Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 15 MARCH 2020

::NATIONAL::

The number of coronavirus cases in India rises to 81, which includes one death each from Delhi and Karnataka. Researchers, studying the coronavirus, report that the time between cases in a chain of transmission is less than a week, and over 10 percent of patients are infected by someone who has the virus but does not show symptoms yet.
Preventive restrictions have been put in place across the country to restrict the spread of the novel coronavirus. Rajasthan Government has decided to keep close all schools, colleges, coaching centers, gyms, cinemas and theaters etc. till March 30.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has ordered the closure of all but 20 immigration land check posts in eastern and northern India from Saturday midnight in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
India has suspended movements of all types of passengers through the international border points with Pakistan from March 16 midnight in wake of the threat from the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Saturday said the government would work with all sections of the population in Jammu and Kashmir to restore its statehood “at an early opportunity”.
A 24-member delegation of the newly formed Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party, led by its leader AltafBukhari, called on Mr. Modi at his residence here on Saturday evening, and discussed various issues such as concerns about demographic changes, the delimitation exercise and the grant of domicile, officials said.
The Prime Minister called for janbhagidari (people’s participation) in transforming the Union Territory, and emphasised the importance of an administration that gave voice to the people. He noted that democracy in the region could be strengthened through a fast-moving process of political integration, the statement said.
Extending full support of the government to resolve all issues being faced by the people of Jammu and Kashmir, Mr. Modi assured the delegation that the Centre was committed to the region’s economic development through extensive focus on infrastructure development and creating new investment opportunities in sectors such as tourism.
The delegation thanked the Prime Minister for his “unstinted support” and “untiring efforts” towards the development of the Union Territory, and appreciated the efforts of the government, security agencies and the people of Jammu & Kashmir towards maintaining peace and security in the region, the statement said.

The Goods and Services Tax Council today decided to increase GST rates on mobile phones to 18 per cent from 12 per cent with effect from 1st of April.
The Council also decided to slash GST on maintenance, repair and overhaul services for aircraft to five per cent from 12 per cent while the tax rate on handmade and machine-made matchsticks has been rationalized to 12 per cent.
Briefing media in New Delhi after chairing GST Council meeting, Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman said that the council has decided to waive the late fee for delayed filing of annual returns for the financial years 2018 and 2019 by entities with a turnover of less than Rs two crore.
The Minister also said that interest will be levied on net tax liability from 1st of July for delayed GST payments. She said, the GST Council has asked Infosys to deploy more skilled manpower and increase capacity of hardware of GST Network to ensure that the system is glitch-free.

A parliamentary panel has observed that Fisheries Sector suffers from very high Post-harvest losses.
It says that for Marine Fisheries the losses stand at 15,000 crore rupees and combined losses for both Marine and Inland Fisheries, the losses stand at 61 thousand crore rupees.
The Committee also recommended modernising the existing harbours and establish more cold storage facilities and ensure availability of more refrigerated trucks and vans for transportation of fishes.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh has called upon the leaders of the SAARC countries to set up an institution to deal with public health threats in future. Speaking during the Video Conference of SAARC leaders convened by Prime Minister NarendraModi on Sunday, Sheikh Hasina said that Bangladesh was willing to host such an institution if all agreed to it.
She emphasised the need for the SAARC countries to pool together their capacity, expertise and experience in fighting the threat of Corona virus in the region.
Welcoming the idea of holding the video conferencing mooted by Prime Minister Modi she said that member countries need to devise a strong SAARC-wide strategy to combat the public health threat of Corona virus.
Thanking Prime Minister Modi for this important initiative Sheikh Hasina said that the meeting should be followed up by a similar meeting between the Health Ministry officials and experts of the SAARC region to discuss specific areas of cooperation.
She also thanked India for bringing back 23 stranded Bangladeshi students from Wuhan in China.The idea of having a SAARC wide strategy mooted by Prime Minister Modi to combat Corona virus has been widely welcomed in Bangladesh.
A number of dignitaries from Bangladesh assembled at the Indian High Commission in Dhaka on Sunday to watch the video conferencing.

Fascinated by the beauty of water rolling off a lotus leaf, a team of chemical engineers has now created a similar superhydrophobic coating that can be used to save steel from rusting.
The team from the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad, and Ohio State University used polyurethane and silicon dioxide nanoparticles to create the coating which can be easily spin-coated on steel.
The team also tried different methods for the application of the coat on steel and found that spin coating was advantageous and cost-effective compared to immersion coating and spray coating. Spin coating dried quickly and the thickness of the coat could be controlled easily.
The surface of the coating was found to have superhydrophobic property. The coating was also chemically stable in both acidic (pH 5) and alkaline (pH 8) conditions for more than six weeks. It also exhibited thermal stability up to 230 degree C.
The mechanical stability of the coating was tested with water jet, floating, bending, sand abrasion tests and was found to be highly stable.
Another useful property exhibited by the coating was of self-cleaning. When water droplets were made to fall on an uncoated surface they stuck to it and made a messy surface.
However, in the case of a coated sample, water droplets roll away while collecting dust from the surface.

Ace Indian paddler AchantaSharath Kamal wins the ITTF Challenger Plus Oman Open. The 37-year-old Indian veteran beat top-seeded Marcos Freitas of Portugal 4-2 in the final played in Muscat on Sunday evening.
Earlier, in the semi-final today, fourth-seeded Achanta pulled off a stunning seven-set victory against Russia's Kirill Skachkov, 11-13, 11-13, 13-11, 11-9, 13-11, 8-11, 11-7.