Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 21 February 2016

:: NATIONAL :

JAT protest paralyses Haryana

Violence triggered by the Jat agitation for reser- vation spread to more areas in Haryana on Saturday, with reports saying protesters set fire to vehicles and public and private property and blocked roads and the rail- way track. Four persons were reportedly killed and several injured in the State as security forces opened fire.
Security personnel resort- ed to firing after protests erupted in Rohtak and Jhaj- jar districts, taking the death toll to five. A hospital oicial in Rohtak said two persons were brought dead to the Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) in Rohtak and one critically injured patient died after an operation.
Curfew has been clamped in more towns, including Jind, Hisar, Hansi, Sonipat and Gohana.

Referendum in Britain for European Union membership

British Prime Minister David Cameron called a June 23 referendum on member- ship of the European Union as he sought to rally his divided Conservative Party behind a deal which he said would guarantee Britain’s prosperity and security in the bloc.
After spelling out details of the deal -- clinched at an EU summit in Brussels -- to his senior Ministers, Mr. Cameron said he had secured the Cabinet’s backing to recommend to voters that Britain stay in the bloc it joined in 1973.
The agreement granted Britain an explicit exemption from the founding goal of an “ever closer union”, offered concessions on the welfare rights of migrant workers andsafeguards for the City of London.

Matribhasha Diwas to be observed on March 3 by Universities and colleges

Universities and colleges across the country will now have to mark March 3 on their calendars.
While educational institutions thought they do not have to conduct any activities on ‘Matribhasha Diwas’ on February 21 as it happens to be a Sunday, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked them to observe the day on March 3 instead.
‘Matribhasha Diwas’ is otherwise observed as International Mother Language Day across the world.
The theme for 2016 is ‘Quality education, language(s) of instruction and learning outcomes.’
According to an earlier letter by the UGC to education institutions, they are expected to organise “elocution, debating, singing, essay writing competitions, painting competitions, music and drama performances, exhibitions, online resources and activities.

Noble laureate Satyarthi wants more budgetary allocation to Children

Though children below 18 years of age constitute 41 per cent of the country’s population, the budgetary allocation for them remains dismal, child rights campaigner and Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi said.
He said: “India is proud of being the youngest society in the world… We all talk about demographic dividend but when it comes to investment on children, on their health, education and protection, it is dismal I would say. This is only four per cent or less of the budget on children health edu- cation and protection.”
Mr. Satyarthi also said no country could accomplish inclusivity and sustain development, along with social developmentand peace, unless it gave priority to the health and education of its children.
Speaking on the proposed amendments to the existing law on child labour, he ex- pressed the hope that Parliament would pass a progressive law.
While the existing law identified 83 hazardous occupations prohibiting children from working, Mr. Satyarthi said the proposed amendment reduced the number of hazardous occupations only to three.

:: INTERNATIONAL ::

Britain’s exit from European Union will have far-fetched repercussions

A British exit from the European Union would rock the Union — already shaken by differences over migration and the future of the euro zone — by ripping away its second-largest economy, one of its top two military powers and by far its richest financial centre.
Pro-Europeans warn an exit could also trigger the break-up of the United King- dom by prompting another Scottish independence vote.
The $2.9-trillion British economy would face years of uncertain negotiations over the terms of a divorce.
Prime Minister David Cameron is due to make a statement to Parliament on Monday, triggering the start of the campaign for the referendum on EU membership he called after striking a deal with the Union.
Opponents of EU membership say Britain would pros- per outside what they say is a doomed Germany-dominated bloc that punches way below its weight on the world stage.
The issue of Europe has divided the Conservatives for three decades and played a major part in the downfall of Cameron’s two Conservative predecessors, Margaret Thatcher and John Major.

:: INDIA and World ::

India, Nepal sign seven accords

India and Nepal signed seven agreements at a summit meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepal counterpart K.P. Sharma Oli, even as leaders of the Madhesi people in Nepal threatened one more blockade.
Addressing the press after the signing ceremony at the Hyderabad House, Mr.Oli said that both sides were determined to avoid the disruption of Nepal’s transit facilities as experienced over the past five months.
Referring to Nepal’s dependence on India for receiving essential commodities, Mr.Oli said without naming Madhesi protesters, “Unscrupulous elements should not be allowed to abuse the open borders between Nepal and India”.
Though both the sides tried to address the grievances of the pro-blockade agitators by agreeing to build a road network in the Madhesregion, the leaders of the Madhesis are planning more agitation.

:: BUSINESS and ECONOMY ::

XIV finance commission members wants Independent council for budget

Members of the XIV Finance Commission have questioned the government’s failure to act on its recommendation to constitute an Independent Fiscal Council that objectively evaluates budget announcements and forecasts, stressing that such an institution was critical to improve the government’s credibility on fiscal management.
The Centre opts for creative accounting, pauses or simply doesn’t follow the targets it has submitted toParliament under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act of 2003.
States have constraints in managing their finances as the RBI controls their defi- cit and cannot float a bond on a state’s behalf without the Centre’s approval. Since the 2003 FRBM law came into effect, there have been four pauses in the def- icit targets enshrined in it and a few occasions where the targets have been flout- ed.
The Commission had recommended a sharp in- crease in allocations to state governments in its re- port released last February, which the government accepted.
It had also mootedan Independent Fiscal Council as an oversight body over the finance ministry.
The council would report to the Parliament on how realistic government projections are, citing similar independent budget and fiscal management monitoring offices in 35 countries.

Christine Lagarde says spillovers are necessary for G20

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said that G20 finance ministers and central bank governors should focus on global economic spillovers from their policy decisions when they meet in Shanghai.
The G20, is going to have to focus on spillovers, on spillbacks and on the combination of various policies in play at the moment.
Lagarde said that at the moment, the “asynchronicity” of U.S., Japanese and European monetary policies needed to be reviewed and practices better coordinated.
She also said that G20 ministers should examine the interactions of their countries' fiscal policies and structural reform moves.

Banks require holistic cure

Even as mounting bad loans have put Indian banks in a pincer-like situation, the idea of a government-backed ‘bad bank’ has kicked of quite a debate.
‘Bad bank’ concept allows a government-supported entity to buy bad loans from stressed banks at a fair price (dis- count). Such an entity will then be responsible for recovering the debt.
The objective is simple – to help banks clean up their books, and use their capital resources (which are other- wise locked up in making pro- vision for bad loans) for funding the growth in credit needs.
The current debate also comes close on the heels of Italy and the EU inking an agreement to allow the Italian banks sell their NPA (non- performing assets) portfolios to private investors with government guarantee.
Pointing out that these public sector banks are backed by the Government, he has argued against creating a new entity.
A national asset reconstruction company (ARC) or `bad bank’ – given its size and expertise - can fetch multiple advantages to stakeholders, and bring about a quicker resolution to the recovery problems posed by the NPA imbroglio.
The NPA levels of these banks are over Rs.3 lakh crore. How much of these can be ab- sorbed by such an ARC or`bad bank’? Even allowing for a discounted price for such purchases, the effort requires quite a funding from the Government.
A resource-constrained Government will have difficulty in providing money for this. Elsewhere in the globe, national ARCs were funded by issuing long-term Government-guaranteed bonds.