Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 25 July 2017

::National::

C.S.Karnan:

• Stepping up his effort to get remission of the six-month prison sentence awarded to him by the Supreme Court for contempt of court, former Calcutta High Court judge C.S. Karnan will appeal to the new President, Ram Nath Kovind.
• Mr. Nedumpara lawyer of Karnan also said that the final draft of the petition to the new President was prepared. Justice (retd.) Karnan is currently serving the prison sentence at the Presidency Jail in Kolkata following his arrest from Coimbatore by a Bengal Police team in June.
• Inscrutable are the ways of the Almighty. It could be His will that Justice C.S. Karnan’s be the first representation which Your Excellency as the President of India [will receive] on the very first day of assumption of office.
• And that too, seeking the exercise of Your Excellency’s extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 72 of the Constitution of India.

Behdienkhllam festival:

• Jaintia tribesmen oerform a rituL during the age old Behdienkhllam festival at Tuber village in Meghalaya. The post sowing ritual is to seek blessings for a good harvest and disease free life.

Udupi Ramachandra Rao:

• Udupi Ramachandra Rao, hailed as the father of the Indian satellite programme that started with Aryabhata, is dead. Dr. Rao, 85, passed away at his Indiranagar home.He was suffering from age-related health issues.
• Dr. Rao, who was decorated with the Padma Vibhushan this year, was the Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation and Secretary, Department of Space from 1984 to 1994. 
• He is the only Indian to be included in the Satellite Hall of Fame of the Society of Satellite Professionals International, Washington. The hall of fame has the likes of Arthur Clarke and Van Allen. 
• Dr. Rao’s space journey blossomed under the tutelage of Vikram Sarabhai, his doctoral guide and later boss at ISRO: in 1972, Sarabhai tasked the young Rao — fresh from MIT and the only Indian then who had worked on NASA’s Pioneer and Explorer satellite projects — with building an Indian satellite.
• Then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had come down to see the assembled satellite — Aryabhata — which was launched on a Russian rocket in 1975. Indian satellites had started sprouting.
• In 1984, Dr. Rao succeeded Satish Dhawan as ISRO Chairman and Secretary, Department of Space..
• As the first director of what is now called ISRO Satellite Centre, Dr. Rao was responsible for 18 early satellites including the landmark Bhaskara, APPLE, the Indian Remote sensing Satellites or IRSs.
• As the chairman of overseeing body ADCOS or the Advisory Committee on Space Sciences, he finalised, shaped, refined or designed the Chandrayaan-1 lunar mission of 2008; the Mars Orbiter Mission of 2013; and the upcoming Chandrayaan-2 set for 2018. One of the current unfinished projects of the cosmic ray scientist is Aditya L1 mission  India’s upcoming solar observatory, so to say.
• Born in Adamaru, near Udupi on March 10, 1932, Dr. Rao is survived by his wife, Yashoda, son Madan Rao, faculty at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru, and architect-daughter Mala.

BillionAbles’ app 

• A Delhi-based start-up has launched a smartphone app that can assist people with special needs to find disabled-friendly restaurants, tourist locations and other public places across India.
• The app, called BillionAbles, is India’s first lifestyle app for persons with disabilities and special needs, says its founder Sameer Garg.
• The app was conceptualised by Mr. Garg and developed by Deepak Kumar, 24, who is a student of engineering at Kurukshetra University in Haryana.
• Users can filter the search results on the basis of features such as step-free access, Braille and sign language availability or gluten-free food availability.

Admiralty Bill and Footwear Design and Development Institute passed:

• The Rajya Sabha passed two Bills on jurisdiction and settlement of maritime claims and the Footwear Design and Development Institute. 
• The Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims), Bill, 2017, passed by the Lok Sabha in March, seeks to consolidate the laws relating to admiralty jurisdiction, legal proceedings in connection with vessels, their arrest, detention, sale and other related matters. 
• While earlier only the High Courts of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras could take up maritime cases, the Bill extends the power to the High Courts of Karnataka, Kerala, Hyderabad, Orissa and Gujarat, besides any other High Courts as notified by the Centre.
• The Footwear Design and Development Institute Bill, 2017, as earlier passed by the Lok Sabha, is to establish it as an institution of national importance. Ms. Sitharaman informed the House that the programme currently has 12 campuses, of which seven units are already functional.

