Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 23 January 2018

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 23 January 2018

::NATIONAL::

SC will never gag the press – CJI Dipak Misra.

  •  The Supreme Court said it would dispassionately examine the circumstances surrounding the death of CBI judge B.H. Loya and reach its own objective conclusion. The court called the controversy over the death a “serious issue” and urged for a sense of objectivity.
  •  Addressing fears that the media might be gagged, Chief Justice Dipak Misra said the Supreme Court would “never gag the press.”
  •  A Bench of Chief Justice Misra and Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud transferred two PIL petitions on Justice Loya’s death, pending before the Bombay High Court, to itself.
  •  The Bench restrained other High Courts from entertaining any petition in connection with Justice Loya’s death.
  •  SC allowed both the Maharashtra government and the petitioners — journalist B.R. Lone and activist TehseenPoonawala — to place on record additional documents.
  •  Maharashtra produced documents containing the statements of four district judges, two of whom went on to become High Court judges. They had stated that Justice Loya died of cardiac arrest and they had taken him to hospital.
  •  The petitioners, in turn, submitted that they had accessed certain documents under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The Bench allowed the Bombay Lawyers’ Association to file an intervention application.

“Road kills” app – Wildlife Conservation Trust

  •  ‘Roadkills’, launched on January 21 by the Wildlife Conservation Trust, will help citizens report such wildlife deaths by uploading geotagged photographs to a public forum.
  •  The data generated can be used to identify crucial road or rail stretches that urgently require mitigation measures.
  •  ‘Roadkills’, an easy-to-use android app, accesses location information from phones and permits users to upload photographs of a dead wild animal on a road or a railway line.
  •  The geotagged photographs, users can also include what taxon the animal belongs to (bird, mammal, reptile or amphibian), the species’ name (if known) and the area where the roadkill was seen.
  •  The information from all records reported from across India with this citizen science initiative will be compiled as a database, which can soon be viewed on a map on the campaign’s website (www.roadkills.in).
  •  The Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT), an NGO which developed the app, will also share detailed data free of cost and under a Creative Commons licence to students, wildlife researchers or infrastructure agencies who may need it to study patterns of wildlife deaths on roads and railway lines.
  •  The information generated from the application can help identify crucial sections of roads or railway lines where animal deaths are high to pinpoint regions that require urgent mitigation measures.
  •  The data can also help determine what species are more at risk on specific road or rail stretches and plan the ideal mitigation measures suited for the location – from underpasses or overpasses for large mammals to canopy bridges for arboreal ones, such as monkeys.
  •  “Unplanned development of roads and railway lines is the major cause of wildlife roadkill,” wildlife biologist MilindPariwakam of WCT said.
  •  The app has had 500 installations so far and will soon be launched as an IOS application. It will also cater to regional language users in future.

Need to amend constitution to facilitate simultaneous elections

  •  At a meeting of a parliamentary committee, lawmakers questioned the Election Commission about its recent statements endorsing simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the Assemblies, saying it does not have the mandate to decide the issue.
  •  The Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice discussed electoral reforms. Law Secretary Suresh Chandra and a team of Election Commission officials were present.
  •  “Our parliamentary system of governance does not permit simultaneous polls. What is the guarantee that all the State governments and the Union government elected on the same day will survive for the next five years,” asked a member who attended the meeting.
  •  There had been simultaneous elections until 1967, but the pattern changed after the dissolution of some Assemblies through the imposition of President’s rule under Article 356.
  •  There have been instances of two general elections within a year since then. The next Lok Sabha election is scheduled for 2019. In 2018, 13 States will go to the polls, nine in 2019 and one in 2020.
  •  The Law Secretary explained the steps needed to amend the Constitution to facilitate simultaneous polls.
  •  A constitutional amendment would have to be cleared by both Houses of Parliament followed by ratification by the Assemblies of half of the States.
  •  The other way was for all Assemblies and the Centre to agree to the plan voluntarily.

Dial down Nationalistic rhetoric for connectivity growth – ASEAN LEADER.

