Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 17 January 2022

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 17 January 2022

::NATIONAL::

Madhya Pradesh plans public safety law to give more power to police

The Madhya Pradesh government will introduce in the upcoming budget session of the state assembly a legislation that makes licences mandatory for any private establishment visited by 100 or more people every day to ensure that it is following prescribed safety norms, officials from the state’s home department said.
According to the draft of the Public Safety Bill, the onus of safety of visitors will lie with the management of such commercial, industrial, religious, medical, and educational establishments. The bill also gives police right to enter such establishments at any time to inspect if safety norms are being adhered to .
“The private establishment will have to take the licence of public safety from local municipal corporations and municipalities. The licence will be mandatory for the establishments visited by a large number of people daily. The licence will be given after ensuring that the all safety measures have been implemented,” said an official involved with preparing the draft.
The bill lists out several safety measures that need to be followed.
“In the measures, the establishment has to install hand-held metal detectors, door frame metal detectors, and high-resolution cameras. It has to keep the recording of closed-circuit television surveillance cameras for 30 days,” said a second official who asked not to be named.
The bill also gives power to the police to access CCTV footage in case of a crime at such establishments.
“MP Police can inspect the establishment at any time and can ask for recordings for the investigation of a case. Under this bill, the establishment can’t refuse to share the video footages,” said the first official.
The bill will have a provision of fines for violation of safety norms, and also for failing to procure a licence. “In case of violation, the establishment will have to pay a fine. The penalty amount is being finalised,” the official added.

::INTERNATIONAL::

‘We stand with US’: UK foreign minister condemns Texas hostage

Britain's foreign minister Liz Truss on Sunday condemned a hostage-taking at a synagogue in Texas as an "act or terrorism and anti-Semitism".
And a man identifying himself as the hostage-taker's brother said in a post to Facebook that his brother had suffered from mental health problems.
In a statement posted on Twitter, Foreign Secretary Truss wrote: "My thoughts are with the Jewish community and all those affected by the appalling act in Texas.
"We stand with US in defending the rights and freedoms of our citizens against those who spread hate."
In Manchester, northwest England, Assistant Chief Constable Dominic Scally of the region's counter-terrorism team, confirmed the assailant's identity as Malik Faisal Akram.
Akram was from Blackburn, also in the northwest, said Scally.
"Police forces in the region will continue to liaise with their local communities, including the Jewish community, and will put in place any necessary measures to provide reassurance to them," he added.
On the Facebook page of Blackburn's Muslim community, a man identifying himself as Gulbar, the hostage-taker's brother, said he had been shot dead.
"We would like to say that we as a family do not condone any of his actions and would like to sincerely apologize wholeheartedly to all the victims involved in the unfortunate incident," he added.
Gulbar wrote that during the incident, he had been liaising from England with law enforcement at the scene.

::ECONOMY::

Dogecoin can be used to buy Tesla merch, says Musk; meme coin up by 15%

Dogecoin, the cryptocurrency with a Shiba Inu meme founded in 2013, surged after Elon Musk said on Twitter that it could be used to buy Tesla Inc. merchandise.
The meme coin was up 15% over the past 24 hours as of 2:56 p.m. in Hong Kong, according to pricing from CoinGecko. It was a standout on a day when other cryptocurrencies from Bitcoin and Ether to Solana and Polkadot remained relatively flat.
Musk, a frequent booster of Dogecoin on social media, has hinted at the move for some time. In addition, numerous reports in recent days had indicated that source code on Tesla’s website included an option for Dogecoin payments.
Billy Markus, Dogecoin’s co-creator, tweeted earlier Friday with an image that appeared to show a Cyberwhistle available for a price of 300 Dogecoin.