Lodha reforms revisited

• Over a year after backing the mantra of reforms framed by the high-profile Justice R.M. Lodha Committee to usher in transparency in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the cricket administration, the
• Supreme Court said it was ready to revisit, if not modify, some key recommendations as they “may not be a good idea in this country”.
• Primary among the recommendations of the Justice Lodha panel which may come under scrutiny is the “one State, one vote policy. 
• Another is the capping of the number of members of the senior selection committee at three, all of them to be former Test players. The BCCI last year stuck to its conventional five members.
• The Bench said it would hear the BCCI, the State cricket associations and member bodies on issues such as “memberships, number of votes” in an effort to make the running of “cricket, the gentleman’s game” come as close to perfect as possible.

Banking Regulation Bill

• Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley introduced the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2017, in the Lok Sabha.
• The Bill seeks to authorise the RBI to resolve the problem of stressed assets, even as the Opposition demanded that it be sent to a standing committee for scrutiny.
• The Bill seeks to amend the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, and replace the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance promulgated in May. 
• It allows the RBI to open an insolvency resolution process in respect of specific stressed assets. The RBI will also be empowered to issue directives for resolution and appoint authorities or committees to advise the banking companies on stressed asset resolution.

UNICEF ambassador

• Actor Amitabh Bachchan will continue to act as goodwill ambassador for UNICEF for another two years.
• He will promote awareness of measles and rubella vaccines.PTI

First-ever film appreciation course commences in Kashmir

• The strife-torn Kashmir Valley  witnessed the opening of a film appreciation course in Srinagar, a collaborative effort between the Pune-based Film and Television Institute of India and the University of Kashmir. 
• The five-day programme is being held in association with the varsity's Media Education Research Centre.

::INTERNATIONAL::

Inscription, made of over 130 Chinese characters found:

• An ancient rock inscription and stone monument dating back 900 years have been discovered on a mountain in China’s Hebei province.
• The inscription, made of over 130 Chinese characters, was carved on a piece of smooth stone
• The stone monument was underneath the inscription, on which about 300 Chinese characters were carved.
• Both the inscription and the monument recorded the renovation of the Chouchan Temple during the Song Dynasty.
• The new discovery offers valuable materials to study the history of Chouchan Temple and other famous temples.

Keeping safe while cruising in the Arctic

• When the Crystal Serenity , a 1,000-passenger luxury liner, sails in August on a month-long Arctic cruise through the Northwest Passage, it will have a far more utilitarian escort: a British supply ship.
• The Ernest Shackleton , which normally resupplies scientific bases in Antarctica, will help with the logistics of shore excursions along the route from Alaska to New York through Canada’s Arctic Archipelago.
• But the escort ship will also be there should the Serenity become stuck in ice or something else goes wrong. The Shackleton can manoeuvre through ice and will be carrying emergency water and rations for the liner’s passengers and 600 crew members, oil spill containment gear and a couple of helicopters.
• As global warming reduces the extent of sea ice in the Arctic, more ships — cargo carriers as well as liners like the Serenity taking tourists to see the region’s natural beauty — will be plying far northern waters. Experts in maritime safety say that raises concerns about what will happen when something inevitably goes wrong.
• Although the Arctic has not been the site of a major incident involving a cruise ship in recent years, a smaller liner, the Explorer , sank off the Antarctic Peninsula in 2007 after striking an iceberg. 
• Fortunately several other ships were not very far from the stricken ship, and the 150 passengers and crew were rescued after five hours in lifeboats.

::ECONOMY::

Indian pharma gets boost:

• Russia’s Chelyabinsk region is seeking proposals from Indian pharmaceutical companies looking to set up manufacturing units there with a local partner.
• While some manufacturers are eyeing the prospect of a local production facility as it would translate into easier and greater access to Russia the largest market in the Central and Eastern Europe region  they are unlikely to move fast for want of more clarity.
• Indian manufacturers were keen to know more about tax benefits that the Russian region would offer and the availability of infrastructure facilities for joint venture units. 
• Details on size of investment, specific product range the region is looking at and whether the government of Chelyabinsk would invest in the JV and provide buy-back facility were also sought.
• The invitation of Chelyabinsk, a region straddling the continental boundary of Asia and Europe, assumes significance in the context of growing emphasis in Russia to accord preference to locally made products. 
• Indian pharma exports to Russia have been showing negative growth in recent years due to regulatory requirements and that government’s policies encouraging self sustenance.
• The Russian government is pursuing a Vision 2020 Document with a focus on building self reliance in drugs.

