Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 15 September 2020

SSC CGL Current Affairs

::NATIONAL::

Parliament has passed the National Commission for Homoeopathy Bill, 2020 and the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Bill, 2020 with the LokSabha approving them today.
The two bills also propose constitution of Advisory Councils for Homoeopathy as well as for Indian System of Medicine. These Councils will be the primary platform through which the states and union territories will put forth their views and concerns before the two Commissions.
The bills also envisage a National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for admission to both undergraduate and Post-Graduate courses of Homoeopathy and for various disciplines of Indian System of Medicine. The bills will now be sent to the President for his assent.

From the digital divide affecting access to online classes to the state of the economy, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the toll it has already extracted loomed large over the curtailed 30-minute Zero Hour in the LokSabha.
Apna Dal member Anupriya Patel raised the issue of the digital divide between rural and urban India and the effect it was having on the educational opportunities among rural children, with them being deprived of online classes.
Lakshadweep MP Faizal P. Mohammad observed that while the Union Territory was the only part of the country that hadn’t seen a single case of COVID-19 till date, the situation with regard to more than 3,000 students from the islands, who had returned from different parts of the country from educational institutions where they had been studying, was dire.

The Centre has sought Parliament approval for a gross additional expenditure of ₹2.35 lakh crore, including ₹20,000 crore for recapitalisation of public sector banks, for 2020-21.
Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman tabled the first batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for this financial year in the LokSabha on Monday.
The emergency situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic means that this year’s supplementary demand includes additional allocations to pay for relief measures announced as part of the PradhanMantriGaribKalyanYojana in March, and the Aatmanirbhar Bharat stimulus package in May.
The biggest chunk goes towards the State governments, including ₹44,340 crore in post-devolution revenue deficit grants, and ₹2,262 crore as grants-in-aid for the State Disaster Response Funds, in accordance with the interim recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission.

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, MSME, Ministry has asked the private sector enterprises of the country to take measures for release of payment of MSME dues on priority.
During the announcement of AatmaNirbhar Package, it was desired that the MSME receivables and dues should be paid in 45 days. Accordingly, the Ministry of MSME took up the matter with Central Ministries, their Departments and Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs).
Around 10 thousand crore rupees have been reported to have been paid by the Ministries and CPSEs. Similarly, the Ministry has also taken up the issue with States and motivated them to monitor and see that such payments are made expeditiously.

India has been elected as the member of the Commission on Status of Women (CSW), a body of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). India will be a member of the prestigious body for four years from 2021 to 2025.
India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations T S Tirumurti said, it is a ringing endorsement of India's commitment to promote gender equality and women's empowerment in all the endeavours.
India, Afghanistan and China had contested the elections to the Commission on Status of Women. While India and Afghanistan won the ballot among the 54 members, China failed to cross the half-way mark.
The CSW is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.A functional commission of the ECOSOC, it was established by ECOSOC resolution 11(II) of 21 June 1946.
It promotes women’s rights, highlights the reality of women’s lives throughout the world and helps in shaping global standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women.45 member states of the United Nations serve as members of the Commission at any one time.

The atmosphere of Venus contains traces of phosphine gas — which on Earth is associated with living organisms — scientists said on Monday, in fresh insight into conditions on our nearest planetary neighbour.
Conditions on Venus are often described as hellish with daytime temperatures hot enough to melt lead and an atmosphere comprised almost entirely of carbon dioxide.
A team of experts used telescopes in Hawaii and Chile’s Atacama Desert to observe Venus’ upper cloud deck, around 60 km from the surface.
They detected traces of phosphine, a flammable gas that on Earth occurs from the breakdown of organic matter.
Writing in Nature Astronomy, the team stressed that the presence of phosphine alone did not prove the presence of life on Venus.

Union Youth Affairs and Sports Minister KirenRijiju has laid foundation stones for various sports facilities at the cost of over 12 crore rupees in Leh, today.
The Minister laid foundation for a Synthetic Track & Astroturf for football in Leh at an open stadium. Speaking on the occasion, Mr.KirenRijiju said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi the Union Government is inculcating a sporting culture in the country which in turn keeps the people healthy and fit.