Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 22 April 2016

:: NATIONAL ::

Union Minister again advocates river linking across states

Union Minister H.N. Ananth Kumar has favoured river linking to address drought and water scarcity.
The BJP leader said that linking rivers across the State would create a water grid that would end droughts and ensure constant supply of abundant water to all regions.
Andhra Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has successfully linked the Krishna and the Godavari to transfer 80 tmcft of water from the Krishna Basin to the Godavari Basin.
This has brought water to dry areas in that State. Such models should be replicated in Karnataka too, he said.
He observed that 136 taluks were affected by drought. BJP MPs and legislators were ready to contribute their one-month salary towards drought relief, he said.
He urged the government to supply water through tankers in 337 villages hit by water scarcity in Bidar district.
He said that such emergencies demanded that all leaders worked for the welfare of the people, setting aside their political affiliations.

Nainital High court quashed Union government’s President’s rule

The Uttarakhand High Court quashed the Union government’s order imposing President’s Rule on the State, holding that the situation must be viewed “on a larger canvas of democracy, federalism and the rule of law.”
Deciding that the Congress shall return to power, a Division Bench ordered a floor test of Harish Rawat’s claim of majority in the Assembly on April 29.
The decision is a setback to the Modi government, which had approached the President to prove that there was a breakdown of the constitutional machinery.
Uttarakhand Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal said the “effective strength” of the House has now come down to 62 as the High Court has upheld the disqualification of the nine rebel Congress MLAs.
The Central government will challenge the ruling of the Uttarakhand High Court revoking President’s Rule in the State.
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said this after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and leaders of the BJP, including party president Amit Shah, went into a huddle on how to proceed following the legal setback.

Govt imposed regulations on surcharge in a cab

The next time you pay a surcharge for travelling in a cab booked through an aggregator, look at the bill carefully.
If you’re being charged more than Rs. 19.5 per km after the basic fare, you will soon be able to alert the Transport Department via a designated helpline or through social media.
In an attempt to take action against aggregators who are getting customers to shell out over-the-top surcharges, the department will launch a helpline that will take note of customer complaints.
At worst, this could include suspension of the aggregator’s licence.
Such strong action against private app-based operators has become possible after services like Ola and Uber came forward this week to register with the department.
However, the only complaints that will be taken up will be those in which the customer has been charged more than the maximum rate fixed by the government. This is currently fixed at Rs. 80 for 4 km and Rs. 19.5 per km after.

Environmentalist R.K. Pachauri stepped down as a member of governing council of TERI

Environmentalist R.K. Pachauri, accused of sexual harassment by his former women colleagues in the recent past, has stepped down as a member of the governing council of TERI.
The announcement came on the heels of a media report which said the green body has decided to “sever” its association with Mr. Pachauri even though his employment contract with TERI expires in 2017.
It said the governing council had also decided to pay all the dues for the remainder of his tenure and bring an immediate end to it.
Mr. Pachauri, however, maintained that his term as a member of The Energy and Resources Institute’s (TERI) governing council ended on March 31, 2016.
Mr. Pachauri said he was issuing the statement “to provide the media with information” about his “stepping down” from TERI’s Governing Council, suggesting the decision to call time on his association with the organisation was voluntary.

:: International ::

Military restructuring in China continues

The ongoing military restructuring in China appears to have peaked, with President Xi Jinping assuming the title of Commander-in-Chief of the Joint Battle Command of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
The move showed that President Xi had built up a level of personal authority over troops on par with late leaders such as Mao Zedong and DengXiaoping.
President Xi insisted that the new formation should be “absolutely loyal, resourceful in fighting, efficient in commanding, and courageous and capable of winning wars.
The new title adds to the other three that President Xi holds— general secretary of the Communist Party of China, President, and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC).
The CMC is responsible for the PLA’s management and defence building, while the joint battle command centre focuses on combat and relevant strategies.

Islamic state killed more than 250 girls in northern Iraq

The Islamic State (IS), notorious for its brutality, has reportedly executed 250 girls in northern Iraq for refusing to become sex slaves, according to a media report.
The girls had been ordered to accept temporary marriages to the terrorists and were murdered, sometimes alongside their families, for their refusal to be sex slaves in Iraq’s second largest city of Mosul.
The IS began selecting women of Mosul and forced them into marrying its militants, calling it temporary marriage since it has taken control over Mosul, and the women who refused to submit to this practice would be executed.
Human rights were being widely violated in all IS-held territories, particularly the women’s rights as they’re seen as commodities and have no choice in choosing their spouses.
The executions follows a spate of similar killings that took place last August in which 19 Mosul women were slaughtered for refusing to have sex with IS fighters.
Up to 500 Yazidi women and girls were kidnapped and sexually abused by the dreaded militants in August 2014.
In October, more than 500 Yazidi women and young girls were reportedly abducted by the IS when they stormed the Sinjar region in northern Iraq.
The IS took control of Mosul in June 2014 after the fall of Iraqi army in the city and since then has been slaughtering its residents for various charges to spread fear.

