Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 20 January 2022

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 20 January 2022

::NATIONAL::

Justice CT Selvam to head TN fourth police commission

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Wednesday announced the constitution of the fourth police commission under retired judge of the Madras High Court Justice C T Selvam.
The move, which fulfils the poll assurance of the DMK, would facilitate the commission to submit its recommendations to the government on the welfare of the police personnel and other aspects such as improving policing, preventing cyber crimes and making the men in khaki adopt a more humane approach to policing.
Retired IAS officer K Allauddin, retired IPS officer K Radhakrishnan, Dr C Ramasubramaniam and retired Prof Nalini Rao would be the members on the panel, an official press release here said. Senior police official Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal would be the member-secretary.

PM Modi to host India-Central Asia Summit on January 27

India announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host the first India-Central Asia summit in a virtual format on January 27 as part of the country’s engagement with the extended neighbourhood.
The development follows the government’s decision to go ahead with Republic Day celebrations on January 26 without any foreign leader as chief guest because of a surge in Covid-19 infections. Earlier, the Indian side had invited the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to be chief guests, though no formal announcement was made by any of the countries.
The external affairs ministry said the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan will participate in the virtual summit, described as the “first engagement of its kind between India and the Central Asian countries at the level of leaders.”
The summit reflects New Delhi’s growing engagement with the Central Asian states, part of India’s “extended neighbourhood”, and is symbolic of the importance attached by leaders of India and Central Asia to a comprehensive and enduring partnership, the ministry said.
Modi had visited all the Central Asian states in 2015, and there have been exchanges at high levels at bilateral and multilateral forums. The India-Central Asia Dialogue at the level of foreign ministers, the third meeting of which was held in New Delhi in December, has given impetus to relations between the two sides.
“The participation of the secretaries of National Security Councils of Central Asian countries in the Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan held in New Delhi on 10 November 2021 outlined a common regional approach on Afghanistan,” the external affairs ministry said.
This is the second year in a row that the Republic Day celebrations have been affected by the fallout of the pandemic. The rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in the past few weeks and recent violent protests in Kazakhstan, which resulted in the death of over 220 people, were factors that went against the participation of the Central Asian leaders, said people familiar with the matter.

::INTERNATIONAL::

Japan, France to hold talks amid China's growing assertiveness in Indo-Pacific

Amid China's growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region, the foreign and defense ministers of Japan and France will hold security talks virtually.
The Indo-Pacific region, where China's rise has stoked concern among many countries, is expected to top the agenda for the talks between both sides, Kyodo News reported.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said that the two countries share fundamental values and strategic interests and will promote their security collaboration during the online "two-plus-two" meeting, after the French Defense Ministry announced its schedule on Monday.
Hayashi said that he and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi will discuss a variety of topics including recent regional affairs in the first such talks since January 2019 with their respective French counterparts Jean-Yves Le Drian and Florence Parly, the Japanese news agency reported.
The countries had initially planned to hold an in-person two-plus-two meeting in Japan by the end of 2021 but put it off due to the coronavirus pandemic, lately fueled by the rapid spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant. They have generally taken turns hosting such talks since their first session in 2014.
It further reported that France, which has overseas territories in the region such as New Caledonia, released its Indo-Pacific strategy in 2018 to promote a stable and rules-based order.
Meanwhile, French troops last year for the first time carried out joint exercises with Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force and the United States on Japanese soil aimed at defending remote islands.
France is hoping to launch talks with Japan on a defense cooperation agreement to allow the easing of restrictions on the transportation of weapons and supplies for joint training and disaster relief operations, Kyodo News reported.