RCEP talks:

• India is ‘fully committed’ to taking forward the negotiations for a mega Free Trade Agreement (FTA) called the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), to ensure that it is a ‘balanced’ pact that benefits all the 16 Asia-Pacific nation.
• While the RCEP negotiations aiming to liberalise norms in the 16 countries including India and China to boost trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region  are underway behind closed doors at the Hyderabad
• International Convention Centre, several people’s groups from across the country held demonstrations demanding a halt to the talks.
• They claimed that the mega-regional FTA will, among other things, adversely impact not only farmers’ rights but also access to affordable medicines, besides threatening the protections to India’s digital industry.
• Amid fears that the FTA will result in a surge in inflow of cheap goods into India from these countries including China, in turn impacting the Indian industry and farmers.
• This is the 19th Round of the RCEP Trade Negotiating Committee meeting at the technical level. In addition to this, so far there have been four Ministerial Meetings and three ‘Inter-sessional Ministerial Meetings’.
• India Inc. is learnt to have reservations against India undertaking any binding commitment to immediately eliminate duties on most traded goods, as part of the FTA. 
• India is pushing for liberalisation of services, including easing norms for movement of professionals across borders for short-term work. However, the slow progress of the services negotiations has been worrying India.

Jio’s 4G handset:

• Reliance Jio’s plan to introduce a cheap 4G handset will accelerate Internet adoption in India and is also likely to help reverse the recent decline in telecom industry’s revenue, according to Fitch Ratings.
• The new telecom major is also likely to gain revenue market share as the new handset will attract first-time 4G users.
• Jio’s 4G handset is likely to quickly replace 2G handsets in rural areas, where smartphones had previously been out of reach for many customers.
• Growth will be driven by increased data consumption and a rise in average spending per user. The monthly tariff on Jio’s 4G phone of $2.3 is more than 50% above the current average revenue per rural user, most of which are on 2G phones and consume minimal data.
• Reliance Jio’s higher monthly tariffs on the handset may limit the impact on the revenue market share of incumbents such as Bharti Airtel.
• Incumbents might also see some benefits to the extent that Jio’s strategy increases adoption of 4G and helps develop India’s smartphone culture raising data usage and average spending across the market.

GST irks solar players

• Ambiguity surrounding the Goods and Services Tax rate on various inputs is troubling the solar sector, with industry players also saying that their suppliers are not passing on the benefit arising out of input tax credits, leading to higher prices and eventually higher tariffs for customers.
• While the government is saying that there is a 5% rate on solar components, the truth is that the weighted average rate comes at about 10%. Some items are taxed at 18%, and some at the lower 5%. Others, like inverters, are even taxed at 28%.
• While the 5% tax rate specified by the GST Council for solar components has increased the cost of the projects, the ambiguity over the other inputs which are used for projects other than in the solar sector is creating confusion among solar developers.
• Because GST is an end-use tax, the government cannot even discriminate between uses by saying that, say, an inverter used for solar purposes will be taxed this much, but for other purposes at a higher rate.The same is true for the other components as well.

::SPORTS::

Grand felicitation for team

• The BCCI is planning a grand felicitation for the Indian women’s cricket team which won a billion hearts despite a heartbreaking loss in the World Cup final at Lord’s on Sunday. 
• The players will be presented with cheques for Rs. 50 lakh each while the support staff will receive Rs. 25 lakh each. 
• Efforts are also on for an interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has praised the team.

Olympics 2020

• Japan began the three-year countdown to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with celebrations and fanfare, even as organisers struggle to contain soaring costs and restore credibility.
• Japanese celebrities and athletes dressed in bright kimonos gathered for the launch of a remake of a popular 1964 Tokyo Olympics song, as organisers promised to turn the 2020 Games into the biggest “natsu matsuri” (summer festival) ever.
• The International Olympic Committee, fearful that ballooning budgets could see future Olympic bids dry up, last month praised local organisers for slashing costs.
• Progress on the financial front comes after a rocky start when the initial roll-out of the centrepiece Olympic stadium was bungled, forcing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2015 to tear up the blueprints amid public anger over its price tag. A new and cheaper plan was unveiled later that year.
• Japan also observed a national exercise to encourage tens of thousands of commuters to work from home, in a bid to ease rail and road congestion before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and reform the country’s workaholic culture.

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