Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 19 DECEMBER 2019

::NATIONAL::

Changes effected to criminal law after the Nirbhaya case haven’t yielded results and more rapes were reported than before in 2017, the Supreme Court said, even as it sought data from states and Union territories to reassess the efficacy of the criminal justice system in dealing with sexual offences against women.
As per the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau in India, 32,559 cases of rape were registered in 2017, the court noted.
The bench said that towards this end, it was necessary to call for information with regard to the state of affairs at the ground level from various duty-holders, such as investigation agencies, prosecution, medico-forensic agencies, rehabilitation and legal aid agencies and also high courts.
A bench issued notices to all state police chiefs and high court registrar generals. The bench will now take stock of the system on February 7, 2020.
It sought status reports on how police stations were functioning and if any public servant had faced FIRs under the new Section 166A of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2013, for failing to record any information about such offences and also against hospitals for not treating the victims free.

The Supreme Court has decided to examine the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, CAA.However, the Court refused to stay its operation as sought by some lawyers appearing for petitioners.
Attorney General KK Venugopal, representing the Centre, opposed the petitioners' submission. He said there are as many as four judgements which have held that a law cannot be stayed after being notified.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India S ABobde and Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant fixed 59 petitions, including those filed by the Indian Union Muslim League and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, for hearing on the 22nd of January.

The Goods and Services Tax or GST Council has fixed a uniform tax rate of 28 per cent on both state-run and private lottery.It also decided to rationalise the GST rate on woven and non-woven bags to 18 per cent.
The decisions were taken at the 38th meeting of the Council, chaired by Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman in New Delhi yesterday.
Briefing reporters after the meeting Revenue Secretary Ajay BhushanPandey said the rates on the lottery and woven and non-woven bags will be effective from the 1st of March next year.
The GST Council also decided to exempt upfront amount payable for long term lease of industrial and financial infrastructure plots by an entity having 20 per cent or more ownership of Central or State Government.

Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar today launched Phase-III of PradhanMantri Gram SadakYojana in New Delhi to further enhance connectivity of villages with hospitals, schools and agricultural markets.
The Phase-III of PMGSY aims at consolidation of 1 lakh 25 thousand Kilometers through Routes and Major Rural Links that connect habitations to Gramin Agricultural Markets, Higher Secondary Schools and Hospitals with an estimated cost of 80 thousand 250 crore rupees for the period 2019-20 to 2024-25.
The Central Share will be 53 thousand 800 crore rupees. The funding pattern for the scheme will be 60:40 between Centre and the States. For North-East and the Himalayan States the ratio will be 90:10.
Addressing a gathering, Mr Tomar said that PMGSY is an important program for the nation. The Minister hailed the vision of former Prime Minister AtalBihari Vajpayee and said that he was determined to complete this difficult task and it was his vision and efforts that today more than 6 Lakh Kilometres of Roads have been constructed across rural India.

The United States and India discussed a range of strategic and security issues including counter-terrorism at the second 2 plus 2 dialogue in Washington yesterday.
The two sides signed an industrial security agreement that will allow the transfer of defence technology.
The 2 plus 2 dialogue was held at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo along with Defense Secretary Mark Esper hosted their Indian counterparts External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for the highest-level dialogue between the two countries.
During a press conference by the four leaders, Mr Esper said the US is working with India on a fair and reciprocal trade deal. He said the US-India defence relationship is strong and continues to improve.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said India and US have a common vision of a free, seamless and peaceful Indo-Pacific region. He said they are moving ahead to operationalise the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement.

India should take “urgent action” to tackle air pollution as the levels of toxic air in many cities of the country are much higher than the recommended guidelines, which could have a major impact on people's health, WHO Director Maria Neira said.
Several studies conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), Centre for Science and Environment and others published in journals such as The Lancet have linked pollution with premature deaths in India.
Union Environment Minister PrakashJavadekar recently told the Parliament that there was no Indian study to show any correlation between pollution and shortening of lifespan.
Around 12.4 lakh deaths in India in 2017 can be attributed to air pollution, it said, terming toxic air a leading risk factor for deaths in the country.
The study also noted that the average life expectancy would have been 1.7 years higher if the pollution levels were less than the minimal level responsible for causing health loss.
WHO air quality guidelines estimate that reducing annual average fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations from levels of 35 microgrammes per cubic metre (µg/m3) to 10 µg/m3, could reduce air pollution-related deaths by around 15 per cent.

India won the second ODI against the West Indies by 107 runs at Visakhapatanam last night.Chasing a target of 388 runs, the West Indies were all out for 280. With this win, India levelled the three-match series 1-1.
Spinner KuldipYadav achieved a hat-trick during the second ODI. He became the first India player to claim two hat-tricks in international cricket, joining an elite band that includes pace legend WasimAkram.
For India, an opening partnership of 227 runs between Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul laid the platform for the home side to post 387-5 in 50 overs. Rohit Sharma smashed 159 whereas KL Rahul scored 102.