Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 18 January 2017

:: National ::

SC asked Pollution Control Authority to inspect Pollution Under Certificate stations

Highlighting the urgency to find immediate solutions to curb air pollution, the Supreme Court asked the Environment Pollution Control Authority to inspect over 900 Pollution Under Certificate stations across Delhi.
A Bench led by Justice Madan B. Lokur was hearing a suggestion by the amicus curiae and senior advocate, Harish Salve, that pollution certificates should be linked to vehicle insurance.
The Centre, represented by Solicitor-General Ranjit Kumar, said even the functioning of several of the pollution checking stations in Delhi were suspect.
Mr. Kumar said of the 962 stations in the national Capital, 174 have been issued show cause notice for irregularities. These pollution centres check at least 5,000 vehicles a month.
Mr. Kumar revealed the chequered track record of the pollution centres in some detail to the court. Of the 962 centres, 75 have been suspended, 14 cancelled and warning notices were issued to 78.
The Bench asked the Centre to furnish a status report regarding show cause notices issued to PUC centres.
The Centre further informed the court that consultations with stakeholders were on to ban pet coke and furnace oil as industrial fuel in Delhi-National Capital Region.

Pakistan must walk away from terror if it wants talks says PM

Pakistan must “walk away from terror” if it wishes to walk towards dialogue with India, PM said, adding that he remained committed to his vision for a “peaceful and harmonious” South Asia, and putting the “neighbourhood first”.
PM Modi outlined his government’s foreign policy from May 2014 when, he said, Indians “had spoken with one voice” to elect him with a mandate for change.
Mr Modi also referred to differences with China, and India’s close partnerships with the U.S., Russia and Japan.
“India alone cannot walk the path of peace. It also has to be Pakistan’s journey to make. Pakistan must walk away from terror if it wants to walk towards dialogue with India,” the Prime Minister told an international audience.
Amongst those in the audience who will also address the Raisina conference, were former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
Nepal’s foreign minister Prakash Sharan Mahat, who acknowledged the Prime Minister’s reference to India as a “credible first responder” in times of crisis such as after the Nepal earthquake in 2015, was also present.
On China, Mr Modi spoke of “unprecedented business and commercial opportunities” that he had discussed with President Xi, but also made several sharp references to the differences between both countries.
Later in the speech, in a possible reference to the $45 billion China- Pakistan Economic Corridor that runs through parts of Kashmir, the Mr Modi said connectivity could not “override sovereignty”.
The theme of the Raisina Dialogue this year is “The New Normal: Multilateralism in a multipolar world”. The conference will be attended by delegates and speakers from 65 countries, the MEA said.

:: International ::

Britain would leave the EU’s single market in order to restrict immigration

Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain would leave the EU’s single market in order to restrict immigration in a clean break from the bloc, but lawmakers can vote on the final deal.
“Brexit must mean control of the number of people coming from Europe, and that is what we will deliver. What I am proposing cannot mean membership of the single market,” she said in a highly-anticipated speech at London’s Lancaster House.
She added Britain would seek a trade deal giving “the greatest possible access” to the market on its departure.
She also announced that any divorce deal with the remaining EU members must be approved by votes in both chambers of Parliament.
Britain has two years to negotiate a break-up deal once Ms. May triggers Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, officially declaring the country’s intention to quit, or face leaving with no agreement.
Ms. May has promised to trigger Article 50 by March-end and said she believed a final settlement and trade deal could be simultaneously negotiated within the time-frame.
Seeking to calm fears of a sudden jolt to the economy on abruptly leaving the EU, Ms. May said she would seek a “phased process of implementation.”
Her direction will be cheered by those who want to leave the EU, but dismay those who fear the impact on the economy.
EU countries accounted for 44% of Britain’s total exports in goods and services in 2015, with the country recording a £68.6 billion ($82.7 billion) trade deficit with the bloc.

China’s President Xi Jinping warned against scapegoating globalisation for the world’s ills

China’s President Xi Jinping warned against scapegoating globalisation for the world’s ills or retreating behind protectionist walls, days before Donald Trump takes office.
In what amounted to a rewriting of the global economic order, led for decades by the United States, Mr. Xi used his début speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos to insist that globalisation was irreversible despite a populist backlash in the West.
There is “no point in blaming economic globalisation for the world’s problems”, he said, saying that the process was not at the root of the Syrian refugee situation or the 2008 financial crisis.
Globalisation should be “more inclusive, more sustainable”, he added, adding that currently existing global institutions are “inadequate” and should be more “representative”.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly accused China of carrying out trade policies that have led to massive U.S. job losses. He has threatened to slap tariffs of up to 45% on Chinese goods.
But addressing a hall packed with government leaders, captains of industry, stars of entertainment and agenda-setting thinkers, Mr. Xi issued a rebuke to such thinking.
A World Economic Forum study said that within advanced economies, median per capita income fell on average 2.4% over the past five years, helping to explain why disaffection is so high across the West.

