Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 18 December 2018

::NATIONAL::

The transgender bill passed in lok sabha

Amid noisy protests over the Rafale deal and Cauvery issue, the LokSabha on Monday passed a bill seeking to empower the transgender community by providing them a separate identity.
The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016, seeking to define transgenders and prohibit discrimination against them, was introduced in the LokSabha two years ago. It was passed with 27 amendments.
Earlier, seeking passage of the bill, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot said the bill was complete and there was no need for more discussion. He said the objectives of the bill includes protecting interests of transgenders, defining of the term ‘transgender’, to give them recognition and setting up of a national transgender council.
Initiating the debate on the bill, Congress member ShashiTharoor said the bill was “flawed” and the minister should withdraw it. “Defer consideration of the Bill as it needs serious discussion. I request the minister to withdraw the Bill,” he said.
“We need to recognize transgenders’ identity” as it goes beyond male and female, Tharoor said, adding the government has “blindly” borrowed the definition of transgenders. “The Bill also fails to define discrimination against transgenders,” and there is a need to redraft certain clauses, he said.

Centre offers aid to Maldivian government

India on Monday declared an aid of $1.4 billion to the Maldives. The financial package that was prepared over the last month was formally announced at a joint press conference held by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih of the Maldives and Prime Minister NarendraModi.
Mr. Modi said both sides were connected by mutual faith in democracy and development. “Cooperation between our countries is necessary for maintaining stability in the Indian Ocean region and we are willing to take our bilateral relationship to its fullest extent.”
India would be there to support the Maldives in its human-oriented development plans. New Delhi would also support Male in improving connectivity links between the two nations.

::ECONOMY::

Economic affairs secretary calls for cutting public debt in 4 years

The Indian economy has a large overhang of public debt and there is a need to focus on reducing this in the next four to five years, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said on Saturday.
Pointing out that the fiscal deficit was moving towards the ideal level of 3% of the GDP and inflation was moderate, Mr. Garg also said India’s macroeconomic parameters were among the best globally.
“Whether you look at fiscal deficit, or you look at the inflation management or reserves. Fiscal deficit..we are very close to now coming to 3% level considered ideal.

The National Digital Communications Policy 2018 to focus on broadband connection & job creation

“The National Digital Communications Policy 2018 will catalyse the achievement of the Digital India dream of our Government under Prime Minister NarendraModi, by nurturing and promoting a robust, competitive, and sustainable digital communications sector”, said ShriManojSinha, Minister of State for Communications .
The Minister spoke to members of the press and media today, while inaugurating a seminar organised by the Department of Telecom, with representation from States and Union Territories. The seminar held in the capital is meant to lay the foundation for collaborative pursuit and realisation of the vision, mission, and objectives of the National Digital Communications Policy (NDCP) 2018.
In his inShriSinha touched upon the objectives and key features of NDCP 2018. such as Broadband for All and the promise of Creating 4 Million Jobs in the sector have the potential to drastically alter the dynamics of the sector, and make it possibly the single-most important enabler of socio-economic development of the country.
The Minister cited the ongoing BharatNet project as an example of how determined execution can lead to empowerment of people inhabiting the remote and rural areas of our country. “We have broadband-enabled nearly half the total number of Gram Panchayats in the country, and Phase II of the project is now in progress. In parallel, we are also establishing WiFiHostpots at each Gram Panchayat to facilitate the utilisation of the infrastructure established by BharatNet.”, said the minister.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Pak welcomes fresh talks with U.S, Taliban & UAE

Pakistan on Monday welcomed a new round of talks sponsored by it between the Taliban and US officials, in the United Arab Emirates, in an attempt to end the bloodshed in neighbouring war-torn Afghanistan.
Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said on Twitter that the latest round of talks were being held in the UAE.
He also said Pakistan along-with the international community and other stake-holders was committed to peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan to end the 17-year war.
“Along with international community and other stake-holders, Pakistan is committed to peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan. Talks are being held in the UAE. We hope this will end bloodshed in Afghanistan and bring peace to the region,” Mr. Faisal tweeted.
According to diplomatic sources, Pakistan had helped in arranging the direct talks between the U.S. and the Taliban, creating a ray of hope for end of conflict, after U.S. President Donald Trump wrote a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan, earlier this month, formally seeking Islamabad’s help in arranging the talks with Taliban.
Mr. Trump had earlier this year accused Pakistan of doing nothing despite take billions of dollars from the U.S. Washington had also suspended millions of dollars in military aid to Islamabad.

North korea says US sanctions may slow denuclearisation process

North Korea has condemned the United States over its latest sanctions measures, warning the policy could “block the path to denuclearization on the Korean peninsula forever”.
The warning from the North on Sunday came days after the U.S. said it was imposing sanctions on three senior North Korean officials over human rights abuses.
The sanctioned officials include ChoeRyongHae, who has been considered a right-hand man to leader Kim Jong Un.
In a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency, the North praised President Donald Trump for his efforts to improve relations with Pyongyang, but said the U.S. State Department was “bent on bringing the DPRK-U.S. relations back to the status of last year which was marked by exchanges of fire.
If Washington believes the policy of increased sanctions and pressure would force the North to give up its nuclear weapons, “it will count as greatest miscalculation, and it will block the path to denuclearization on the Korean peninsula forever”, the statement added.
In actions required by Congress, the Trump administration said on Monday it would seize any U.S. assets of the three officials over their roles in suppressing freedom of speech.
Such restrictions may have little impact on officials in one of the world’s most closed countries but will have a clear symbolic force as North Korea seeks greater acceptance by the United States.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Scientists develop AI tool that predicts post surgery infections

Scientists have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can successfully predict whether a patient is at risk of developing a serious, and possibly life-threatening infection after surgery.
Staphylococcus epidermidis is an ubiquitous coloniser of healthy human skin, but it is also a notorious source of serious infections with indwelling devices and surgical procedures such as hip replacements.
It has not been known whether all members of the Staphylococcus epidermidis population colonising the skin asymptomatically are capable of causing such infections, or if some of them have a heightened tendency to do so when they enter either the bloodstream or a deep tissue.
They were then able to use machine learning to successfully predict the risk of developing a serious, and possibly life-threatening infection from the genomic features of a bacterial isolate.

::SPORTS::

Belgium crowned new hockey world champions

In Hockey, Belgium has claimed their first ever World Cup title. They defeated Netherlands 3-2 in a dramatic shoot-out in the final of the Men's World Cup in Bhubaneswar yesterday. Both the teams, goalless at full time, were at level 2-2 after five penalties.
Belgium has won the trophy after sixteen years. The win proved to be third time lucky for the Red Lions, who finished runners-up at both the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and the Euro Hockey Championships in 2017. Earlier, the last edition champions Australia secured a consolation bronze medal after mauling England 8-1.