Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 20 January 2017

:: National ::

PM said he would support Tamil Nadu government on the jallikattu

In a mixed message on the possible resumption of jallikattu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he would be supportive of steps taken by the Tamil Nadu government on the issue, while stressing that the matter was sub judice.
Soon after a meeting with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam in the national capital, Mr. Modi tweeted, “While appreciating the cultural significance of jallikattu, the Prime Minister observed that the matter is presently sub judice.”
In another tweet, the Prime Minister added, “The Centre would be supportive of steps taken by the State government.”

Debt Recovery Tribunal allowed banks to recover its dues from kingfisher

Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) said dues of Rs. 6,203.35 crore should be paid “jointly and severally” by KAL and its guarantors United Breweries (Holdings) Ltd and liquor baron Vijay Mallya, and Kingfisher Finvest (India) Ltd.
Also, they will have to pay an interest at the rate of 11.5 % per annum on the dues with yearly rests from the date of the application till the date of completion of realisation.
DRT’s presiding officer delivered the verdict while allowing the banks’ application filed in 2013 seeking issuance of recovery certificate from the tribunal. \
In the event of failure of KAL and its guarantors to pay the due amount with interest, the DRT said, the applicant banks are at liberty to sell the hypothecated/mortgaged/movable/immovable properties.
Also the SBI-led consortium is permitted to proceed against the persons and other properties of KAL and its guarantors as per law if the banks fail to fully realise the dues, despite sale of the schedule properties.
The banks have been directed to submit a memo of calculation comprising due amount with interest, costs etc., after deducting any amount realised through sale of assets.
Pointing out that Siddarth Mallya, son of Mr. Vijay Mallya, is not made as a party to the proceedings, the DRT clarified that “this order will not in anyway affect the rights of Siddarth Mallya.
DRT said if both the SCB and Diageo “knowingly were dealing with a wilful defaulter...they cannot be held to be bona fide purchasers and for such acts of such persons this tribunal cannot have sympathy.”

Alok Kumar Verma appointed as Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation

The Narendra Modi government appointed Alok Kumar Verma, currently Delhi’s Police Commissioner, as Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation. The 1979-batch IPS officer has never served the premier agency in the past.
“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Mr. Verma as the new CBI chief for two years,” said an official spokesperson.
The decision was taken at a meeting of a high-power panel comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar and leader of the largest Opposition party in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge.
Mr. Verma has earlier held the post of Director-General of Tihar Central Jail. He has also served as DGP in Puducherry and Mizoram.

:: Science and Technology ::

Gorillas, monkeys, lemurs and other primates are in danger of becoming extinct

Gorillas, monkeys, lemurs and other primates are in danger of becoming extinct, and scientists say it’s the fault of the human race that its closest living relatives are in trouble, a new international study warns.
About 60 per cent of the more than 500 primate species are “now threatened with extinction” and three out of four primate species have shrinking populations.
While scientists had tracked dwindling numbers of individuals and groups of primates in forests around the world, this is the first big-picture look. The result was “a bigger wake-up call” than previously thought.
The decline has been blamed on human activities including hunting, mining and oil drilling. Logging, ranching and farming have also destroyed precious habitat in Africa, Asia and South America.
Primates, which include apes, monkeys and humans, have forward-facing eyes and grasping ability that set them apart from other mammals. Scientists study them to learn about human behaviour and evolution.
Much of the problems faced by primates are recent. For example, the Grauer’s gorilla dropped from a population of 17,000 in 1995 to just about 3,800 now, mostly from bushmeat hunting and mineral mining, the study found.
About 94 per cent of the lemur species in the world are endangered, especially in Madagascar, which is one of hardest-hit places for primate population loss.

Indian Space Research Organisation plans to fly GSLV- Mark III

A milestone crossed in the making of a new cryogenic rocket engine set the stage for the first flight of the country’s most powerful satellite launcher to date, the GSLV-Mark III.
The cryogenic stage and the entire launch vehicle’s readiness is closer to fruition after the engine, technically called CE20, passed the ‘high altitude flight acceptance test’ lasting about 25 seconds.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to fly its new launch vehicle powered by this new engine around March, and send the 3,200 kg GSAT-19 communication satellite to space on it.
The launch was earlier slated for December 2016. MkIII, when it completes trials and commences functioning in the coming years, will double ISRO’s lifting power for communications satellites to 4,000 kilos.
Rocket’s complete cryogenic third stage, replete with fuel tanks and systems built around the engine, will undergo its qualifying test.
The cryogenic stage is vital for a GSLV rocket as it gets its final and biggest push in space from this stage; it can take a big communications satellite to higher reaches of 36,000 km above ground.
The C25 cryogenic stage was approved at an estimated Rs. 600 crore as part of the overall Rs. 2,500-crore MkIII launcher project.

:: Business and Economy ::

The Centre has so far awarded prize money to over 3.81 lakh consumers

The Centre has so far awarded Rs. 60.9 crore as prize money to over 3.81 lakh consumers and 21,000 merchants under its two lucky draw schemes – Lucky Grahak Yojana and Digi-Dhan Vyapar Yojana – announced to boost digital payments post demonetisation.
The winners, an official release said, includes small farmers, anganwadi workers, housewives and labourers.
“Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka have emerged as the top five states with the maximum number of winners,” Niti Aayog said adding that most of the winners were in the age group of 21-30 yrs.
The two schemes, aimed at “incentivising the consumers and the merchants to promote digital payments,” were unveiled on December 25 last year and will remain open till April 14.
The Niti Aayog statement said over 100 Digi-Dhan Melas, where lucky draws are organised, will be held across the country “to inculcate digital payment among the people”.
Additionally, the Common Service Centres (CSCs) have so far trained about 1.94 crore citizens and 5.93 lakh merchants on transacting using digital payment systems.
National Informatics Centre or NIC is the technology infrastructure arm of the government and plays a key role in Digital India. As a pilot project, 150 District NIC offices would be upgraded during 2017-18.

Tax department has asked banks to report deposits Rs. 10 lakh in a year

The tax department has asked banks to report deposits in any account aggregating Rs. 10 lakh in a year, as well as cash payments of Rs. 1 lakh or more on credit card bills.
Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) listed cash transactions which need to be reported to tax authorities and set up an e-platform for doing so.
It reiterated its November 2016 instruction asking banks to report all cash deposits of Rs. 2.5 lakh or more made in one or more accounts of a person during November 9 to December 30, 2016.
Post demonetisation of old Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000, the government had allowed the junked currency to be deposited in bank accounts during a 50-day window ending December 30, 2016.
Also, cash deposits during April 1, 2016 to November 9, 2016 in any account that are reportable should also be intimated to the the tax authorities by January 31, 2017, the notification said.
It made it mandatory for a banking company or a cooperative bank to report cash deposits aggregating to Rs. 10 lakh or more in a financial year, in one or more accounts (other than a current account and time deposit) of a person.

CCI has imposed penalties on three firms for bid rigging of tenders by Railways

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed penalties totalling about Rs. 2.92 crore on three firms for bid rigging of tenders floated by Indian Railways for procuring brushless DC fans in 2013.
The CCI imposed a penalty of Rs. 2.09 crore, Rs. 62.37 lakh and Rs. 20.01 lakh on Western Electric and Trading Company, Pyramid Electronics and R. Kanwar Electricals respectively.
“CCI has held that the firms had shared the market by way of allocation of tenders of Indian Railways for Brushless DC fans amongst themselves under an agreement/ arrangement and indulged in bid rigging or collusive bidding,” an official statement said.