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Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 23 March 2016

:: National ::

Pak Joint investigation team will probe pathankot attack

The Indian High Commission in Islamabad has received visa applications from five Pakistani officials, who are part of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) on the Pathankot airbase attack.
The Ministry of External Affairs said the “modalities” are yet to be finalised for the joint India-Pakistan investigation into the Pathankot terror attacks, though sources said the team would be visiting the forward airbase on March 29.
The submission of the visa applications for the JIT’s visit beginning on March 27 before the anticipated meeting between the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) in Washington DC during March 31-April 1 are viewed as connected developments.
As part of the atmospherics being built up for the meeting between the two PMs, India is also extending a special gesture for the National Day celebration at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi on March 23, with the government deciding to send a “senior Minister” to the event.

Security tightened at all airports after Brussels attack

The airport and metro stations in Delhi were put on high alert after the terror attacks in Brussels. An alert was issued to all airports.
The Indira Gandhi International Airport, already under heightened vigil after the Pathankot attack, came under even more stringent security measures.
Security agencies went into a tizzy after calls warning of bomb threats to five Jet Airways flights departing from Delhi were received.
Apart from the usual security check at entry gates and security points, passengers now have to go through Secondary Ladder Point Checking (SLPC) at the point where they take the ladder to board their flights.

Despite terrorist attack PM will attend EU-India summit in Brussels

• The government announced on Tuesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would travel as planned to Brussels on March 30.
• Separately, the Prime Minister tweeted: “The attacks are condemnable. Condolences to families of the deceased. May those injured recover quickly.”
• Mr. Modi is scheduled to travel to Brussels next Wednesday on his way to the U.S. He will attend the EU-India Summit and hold talks with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel.

:: International ::

Belgium on high alert after Brussels attack

Belgian capital was on locked down on Tuesday following deadly explosions at Brussels airport and on a metro train which killed at least 34 people and wounded over 200.
Belgium hiked its terror threat to its highest level after the carnage wreaked by the early morning blasts, just days after the capture of key Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam in the heart of the city.
The transport networks were shut down, with trams, buses and trains brought to a standstill and the European Union quarter completely sealed off by police.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said it was urging employees to stay at home or remain indoors.
About 25,000 European civil servants work in Brussels, many just hundreds of metres from the metro attack where around 20 people were killed and over 100 wounded. Airlines cancelled hundreds of flights and European railways froze links with Brussels.
U.S. President Barack Obama condemned the “outrageous” attacks and said that the U.S. would do everything in its power to hunt down those responsible.

Despite enthusiasm by Obama’s visit, difference between US and CUBA persists

U.S. President Barack Obama’s address opened a whirlwind final day on the island that includes a meeting with Cuban dissidents and attendance at a baseball game featuring the country’s beloved national team.
Despite the enthusiasm in both the U.S. and Cuba about the new relationship, Mr. Obama acknowledged the deep differences that persist, including on human rights and democracy.
The President was cheered enthusiastically when he reiterated his call for the U.S. Congress to lift the economic embargo on Cuba, calling it an “outdated burden on the Cuban people”. The embargo is loathed on the island.
During a joint appearance with Mr. Obama on Monday, Mr. Castro called it “the most important obstacle” to Cuba’s economic growth”.
U.S. hopes that restoring ties with Cuba will benefit its relations with other countries in Latin America, which have long bristled at the freeze with Havana.
Critics of Mr. Obama’s policy say he’s given up too much with too little in return from Cuba, particularly on the issue of human rights.

Syu Kyi will be foreign Minister of Myanmar

Aung San Suu Kyi will be Foreign Minister in Myanmar’s first civilian government for decades, her party said, giving the democracy champion a formal post despite being blocked from the presidency.
The Nobel laureate has already vowed to rule above the man picked as President, Htin Kyaw, in the government which comes to power next week in the former army-ruled nation.
Ms. Suu Kyi was the sole woman and one of only six members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party in a Cabinet list read out to lawmakers by the Parliament Speaker Mann Win Khaing Than.
NLD spokesman Zaw Myint Maung later confirmed she would lead the foreign ministry and hinted that she would also hold other roles, without specifying which ones.

