittal of Ms. Sasikala.
A Bench of Justices ‘restored in toto’ the trial court’s conviction of Ms. Sasikala, V.N. Sudhakaran and J. Elavarasi in September 2014, and ordered them to surrender immediately at the trial court in Karnataka.
Even after Ms. Sasikala serves her four-year sentence, she would be disqualified from contesting elections for the next six years as per the Supreme Court judgment in the Lily Thomas versus Union of India of July 2013 case.
The trial judge,sentenced Ms. Sasikala, under Section 109 IPC, read with Section 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act to simple imprisonment for a period of four years each and to pay a fine of Rs. 10 crore each.
The trial court had sentenced Jayalalithaa to four years’ imprisonment and Rs. 100 crore in fine for corruption. If alive, she would have had to resign as CM and serve the rest of her prison term, besides paying the fine.
Expressing “deep concern about the escalating corruption in the society”, Justice Roy observed that this case was ‘startling’ in the way corruption was carried out by the accused persons with sheer impunity.
The abatement of charges against Jayalalithaa does not rub off the smear of ignominy the Supreme Court has piled on her political legacy.

Aero India 2017 took off in Bengaluru

A rather low-pitch Aero India 2017 took off in Bengaluru with Indian metal birds putting up a strong show over the skies of nearby Yelahanka.
Defence Minister inaugurating the 11th edition of the two-yearly air show and exhibition, reiterated the government’s policy and financial support to spur Indian defence capabilities in design, development and manufacturing.
Mr. Parrikar said, “I assure you that many more such initiatives will be taken in the coming months. Additional initiatives are also under way to support the private sector in defence manufacturing.”
The Minister said defence technology development fund had got an initial contribution from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. and Bharat Electronics Ltd. It is learnt that the initial corpus of Rs. 10 crore will be increased as per demand to encourage defence startups.
He pointed out that while an enabling environment was being created for defence public enterprises and the private defence industry, FDI and tie-ups were also necessary to raise local expertise to global standards.
Civil Aviation Minister noted that India was the fastest growing aviation region and this called for synergy with defence segment, in tapping defence airports to strengthen air traffic within the country.

SC clarifies its order on national anthem

There is no need to be on your feet inside a cinema hall when the National Anthem is featured as a part of a film, documentary or a newsreel.
The Supreme Court issued this second clarification on its November 30 order, directing all to mandatorily stand up when the National Anthem is sung or played in a cinema theatre.
The court’s clarification came after several applications were filed on the question, including from the Conference for Human Rights and the Kodungallur Film Society.
Supreme Court first modified its November 30 order by exempting physically challenged or handicapped persons from standing up when the National Anthem is played before film screenings.
It also ordered cinema halls to display the national flag on the screen when the anthem was played. The playing of the anthem in cinema halls, it said, was to be conceived as an opportunity for the public to express their “love for the motherland”.
The petition, which referred to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act of 1971, claimed that the “National Anthem is sung in various circumstances which are not permissible and can never be countenanced in law”.

:: International ::

Michael Flynn resigns as the National Security Adviser to Donald Trump

Michael Flynn’s resignation as the National Security Adviser to Donald Trump over his Russia contacts could reset the U.S. President’s attempts to reset ties with Moscow.
At the core of the controversy is whether or not Mr. Flynn told the Russian Ambassador in Washington that Mr. Trump would reverse the new sanctions that Mr. Obama was imposing on Russia for allegedly interfering in the U.S. elections.
Democrats, critical of Mr. Trump’s overtures to Russia, have seized the opportunity to attack the administration. John Conyers Jr. and Elijah Cummings, senior members of the House committees, have demanded a classified briefing on the entire fiasco.
More challenging for Mr. Trump will be questions about the extent of his own knowledge of Mr. Flynn’s contacts with the Russian envoy.
After initial news reports about the monitored phone calls, Vice-President Mike Pence and White House spokesperson Sean Spicer had defended Mr. Flynn. They had said that the conversations did not touch upon sanctions.
Mr. Flynn and the Russian Ambassador spoke several times during the transition, but in one conversation on December 29, 2016 — the day Mr. Obama announced new sanctions on Russia and ordered 35 Russian diplomats to leave the country.
Democratic lawmakers and some commentators have said Mr. Flynn’s promise to the Russian Ambassador to review the U.S. sanctions was in violation of the Logan Act that forbids any private U.S. citizen from conducting foreign policy.

:: Science and Technology ::

First indigenously built AEW&C, Netra, inducted in IAF

The IAF has formally inducted the first indigenously built Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEW&C) Netra developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at the Aero India exhibition.
These airborne warning systems, capable of long range surveillance, are huge force multipliers. Netra is based on Embraer aircraft and three systems are to be developed.
This system gives a 240-degree coverage of airspace. The three aircraft would be based at Bhatinda, facing the Western border.
As the AWACS is much heavier, it needs a bigger aircraft. They would be based on the Airbus-A330. It has already been shortlisted through a global process and is in the final stages.

ISRO to create history with launch

The launch of 104 satellites on a single PSLV mission is keeping the space community agog.
The entire flight of the PSLV-C37 rocket takes nearly 29 minutes, just four minutes longer than a regular PSLV that may carry one or two satellites.
ISRO has scheduled the launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) at Sriharikota in coastal Andhra Pradesh. To date, the highest number of satellites, 37, in a single mission was made in June 2014 by a Russian Dnepr rocket.
Of the 104 on the PSLV, 96 satellites belong to two U.S. customers: 88 Doves with Planet Labs and eight LEMURs with Spire Global Inc. Half the cost of the PSLV was covered by launch fees from the seven customers.
The rocket will release the first passenger, Cartosat-2 series, about 17 minutes after lift-off. The commercial payloads will be released a minute after Indian satellites.
Accommodation of all the satellites within the space available in the last and fourth stage of the rocket was another daunting task; it was handled by using customised components called adapters.

