Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 17 MAY 2020

::NATIONAL::

The Centre has asked the States to use online portal National Migrant Information System (NMIS) for capturing the information on movement of migrants and for better inter-State co-ordination.
In a letter to the State Chief Secretaries, Union Home Secretary, Ajay Bhalla said that to capture the information regarding movement of migrants and facilitate the smooth movement of stranded persons across States, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has developed an online Dashboard- NMIS on the existing NDMA-GIS portal.
This system will help in speedy communication between States without creating additional work at the level of the field officers. Mr Bhalla said, it has additional advantages like contact tracing, which may be useful in overall COVID response work. Through this system, States can upload batch file of individual data on the portal.

India Meteorological Department has warned that the cyclonic storm Amphan is likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm in the next 12 hours and into a very severe cyclonic storm by tomorrow morning. Weathermen have warned of heavy rain in Odisha and West Bengal under its impact.
The coastal districts of Gangetic West Bengal, including North and South 24 Parganas, Kolkata, East and West Midnapore, Howrah and Hooghly will experience heavy rain on Tuesday and Wednesday. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik reviewed the preparedness for the impending cyclonic storm which is likely to affect Odisha coast from tomorrow.
In a view of the possible cyclone which is likely to affect Odisha coast, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik reviewed the preparedness.

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman unveiled structural reforms for various sectors to help build a self-reliant India under the AtmaNirbhar Bharat Campaign.
Addressing a media briefing yesterday, Finance Minister in her announcement of the fourth tranche of measures outlined structural reforms with focus on eight sectors of coal, minerals, defence production, civil aviation, power distribution companies, space sector and atomic energy.
In a major announcement, Ms Sitharaman informed that, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) limit in defence manufacturing under automatic route will be raised from 49 per cent to 74 per cent.
Government will notify year-wise timelines to ban such imports. In another historic structural reform FM Sitharaman announced that Corporatisation of Ordnance Factory Board to improve autonomy, accountability and efficiency among Ordnance Suppliers was done.

Competition Commission of India, CCI has proposed changes to combination regulations to do away with the requirement for disclosing certain non-compete restrictions while seeking the watchdog's approval.
Combinations -- generally mergers and acquisitions -- beyond a certain threshold need clearance from the regulator under the Competition Act.
The CCI plans to omit part of the combination regulation that seeks information regarding non-compete restrictions agreed between the parties to combination and justification for the same.
This would allow the parties flexibility in determining non-compete restrictions, while also reducing the information burden on them.
However, CCI yesterday said in a release that the parties will be responsible for ensuring that their non-compete arrangements are competition compliant. Competition concerns, if any, that may arise from non-compete restrictions can be looked into under Sections 3 and 4 of the Act, it added.

Today is International Day of Living Together in Peace. In 2017, the United Nations declared this Day to promote peace, tolerance, inclusion, understanding, and solidarity across the world.
President of General Assembly, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande in a message said that today the world is facing the most challenging crisis since the Second World War.
COVID-19 poses a serious threat to maintenance of international peace and security - potentially leading to an increase in social unrest and violence.

The Justice Department is planning to file anti-trust charges against Google as early as this summer, said two people with knowledge of the situation, in what would be one of the biggest anti-trust actions by the U.S. since the late 1990s.
The regulators are focused on Google’s dominance in the online advertising industry, and the case will also involve allegations that the company abused its dominant position in online search to harm competitors, the people said.
State Attorneys General are likely to file their own anti-trust lawsuits against Google or join the Justice Department case sometime this year, said a person with knowledge of the state investigation.

The JNCASR (Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research) has developed injectable silk-fibroin based hydrogel to deliver sustained insulin to diabetic patients.
The fibroin-based hydrogel was developed using biocompatible additives. The gel developed will ease insulin delivery in diabetic patients. The gel wasfirst tested in rats and was successful.
The researchers have found that subcutaneous injection of insulin with fibroid based hydrogel formed an active depot under the skin.This helped to leach out insulin, restore physiological glucose for a longer period of time.
The body cells of Diabetic patients do not get glucose. This is because insulin that helps glucose in blood reach body cells is not secreted properly in these patients.
The fibroin-based hydrogel increases insulin level in the blood for a longer period. The scientists found that it made insulin available in the bloodfor even four days without lowering blood glucose.
Hydrogels are highly absorbent. They are used in tissue engineering. The hydrogels that are responsive specific molecules are used as biosensors. Theyare also used in diapers and sanitary napkins as well as in breast implants.