Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 18 September 2021

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 18 September 2021

::NATIONAL::

InduMalhotra appointed as DDCA Ombudsman

Former Supreme Court judge and one of India's foremost legal luminaries, Justice (Retired) InduMalhotra will be the new Ombudsman cum Ethics Officer of Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA).
The DDCA's general body, headed by its president RohanJaitley, decided on 65-year-old Justice (Retd) Malhotra's appointment.
"A number of decisions were taken at the general body meeting on the day and Justice (Retd) InduMalhotra's appointment for a period of one year was made. She will be assuming charge soon," DDCA director Dinesh Sharma told PTI .
It is learnt that DDCA president Jaitley had personally approached Malhotra to take up the Ombudsman's post after it was vacated by Justice BadarDurrez Ahmed.
In 2007, Malhotra was designated senior advocate by the Supreme Court and she became only the second woman to be designated by the apex court after a gap of three decades.
She has been appointed amicus curiae by different benches of the Supreme Court in some matters.

::INTERNATIONAL::

China applied to join the Asia-Pacific Free Trade

The move comes the day after a historic security deal between the US, UK and Australia was unveiled.
The pact that eventually became the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), was created by the US to counter China's influence.
However, former President Donald Trump pulled the US out of it in 2017.
Chinese commerce minister Wang Wentao said the world's second largest economy had submitted its application to join the free trade agreement in a letter to New Zealand's trade minister, Damien O'Connor.
New Zealand acts as the administrative centre for the pact.
Mr Wang and Mr O'Connor then held a telephone conference to discuss the next steps following China's application, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said.
The original Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was promoted by then-President Barack Obama as an economic bloc to challenge China's increasingly powerful position in the Asia Pacific.
After Mr Trump pulled the US out of the deal, Japan led negotiations to create what became the CPTPP.

::ECONOMY::

Indian Railways launched “Rail Kaushal Vikas Yojana”

Indian Railways on Friday (September 17) launched Rail KaushalVikasYojana (RKVY) to impart skill training to youth in remote areas. Under this scheme, the ministry will also set up mobile skill training units to improve reach in remote areas, said Railways Minister AshwiniVaishnaw.
The Union Minister told ANI, "Indian Railways has launched KaushalVikasYojana. Under this scheme, 50,000 children will receive skill training in remote areas. We will also be setting up mobile skill training units to improve our reach in remote areas."
The move is to empower youth by providing them entry-level training in industry-relevant skills through railway training institutes as part of `AzadikaAmritMahotsav` commemorating 75 years of independence, according to Railways Minister AshwiniVaishnaw.
Under the aegis of PradhanMantriKaushalVikasYojana (PMKVY), the RKVY was launched today in Rail Bhavan.
Vaishnaw said, "The vision of skill development is an integral part of the vision of prime minister and 50,000 youths will be trained under RKVY. The aim of this initiative is to impart training skills to the youth in various trades to bring qualitative improvement."

Cabinet approves Eklavya Model Residential School

Boost to educational infrastructure in tribal areas, 462 new Eklavya Model Residential Schools to set up
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister NarendraModi has given its in-principle approval for setting up of Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs) in every block with more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 tribal persons. To begin with, the CCEA has approved a financial cost of Rs 2242.03 crore during 2018-19 and 2019-20 for rolling out the revamped scheme.

The CCEA has further approved the following:

* There will be an Autonomous Society under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs similar to NavodayaVidyalayaSamiti to run the EMRSs.
* Upgradation of already sanctioned EMRSs on need basis with unit cost subject to a maximum of Rs 5 crore per school.
* Setting up sports facilities in 163 tribal dominated districts at a unit cost of Rs 5 crore each to be constructed by the year 2022. Financial provisions for 15 sports facilities during 2018-19 and 2019-20 has been agreed to.
* Enhancing the grants for maintenance which are admissible every five years from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 Lakh.

Details:

* 102 of such blocks are already having EMRSs. Thus, 462 new EMRSs will be established in these blocks across the country.
* The new scheme envisages increase in construction cost of EMRS from current Rs.12 crore to Rs. 20 crore to improve the construction quality and ensure better facilities for the students.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

ISRO to develop reusable GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle

GSLV MkIII, chosen to launch Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft, is a three-stage heavy lift launch vehicle developed by ISRO. The vehicle has two solid strap-ons, a core liquid booster and a cryogenic upper stage.
GSLV Mk III is designed to carry 4 ton class of satellites into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) or about 10 tons to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which is about twice the capability of the GSLV Mk II.
The two strap-on motors of GSLV Mk III are located on either side of its core liquid booster. Designated as ‘S200’, each carries 205 tons of composite solid propellant and their ignition results in vehicle lift-off. S200s function for 140 seconds. During strap-ons functioning phase, the two clustered Vikas liquid Engines of L110 liquid core booster will ignite 114 sec after lift -off to further augment the thrust of the vehicle. These two engines continue to function after the separation of the strap-ons at about 140 seconds after lift -off.
The first experimental flight of LVM3, the LVM3-X/CARE mission lifted off from Sriharikota on December 18, 2014 and successfully tested the atmospheric phase of flight. Crew module Atmospheric Reentry Experiment was also carried out in this flight. The module reentered, deployed its parachutes as planned and splashed down in the Bay of Bengal.
The first developmental flight of GSLV Mk III, the GSLV-Mk III-D1 successfully placed GSAT-19 satellite to a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) on June 05, 2017 from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota.
GSLV MkIII-D2, the second developmental flight of GSLV MkIII successfully launched GSAT-29, a high throughput communication satellite on November 14, 2018 from SatishDhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota
GSLV MkIII-M1, successfully injected Chandrayaan-2, India’s second Lunar Mission, in to Earth Parking Orbit on July 22, 2019 from SatishDhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota

::SPORTS::

Germany, Portugal attack plans for 2-year soccer World Cup cycle

The German and Portuguese soccer federations issued strong critiques of plans to hold the men's World Cup every two years, warning it means players risk more injuries and that women's competitions will be overshadowed.
FIFA claimed Thursday it has the support of fans for the World Cup to be held more often. European soccer body UEFA and South American counterpart CONMEBOL are against the idea and have said they could boycott extra tournaments.
The board of the German federation, known as the DFB, said FIFA had sidestepped its own ruling council by proposing the plans first to a group of former players, and that drastic changes “cannot be made without the approval of European associations and European soccer.”