1.1 million people die prematurely each year due to air pollution in India

India’s rapidly worsening air pollution is causing about 1.1 million people to die prematurely each year and is now surpassing China’s as the deadliest in the world, a new study of global air pollution shows.
The number of premature deaths in China caused by dangerous air particles, known as PM2.5, has stabilised globally in recent years but has risen sharply in India, according to the report.
India has registered an alarming increase of nearly 50% in premature deaths from particulate matter between 1990 and 2015, the report says.
Pollution levels are worsening in India as it tries to industrialise, but “the idea that policy-making should be led by government is lacking.
As air pollution worsened in parts of the world, including South Asia, it improved in the U.S. and Europe, the report said, crediting policies to curb emissions, among other things.
Environmental regulations in the U.S. and actions by the European Commission have led to substantial progress in reducing fine particulate pollution since 1990, the report said.
The U.S. has experienced a reduction of about 27% in the average annual exposure to fine particulate matter, with smaller declines in Europe.
A fraction of the width of a human hair, these particles can be released from vehicles, particularly those with diesel engines, and by industry, as well as from natural sources like dust.
They enter the bloodstream through the lungs, worsening cardiac disease and increasing the risk of stroke and heart failure, in addition to causing severe respiratory problems, like asthma and pneumonia.
Although deaths caused by air pollution grew to 4.2 million in 2015 from 3.5 million in 1990, the rate of increase of about 20% was slower than the rate of the population rise during that time.
China also offers an encouraging sign. Premature deaths from particulate matter each year have stabilised at around 1.1 million since 2005, the report said. Still, that is an increase of 17% since 1990, when it was a little more than 9,45,000.
India had yet to undertake sustained public policy initiatives to reduce pollution, said Gopal Sankaranarayanan, an advocate at the Supreme Court who successfully petitioned it to ban licences to sell fireworks in New Delhi last year.
Weak environmental regulation in India leaves India’s citizens with few alternatives other than to petition the courts to take action to protect the public’s health.
The National Green Tribunal, ordered farmers to stop burning their crops in the region around New Delhi in 2015, but the practice still continued last year.
Smoke from the farm fires contributed about one quarter of the levels of the most dangerous air pollution in the Indian capital, environmental experts said.

:: India and World ::

Six nations to participate in conference for future of Afghanistan

India is among six nations participating in a conference on Afghanistan’s future in Moscow, two months after Russia hosted a similar conference with only China and Pakistan.
After India and particularly Afghanistan objected to being cut out of the discussion, Moscow agreed to expand its ambit, announcing a six-nation conference of Russia, India, Iran, Pakistan, China and Afghanistan.
The issue of exclusion was raised by Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar during his talks with the Russian delegation at the Heart of Asia conference in Amritsar in early December last year.
The invitation may not however, smooth over serious differences between New Delhi and Moscow over the past few months on their moves in the region. To begin with, India is increasingly uncomfortable with Russia’s overtures to Pakistan on defence issues.
Significantly, Russia did not join the U.S., U.K. and France in sponsoring a resolution against Jaish chief Masood Azhar at the U.N. sanctions committee last month, a resolution which China then put a hold on.
Russia has been seen as favouring a softer line on the Taliban as a counter to the spread of Islamic State (IS) in Afghanistan; Russia and China have also been coordinating to demand the delisting of senior Taliban leaders designated as terrorists by the U.N. sanctions committee.

:: Business and Economy ::

Crude oil and minerals take WPI to over 5 percent

The Wholesale Price Index grew 5.25% in January on the back of accelerating inflation in the crude oil and minerals sectors. The index saw its growth accelerating from 3.39% in December 2016.
While inflation in the primary articles category quickened to 1.3% in January from 0.3% in Dec 2016, prices in the food segment within this period contracted for the second consecutive month by 0.56% compared with a contraction of 0.7%.
The minerals segment, however, saw the rate of inflation almost doubling in January to 25.4% from 12.9% in December.
In the fuel and power category, inflation accelerated sharply to 18.14% in January, from 8.65% in the preceding month.
Inflation in the manufactured goods category accelerated marginally to 4% in January from 3.7% in December.

Trade unions oppose Centre’s proposed change to empower states

The central trade unions, in a meeting with Labour Minister, have opposed the Centre’s proposed change to empower states to increase threshold limit for coverage of factories under the Factories Act, 1948.
The central trade unions strongly object to the amendment proposed to the definition of ‘factory’ giving powers to State Governments to increase the threshold limits of workers up to 20 and 40 in the case of establishments working with and without the aid of power respectively.
The unions demanded covering all manufacturing firms under the Factories Act.
The present Factories Act, 1948 applies to establishments with 10 or more workers, if the premise is using power, and to establishments with 20 or more workers, without power connection.
The Centre has proposed an enabling provision that lets State governments decide the threshold over which a unit will be considered a factory for the purpose of the law.
The unions also opposed another proposal allowing entrepreneurs to set up a factory without getting a licence. The Centre had said that registration on a web portal would be enough.
The unions requested the Centre to circulate the draft Bill to amend the Factories Act, 1948. The Labour Ministry circulated a note to the unions stating the proposed changes to the Act instead of a copy of the draft Bill.