::ECONOMY::

RIL acquires 54% stake in robotics firm

Reliance Industries Ltd’s retail arm has purchased a 54% stake in Addverb Technologies, a Noida-based robotics company, for $132 million. Post the transaction, Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) will have four directors on the board of Addverb of a total of eight directors, according to Sangeet Kumar, co-founder and chief executive of Addverb Technologies.
The remaining stake in Addverb will be held by the founders.
Mint was the first to report on 28 December on the investment talks between billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries and Addverb.
“We, the founders of Addverb, were working for Asian Paints and used to visit many factories and warehouses the world over. We realized that every time we set up factories, many of the materials were procured from the US and Japan. We wondered why are we not making these in India as there is huge demand. That is when we realized that it is a big business opportunity, and we started Addverb,” Sangeet Kumar, co-founder and chief executive of Addverb Technologies, said in an interview.
Kumar said Addverb will continue to operate independently and will use the fresh funds from RRVL to expand overseas and also build one of India’s biggest robotics manufacturing facilities in Noida.
The investment in Addverb was made at a valuation of $265 million to $270 million, a company statement said.
“The strategic partnership with the RIL arm will help us leverage 5G, battery technology through new energy initiatives, advances in material sciences (carbon fibre) to deliver more advanced and affordable robots,” Kumar said.

‘A feature of their govts’: Sitharaman jabs Congress after SC ruling on Devas

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Supreme Court order upholding liquidation of the Devas Multimedia is a comprehensive one, while accusing the previous Congress-led UPA government of entering into a "fraud" and "scandalous" deal with the company by allocating S-band spectrum used by the defence for "pittance".
The deal was terminated amid allegations of corruption by the Manmohan Singh government in 2011.
Addressing a press conference, Sitharaman said, “Antrix appeared in agreement with Devas in 2005 during the UPA government. It was a fraud deal. Fraud on people of India. Fraud against the country.”
Sitharaman said this kind of selling of primary endowments like wavelengths, satellites or spectrum band, giving it away to private parties and making money from private parties and making a deal out if it marks the feature of the Congress governments.
“In 2011, when the whole thing was cancelled, Devas went to international arbitration. The government of India never appointed an arbitrator, was reminded to appoint arbitrator within 21 days, but the government did not appoint,” she added.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

Scientists develop Covid diagnosis test using X-rays, say it's 98% accurate

A group of scientists in Scotland has found a way to detect the presence of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) infection in a person using X-rays. The diagnosis test uses artificial intelligence (AI) to predict the presence of the virus inside a person.
They also said that it will be faster than the PCR test, which takes to hours to return a result.
“There has long been a need for a quick and reliable tool that can detect Covid-19, and this has become even more true with the upswing of the Omicron variant,” said Professor Naeem Ramzan, who led the three-person team at the UWS.
According to UWS researchers, the new technique utilises X-ray technology to compare scans to a database of around 3,000 images, belonging to patients with Covid-19, healthy individuals and those with viral pneumonia.
Professor Ramzan said that there are many countries are unable to carry out large numbers of Covid tests because of limited diagnosis tools. Their research utilises easily accessible technology to quickly detect the virus.
“It could prove to be crucial, and potentially life-saving, when diagnosing severe cases of the virus, helping determine what treatment may be required,” said the professor.
He, however, acknowledged that Covid-19 symptoms are not visible in X-rays during the early stages of infection so it cannot fully replace the PCR tests.

::SPORTS::

Sania Mirza says this season will be her last

The frustration, at times, was palpable on Sania Mirza’s face on court on Wednesday. The physical struggles for a 35-year-old competing in gusty, challenging conditions of Melbourne showing up ever so slightly.
Moments after losing her women’s doubles Australian Open first-round match partnering Nadiia Kichenok in straight sets, Mirza revealed the end of her pioneering professional tennis journey was nigh.
“I've decided that this will be my last season,” Mirza said in the post-match press conference after the 12th seeded Indian-Ukranian pair lost to Kaja Juvan and Tamara Zidansek 6-4, 7-6(5).
Mirza outlined several factors behind the decision: the body wearing down - she said she woke up with pain in her wrist a couple of days ago even as her right knee continued bothering her - the perils of travelling in a pandemic with a young child and having days where she just doesn’t feel up for it at 35.