Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 23 SEPTEMBER 2019

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 23 SEPTEMBER 2019

::NATIONAL::

Government says it is ready with draft rules to regulate social media

The Centre on Friday informed the Madras High Court that deliberations on the Draft Information Technology [Intermediaries Guidelines (Amendment)] Rules, 2018, which mandate social media companies to cooperate with the police in cracking cybercrimes, had been completed.
A Division Bench of Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and N. Seshasayeewas told by the Central government’s senior counsel VenkataswamyBabu that the process of notifying the rules was in an advanced stage. The rules were expected to solve problems faced by the police in obtaining information from social media firms.
Counsel supported the State’s stand that the High Court could continue to hear the present case, without transferring it to the Supreme Court. He also made it clear that the Centre was only concerned with cooperation between social media companies and the police and not with the linking of Aadhaar to users’ social media accounts.
The judges accepted the request and ordered amendment of the cause title. Initially, advocate Antony Clement Rubin had approached the court to obtain an order for linking Aadhaar with social media accounts so that those who indulge in abuses and criminal activities could be identified easily and punished by the law enforcers.

Army deliberates on using AI for mechanised forces

In a first of its kind discussion in the Army, the Jaipur-based South Western Command will discuss ways of incorporating Artificial Intelligence (AI) in mechanised forces at an internal seminar next week.
The South Western Command facing Pakistan across the deserts of Rajasthan is armour heavy. Referring to that, Lt. Gen. Kler said in a conventional war, the command takes 1,500 tanks and such equal vehicles to battle. So we want to understand where to thrust, where to engage and where to disengage. “We can use AI in the next decade or so to greatly assist us in decision making.”
Observing that India is slightly behind in catching up with the developments in AI, he said the nation would “have to” change over the technological bent of mind as “its pace is going to be dictated by global trends”.
A defence source working in the domain observed that with phenomenal increase in information to operators and decision makers at different levels, AI would play a major role in the battle field. The applications range all levels, strategic and operational, the source said.

::ECONOMY::

Government sets in deadline for Ganga hydro projects

The Centre has cut down by two years the grace period accorded to hydropower projects on the upper stretches of the Ganga, for complying with environmental-flow requirements.
Environmental flows refer to minimum water levels that must be maintained in the river at all times of the year for its health and sustainability as against hydropower projects that frequently dam water in rivers for generating power.
Amidst protests by Ganga activists and monks, the government had passed a notification requiring hydropower projects to release minimum quantities of water. However, it gave hydropower projects “three years (beginning October 11, 2018 ) ” to make modifications to projects to comply with these norms.
Last week, via a gazette notification, the government advanced this deadline to December 15 of this year.

SEBI strengthens risk management framework for liquid funds

As part of its attempts to strengthen the risk management framework for liquid funds, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has made it mandatory for such funds to hold at least 20% of its net assets in liquid assets while mandating an exit load on investors that exit within seven days of making an investment.
In case the exposure in such liquid assets falls below 20% of net assets of the scheme, the fund house will first have to meet the 20% norm before making any further investments.
The capital markets watchdog has also barred liquid funds and overnight funds from parking money, pending deployment, in short-term deposits of scheduled commercial banks and also debt securities having structured obligations (SO rating) and/or credit enhancements (CE rating).

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Indian PM holds meeting with US energy sector firms

Prime Minister NarendraModi has discussed how to harness opportunities in the field of energy to address India's growing energy needs. During his meeting with 17 CEOs of global energy leaders, focus was on working together for energy security and expanding mutual investment opportunities between India and the United States.
The CEOs noted that there has been considerable improvement in doing business in India and welcomed the recent steps taken by the government to reform and liberalize the economy, including cutting down the corporate tax structure.
The External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said, the CEOs talked about enhancing their footprint in India and lauded the Indian government for steps taken towards deregulation in the sector.
The CEOs present in the meeting were from companies such as Tellurian Inc, Perot Group and Hillwood, Exxonmobil, Air Products, Baker Hughes, BP PLC and Emerson Electric Company.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Researchers use genetics to reveal origin and evolution of blackbuck,Chinkara

A regular favourite with poachers and an animal that notoriously made headlines a few years ago, the blackbuck is once again in the limelight, this time, with its story of origin and evolution.
Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, studied four genera of ‘true antelopes’ — Gazella,Nanger, Eudorcas and Antilope and found that the blackbuck’s (Antilopecervicapra) ancestors came into India from the Saharo-Arabian region about two million years ago and then evolved to its current form.
The paper states that the lack of blackbuck fossils outside India leads to the speculation that they diverged from their ancestors only after reaching India, long after the intensification of aridification in the Indian subcontinent. The expansion of grasslands following that period opened up new niches, which could have facilitated the divergence of many taxa.
Blackbucks have been confined to the scrubland regions of India, currently seen in most States, except for the Terai region, northeast and the Western Ghats. In the south, blackbucks can be seen up to the Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu.
Another interesting finding was that the chinkara (Gazellabennetti), another ‘true antelope’ of India, evolved much more recently about 7,00,000 years ago, probably after the establishment of the Thar desert.
These are also found in the hilly terrains of Iran, and are known as Iranian Gazelle. Being facultative drinkers, they were better adapted to the drier, semi-arid region.

::SPORTS::

Centre decides to create national centres of excellence to groom athletes

Ministry of Sports will create 20 National Centres of Excellence to groom athletes for 2024 and 2028 Olympics.
Each Centre of Excellence will offer funds for four to six specific sports. The new scheme will ensure that athletes in the same premises have access to similar facilities unlike before.