Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 17 December 2020

SSC CGL Current Affairs

::NATIONAL::

The blueprint of the mosque to replace the Babri Masjid will be unveiled this Saturday and its foundation laid on Republic Day on the five-acre land allotted for it here, members of the Trust formed for its construction said.
“The Trust chose January 26, 2021 for laying the foundation stone of the Ayodhya mosque as on this day our Constitution came into effect over seven decades ago. Our Constitution is based on pluralism, which is the leitmotif of our mosque project,” said Athar Hussain, secretary of the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF).
The IICF was set up by the Sunni Waqf Board six months ago to build the mosque.
The blueprint of the mosque complex, which will include a multi-speciality hospital, a community kitchen and a library, will be unveiled by the IICF on December 19 as the plan for the project has been finalised by its chief architect, Professor S M Akhtar.
“The mosque will have a capacity to hold 2,000 namazis at a time, and the structure will be round-shaped,” Mr. Akhtar said.
The Supreme Court on November 9 last year had paved the way for the construction of a Ram Temple at the disputed Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid site at Ayodhya, and directed the Centre to allot an alternative five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a new mosque at a “prominent” place in the town in Uttar Pradesh.
The state government allotted a five-acre land in Dhannipur village in Sohaval Tehsil of Ayodhya.

Facebook Inc and Alphabet's Google , the two biggest players in online advertising, used a series of deals to consolidate their market power illegally, Texas and nine other states alleged in a lawsuit against Google on 16-12-2020.
Google and Facebook compete heavily in internet ad sales, together capturing over half of the market globally. The two players agreed in a publicized deal in 2018 to start giving Facebook's advertiser clients the option to place ads within Google's network of publishing partners, the complaint alleged. Executives at the highest level of the companies signed off on the deal, according to the complaint.
For example, a sneaker blog that uses software from Google to sell ads could end up generating revenue from a footwear retailer that bought ads on Facebook.
Google reached similar partnerships with other advertising companies as part of an effort to maintain market share that was internally codenamed Project Jedi, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Indian manufacturers may be on the brink of discovering their potential. The incentives offered under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme is a catalyst that investors are betting could be a game-changer. However, there are very few publicly traded firms that could benefit from the programme. Shares of the few that are listed have already surged considerably on the announcement of these incentives.
Analysts estimate that the scheme could add $144 billion to revenues of companies by FY27 and India’s exports could increase by $55 billion. Besides, these incentives are also likely to create 2.2 million jobs and see $22 billion of direct capital spending, according to a December 11 report by Credit Suisse India. Among the sectors that could benefit hugely is electronics manufacturing, particularly mobile manufacturing. The PLI scheme provides incentives equivalent to 4-6% of incremental sales over a base year for locally made electronic products to propel India into the top three mobile manufacturers.
Electric vehicle makers, battery producers, textile firms and food processing companies are some others that will gain from the push to encourage local manufacturing. About 62% of the second PLI scheme outlay of Rs1.46 lakh crore is towards supporting automobiles, batteries and drugs production over a five-year period.

China and Russia have signed a Protocol to extend an agreement between the two countries on notifications of launches of ballistic missiles and space missile carriers .
The validity of the Agreement will be extended for another 10 years. As per a statement from Chinese Defense Ministry, both sides stressed that the signing of the Protocol will further deepen the comprehensive strategic coordination between the two countries.
Both sides noted that it is conducive to the joint maintenance of the global security and strategic stability system. Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu signed the protocol through a video conference.
A spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense commented that the agreement on notifications of launches of missiles is of positive significance to enhancing strategic mutual trust and avoiding strategic miscalculation.
The Agreement between China and Russia on Notifications of Launches of Ballistic Missiles and Space Missile Carriers was signed by the two sides on October 13, 2009. The Agreement will expire on December 16, 2020.

Scientists have found that magmatic intrusions at shallow depths from lower crust or mantle could lead to traps for hydrocarbon and geothermal energy resources.
A team of researchers who studied Taranaki Basin on the West Coast of New Zealand have spotted trapped hydrocarbon and geothermal energy resources due to forced foldings resulting from intrusion of magma in shallow strata.
Magma intrusion into relatively shallow depths often results into the structural deformation of host strata. Forced folds are typically formed above such intrusions in order to accommodate the addition of magma into the sedimentary pile.
Scientists from Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, an autonomous institution under the Department of Science & Technology, in collaboration with Cardiff University, UK and led by the Director WIHG, Dr. Kalachand Sain, have investigated large forced folds that were formed in the geological settings called Upper Cretaceous-Paleocene sequences due to the intrusion of a series of magmatic dikes and sills (intrusions) by using high-resolution 3D seismic volume from the Taranaki basin, offshore New Zealand.
They found that forced foldings due to intrusion of magma in shallow strata in the Taranaki Basin on the West Coast of New Zealand have led to the development of four-way closures to form prolific traps for hydrocarbon and geothermal energy resources.

• All India Football Federation (AIFF) has formally announced its candidature to host the AFC Asian Cup 2027 and deliver a Brighter future together for football in India and across Asia.
• Unveiling its plans at the launch in New Delhi today, AIFF showcased the unrivalled potential of hosting Asia’s flagship football event in the world’s fastest emerging football market, home to 1.3 billion people.
• The bid promises to take Asian football to new heights by working in partnership with the AFC to unlock new commercial opportunities, drive growth and build on an ever-growing love for the sport among the country’s youthful population.