Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 18 March 2017

:: National ::

Five cities across the country will be the first to start using plastic bank notes of Rs. 10

Five cities across the country with diverse geographical and climatic conditions will be the first to start using plastic bank notes of Rs. 10 denomination, with the Centre approving a field trial.
The plastic bank notes are considered to be cleaner than paper currency, will last longer and are difficult to counterfeit.
Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry has asked the Reserve Bank of India to go ahead with the procurement of the requisite plastic substrate material and approved the printing of Rs. 10 notes.

Supreme Court Collegium has handed over the finalised Memorandum of Procedure

The Supreme Court Collegium has handed over the finalised Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for appointment of judges to the government.
While maintaining the government’s proposal for a national security clause in the MoP, the Collegium has reserved to itself the right to reiterate a name rejected by the government.
Now, while accepting national security and public interest as the new ground of objection to appoint a candidate as a judge, the collegium is learnt to have made it clear that the government will not have a right to reject its recommendation.
The body of five senior-most judges of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar has made it clear that if the government has objections on the ground of national security and public interest, it will convey the same to the collegium. The collegium will then take a final call.
While accepting the government's demand to set up secretariats in the apex court and the 24 high courts to assist collegiums in SC and HCs in selecting judges, the collegium has refused to accept the demand for committees of retired or sitting judges to assist the collegiums. .
The government and the apex court have been trying to finalise the Memorandum of Procedure a document to guide appointment of judges to the higher judiciary.

Separatist opposed the Pakistan’s move to declare Gilgit-Baltistan as its fifth province

Separatists opposed the Pakistan government’s move to declare Gilgit-Baltistan as its fifth province.
In a joint statement, Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik said, “Kashmir, Ladakh, Jammu, Azad Kashmir [Pakistan-occupied Kashmir] and Gilgit-Baltistan is a single entity.”
The separatists said since the political destiny of Jammu and Kashmir was yet to be decided any proposal to declare Gilgit-Baltistan as the fifth State of Pakistan was “unacceptable.”
Referring to Pakistan as “a prime party to the Kashmir issue”, the separatists said such a step may hamper the disputed status of Kashmir. “Both India and Pakistan have no authority or right to alter the geographical status of the State,” they added.
Recently, a committee, headed by Pakistan’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, had proposed giving the status of a province to Gilgit-Baltistan.

Ambitious project of NATGRID slow to move due to non-filing of posts

The Union Home Ministry informed a parliamentary panel earlier this week that it couldn’t get qualified IT professionals to fill 35 posts in the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), an ambitious intelligence project conceptualised by the United Progressive Alliance government after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in 2008.
The panel has asked the Ministry to “re-publicise the posts” and “offer remuneration commensurate with that of the private sector to attract the most qualified professionals.”
The NATGRID is a centralised agency which stores sensitive personal information on citizens, from almost two dozen agencies, to be made available for counter-terror investigations.
“These posts were not filled because of the non-availability of qualified professionals for various posts in the organisation,” Ministry officials were quoted in the report — Demands for Grants (2017-18).
The panel, headed by the Congress leader and former Home Minister P. Chidambaram, had asked the Ministry for the reasons for the cut in the NATGRID’s budget from Rs. 45 crore to Rs. 18.71 crore last fiscal.
“The 2016-17 budgetary allocation included a provision of Rs. 11.50 crore under revenue head in connection with the engagment of 35 consultants,” the Ministry said.
The panel pulled up the officials and said: “In a country like India, known worldwide for its highly skilled IT professionals, it is simply not acceptable that the non-availability of professionals was the reason for not filling the 35 posts of consultants.
The Committee feels that either the Ministry had failed to publicise the posts widely or the remuneration being offered was not attractive enough.
The Committee recommends that the Ministry needs to clear the confusion looming large over the NATGRID’s future by completing the construction of its main building at the earliest.”

Govt proposed a labour code to provide social security cover to the entire workforce

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has proposed a labour code which will provide social security cover to the entire workforce in the country, including self-employed and agricultural workers.
Even households employing domestic help will also have contribute towards schemes including provident fund and gratuity for the worker, according to a ‘draft code on Social Security and Welfare’ proposed by the Labour Ministry.
Factories employing even a single worker will have to contribute towards social security benefits, as per the proposal.
Every working person in the country will be covered under the social security code whether she belongs to the organised sector or the unorganised sector.
For the first time, we intend to cover agricultural workers along with self-employed people and target to provide social security benefits to 45 crore workers, Said a top labour ministry official, on conditions of anonymity.
A National Social Security Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, has been proposed to streamline and make policy on social security schemes related to all the ministries.
Other members would include: Finance Minister, Labour Minister, Health and Family Welfare Minister along with employer and employees’ representatives. The council will co-ordinate between central and State governments, monitor the implementation of social security schemes.

