Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 19 September 2018

SSC CGL Current Affairs

::NATIONAL::

The Government has decided to incorporate the provision of penalties for States and Insurance Companies for the delay in settlement of insurance claims under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
This crucial provision is part of the new operational guidelines issued by the Govt for the implementation of PMFBY.
The farmers will be paid 12% interest by insurance companies for the delay in settlement claims beyond two months of prescribed cut-off date. State Governments will have to pay 12% interest for the delay in release of State share of subsidy beyond three months of prescribed cut-off date submission of requisition by insurance companies. The new operational guidelines come at the onset of the rabi season, which starts from 1st of October.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has broadly accepted the recommendations of the H.R. Khan Committee on Know-Your-Client requirements for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), while lowering the total expense ratio (TER) for open-ended equity schemes, thereby making it less expensive for investors to invest in mutual funds.
The board of the capital markets regulator, which met here on Tuesday, decided to amend the contentious circular issued in April and issue a separate circular to address the concerns raised by overseas investors
In another major decision, the regulator has capped the maximum expense ratio at 1.05% for open-ended equity schemes with assets under management (AUM) in excess of Rs. 50,000 crore. Currently, schemes with AUM in excess of Rs. 300 crore charge 1.75% as total expense ratio.
The regulator has framed the SEBI (Settlement Proceedings) Regulations 2018 which bar offences that cause a market wide impact, loss to investors or affects the integrity of the market, to be settled through the consent route.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed penalties upon 18 sugar mills and 2 Associations (Indian Sugar Mills Association and Ethanol Manufacturers Association of India) for rigging the bids in respect of a Joint Tender floated by Oil Marketing Companies (HPCL/ BPCL/ IOCL) on 02.01.2013 for procurement of ethanol for blending with petrol.
The Informant (India Glycols Limited), however, alleged that Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) and Ethanol Manufacturers Association of India (EMAI) persuaded the OMCs to come-out with a Joint Tender for the purpose of procuring ethanol.
The said joint tendering by OMCs was alleged to be an Agreement amongst horizontal players to procure ethanol from various suppliers in contravention of the provisions of Section 3 of the Competition Act, 2002 (‘the Act’) which was likely to cause appreciable adverse effect on competition within India in supply and distribution of ethanol.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, today jointly unveiled e-plaques for the ground-breaking ceremony of two projects, via video conference. External Affairs Minister of India, Ms.SushmaSwaraj, and Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, also joined the proceedings.
The projects include: (a) India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (b) Dhaka-Tongi-Joydebpur Railway Project

The trade rivalry between the U.S. and China escalated to an unprecedented level on Tuesday, with both countries announcing new tariffs on imports from each other.
The U.S. has announced 10% tariff on $200 billion of imports from China, whose retaliatory tariffs between 5% and 10% will apply on $60 billion of imports from the U.S. The new tariffs on both sides will go into effect on September 24.
With the new announcements, U.S. tariffs will apply to $250 billion of Chinese goods and Chinese tariffs will apply to $110 billion of U.S. goods. The rate of the new tariffs will be raised to 25% by the end of 2018, the U.S. administration has said.
Around 5,000 American items are expected to face the new measures, including aircraft, soya bean oil, smoked beef, coffee and flour, according to a provisional list released last month.

An estimated 6.3 million children under 15 years of age died in 2017, or one every five seconds, mostly of preventable causes, according to the new mortality estimates released by UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Population Division and the World Bank Group on Tuesday.
The report notes that for children everywhere, the most risky period of life is the first month. In 2017, 2.5 million newborns died in their first month while 5.4 million deaths — occur in the first five years of life, with newborns accounting for around half of the deaths.
Also, a baby born in sub-Saharan Africa or in South Asia was nine times more likely to die in the first month than a baby born in a high-income country. And progress towards saving newborns has been slower than for children under five years of age since 1990.

Miffed with the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), grappler Pinki on Tuesday refused to turn up for the World Championship re-trial, paving the way for Ritu Phogat’s selection in the 53kg category.
Pinki, who had a disappointing Asian Games but had won a gold medal at the Yasar Dogu International before heading to Jakarta, had actually booked a place for herself in the 53kg for both the Asian Games and the World Championship when the trials were held earlier in Lucknow.