Commonwealth Ministerial Action group expressed concern over misuse of anti-terror law

The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) has expressed concern over the “continued misuse” of anti-terrorism legislation in the Maldives.
They also said there is “little or no evidence of substantive progress” in promoting freedom and space for civil society.
The CMAG also raised concerns over the recent introduction of a “broad-ranging” Defamation Bill seeking to criminalise defamation and statements against national security, an official release said.
Reacting to the CMAG’s decisions, the Maldives government, contended that the Group decided “not to place the Maldives on its agenda”.
The government also welcomed the CMAG’s call to all political parties to participate constructively on a political agenda dialogue.

:: Science and Technology ::

China will launch core module in 2018

China will launch a “core module” for its first space station some time around 2018,, part of a plan to have a permanent manned space station in service around 2022.
Advancing Chinas space programme is a priority for Beijing, with President Xi Jinping calling for the country to establish itself as a space power, and apart from its civilian ambitions Beijing has tested anti-satellite missiles.
China insists its space programme is for peaceful purposes, but the U.S. Defence Department has highlighted its increasing space capabilities, saying it was pursuing activities aimed to prevent adversaries from using space-based assets in a crisis.
The “core module” for the space station would be called the “Tianhe-1”, the Chinese word for galaxy or Milky Way, Wang Zhongyang,
If the International Space Station, which has extended its service, is retired by 2024, China's new space station will be the only operational one in outer space.

:: Business and Economy ::

India became top destination for foreign direct investment

India has replaced China as top destination for foreign direct investment by attracting $63 billion worth FDI projects in 2015, says a report.
“India was the highest ranked country by capital investment in 2015, with $63 billion-worth of FDI projects announced,” according to fDi Intelligence, a division of The Financial Times Ltd.
Also there was an 8 per cent increase in project numbers to 697.
Major companies such as Foxconn and SunEdison have agreed to invest in projects valued at $5 billion and $4 billion, respectively, in India in 2015, it said.
Report said the biggest change in greenfield FDI in 2015 was the near tripling of greenfield FDI into India, with an estimated $63 billion.
“In 2015, India was for the first time the leading country in the world for FDI, overtaking the US (which had USD 59.6 billion of greenfield FDI) and China (USD 56.6 billion),” the report noted.
Of the top 10 destination states for FDI in 2015, India claims five places.

Non-software services sector exports drop sharply

India’s trade surplus in services has been contracting, mainly due to a sharp drop in non-software services exports which shows that the global economic slowdown is finally beginning to affect India’s services sector.
In addition, though the overall trade deficit has been decreasing due to low commodity prices, India’s trade deficit with China is worsening which is a worrying trend.
On a 12-month rolling sum basis, the services trade balance has fallen to 3.4 per cent of GDP in February 2016 from 3.9 per cent in February 2014.
Although a drop in software services exports was a driver of the decline, receipts from transportation, financial services and other business services were also much lower, and together these non-software categories comprised 73 per cent of the moderation in services exports between Q4 2013 and Q4 2015.
A research paper by Crisil found that India’s trade deficit with China has been worsening at an alarming rate.
Between fiscals 2006 and 2016, it compounded at an annual 30 per cent, or thrice as fast as India’s overall trade deficit.
The reason behind thisis that China’s ongoing economic slowdown has meant that it requires lower quantities of the raw materials that it imports from India.
On the other hand, India’s imports from China have not been affected to any large degree,
However, there is a possibility that this trend could be short-lived, especially if the rupee appreciates in the near term and medium-term.

The Mumbai Cricket Association moved Supreme Court against Bombay HC order

The Mumbai Cricket Association and Maharashtra Cricket Association in a joint Special Leave Petition have moved the SC against the Bombay HC’s decision to move the Indian Premier League matches scheduled in Maharashtra out of the state.
Last week’s verdict had forced the IPL authorities to find alternative venues for 13 of the 20 matches, which were scheduled to be staged in Maharashtra, due to severe drought in the state.
The petition is understood to have strongly objected to the maintainability of the order issued by the Bombay HC.
The BCCI had not only decided to challenge the High Court directive but also in consultation with the affected home franchises — Mumbai Indians and Rising Pune Supergiants.
During the hearing of the PIL both state associations had promised to use sewage water for maintaining the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and the Maharashtra Cricket Association’s stadium at Gahunje, on the outskirts of Pune.