Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 23 August 2015

:: International ::

U.N. for a ‘broad package’ for Northern Province

The United Nations is exploring provision of “a broad package of technical and financial assistance” to the Northern Province at the request of the Province’s Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran.
Stating this at a daily press briefing at his office in the U.S. on Friday, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the Secretary General, said the proposed package was to “bolster citizen confidence in the peace process,” according to the U.N.’s official website which has published the transcript of the briefing.

Peace-building fund

He was replying to a question on reports in sections of the media about the U.N. Peace-building Fund considering funding “a purely national accountability mechanism” in Sri Lanka.
The spokesperson explained that initiatives aimed at advancing the process of reconciliation in Sri Lanka — by resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDP); national reconciliation; strengthening human rights mechanism and ending impunity — were being discussed for support by the Fund.
Pointing out that the U.N. support was always based on “inclusive and participatory consultations with all key stakeholders,” Mr. Dujarric said that $1 million had been dispersed to support resettlement and integration initiatives for IDPs in the Northern and Eastern Provinces where the Sri Lankan government returned lands.
To a question on the nature of accountability mechanism, national or international, the spokesperson replied that the U.N. was awaiting a report and recommendations of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

:: Business ::

HDFC Bank’s new initiative

HDFC Bank has launched ‘Dhanchayat’, an educational film to raise awareness on the dangers of borrowing money from unorganised sources.
This film has been launched under the aegis of Swachh Banking, the bank’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative.
As part of Swachh Banking, HDFC Bank-branded Dhanchayat video vans will travel across the country covering thousands of villages.
Through the film, the bank will showcase to the rural population the importance of transparency in dealings as also the dignity and self-respect of the individual in the borrowing process

:: Miscellaneous ::

India will be world’s most populous country in 2022: U.N.

In seven years, India will surpass China to become the world’s most populous country and will have 1.7 billion residents by 2050, new projections from the United Nations show. Experts, however, caution that India might be lowering its fertility at a faster rate than what the U.N.’s projections indicate.
The 2015 revision to the U.N.’s World Population Projections was released early on Thursday. The world population reached 7.3 billion as of mid-2015, adding approximately one billion people in the past 12 years. The world population, however, is growing slower now; 10 years ago, the growth rate was 1.24 per cent a year, while today, it is growing by 1.18 per cent, or approximately, an additional 83 million people annually.
It will take 15 years to add the next billion people, taking the world population to 8.5 billion in 2030. By 2050, the world will have 9.7 billion people and 11.2 billion by 2100. As a region, Africa will have its population — propelled to a large extent by Nigeria which will be the third largest populated country in the world in 2050 overtaking the United States — grow the fastest. The population of 48 countries, most of them in Europe and including Japan, will in contrast shrink between 2015 and 2050.
The median age of the global population — that is, the age at which half the population is older and half is younger — is 29.6. About one-quarter (26 per cent) of the world’s people are under 15 years of age, 62 per cent are aged 15 to 59, and 12 per cent 60 or above. India is younger than the world; the median age is a full three years younger and 28.8 per cent are under the age of 15, while just 8.9 per cent are 60 or over. By 2050, India will have aged significantly, and the share of people over 60 will be twice as big, while the median age will be 37.3.
China’s population will start declining by the 2030s, while India’s is projected to decline only after 2069 when its population is around 1.75 billion. However, demographic experts say the U.N.’s projections may not be keeping pace with the speed at which India is reducing its fertility. As of 2013, India’s Sample Registration System (SRS) — the official source of fertility statistics,

:: Sports ::

Simone Ruffini swims to 25km open water gold

Italy dominated the men’s marathon 25km open water podium with Simone Ruffini taking gold and Matteo Furlan bronze at the world championships on Saturday.
Rufffini took gold in four hours 53 minutes 10.7 seconds at the Kazanka venue with Alex Meyer of the USA winning silver at just 4.4sec back.
Having finished fourth in the event two years ago in Barcelona, the 27-year-old American finally made it onto the podium.
Furlan claimed third after finishing one min 27.3sec back and won his second bronze at these world championships after a podium place in the 5km earlier this week.
In the women’s event, Brazil’s Ana Marcela Cunha took gold over the 25km distance with a winning time of 5:13.47.3 hrs with Hungary’s Anna Olasz second at 26.3 seconds back.
Germany’s Angela Maurer, who won a silver in the event at the 2013 championships, had to settle for bronze this time as she finished 1 min 20.3 sec back.