Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 16 FEBRUARY 2020
::NATIONAL::
India asserts Kashmir issue will be settled on its own
- In a firm repartee, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Saturday
told a senior U.S. senator that India would “settle” the Kashmir issue on
its own.
- Referring to the Kashmir issue during a panel discussion at the Munich
Security Conference, Senator Lindsey Graham said the best way to sell
democracy would be to settle the Kashmir issue in a democratic way.
- “In India, you are moving forward, you got your problems like we do at
home, but you’ve chosen the democratic path. When it comes to Kashmir, I
don’t know how it ends, but let’s make sure that two democracies will end it
differently. If you can prove that concept here, then I think that’s
probably the best way to sell democracy,” the Republican leader said.
- To this, Mr.Jaishankar promptly responded, “Do not worry, Senator. One
democracy will settle it and you know which one.”During the discussion
Mr.Jaishankar also said that the UN was far less credible than it had been
in history and “something” should be done about it.
- “The United Nations is far less credible than it has been in history,
which is not entirely surprising because when you think about it, there are
not too many things which are 75 years old and still as good as they were.
Clearly there is something that needs to be done there,” he said.
- Earlier, meeting U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the sidelines of the
conference, he said her “consistent support” to India-U.S. ties had always
been a great source of strength.
PM urges scientists to focus on real time issues
- Prime Minister NarendraModi has urged scientists to focus on real-time
social issues being faced by the country such as malnutrition by providing
value addition in agricultural products.
- Chairing a meeting of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
(CSIR) Society in New Delhi, Mr.Modi emphasized on the importance of
developing virtual labs so that science can further be taken to all students
in each and every corner of the country.
- The Prime Minister spoke on the need to attract young students toward
science and further strengthen scientific acumen in the next generation. He
also suggested measures to enhance collaboration in research and development
projects among Indians working in different parts of the world.
- Prime Minister Modi listed 5G wireless technology, artificial
intelligence and affordable and long-lasting batteries for renewable energy
storage as some of the emerging challenges which the scientists need to
focus on.
- He highlighted the need to combine traditional knowledge with modern
science to develop world-class products. The Prime Minister also spoke about
the importance of commercialisation of innovations.
- Mr.Modi exhorted the scientific community at CSIR to work towards
improving the quality of life of the common man.
::ECONOMY::
RBI governor claims credit growth gaining momentum
- Amid concerns over the economic slowdown, RBI chief Shaktikanta Das on
Saturday said credit growth momentum is picking up and ruled out any
possible spike in inflation due to Budget proposals as the government is
maintaining ‘fiscal prudence’.
- After the first meeting of the RBI Board post the 2020-21 Budget
presentation, Mr. Das also expressed hope that transmission of rate cuts
would improve further.
- Facing revenue shortage, the government raised the fiscal deficit target
to 3.8% of the GDP for 2019-20 in the Budget, from the 3.3% pegged earlier.
The government has utilised ‘escape clause’ under the Fiscal Responsibility
and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, which allows the Centre to breach its
fiscal deficit target by 0.5 percentage points in times of severe stress in
the economy.
- Speaking on the inflationary impact of the Budget proposals, Mr. Das
said, “The good part of the government borrowing is also budgeted to come
from small savings. Therefore, I don’t see much of an inflationary impact.”
IBBI data shows high liquidation in NCLT cases
- More than half of the cases admitted to the National Company Law
Tribunal (NCLT) are been liquidated as recovery through resolution continues
to elude creditors, latest data released by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy
Board of India (IBBI) showed.
- A total of 3,312 cases were admitted in the insolvency courts till the
end of the third quarter of the financial year, of which 561 were during the
Oct-Dec period. This was the second highest number of cases admitted in a
quarter after the July-September period of the current financial year when
565 cases were admitted.
- Out of a total of 1,351 closed cases, 780 or 58% were closed through
liquidation and only 190 cases or 14% were resolved with an average haircut
of 57% on admitted claims.
- The number of cases admitted in the NCLT has been increasing, with 561
cases admitted during the October-December period. Out of the total number
of cases admitted, 50% were filed by financial creditors.
- Of the 182 cases which were closed in the third quarter, 30 cases were
resolved while 134 cases faced liquidation.
::INTERNATIONAL::
Portugal sets priority for joint expertise with India
- Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has said that his country's
priority is to have joint expertise in various areas of the economy.
- In his keynote address at the India-Portugal Business Forum in Mumbai,
de Mr Sousa said that India is an economic and social global power and the
largest democracy in the world.
- Stating that both India and Portugal know each other for a long time, Mr
de Sousa said that both Portugal and India are not just the European or
Asian countries or cultures but they are universal. The President said the
two countries work with the world, for the world be it for the peace,
freedom, sustainable development or climate change.
- The forum, organised by industry bodies, CII, ASSOCHAM and FICCI, was
also attended by Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva, Secretary
of State of Internationalisation of Portuguese Republic EuricoBrilhante
Dias, and Commerce and Industry Minister PiyushGoyal, besides industry
leaders from the two countries.
- Addressing the forum, Mr.Goyal said that both India and Portugal are
focused on economic growth, investment, industry and innovation. Mr.Goyal
said that during his meeting with the Portuguese business delegation, he
discussed various sectors such as real estate and infrastructure
development.
Srilanka objects to U.S blacklisting of its army chief
- Sri Lanka has taken “strong objection” to the U.S. blacklisting its Army
chief over allegations of “gross human rights violations” that the State
Department on Friday called “serious and credible”.
- In addition to a statement from the U.S. State Department, Secretary of
State Michael Pompeo said in a tweet: “I am designating Shavendra Silva
making him ineligible for entry into the U.S. due to his involvement in
extrajudicial killings during #SriLanka’s Civil War. The U.S. will not waver
in its pursuit of accountability for those who commit war crimes and violate
#humanrights.”
- Responding swiftly to the development, the Sri Lanka’s Ministry of
Foreign Relations said: “The Government of Sri Lanka takes strong objection
to the imposition of travel restrictions on Lt. Gen. Silva and his immediate
family members by the Government of the United States, based on
independently unverified information.”
::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::
Researchers decode multiplying nature of malarial parasite
- With over 4,00,000 deaths in 2018, according to the WHO, malaria still
remains one of the biggest killer infections globally, concentrated mainly
in Africa and India. The disease is caused by the parasite Plasmodium and
transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito.
- To understand in detail how this parasite multiplies within a mosquito,
an international team of researchers spent years studying different proteins
in the parasite. Their study published in Cell Reports has found two
important proteins essential for proliferation. These finding can help
develop new drugs and thus pave way for malaria eradication.
- The team found that two large protein complexes (condensins) called SMC2
and SMC4 played essential roles in the parasite proliferation.
- The team showed that when genes behind these proteins were deleted, the
number of oocysts in the mosquito gut significantly reduced and were smaller
in size compared to the normal ones.
- The malaria parasite has different models of multiplication in different
stages of its life cycle, and it is essential to track down all the
important proteins behind it for developing a new effective drug. “We are
now studying the novel modes of parasite cell division and the crucial
regulatory molecules which are involved in the success of the parasite cell
division,” adds Prof. Tewari.
::SPORTS::
India clinches 3 medals at world snow shoe championships
- Indian athletes finished with three medals in different categories in
the World SnowShoe Championship at Myoko, Japan today.
- According to a tournament official, Ayan Bin Shahnaz bagged silver,
while Zain Ali and MuzamilHussain Mir, all are from Kashmir, bagged bronze
medals in their respective categories.
- Athletes from 17 countries including the USA, Canada, Australia, Italy,
Germany, Spain, Sweden and France participated in the championship.
