Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 15 October 2015

:: National ::

CM’s panel for Swachh cess on telecom, fuel

The chief minister's panel on Swachh Bharat has suggested a cess on petrol and diesel as well as telephony services to raise funds for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet scheme.
In a radical move, the panel has also recommended that anybody contesting an election for local bodies must have an individual household toilet.
A levy on accumulated waste produced by mineral waste generation plants like coal, aluminum and iron ore and issuance of Swachh Bharat bonds by central and state governments to raise resources are among the other suggestions.
The budget had allowed the government to levy a Swachh Bharat cess at a rate of 2% or less on all or certain services, if need be.
According to estimates, the government can raise around Rs 15,000 crore if it imposes a 1% levy.
A state-level Swachh Bharat Kosh may be set up on the lines of the Swachh Bharat Kosh set up at the central level and certain part of the "CSR contributions by PSUs/companies" may be spent in states where they are located, the panel said.
Pitching for Swachh Bharat grading for all gram panchayats, municipalities, blocks, districts and states each year to promote competition, the panel said the incentive amount for construction of one unit of individual household latrine should be raised to Rs 15,000.
Both the Centre and states should work towards eradication of manual scavenging through strict enforcement of law, it said, underlining also the need for integration of rag-pickers into waste management system so that their livelihoods are not adversely affected.

:: International ::

German Refugee Policy Row

A fall in support and a government row over the refugee crisis raised the heat on German Chancellor Angela Merkel today, forcing allies to defend the integrity of her coalition.
Germany, a favoured destination for migrants, expects 800,000 to a million new arrivals this year. Many Germans feel the country cannot cope with the record influx.
As tempers frayed, Merkel's conservatives met fierce resistance from their Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partners over plans for transit zones at border crossings to process refugees' asylum requests.
They have had to deny such centres would resemble concentration camps.
Asked whether the transit zone row heralded the end of the ruling coalition, Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told Deutschlandfunk radio: "No! We shouldn't talk about the failure of the coalition every time (there is an argument)."
A Forsa poll showed support for Merkel's conservatives had dropped one percent to 38 percent, its lowest level since June 2014.
Merkel is trying to steer a course between pressure from her conservatives - especially the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), sister party of her Christian Democrats (CDU) - to take a harder line on refugees and SPD opposition to the transit zones.
Bavaria is the first point of entry for many migrants and the state has threatened to take the government to court unless it tries to limit the flow of asylum-seekers.

:: Business ::

India most attractive investment destination globally, says EY report

India is considered the most attractive market by international investors, according to a report released by tax consultancy giant EY on Wednesday.
The report ranks India as the premier choice for investors worldwide, with 32 per cent of respondents ranking it the most attractive market.
While it shows India’s approval ratings as an investment destination to be more than double that of China and six times that of Brazil, it also points out 60 per cent of respondents placed it among their top three choices for investing.
The second edition of the annual survey by EY explores the investment plans of around 500 global investors, half of whom already had business in the country.
A third each were from North America and West Europe, respectively.
India’s outlook among investors has risen, with 37 per cent convinced it would be among the top three economies by 2020, against 29 per cent last year.
Existing investor experience has helped, with 70 per cent of businesses, which already operate in India supporting that idea.

:: Prize ::

Kailash Satyarthi awarded Humanitarian of the Year Award

Indian Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi has been selected for the prestigious Harvard Humanitarian of the Year Award, it was announced on Wednesday.
The annual award by the prestigious Harvard University is given to an individual whose works and deeds have served to improve the quality of lives and have inspired us to greater heights.
The award ceremony is scheduled to take place on October 16, at the Harvard University, a press statement said.
In past, the prestigious award has been conferred upon some notable luminaries including: former UN Secretary- Generals Kofi Annan, Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Javier Perez de Cuellar; and Nobel laureates Jose Ramos-Horta, Bishop Desmond Tutu, John Hume and Elie Wiesel; Ethel Kennedy and R C Gorman.
Additionally, Satyarthi has been championing the cause of child reform and ending all forms of violence against children.
He has been at the forefront of driving these agendas into The Sustainable Development Goals announced at The United Nations SDG Summit in September.

:: Sports ::

People wait with open swords, says Dhoni

MS Dhoni praised his bowlers, especially the spinners, for performing well under pressure to provide India with a win at the Holkar stadium.
The Indian skipper singled out Axar Patel and Harbhajan Singh, who were playing their first match in the series. "I am happy with the way they bowled and got India early breakthroughs at crucial times," he said.
But he also had a word or two for the critics who had written him off. "It is not an easy game that we play, a lot of people wait with open swords and want you to make mistakes and have fun with it," he said after the win.
"It was a good game for us. There were a few soft dismissals and we didn't score something which was par on this wicket.
We didn't start well with our bowling but our spinners did well and gave us the breakthrough and later the pacers also came into action and gave us those wickets.