Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 21 November 2016

:: National ::

NITI Aayog vice-chairman believes by 2018-19 India will certainly reach 8% growth

“By 2019, we should certainly touch 8 per cent. I don’t know if for the full year of 2018-19, we will get 8 per cent or not, but I know by the end of it, third or fourth quarter, we should be touching 8 per cent,” the NITI Aayog vice-chairman said.
Mr. Panagariya explained that the Goods and Services Tax regime that the government hopes to roll out from April 1, 2017 “will lead to some disruption” in the beginning.
“Since it’s a new system that will be put in place, many companies which are not in the tax base would come into it. So there will be learning for both the government, who is implementing it and for firms,” he said.
India’s gross domestic product was estimated to have grown at 7.6 per cent in 2015-16, then the fastest in five years.
However, the first quarter of this fiscal year recorded 7.1 per cent growth as against 7.5 per cent for the same quarter of the previous year.
The Finance Ministry had attributed the lower growth in Q1 of 2016-17 to an increase in subsidies by 53 per cent which has resulted in lower growth of net indirect taxes.
In September, the NITI Aayog deputy chief had expressed optimism that a good monsoon could prop up growth and make it possible to cross the 8 per cent growth mark in this financial year itself.

For getting admission into NITs, 75% in class 12th is a must

Students in the general category who score below 75 per cent in the Class-12 board examinations will no longer be able to join NITs irrespective of their JEE (Mains) performance. The changes will be applicable from the next academic session itself.
Ninety-nine percent of students getting admission in the NITs score above 75 per cent in board exams. So, it is not going to adversely affect candidates. There is a very small chunk that will be affected.
With this change, the NITs will follow the eligibility criteria followed by the IITs. The eligibility criterion for admission to the IITs is 75 % in Class-12 for general candidates.
The 31 NITs offer admission to about 18,000 students each year at present, which is higher than the 10,000 students the IITs admit at present.
About 12-13 lakh students appear for the JEE Mains at present, of which just 2 lakh are eligible to appear for the JEE Advanced, which determines admission to the IITs. The admission to NITs is done on the basis of performance in JEE Mains.
The online application process will start from December 1, 2016 and the last date for application is January 2, 2017.

Govt proposing new policy so that All India services people chose N-E states

The Centre has proposed a new policy to tackle the problem of IAS and IPS officers’ reluctance to accept a posting in the north-eastern States. Successive governments have battled with the problem with little success so far.
However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s NDA government appears to have succeeded in coming to grips with the situation and has decided to modify the existing policy for inter-cadre transfer/deputation for north east cadres.
In February, the Centre had finalised a draft policy to tackle the problem of shortage of officers in the northeastern region by deciding to post officers from other services to the region. But that does not seem to have solved the problem.
Under the existing policy if an officer borne on a cadre other than a north-east cadre opts to go on inter-cadre deputation to the north-east, the condition of completion of nine years of service in his/her own cadre and of his/her not having been promoted to the super time scale may be relaxed. Under new policy such deputation may be allowed after seven years.

PM says demonetisation will help common man

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated that the current demonetisation exercise would benefit the common man.
Some people hijacked the entire economy and this war is against them. Every common person wants to lead their lives with honesty but they are exploited by black money people.
Is not this the responsibility of the government to safeguard the common people? This step of mine will ensure that middle class and poor people are saved from black marketeers and middlemen,” Mr. Modi said.
On the one hand the sponsored terrorism from across the border kills our soldiers, on the other hand the financial terrorism from across the border targets our youngsters through drugs.
It seeks to destroys our economy by printing fake currency. Entire business of drugs sustains in cash. Crores and crores of fake currency was smuggled in the country.
Making the notes of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 illegal, the entire business of fake currency got a big jolt. By using that money and buying drugs and arms, terrorists sought to destroy our country and kill our youngsters.
“I had asked for 50 days. In just ten days now over 5,000 crore rupees have already been deposited in banks. That banks will invest that money in the market and give people loans with that money,” he added.
The Prime Minister also formally launched the ‘Housing for All’ in rural areas under which the government proposes to provide an environmentally safe and secure pucca house to every rural household by 2022.
Named the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Gramin) or PMAY-G, in its first phase the target is to complete one crore houses by March 2019.