  •  Connectivity projects can grow in the region only if there is a “political atmosphere”, and “nationalist rhetoric” is reduced, Chutintorn Sam Gongsakdi, Thailand’s Ambassador to India and a key official convening the ASEAN-India summit.
  •  Refers to the challenges of free trade negotiations, border trade logistics and the infrastructure in the northeastern States.
  •  “Connectivity is important, but we are also at a point across the region when nationalism and populism are on the rise.”
  •  “To have connectivity work to its full potential, it is necessary to dial down the nationalistic rhetoric.”
  •  All 10 leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations assemble in Delhi for the 25-year commemorative summit on January 25 and as chief guests of the Republic Day parade.
  •  An ASEAN-India Business and Investment Meet and Expo brought Trade and Economy Ministers along with business delegations from ASEAN including Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines.
  •  Several officials will travel to Assam and other northeastern States to inspect the possibilities for industry and trade, which would connect to Southeast Asia through projects in the pipeline like the India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway and the Kaladan multi-modal transport corridor expected to be completed in the next few years.
  •  Mr. Gongsakdi warned that unless India and ASEAN work out their reservations on free trade, including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, they would not benefit from the infrastructure.
  •  Over the past few years, the RCEP negotiations have floundered largely over Indian concerns on unfettered Chinese entry into Indian markets through free trade with the ASEAN countries.
  •  Countries in the negotiations, which also include Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan and South Korea, besides those of ASEAN and India, are now calling for a hard deadline to end talks by the end of 2018.
  •  The failure to forge an agreement could also cost bilateral trade between ASEAN countries and India, which is at present $76 billion, well short of a projected $200 billion, and is likely to be a major issue for discussion during the Summit on Thursday.
  •  “We have to find a solution to India’s concerns about [the RCEP opening the door for] China trade as well ... we have to stop the lip service to ASEAN India ties and actually negotiate this through,” Mr. Gongsakdi said.
  •  Maritime security, terrorism and cybersecurity will be highlighted in the joint statement, along with the “3Cs” of commerce, connectivity and culture, officials said.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

U.S Vice-President visits Jerusalem

  •  U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence kicked off his visit to Israel with a morning meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which he said it was an honour to be in “Israel’s capital, Jerusalem”.
  •  First time a visiting dignitary could utter those three words. Thanked him for President Donald Trump’s “historic” recognition of Jerusalem.
  •  The Israeli leader said, American-Israeli alliance, has “never been stronger.”
  •  Mr. Pence said it would “create an opportunity to move on in good faith negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.”
  •  The Vice-President said he was hopeful “we are at the dawn of a new era of renewed discussions to achieve a peaceful resolution to a decades-long conflict”.
  •  Prior to his arrival, Mr. Pence visited Jordan, where he was warned by King Abdullah II that he had to “rebuild trust and confidence” after the Jerusalem move.
  •  Mr. Pence is set to deliver a speech to the Israeli Knesset, or Parliament, later in the day.
  •  A small group of Palestinians in the West Bank town of Bethlehem protested Mr. Pence’s arrival by burning posters with his image.
  •  Meanwhile, the main Arab party in the Israeli Parliament said it will boycott Mr. Pence’s speech, though it wasn’t immediately clear whether they will walk out on him or skip the session.