ICAR and ICRISAT would work together on crop improvement and agronomy programmes

In a bid to benefit small farmers in India and globally, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) would work together on crop improvement and agronomy programmes for grain legumes and dryland cereals.
ICAR and ICRISAT, recently signed an agreement in New Delhi, in which climate smart crops, smart food and digitalisation of breeding database were identified as some of the core areas of research.
The areas of focus over the next three years include - integrating systems modelling tools for upscaling climate resilient agriculture, developing genetic and genomic resources of finger millet and enhancing genetic gains for priority traits.
Meanwhile, ICRISAT director general Dr David Bergvinson said that dryland cereals and grain legumes are branded as smart foods – good for consumers, farmers and the planet as they diversify farming systems and help smallholder farmers adapt to climate change.
On crop improvement front, the pact will facilitate research on pigeonpea and chickpea for insect resistance.

:: International ::

Military action against North Korea an option for U.S.

Military action by the United States against nuclear-armed North Korea is an “option on the table” if the threat from the rogue regime escalates, Washington’s top diplomat Rex Tillerson said.
The strong comments from the Secretary of State, in Asia for his first foray into crisis management, appear to signal a sea change in American policy towards the isolated country.
Mr. Tillerson’s tour comes after a missile launch last week that Pyongyang described as a drill for an attack on U.S. bases in Japan.
The U.S. has 28,000 troops stationed in South Korea to defend it from the North, but the capital Seoul is within range of Pyongyang’s artillery and analysts believe any conflict could risk rapid escalation and heavy casualties.
Mr. Tillerson announced the end of United States’ “strategic patience” — the stance of the previous administration under Barack Obama. Under that previous policy.
the U.S. ruled out diplomatic engagement with the North until it made a tangible commitment to denuclearisation, hoping that internal stresses in the isolated country would bring about change.
Russia’s deputy Foreign Minister called for an end to a “vicious circle” of tough U.S. reactions to nuclear tests by Pyongyang, which in turn further escalate tensions on the peninsula.
Mr. Tillerson’s said in Tokyo that 20 years of efforts to denuclearise the North had “failed” and promised a new approach, without giving specifics.
Mr. Tillerson will head to Beijing to press it to do more. Beijing shares U.S. concerns, but has also blamed Washington for escalating tensions.
The issue is also made more complicated by the deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system to South Korea.

:: Business and Economy ::

Fresh DGCA norms for pilots taking naps

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued fresh guidelines for airlines to address communication lag while pilots are taking controlled rest during the flight.
The aviation regulator said the guidelines have been issued “in the wake of two incidents of radio communication failure involving Jet Airways and Air India aircraft in the European airspace”.
Both the London-bound planes had to be escorted by air force jets after they lost contact with the air traffic control.
The DGCA has asked airlines to maintain speaker volume “at an appropriate level” and not to switch it off or keep it at minimum level during the flight.

IDSA seeks action to stop unauthorised sale in e-commerce firms

The Indian Direct Selling Association (IDSA) has written to leading e-commerce firms, including Amazon, Flipkart and Paytm, seeking action to stop unauthorised sale of products from member companies such as Amway, Oriflame, Avon Beauty Products, Herbalife International, Modicare and Tupperware, on their platforms.
since e-commerce is booming, direct selling companies cannot turn a blind eye to the online retail channel.
According to a recent IDSA and PHD Chamber survey, active direct sellers in India stood at over 40.31 lakh in 2015-16.
The gross sales by the Indian direct selling industry stood at Rs. 83,085 million in 2015-16 and are pegged to grow to Rs. 2,58,261 million by 2024-25.
The association has reached out to Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, ShopClues and Paytm. While the first letter was sent out in November last year, a subsequent reminder was sent to the online marketplaces in January.
However, till now, ShopClues is the only firm to have responded positively. “They had told us that they will look into the matter and try to close the gaps. They had said they will ask sellers to furnish an authorisation letter before sale of such products.
As per the relevant clause of the guideline, any person who sells or offers for sale, including on an e-commerce platform/marketplace, any product or service of a direct selling entity, must have prior written consent from the direct selling entity to undertake such a sale.