Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 18 JULY 2019
::NATIONAL::
CJI wants judiciary to revisit conventional wisdom
- Chief Justice of India RanjanGogoi on Wednesday said great
institutions like the judiciary should be on their guard against the “wicked
and the vile,” who work in their dark recesses to weaken them in a deceptive
manner.
- The Chief Justice was speaking at the inauguration of the
state-of-the-art Additional Building Complex of the Supreme Court. On the
occasion, the Court also launched the translation of 100 of its English
judgments in seven other languages.
- In his address, the CJI said it is time for stakeholders to
introspect their respective roles in order to successfully engage in the
process of nation-building.
- “The threat from such people has always been the greatest to
institutions like the judiciary, which do not pander to any particular
interest or bow to powerful coteries that breed in the nooks and dark
corners,” the CJI said.
Centre clears bill amending medical education sector in India
- In a move to bring sweeping changes to the medical education
sector, the Centre plans to introduce the National Medical Commission (NMC)
Bill in this session of Parliament and repeal the Indian Medical Council
Act, 1956.
- The Union Cabinet approved a revised version of the Bill on
Wednesday, almost two years after the original version was introduced in
Parliament in December 2017.
- The 2017 Bill, which had provoked widespread protests over a
proposal for bridge courses to allow AYUSH practitioners to prescribe
allopathic medicines, was referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee and
amended to remove that contentious initiative. However, it lapsed with the
dissolution of the 16th LokSabha.
- The current Bill proposes to convert the final year MBBS
examination into a licentiate exam, which will be a requirement for doctors
to practise medicine. The Bill also proposes to unify all entrance
procedures to enforce common standards.
::ECONOMY::
Cabinet clears amendment to bankruptcy code
- The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved amendments to the
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, placing a greater emphasis on more
time-bound resolution and laying down voting rules of the financial
creditors.
- Among the amendments approved is the one that mandates a deadline
for the completion of the resolution process within 330 days, including all
litigation and judicial processes.
- “Votes of all financial creditors covered under Section 21(6A)
shall be cast in accordance with the decision approved by the highest voting
share [more than 50%] of financial creditors on present and voting basis,”
the release added.
::INTERNATIONAL::
ICJ asks Pakistan to review kulbushanjadhav verdict
- In a major verdict that accepted India’s plea that former Indian
naval officer KulbhushanJadhav’s trial under espionage and terror charges in
Pakistan violated international law, the International Court of Justice
ruled that Pakistan should “review and reconsider” his conviction and death
sentence.
- The court, based at The Hague in the Netherlands, also ruled that
Pakistan should give the Indian government consular access to Mr.Jadhav,
something Pakistan has failed to do in the three years since his arrest, and
to stay the execution of his sentence, pending the review process.
- The verdict was welcomed by Prime Minister NarendraModi, the
government and by leaders across the political spectrum. External Affairs S.
Jaishankar said that he had spoken to Mr.Jadhav’s family after the verdict
was delivered, and “applauded their courage.”
- The Pakistan government claimed a victory of sorts, pointing out
that the court had not accepted India’s submissions asking for cancellation
of the Pakistani verdict, and to direct Mr.Jadhav’s release. “Commander
Jadhav shall remain in Pakistan. He shall be treated in accordance with the
laws of Pakistan,” tweeted Foreign Minister Shah MehmoodQureshi.
::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::
IMD plans to review quantity of normal monsoon rain
- The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is likely to revise
downward by 2% the quantity of ‘normal’ monsoonal rain, two independent
sources confirmed.
- Currently, 89 cm of monsoon rain from June to September is
considered ‘normal’, more technically, the long period average (LPA), and
this is derived from the average rainfall that the country got from
1960-2010.
- The IMD routinely updates ‘normal’ rain every 10-12 years but the
changes can take nearly 5 years to reflect in the agency’s official
forecasts.
- This time the change could be reflected by 2021 after taking into
account the monsoon rainfall from 1970-2020, a senior meteorologist
connected to IMD's forecast process told.
::SPORTS::
Hima Das wins gold in Tabor Athletics meet
- Star Indian sprinter Hima Das clinched her fourth gold in a
fortnight as she won the 200m race with a creditable timing in the Tabor
Athletics Meet in Czech Republic yesterday.
- Hima won the race in 23.25 seconds, which had a mediocre field
with most of the competitors representing clubs of Czech Republic.
- In men's 400m, Muhammad Anas won in 45.40 seconds, while
compatriots Tom Noah Nirmal came second with a season-best effort of 46.59
seconds. KS Jeevan was third with a timing of 46.60 seconds and MP Jabir
finished fourth in 47.16 seconds.