Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 16 November 2018

::NATIONAL::

NITI Ayog to host South Asian Regional Conference on Urban Infrastructure

NITI Aayog, the premier think tank of the Government of India, partnered with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to host a South Asian regional conference at PravasiBharatiya Kendra in the capital today to discuss the key issues, perspectives and the way forward in the Urban Infrastructure.
In the inaugural address, CEO NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant emphasized upon the need to ensure adequate return on investments in infrastructure through properly structured Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) and de-risking of projects.
He said that it is required to evolve unique models and systems of urban planning which are creative, innovative and sustainable, and suited for South Asian countries.
Considering the quantum deficit in infrastructure implementation today vis-à-vis the demand, it is extremely imperative to focus on newer means of implementing and financing urban infrastructure. In India alone, until 2040, estimated investments of around $4.5 trillion are required in the infrastructure space.

::ECONOMY::

RBI board member says rift with government not a good sign

Ahead of the much talked about board meeting of the central bank, RBI board member S. Gurumurthy Thursday said the stand-off between the government and the Reserve Bank was not a happy situation.
The comment comes amid the ongoing rift between the Finance Ministry and the RBI over several issues, including capital framework of the central bank and easing of lending norms for the NBFC sector.
Delivering a lecture on ‘State of the Economy: India and the World,’ at the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) ,Mr.Gurumurthy also said the imposition of tight provisioning norms for bad loans in one go created problems for the banking system. The stand-off between the government and the RBI is not a happy thing at all, he said.
Tensions between the RBI and the government have escalated recently with the Finance Ministry initiating discussion under the never-used-before Section 7 of the RBI Act which empowers the government to issue directions to the RBI Governor.
Mr.Gurumurthy has been a vocal member on the RBI board asking for easier lending and capital restrictions for Indian banks and more cash for small businesses, a view that is supported by top Finance Ministry officials and has deepened an ongoing rift between the government and the central bank.

RERA bringing positive transformations :MoHUA

ShriHardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (I/C) of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), has said that in this new era OF RERA, we are witnessing positive transformative changes in the industry.
He hoped that RERA will be implemented in all the states of north eastern region very soon. Stating that it was a proud moment for all of us that India has climbed another 23 points in the World Bank’s “Ease of Doing Business Index” to 77th place, becoming the top ranked country in South Asia for the first time.
India reduced the number of procedures and time required to obtain a building permit by implementing an online system that has streamlined the process at the Municipality of New Delhi and Municipality of Greater Mumbai, he added.
ShriPuri highlighted that to bring uniformity, professionalism, and standardization in the real estate sector, RERA provides for mandatory registration of Agents and Projects. So far 33,750 projects and 26,018 Agents have been registered pan India.
The Minister said, all the stakeholders need to make aware about the powers and other provisions of RERA, as the Act also mandates under section 33 that the Authority shall take suitable measures for the promotion of advocacy, creating awareness and imparting training about laws relating to real estate sector and policies

Click Here for Study Material for SSC CGL Exam

SSC CGL (Tier-1) Exam Crash Course

::INTERNATIONAL::

India Taiwan SME development forum begins

Currently, there are over 63 million MSMEs across various industries that employ more than 111 million persons and produce more than 8,000 products, ranging from traditional to high-tech precision items.
Secretary MSME said MSME is the second largest employment generating sector after agriculture. Talking about the initiatives taken by Government of India under Start-up India, he said to promote a culture of entrepreneurship, programs like ‘Start Up India’ and ‘Stand Up India’ have been launched and have resulted in India having the 3rd largest start up ecosystem in the world with more than 26,000 start-ups.
Speaking about integrating the Indian MSMEs with the regional and global value chain he said that there is a lot of potential for cooperation in MSME sector between India and Taiwan. Dr. Panda said India welcomes investment both in terms of technology transfers and FDI by Taiwanese companies in India with Indian SMEs.
Sectors like electronics, auto-components, textiles, automobiles, bamboo industry, in which Taiwan has largest concentration, are of special interest to India, he said.
Taiwan has strong industrial base with well developed micro, small and medium (MSME) sector especially in semiconductors, petrochemicals, automobile and auto parts, wireless communication equipment, steel, plastics, textiles and light engineering machineries.
Indian MSMEs are considered competitive in sectors like auto components, pharmaceuticals, IT, bio-technology and Food Processing.

Indo –China military ties to expand further

India and China are set to expand their military ties, in tune with the spirit of the Wuhan informal summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister NarendraModi in April.
During talks between visiting Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra and his Chinese counterpart Shao Yuanming, both sides agreed to add another layer of exchanges between the military personnel of the two countries.
For the first time, cadets from Indian and Chinese military academies, as well mid-level officers, will meet each other regularly. “We are expanding military exchanges between our personnel at all levels in the aftermath of the Wuhan summit,” official sources told.
An Indian Embassy statement noted that “specific additional confidence-building measures at the operational level” have been included in view of the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity in the India-China border areas.
These decisions have been taken for “implementing the consensus of Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping” an obvious reference to the Wuhan informal summit.
The Defence Secretary’s visit precedes the arrival of National Security Adviser AjitDoval later this month for boundary talks with State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Mr. Xi and Mr.Modi are then expected to meet on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Argentina next month.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

ICG take proactive measures to counter cyclone GAJA

Indian Coast Guard (ICG) initiated a large-scale series of pre-emptive and proactive measures to prevent loss of fishermen lives at sea in the wake of alerts on cyclone in Bay of Bengal since November 09, 2018. Lessons from cyclone Ockhi and success in preventing loss of lives during recent cyclones Luban and Titliwere put into practice by the ICG.
Around eight ICG ships and two Dornier aircraft were pressed into action since November 09, 2018 for issuance of advisories and warnings in local languages to fishermen at sea for their safe return to ports.
The Indian Coast Guard requested fisheries authorities at Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to account for all fishing boats.
Anticipating the need of relief material and essential items post impact of cyclone in Southern Tamil Nadu areas of Mandapam and Karaikal. One large ICG ship with Helicopter embarked was sailed from Vishakhapatnam with relief items such as potable drinking water, essential medicines, packaged food and life-saving material to southern Tamil Nadu coast.
Indian Coast Guard has kept Coast Guard response teams at short notice at Chennai, Mandapam, Karaikal and Puducherry for immediate response. The ICG is closely coordinating with state fisheries authorities, port authorities and civil administration for reducing impact of the impending cyclone.

::SPORTS::

AIBA brings in corrective measures in officiating issues

Acknowledging that refereeing and judging has been a contentious issue over the years, the International Boxing Association (AIBA) has made some drastic changes to its system to ‘correct the problems.’
The sport has been cutting a sorry figure in elite meets, including the Olympics, World championships and Asian Games, where boxers have staged protests over debatable officiating.
“Now AIBA has a few things done to correct these problems. It has taken the politics out of choosing the referees and judges. The referees and judges used to be approved by the president and an executive director. Both of them have been removed from the process. It is the only process that takes place within the commissions,” said AIBA executive director Tom Virgets on the sidelines of the World women’s boxing championships here.