:: Science and Technology ::

India became an associate member of CERN

India became an associate member of CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, after the government completed internal approval procedures on the agreement it signed in November last year.
But India had to “notify CERN of its final approval for the agreement to enter into force” and become an associate member, which it did.
Becoming associate member of CERN will enhance participation of young scientists and engineers in various CERN projects and bring back knowledge for deployment in the domestic programmes.
India has been actively involved in CERN’s activities for over 50 years. “Indian physicists, engineers and technicians have made substantial contributions to the construction of the LHC accelerator and to the ALICE and CMS experiments, as well as to accelerator R&D projects.
According to the release, being an associate member will allow India to take part in meetings of the CERN Council and its committees (Finance Committee and Scientific Policy Committee).
Indian industry will be entitled to bid for CERN contracts, which will open up opportunities for industrial collaboration in areas of advanced technology. Also, Indian scientists will become eligible for staff appointments.
In 1991, India and CERN signed a Cooperation Agreement, setting priorities for scientific cooperation. India and CERN have signed several other protocols since then.
But India’s involvement in CERN began in the 1960s with researchers from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, participating in experiments at CERN. In the 1990s, scientists from Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology, Indore, too got involved.

U.S. astronaut Eugene Cernan, the last man to set foot on the moon, died

U.S. astronaut Eugene Cernan, the last man to set foot on the moon, died at the age of 82, NASA and his family announced.
Cernan was the spacecraft commander of Apollo 17 — his third space flight and the last U.S. manned mission to the moon — in December 1972. “We are saddened by the loss of retired NASA astronaut Gene Cernan.
The space community quickly took to Twitter to pay tribute to Cernan. “Saddened by the loss of pioneer, fellow naval aviator, astronaut and friend Gene Cernan #RIP #lastmanonthemoon,” said retired American astronaut Scott Kelly.
Cernan was one of a class of 14 astronauts chosen to join NASA in 1963, and went on to serve on Gemini and Apollo missions.

:: Business and Economy ::

India looking for trade facilitation in services

India’s top industry bodies are attempting to build a coalition with counterparts in other nations with similar interests to give a fillip to the country’s proposal for a Trade Facilitation in Services (TFS) Agreement at the WTO.
The proposed TFS pact, among other things, aims to make it easier for professionals and skilled workers to move across borders for short-term work, as well as ensure portability of their social security contributions.
Two leading industry bodies — CII and FICCI — will next month hold a global seminar in Delhi and Mumbai on the topic.
India said the TFS Agreement will address the key issues pertinent to facilitating services trade, such as transparency, streamlining procedures, and eliminating bottlenecks.
In brief, the TFS Agreement is aimed at ensuring that the market access arising out of existing as well as future liberalisation commitments is effective and meaningful.
While India’s industry bodies have begun attempts to form a global coalition on services, the Centre is also in talks with other countries on coalition building.
India’s proposal for a TFS agreement was welcomed by WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo and trade ministers from many WTO-member nations.

India’s domestic air passenger traffic grew 23.18% to about 10 crore

India’s domestic air passenger traffic grew 23.18% to about 10 crore in 2016 compared with the previous year, data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) showed.
In 2016, India’s air traffic stood at 9.98 crore passengers compared with 8.19 crore in 2015 which had seen a 21% growth.
Low-cost airline IndiGo continued to dominate in 2016 with a 2.6% increase in its market share to 39.3%. In 2016, 63.8% of all passengers flew using low-cost airlines, such as IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir, up from 59.7% in 2015.
The passenger share of full-service airlines Air India, Jet Airways and GoAir declined in 2016.
SpiceJet’s passenger share rose to 12.7% from 11.6% a year ago. New airlines also saw a rise in their market share with Vistara carrying 2.5% of the total passengers and AirAsia, 2.4%.
A dip in aviation turbine fuel prices by 8% on an average in 2016 allowed airlines to offer fares that were lower by about 14%. Aviation turbine fuel cost contributes about 40% of the total cost of the operations of airlines.
Low-cost airline SpiceJet had the highest average load factor with the airline managing to fill up 92.66% of its seats throughout the year.
This was followed by GoAir (87.22%), IndiGo (84.9%), AirAsia (84.56%), Jet Airways (81.03%), Air India (79.01%) and Vistara (75.51%).
SpiceJet also reported the highest on-time performance in December (70%).
According to CAPA, India’s domestic market is on track to surpass 10 crore passengers in 2016-17 and India will likely overtake Japan this financial year to become the third largest domestic market behind the U.S. and China.
India will witness the third consecutive year of domestic growth above 20% in 2017-18 and the growth could be as high as 25%, CAPA said in its report titled Aviation Outlook for 2017-18.

Govt is considering 100 % FDI through automatic route in single brand retail

The government is considering allowing 100 % FDI through automatic route in single brand retail. According to sources, there is a proposal to allow 100 % FDI in single brand retail sector “through automatic route” with certain conditions.
Currently, FDI up to 49 % is permitted under the automatic route but beyond that limit, government’s nod is required.
Foreign investment is allowed subject to certain conditions, which require products to be of a ‘single brand’ only and to be sold under the same brand globally.
For proposals involving FDI beyond 51 %, it is mandatory to source 30 % of the value of goods purchased from India, preferably MSMEs.