Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 22 December 2015

:: NATIONAL ::

Juvenile Justice bill to be discussed in Upper house

Public anger at the release of the juvenile convict in the Delhi gang rape case has compelled MPs, transcending party lines, to agree to bring for consideration in the Rajya Sabha the proposed amendments to the Juvenile Justice Act.
The amendments have received the Lok Sabha’s approval. The government and the Congress traded charges over the delay in its passage in the Rajya Sabha with Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad accusing the Congress of not allowing the House to function.
The Left Parties, meanwhile, stuck to their guns, with the CPI(M)’s Sitaram Ye- chury stating outside the House that the Left parties were still of the view that the amendments should go to a Select Committee.
His party colleague, Brinda Karat, said in the Rajya Sabha that even if the amendments were passed, the new provisions would not apply retro- spectively to the juvenile convict in the Delhi gang-rape case.

Government wants 90% transactions to be paperless

The Prime Minister’s office has set an ambitious target to shift at least 90% of all government trans- actions that involve payments or receipts from citizens and businesses to electronic or paperless mode by the end of 2016, replacing the use of cash, demand drafts, cheques and challans in government offices.
To move towards that goal, all government departments and ministries have been asked to provide electronic options for all payments and receipts by March 31, 2016.
Government has set December 2016 deadline for moving at least 90% of all government payments and receipts online.
The Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and mobile number (JAM) trinity for pushing financial inclusion is a priority, so departments need to adopt modes of electronic payments & receipts for internal and external transactions.
The government is working on transferring benefits to the poor directly to their bank accounts under a few social sector schemes like MGNREGA using Aadhar- enabled payments or direct credits into their bank accounts, but cash and cheque transactions dominate most of its payouts and receipts from citizens, businessmen as well as other government departments.
As many as 46 departments have already been integrated with a generic portal for e- payments that DEITY is launching.

Gita to be made available in Rajasthan schools

After introducing major changes in the syllabus of primary and secondary schools in Rajasthan, the Bhagawad Gita would now be made available in the libraries of Government Higher Secondary schools.
Speaking at a function in Ajmer on ‘Gita Jayanti’ annual celebration marking the birth of the Bhagawad Gita — education minister said the Gita was the foundation of human life.
Emphasising that every individual must read the Gita, he said copies of the Gita would be made available in the 13,500 government higher secondary schools.

:: INTERNATIONAL ::

Fractured mandate in Spain

The conservative govern- ing party won the most votes on Sunday, but lost its majority in parliamentary elections that underlined the fragmentation of Spanish politics and left the country’s future leadership unclear.
The elections are likely to force Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of the Popular Party to start complicated negotiations in order to re- main in office, at the helm of either a minority or coalition government.
The vote even leaves the door open for a major post-election turnaround like that in neighbouring Portugal, where the premiership changed hands within weeks after national elections in October.
Rajoy’s Popular Party won 123 of the 350 parliamentary seats, down from 186 seats in the last elections, in 2011, according to the results with nearly all of the votes counted.
The Socialists won 90 seats, compared with 110 four years ago, when they were ousted from office after an economic crisis hit Spain.
The emerging parties Podemos and Citizens will enter Parliament for the first time after winning 69 and 40 seats.

:: INDIA AND WORLD ::

Indian government supports changes in Nepalese constitution

In the first sign of a breakthrough in understand- ing between India and Nepal, the government welcomed steps by the Nepali Cabinet to amend the new Constitution.
However, the amendment proposals are yet to be wel- comed by protesting Madhesi groups, with the main UMDF calling them “a disappoint- ment”, raising questions whether the move would lead to the end of the three-month- old blockade at the India-Ne- pal border that has caused a humanitarian crisis.
Terming India’s welcome of the solution package as a neg- ative development, Mr Maha- to told The Hindu that India should have consulted the Madhesi leaders before issu- ing the statement praising the statement.

:: BUSINESS and ECONOMY ::

India joins select club to build LNG ships

Cochin Shipyard has received certification to build LNG-transporting ships for any client world-wide, making it the first shipyard in In- dia to get the nod, joining the league of South Korea, Japan and China.
The French company providing the certification, Gaz- transport et Technigaz (GTT), is a leader in design engineering and provides membrane-type containment systems for the transportation and storage of LNG, according to a statement from the Ministry of Shipping.
The most critical part of an LNG ship is its cryogenic containment and handling system as the LNG is carried at a temperature of -163 degrees.
This requires fool- proof cryogenic containment and safe handling and transfer systems. Cochin Shipyard is now authorised to use the membrane type technologies of GTT for any liquid gas carriers, more particularly the LNG carriers.

Crude oil breaks ten year record

Brent crude prices fell to their lowest in more than 11 years, hounded by a relentless rise in global supply that looks set to outpace demand again next year.
Oil production is running close to record highs and, with fresh barrels poised to enter the market from the likes of Iran, the U.S. and Libya, the price of crude is set for its largest monthly percentage decline in seven years.
While consumers have enjoyed lower fuel prices, producers have hacked back spending and cut thousands of jobs, while exporting nations have suffered tumbling revenue.
Brent futures fell by about two per cent to as low as $36.05 a barrel on Monday, their weakest since July 2004, and were down 45 cents at $36.43.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy bill tabled in lower house

The Centre on Mon- day tabled the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Bill, 2015 in the Lok Sabha. The Bill, if passed, should enhance the ease of doing business in the country.
A recent survey report by global consultancy Alvarez and Marsal found that the average duration for insolvency resolution in India is 4.3 years, which is significantly higher than the prevailing norm of 2.6 years in South Asia and 1.7 years in the OECD high-income countries.
The World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Report also confirms the long duration of insolvency resolution in India.
The Bill proposes adhere to strict deadlines to decide whether to liquidate a sick company or not, wherein the decision to liquidate a company will have to be reached within 180 days.
The Bill proposes the setting up of an Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India to regulate insolvency professionals and agencies.
It also proposes the setting up of a fund dubbed the ‘Insolvency and Bankruptcy Fund of India’.
As of now, there is no single law that deals with insolvency and bankruptcy in India.

:: SPORTS ::

Suspended FIFA president and UEFA chief banned for unethical practices

FIFA president Sepp Blatter and UEFA boss Michel Platini were both banned from football for eight years on Monday for ethics violations, leaving the global game leaderless as it struggles with a swirl of corruption cases.
Blatter was fined 50,000 Swiss francs and Platini, who boycotted the ethics committee hearing as unfair, 80,000.
The pair had been suspended in October while an investigation was carried out into a 2 million Swiss franc ($2.02 million) payment that football’s global governing body made to Platini in 2011, with Blatter’s approval.
The decision means that Blatter’s 17 years at the helm of world football will end in disgrace.