Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 19 April 2022

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 19 April 2022

::NATIONAL::

In a first, retired Supreme Court judge RohintonNariman sets up YouTube channel

The pace of developments in technology and the ability of social media to bring the world closer have transcended professional disciplines and stereotypes. Justice Rohinton F Nariman has created a classic example of embracing this rapid innovation by becoming the first retired Supreme Court judge to start an official YouTube channel.
The channel, called ‘Justice Nariman Official Channel’, went live on April 16 showcasing 48 full-length videos of his lectures on law, history, religion, music, spirituality among several other topics. Most of these lectures were delivered during his tenure as a Supreme Court judge.
According to people familiar with the development, starting a YouTube channel was justice Nariman’s idea that he nurtured with a lawyer friend, and worked on it for almost a month before making it live on Saturday last week. As of Monday evening, the channel had about 1.37k followers.
Ordained a Parsi priest at the age of 12, justice Nariman left the Supreme Court in August 2021 following an eventful tenure of seven years.
There are a number of firsts one can associate with justice Nariman. His trajectory as a lawyer and as a judge has been exceptional from the word go. No less than the then Chief Justice of India had to make sure he donned the twin coat with gown. In 1993, then CJI MN Venkatachaliah amended the rules to designate him as a senior advocate at the young age of 37 against the mandatory 45.
He was appointed Solicitor General of India in July 2011 and served till February 2013 when he resigned from the post reportedly due to difference of opinion with then Union law minister, Ashwani Kumar, on certain crucial cases pending before the top court.
In July 2014, he was elevated to the Supreme Court as a judge, earning yet another distinction of becoming only the fifth lawyer in the judicial history to be directly appointed from the bar.
As a judge, justice Nariman was associated with several path-breaking verdicts. Some of his landmark verdicts include quashing the much-abused Section 66A of the Information Technology Act that authorised police to arrest people for social media posts construed offensive; expediting the trial in the Babri demolition case; declaring privacy as a fundamental right; striking down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalised homosexuality and holding instant triple talaq as null and void.

::INTERNATIONAL::

Zelenskyy announces start of Russia's offensive in east Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday said Russia's large-scale offensive in the eastern Donbas region had begun.
"We can now confirm that Russian troops have begun the battle for the Donbas, which they have been preparing for a long time. A large part of the Russian army is now dedicated to this offensive," he said on Telegram.
"No matter how many Russian soldiers are brought here, we will fight. We will defend ourselves."
Fighting has intensified in eastern Ukraine after Russia withdrew troops from the region around the capital Kyiv and refocused its efforts on the Donbas region that pro-Moscow separatists have partly controlled since 2014.
Shortly before Zelenskyy's address, the regional governor of the eastern Lugansk region SergiyGaiday also announced the beginning of Russia's much-anticipated attack.
"It's hell. The offensive has begun, the one we've been talking about for weeks. There's constant fighting in Rubizhne and Popasna, fighting in other peaceful cities," he said on Facebook.
Russian shelling killed at least eight civilians in eastern Ukraine on Monday, according to local authorities.
Gaiday said four people died as they tried to flee the city of Kreminna in Lugansk, which Russian forces captured.
In the neighbouring region of Donetsk, regional governor PavloKyrylenko said four other civilians died after Russian bombardment.
A large Russian offensive in the Donbas region had been predicted by Ukraine's army for weeks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he launched the military operation to save the region's Russian-speaking population from a "genocide" carried out by a "neo-Nazi" Kyiv regime.

::ECONOMY::

HDFC Bank Q4 net up 23% to Rs 10,055 crore due to lower provisions

HDFC Bank reported a 22.8 per cent year-on-year increase in net profit for the Jan-March quarter to Rs 10,055.2 crore, compared to Rs 8186 crore the same period of the previous year. The rise is mainly due to reduction in provisions by almost Rs 1300 crore.
Provision for the fourth quarter of the previous financial year was at Rs 3312 crore, compared to Rs 4693 crore in the Jan-March period of 2020-21. Total provisions consisted of specific loan loss provisions of Rs 1,778.2 crore and general and other provisions of Rs 1,534.2 crore.
“Total provisions for the current quarter included contingent provisions of approximately Rs 1,000 crore,” said the bank, which is the country’s largest private sector lender. The total credit cost ratio was at 0.96 per cent, as compared to 0.94 per cent for the quarter ending December 31, 2021 and 1.64 per cent for the quarter ending March 31, 2021.
The net interest income of the bank grew by 10.2 per cent to Rs 18,872.7 crore on the back of 20.8% growth in advances. The bank said the loan growth came from across products and segments. Retail advances grew by 15.2 per cent, commercial and rural banking loan products grew by 30.4% while wholesale loans registered a growth of 17.4 per cent.

::Science and tech::

After failed tests, NASA's Moon rocket heads back to workshop

NASA's Space Launch System rocket is heading back to its assembly building for repairs next week, pushing the earliest possible launch date for its uncrewed test flight to the Moon to later this summer, officials.
Since April 1 the space agency has been unsuccessfully attempting a key "wet dress rehearsal" test, so dubbed because it involves loading liquid propellant.
The procedure is meant as a run-through of launch operations, including a final countdown to within ten seconds before blast off, but without actually firing the engines.
But NASA teams have encountered several technical hitches.
These included a leak involving flammable liquid hydrogen, a faulty valve that prevented fueling of the upper stage and running low on supply of nitrogen that is used to purge oxygen from the rocket prior to tanking operations, for safety reasons.
The rocket, which is 322 feet (98 meters) tall with the Orion crew capsule fixed on top, will begin its slow journey back from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39B to the vehicle assembly building on April 26, where it will be repaired.
Asked what this might mean for the earliest opportunity to launch the Artemis-1 test flight to the Moon and back, senior official Tom Whitmeyer said: "I think the early June window would be challenging."
NASA had previously envisaged a test flight as early as May.
There are subsequent launch windows in July and in August. These depend on factors like the relative positions of the Earth and Moon, as well as how long the rocket will have to fly in an eclipse, since it requires the Sun to keep it powered and thermally regulated.
A delay in Artemis-1 will have a cascading effect on subsequent missions -- Artemis-2, the first uncrewed test flight around the Moon, and Artemis-3, which will see the first woman and first person of color touch down on the lunar south pole.

::Sports::

Overseas player of DC tests Covid positive, squad's travel to Pune delayed

An overseas player in the Delhi Capitals team has tested positive for COVID-19, forcing the franchise to delay its travel to Pune for its next IPL match against Punjab Kings.
It is understood that an Australian all-rounder showed some symptoms and a Rapid Antigen Test was performed which came positive.
"DC were supposed to travel to Pune today but the entire squad members have been told to retire to their respective rooms and as per protocol RT PCR is being done to ascertain whether there is an outbreak in the camp or it is an isolated case like Patrick Farhart," a BCCI source told PTI.