Food prices stay high despite bumper harvest

Declining vegetable prices was more than offset by costlier oils and fats mainly because higher global prices of edible oil. The country imports up to two-thirds of its cooking oil.
Food prices have pushed up retail inflation to a five-month high despite plentiful harvests, with food inflation rising 4.05% in December, the highest in three months, and hitting household budgets in a country where 800 million people, or two-thirds, depend on food subsidies.
Declining vegetable prices was more than offset by costlier oils and fats mainly because higher global prices of edible oil. The country imports up to two-thirds of its cooking oil.
Inflation, as measured by the consumer price index rose to 5.6% year on year in December from 4.9% in November. Food prices account for half of the CPI basket, and they rose 4.05% in December from 1.87% in the previous month.
Inflation has a strong bearing on the country’s macroeconomic policy. As the country battles another wave of the pandemic, driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, maintaining India’s nascent economic recovery is crucial.
However, higher inflation limits the Reserve Bank of India’s room to keep interest rates low to spur growth. The current CPI is within the central bank’s comfort level of 6% (4% plus or minus 2%)
Despite showing signs of stabilizing, edible oil prices continued to drive food prices, data released on Wednesday showed. While prices in several food segments declined, other rose sharply. Higher food prices affect poorer households more, who spend a higher proportion of their monthly budgets on food. Over all, food prices showed month-on-month contractions, led by vegetables, which declined 5.4% month-on-month. “This correcting the sharp rises observed in previous months owing to unseasonal rains,” said Sonal Varma, managing director and chief economist for Nomura Holdings.
Prices in other food categories such as meat and fish, edible oils, fruits, pulses and sugar also contracted month on month. However, compared to a year ago, inflation in the oils and fats categories rose 24%, despite the government claiming that prices of cooking oils had stabilized. Meat and fish rose nearly 5%.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

1st S-400 unit to be ready by April, 4 others by 2023

India has begun work on deploying the S-400 Triumf advanced surface-to-air missile defence system, with the first unit to be made operational in April.
While the Narendra Modi government remains tight-lipped about the entire project, officials with direct knowledge of the matter have told Hindustan Times that all five units will be deployed in depth areas to tackle the threat from China.
All the five units of the S-400 system, which can take down a hostile aircraft or missile at a range between 40km and 400km, are expected to be operational by next year.
The S-400 system was purchased from Russia through a $5-billion deal signed in October 2018.
The Indian Army and the Chinese PLA are locked in a stand-off across the 597km-long Ladakh LAC since May 2020, with Beijing reluctant to restore the April 2020 status quo ante in Gogra-Hot Springs and restore India’s unhindered patrolling rights in Depsang Bulge in Daulet Beg Oldi (DBO) sector and Charding Nullah Junction (CNJ) in Demchok sector. PLA has already deployed two S-400 systems across LAC in Ngari Gar Gunsa (opposite Demchok) and Nyingchi (across Arunachal Pradesh) with the remaining three deployed to tackle the threat from the Indo-Pacific.
James O’ Brien, President Joe Biden’s nominee for the US State Department’s coordinator for sanctions policy, told the Senate Foreign Committee last Wednesday during his confirmation hearing that while the US has discouraged India from acquiring the S-400 systems from Russia, Washington’s decision on whether to sanction India under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (or CAATSA; a law that aims to penalise Russia, North Korea and Iran and countries dealing with them, by extension) or grant a waiver will be done only after weighing important geostrategic considerations in relations to China.

::SPORTS::

Sen shines, topples world champion Loh to claim India Open title

The 20-year-old claimed his biggest title by upstaging his friend from Singapore in straight games.
It was five years ago that Lakshya Sen, a shy, lanky teenager, first made headlines. A third generation badminton player from Almora in Uttarakhand, he had become junior world No 1.
Since then, Sen has regularly made news—first by winning junior titles and then at the senior level. However, most of the senior titles were at lower-tier events where not many top names usually played. Yes, the 20-year-old won bronze at the world championships in Spain last month.
That changed as Sen dropped the ‘rising star’ tag on Sunday by announcing his arrival at the big stage, clinching the $400,000 India Open—a Super 500 event—on debut at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex here.