:: India and World ::

Eighth BRICS summit will be held at GOA

India will host the eighth annual summit of BRICS from October 15-16 in Goa, in its capacity as chair of the influential bloc comprising five countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj made the announcement during a function where she also unveiled a logo and a website of the summit.
India assumed chairmanship of BRICS from Russia on February 15 and will hold the position till December 31. The seventh summit was held in Ufa, Russia.
The External Affairs Minister said India’s core theme during BRICS chairmanship will be building responsive, inclusive and collective solutions for the grouping.
The logo for the summit is a lotus with colours from all the five member-countries and a traditional ‘namaste’ in the centre.

PM will attend 4th Nuclear Security summit in US

During the short three-nation visit next week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will cover two of India’s foreign policy priorities by attending the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC, India-EU summit in Brussels and then by flying to Saudi Arabia in his first official visit.
The 4th Nuclear Security Summit to be held from March 31to April 1, is significant as this is the last summit under President Barack Obama’s Presidency when countries, including India, will come out with a communiqué for the future of the nuclear security regime.
That apart, as per past summits, on April 1, member countries will also submit latest “progress reports” on steps taken to prevent non-state actors from gaining access to nuclear material.
The summit which comes in the backdrop of the terror attacks in Brussels will highlight India’s official concerns on nuclear terrorism and the threat posed by terrorists gaining access to nuclear material.
The summit will also be unique for the big exhibition of the major nuclear energy producing firms at the venue, targeting the growing civilian nuclear energy market in developing countries.
The visit to Saudi Arabia comes within a year of his visit to Dubai in August 2015. Mr. Modi will hold talks on bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest with the Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz bin Saud.
Experts have pointed out that Iran, the rival of Saudi Arabia in the Gulf region, will be alienated by the visit.

:: Business and Economy ::

Pradhan Mantri fasal Bima yojana will reduce farmers distress says FM

The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) will reduce the distress of farmers in the country as it will grant insurance cover to 50 per cent of them , Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.
If India were to develop and get rid of poverty, the agriculture sector needs to grow at a faster pace.
The last two crop seasons have been adversely affected on account of inadequate monsoons. We need to put a veil of some security around the farmers.
Under the scheme, farmers will pay a lower premium for more coverage, while compensation will be higher in the event of any crop failure or damage.
The scheme will be rolled out on a “mission mode” from April to cover kharif or summer crop from this year itself, according to the government.
The scheme was drafted after much consultation with all stakeholders. She felt that the scheme should percolate to the ground level and aim at bringing a large number of farmers under insurance.
The country, which has seen two successive droughts, is hoping for a better monsoon this year. Mr. Jaitley said that the systems would be on test, if there was another drought.

India’s outstanding public debt is at 5.5 lakh crore

India’s outstanding public debt rose to Rs.5.5 lakh crore at the end of the third quarter of this financial year, up three per cent over the same period of the corresponding year.
The total public debt (excluding liabilities under the ‘Public Account’) of the Government provisionally increased to Rs.5,526,310 crore at end-December 2015 from Rs.5,366,258 crore at end-September 2015.
This represented a quarter-on-quarter increase of 3.0 per cent (provisional) compared with an increase of 1.2 per cent in the previous quarter (Q2 FY 16).
Government debt, though high, is not something to worry about. Over the last few years, the debt-GDP ratio has been on a downward trend. Within that, the foreign debt component has been very stable.
Internal debt stood at Rs.5.01 lakh crore, or 92.2 per cent of total outstanding debt. It amounted to 92 per cent of total debt at the end of the second quarter.
Marketable securities such as treasury bills, cash management bills and dated securities amounted to Rs.4.7 lakh crore of total debt at the end of December 2015, up from Rs.4.5 lakh crore at the end of September.