:: International ::

Post G-20 China wants greater participation of global south

Taking cue from the G-20 summit in Hangzhou, China is advocating greater participation of the Global South and the emerging countries in the world economy, including closer ties between Beijing and New Delhi.
At a major brainstorming exercise marshalled by the Communist Party of China (CPC), several speakers recognised that western economies were avoiding structural reforms, which were necessary to revive an anaemic global economy.
The two-day intensive exercise in Chongqing, a booming city on banks of the Yangtze river, included invitees from major national and international think-tanks, as well as political parties across a wide cross-section of the globe.
Two separate sessions focussed on Africa and countries along the Mekong River, signalling China’s intent to include the Global South in its blueprint to lift the global economy.
Many participants proposed a pervasive economic engagement between China and India to help bring about a global turnaround.
Collaboration in high-speed railways was promising as it would not be hampered by the availability of land — a chronic problem confronting foreign investors seeking avenues in India’s manufacturing sector.
Consequently, the Chongqing conclave called for re-defining the rules of economic governance, which, should equally focus on non-economic factors hampering revival.

:: Business and Economy ::

Dividends of public sector banks is down due to NPAs

Saddled with mounting bad loans, as many as 16 public sector banks, including PNB, BoB and Canara Bank, skipped paying dividends in 2015-16, leading to a 67 per cent decline in government receipts to Rs.1,444.6 crore.
Only six state-owned banks declared dividends, though at a lower rate for the fiscal ended March 2016.
Under the existing guidelines, profit-making banks have to pay a minimum dividend of 20 per cent of their equity or 20 per cent of their post-tax profit, whichever is higher.
The government, which is the majority shareholder in all the public sector banks, witnessed a 67 per cent decline in dividend receipts from PSU banks at Rs.1,444.6 crore.
Balance sheet of most of the banks have been under stress due to the clean-up exercise targeted at non-performing assets. Due to heavy provisioning for bad loans, many banks posted losses in the last quarter of the previous fiscal.
Gross NPAs of the PSU banks had surged from 5.43 per cent (Rs 2.67 lakh crore) in 2014-15 to 9.32 per cent (Rs 4.76 lakh crore) in 2015-16 of the total advances. Banks have been given time till March 2017 to clean up their balance sheet.

China plans to put more curbs on internet

China’s ambitions to tighten regulation of the Internet have found a second wind in old fears - terrorism and fake news.
Chinese officials and business leaders, speaking at the third World Internet Conference, called for more rigid cyber governance.
They pointed to the ability of militants to organise online and the spread of false news items during the recent U.S. election as signs cyberspace had become dangerous and unwieldy.
China, recommended using identification systems for netizens who post fake news and rumours, so they could “reward and punish” them.

RBI proposes interest free banking in the country

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed the opening of “Islamic window” in conventional banks for “gradual” introduction of Sharia-compliant or interest-free banking in the country.
Both the Centre and the RBI have been exploring the possibility of introduction of Islamic banking for a while now to ensure financial inclusion of those sections of society that remain excluded due to religious reasons.
Given the complexities of Islamic finance and various regulatory and supervisory challenges involved in the matter and also due to the fact that Indian banks have no experience in this field, Islamic banking may be introduced in India in a gradual manner,” the RBI has told Finance Ministry
“Initially, a few simple products similar to conventional banking products may be considered for introduction through the Islamic window of conventional banks after necessary notification by the government.
“Introduction of full-fledged Islamic banking with profit-loss sharing complex products may be considered at a later stage on the basis of experience gained in course of time,” it said.
Islamic or Sharia banking is a finance system based on the principles of not charging interest. The charging of interest is prohibited under Islam.
The central bank has also prepared a technical analysis report. This report has already been sent to the Finance Ministry for its consideration.