Congress votes to reopen

  •  Congress sped towards reopening the government, as Senate Democrats dropped their objections to a temporary funding bill in return for assurances from Republicans leaders that they will soon take up immigration and other contentious issues.
  •  Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell’s commitment to quickly tackle the issue of immigrant “Dreamers” was contingent on Democrats providing enough votes now for a stopgap spending measure lasting a little less than three weeks.
  •  The measure needed 60 votes, and Democrats provided 33 of the 81 it got. Eighteen senators, including members of both parties, were opposed.
  •  Before the government can reopen, the Senate must vote on final passage, the House must approve in turn, and President Donald Trump must sign the measure.
  •  Mr. McConnell raised hopes for a quick end to the shutdown, saying “I hope and intend” to reach an agreement soon on immigration and other contentious issues if the Democrats agreed to the stopgap spending measure lasting a little less than three weeks.
  •  A block of liberal Democrats some of them 2020 Presidential hopefuls stuck to their opposition.
  •  Ms. Feinstein said she wasn’t persuaded by Mr. McConnell’s assurances and did not know how a proposal to protect the more than 700,000 younger immigrants would fare in the House.
  •  The Senate vote came as most government offices cut back drastically or even closed, as the major effects of the shutdown were first being felt with the beginning of the work week.
  •  The Senate over the weekend inched closer but ultimately fell short of a deal that could have reopened the government before the beginning of the workweek.
  •  There were hours of behind-the-scenes talks over the weekend between the leaders and rank-and-file lawmakers over how to end the display of legislative dysfunction, which began at midnight on Friday after Democrats blocked a temporary spending measure.
  •  Democrats have sought to use the spending bill to win concessions, including protections for roughly 700,000 younger immigrants.

::ECONOMY::

Need for better India-ASEAN connect

  •  Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu called for greater trade and investment engagement between India and the ten-member ASEAN bloc, especially in agriculture as well as minerals and ocean resources, and suggested the creation of India-ASEAN regional value chains in these segments.
  •  Mr. Prabhu also pitched for easier movement of professionals and skilled workers between India and ASEAN countries to boost services trade as well as investment.
  •  The Minister also sought an improvement in India-ASEAN physical connectivity through better infrastructure.
  •  Mr. Prabhu added that India would work closely with ASEAN nations to successfully conclude negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a proposed mega-Free Trade Agreement between ASEAN and six of its FTA partner nations.

Ernest & Young on Mergers and acquisitions(M&A)

  •  Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in India are expected to continue this year, driven by domestic consolidation, market share expansion and entry into new markets, according to a report.
  •  According to EY’s 17th Global Capital Confidence Barometer (India), companies were embracing the ‘ongoing digital evolution’ and adopting an inorganic route to growth amid a ‘supportive economy and easing credit availability’.
  •  “Despite dynamic global geopolitical conditions, Indian corporates are positive on the domestic deal market on the back of a stable economy, positive deal market fundamentals and a promising deal pipeline,” said Amit Khandelwal, managing partner, Transaction Advisory Services, EY.
  •  The year 2017 recorded 1,011 deals with a disclosed deal value of $40,961 million.
  •  Mr. Khandelwal noted that the Centre’s focus on reforms, along with resilient capital markets and a favourable credit environment, should stimulate investments and encourage firms to actively plan their acquisition strategy.
  •  Indian executives remain positive on M&A prospects with 55% expecting their firms to actively pursue M&A in the next 12 months.

DP World and NIIF sets up an investment platform

  •  Dubai’s DP World and the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), a fund-managing entity of the Government of India have set up an investment platform to invest in ports, terminals, transportation and logistics businesses in India.
  •  The platform, which is based on a previous agreement, will invest up to $3 billion to acquire assets and develop projects in the sector, the entities said in a joint statement.
  •  The investment platform will also look at opportunities beyond sea ports such as river ports and transportation, freight corridors, port-led special economic zones, inland container terminals, and logistics infrastructure including cold storage.
  •  “DP World has been a part of India’s growth story for nearly two decades,” said Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, group chairman and CEO, DP World.
  •  “We believe that our expertise in building best-in-class logistics infrastructure, together with the NIIF’s local knowledge and government partnership is the right combination to take advantage of the significant growth opportunities in India,” he added.
  •  “We are proud to partner with NIIF and share our expertise and experience in these areas and the global supply chain to provide cost-effective logistics and warehousing solutions to India's growing economy and trade,” he added.
  •  Commenting on the development Sujoy Bose, CEO, NIIF said, “Efficient logistics and cargo movement are critical components for the continued growth and development of the Indian economy, particularly [in] manufacturing.” He said the platform will aim to reduce the cost of moving cargo from and to the ports.
  •  “This is NIIF’s first investment and is a good example of how NIIF can work with international capital and expertise to invest at scale to build critical infrastructure in India,” Mr. Bose said.

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