Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 15 March 2021

SSC CGL Current Affairs

::NATIONAL::

The Indian government’s Ministry of Culture has formed a permanent panel to study the mythical Saraswatiriver and draw up a plan to identify its basin and define its path.
In a notification issued in December, the ministry said the Advisory Committee for the Multidisciplinary Study of River Sarasvati will use remote sensing imagery to “study environmental changes, the history of archaeological cultures with special emphasis on the protohistorical era of River Sarasvati” over two years.
The panel has been set up a little more than a year after an expert committee of geologists, archaeologists and hydrologists said it had evidence to show the course of the Saraswati, which until then has only been known from mentions in the Rigveda and Hindu mythology.
In July 2016, the Haryana government had released water into a dry channel that was excavated to recreate the river’s supposed path
This has been the subject of a great deal of debate for decades. While some Hindu groups and historians believe the “lost river” once flowed through the region that is now Haryana, other historians say the Vedas themselves have not been validated, and therefore, the river only exists in myth.

India’s top diplomat in Colombo during his visit to the northern and eastern provinces interacted with senior Tamil leaders and emphasized that achieving the legitimate aspirations of the minority Tamil community through unbroken development in Sri Lanka is peace, Inclusive progress and will contribute to the strength of the island nation.
During his three-day visit to the two provinces from 11 to 13 March, High Commissioner GopalBagle also underlined India’s long-term cooperation and commitment to the development of the northern and eastern provinces according to the needs and priorities of the people. His elected representatives, the High Commission of India, said in a statement on Sunday.
Bagale, who held several meetings with Tamil party leaders during his visit, recalled the commitments of the Sri Lankan government on the legitimate aspirations of the Tamil community for equality, justice, peace and honor.
He said that achieving them through a meaningful development within Sri Lanka would contribute to the peace, harmony, inclusive progress and strength of the country.
During their meetings, Tamil leaders sought further assistance for infrastructure development, more economic investment and additional projects under grant-in-aid for development cooperation from India in the province.

The Finance Ministry has sought withdrawal of valuation norms prescribed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for mutual fund (MF) houses on AT-1 perpetual bonds, as these could be disruptive leading to sudden mark-to-market losses and affecting capital raising plans of PSU banks. The new rules, which are aimed at reducing concentration risk in MFs bond portfolio and trying to accurately price risk in light of recent defaults by some banks on AT-1 bonds (Additional Tier 1), will kick in from April 1.
“Considering the capital needs of banks going forward and the need to source the same from capital markets, it is requested that the revised norms to treat all perpetual bonds as 100-year tenor be withdrawn. The clause on valuation is disruptive in nature,” the Department of Financial Services said in a letter to Sebi on Thursday.
However, the government said Sebi’s proposal to cap MFs exposure in such instrument at 10 per cent can be retained, as they have adequate investment headroom even within this ceiling. On Wednesday, Sebi directed fund houses to make maturity of all perpetual bonds as 100 years, from the date of issuance of the bond for the purpose of valuation — sparking concerns of steep MTM (mark-to-market) losses that funds may have to take on their existing portfolio of such bonds.

India is likely to attempt its first solar mission at the end of the year after the Covid-19 pandemic delayed the launch of the Aditya L-1 mission, earlier slated for the first half of 2020, according to people in the national space agency.
The scientific mission will see the satellite travel 1.5 million kilometres from the Earth to study the Sun’s atmosphere. The satellite will be sent to the L1 or Lagrangian point between the Earth and the Sun, which is where the gravitational pull of both the bodies on the satellite is equal to the centripetal force needed to keep satellite in orbit.
These points are like parking spots in space from where a satellite can make observations without burning much fuel. This point between the Earth and the Sun allows an uninterrupted view of the solar surface.
The mission will carry six scientific payloads that will study the visible surface of the sun called photosphere, the irregular layer over it called the Chromosphere, and the layer of plasma called Corona, which extends for thousands of kilometers and has a very high temperature of around 6,000 Kelvin (5726.85 degrees Celsius), according to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The mission is almost ready for launch, people aware of the developments said.

India’s international female swordsman Bhavani Devi has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics starting on 23 July this year. Bhawani Devi has created history in fencing. Bhavani became the first Indian swordsman to qualify for the Olympics.
She is the first swordsman of India to qualify for the Olympics. Sports Minister KiranRijiju has also congratulated Bhavani. Bhavani achieved Olympic qualification based on Adjusted Official Ranking (AOR). Bhavani Devi is also the first Indian to win a gold medal in international fencing competition.