Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 17 April 2022

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 17 April 2022

::NATIONAL::

Amid ceasefire, ULFA-I continues recruitment in Assam

a day ahead of start of Rongali Bihu, the Assamese New Year festivities, news of 13 youths from across Assam joining the banned separatist outfit United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) hit headlines in the state.
Though the number was on the higher side for a single day, it wasn’t the first such news in the recent past. This year 234 persons have left their homes and families to join the outfit, which is in a state of unilateral ceasefire since last year, according to unofficial estimates.
On Sunday, news came that JanardanGogoi, vice president of Congress’s Tinsukia district youth unit, had left his home in Sadiya to join the ULFA-I camps located in neighbouring Myanmar. Gogoi announced his move on social media platforms.
“There is a conspiracy by some people to obliterate Assamese society. I can’t be a mute witness to destruction of my community...To protect Assamese society from extinction and to bring back its glory, there’s no other option apart from armed struggle,” Gogoi wrote on his Facebook page.
“Youths leaving their homes and going to join terror outfits like ULFA-I have been happening every year. There seems to be an upsurge in that in recent past. Significantly, many of these youths also return back,” said additional DGP, special branch, HirenNath.
According to police and intelligence sources, with possibility of peace talks with ULFA-I taking place, many unemployed youths who have family problems are starting to join the outfit with the hope of gaining some benefit through rehabilitation packages if a peace deal is signed in the near future.

::INTERNATIONAL::

Ukraine vows to fight to the end in Mariupol as ultimatum expires

Ukraine vowed to fight to the end in Mariupol after a Russian ultimatum expired for remaining forces to surrender in the Black Sea port city where Moscow is pushing for a major strategic victory.
"The city still has not fallen," Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said hours after Moscow's deadline had passed for fighters holed up and surrounded in a sprawling fortress-like steelworks to surrender.
"There's still our military forces, our soldiers. So they will fight to the end," he told ABC's "This Week".
Moscow has shifted its military focus to gaining control of the eastern Donbas region and forging a land corridor to already-annexed Crimea.
Russia's defence ministry said there were up to 400 mercenaries inside the encircled Azovstal steel plant, calling on Ukrainian forces inside to "lay down their arms and surrender in order to save their lives".
Moscow claims Kyiv has ordered fighters of the nationalist Azov battalion to "shoot on the spot" anyone wanting to surrender.
Shmyhal said Ukraine wanted a diplomatic solution but would fight to the end if necessary. "We will not surrender."
While several large cities are under siege, he said, not one -- with the exception of Kherson in the south -- had fallen, and more than 900 towns and cities had been liberated.
As Russia scales up attacks on Ukraine's eastern flank, at least five people were killed and 20 wounded in a series of strikes in second city Kharkiv, just 21 kilometres (13 miles) from the Russian border.

::ECONOMY::

Fund raising via debt placement hits 6-year low at Rs 5.88 trn in FY22

Fund raising by listed companies through private placement of corporate bonds plunged to a six-year low in 2021-22 to Rs 5.88 trillion owing to good performance of the equities and aggressive fund disbursal by banks at lower interest rate.
This was 24 per cent lower from a record Rs 7.72 trillion mobilised in 2020-21, data with Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) showed.
Unless the high government borrowings and adverse interest rate cycle play spoilsport, the ongoing financial year is expected to be robust in terms of fund raising activities through the debt route on account of higher demand for credit from corporates in light of the improving economic outlook, experts said.
"During FY23, there should be some increase in raising of debt through bonds as corporate India presses the pedal on the next major phase of the capex cycle. Also, with a potentially rising interest rate scenario, these bond issuances should evince good interest from risk seeking investors," Ricky Kirpalani, Lead Sponsor, First Water Capital Fund (AIF) said.
Vibhor Mittal, Chief Business Officer, CredAvenue, believes issuance volumes in the private debt market are improving on account of higher demand for credit from issuers in light of the improving economic outlook.
However, dampeners to the cause could be high government borrowings that may crowd out private placements and adverse interest rate cycles. In FY22, fund raising through the private placement of corporate bonds was subdued at Rs 5.88 lakh crore.
This was the lowest level since 2015-16, when listed companies had raised Rs 4.58 trillion, the data showed.
In terms of issuance, 1,405 issues were witnessed in the just concluded fiscal year as compared to 1,995 issues in 2020-21. The debt markets are mostly tapped by the financial sector companies who use funds for onward lending (as the economic cycle gathers pace) and boost capital buffers.

::Science and tech::

Three Chinese astronauts return to Earth after six months in space

Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Saturday after 183 days in space, ending China's longest crewed mission as it continues its quest to become a major space power.
The Shenzhou-13 spacecraft was the latest mission in Beijing's drive to rival the United States, after landing a rover on Mars and sending probes to the Moon.
Live footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed the capsule landing in a cloud of dust, with ground crew who had kept clear of the landing site rushing in helicopters to reach the capsule.
The two men and one woman -- Zhai Zhigang, Ye Guangfu and Wang Yaping -- returned to Earth shortly before 10 am Beijing time (0200 GMT), after six months aboard the Tianhe core module of China's Tiangong space station.
Ground crew applauded as the astronauts each took turns to report that they were in good physical condition.
Zhai was the first to emerge from the capsule roughly 45 minutes after the landing, waving and grinning at cameras as he was lifted by ground crew into a specially designed chair before being bundled into a blanket.
Wang became the first Chinese woman to spacewalk last November, as she and her colleague Zhai installed space station equipment during a six-hour stint.
Mission commander Zhai, 55, is a former fighter pilot who performed China's first spacewalk in 2008, while Ye is a People's Liberation Army pilot.
The trio have completed two spacewalks, carried out numerous scientific experiments, set up equipment and tested technologies for future construction during their time in orbit.

::Sports::

Lahiri shoots 2-under in RBC Heritage golf R3

India’s AnirbanLahiri shot a bogey-free two-under 69 to be tied 53rd in the third round of the RBC Heritage PGA Tour event on a windy Harbour Town Golf Link in South Carolina on Saturday. He was on 2-under 211 after rounds of 69, 73 and 69.
Lahiri, 34, had just made the cut overnight after being even par for the event. Teeing off early on Saturday, hopes rose when he birdied his second hole, par-five, with a short putt. But that was Lahiri’s only shot gained until the par-four 18th, when he was rewarded for attacking the pin with a six-footer to birdie.
It was hard work in between. Lahiri was consistent off the tee but struggled with irons, which often meant he could not get close enough for birdie putts. Long putts missed narrowly, leaving Lahiri to tap in for pars. The wind factor adds to the coastal course with tight fairways and small greens.