Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 25 JUNE 2019

::NATIONAL::

NITI Aayog to release second edition of “Healthy States, Progressive India” Report

NITI Aayog will release the second edition of “Healthy States, Progressive India” in the capital tomorrow on 25.6.2019. The Report will be released by VC NITI AayogDr. Rajiv Kumar in presence of Member NITI AayogDr. V K Paul, CEO NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant, Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan and representatives from World Bank.
The Round-II report focuses on measuring and highlighting the overall performance and incremental improvement over a two-year period (2016-17 and 2017-18) in the States and UTs.
In February 2018, the first round of the Health Index (referred to as 2017 Health Index) was released, which measured the annual and incremental performance of the States and UTs over the period of 2014-15 (base year) to 2015-16.
Among the Larger States, Kerala, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu ranked on top in terms of overall performance, while Jharkhand, Jammu & Kashmir, and Uttar Pradesh were the top three ranking States in terms of annual incremental performance.

Standing committee of finance fails to produce estimate of black money abroad

The Standing Committee relied on three institutes — the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, the National Institute of Financial Management and the National Council of Applied Economic Research — to come up with their estimates of unaccounted income in the country. The three estimates varied significantly, ranging from 7-120% of GDP.
“It appears that the reliable estimation of unaccounted income and wealth inside and outside the country is a difficult task. This inference is validated by the widely varying estimates of the unaccounted income arrived at by these three institutes,” the report said.
The Standing Committee enumerated the various steps taken to curb the generation of black money. The report said the paucity of time and the limited number of stakeholders that could be examined meant that the findings should be considered as only preliminary in nature.

NHAI aims to raise 5000cr via bidding for toll roads

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) aims at raising nearly Rs. 5,000 crore in the third round of bidding inviting private players to collect toll and operate roads, according to the government.
The bids for the third phase of toll-operate-transfer (TOT) were invited on June 13 and the last date of submission of bids is September 11. The initial estimated value of the concession is Rs. 4,995.48 crore, Road Transport and Highways Minister NitinGadkari told RajyaSabha on Monday.
The move will help the NHAI to monetise its assets to undertake more projects. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in 2016 had authorised it to monetise public-funded national highways projects through the TOT model. Under the programme, selected entities make a one-time lump sum payment in return for long-term toll collection rights.
The first round of bidding for 680 km of roads was conducted in February 2018, following which the concessionaire had deposited Rs. 9,681.5 crore with the NHAI. The second round was cancelled in February after it received a lukewarm response.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

India claims its presence in RCEP despite objections raised

Government officials said it would be ‘premature’ to suggest India could be cut out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) being negotiated by 16 countries led by the ASEAN bloc, if it doesn’t agree to join it by the year-end.
Reiterating that India is ‘consistently’ engaged with RCEP negotiations, which will see a free trade agreement which includes ASEAN countries, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, Commerce Ministry sources said Indian delegations have a series of meetings planned in the next few weeks to discuss the way forward in RCEP.
“India also has shown it is keen for the partnership to work, as seen by our consistent engagement on the issue. There are some issues that need to be ironed out still, but it would be extremely premature to talk about RCEP going ahead without India,” a Commerce Ministry official who preferred not to be named.
In an interview to the CNBC channel, Mr. Mahathir said he would prefer to go ahead with a formulation of 13 countries that are willing to go ahead immediately, and allow outliers India, Australia and New Zealand to join the pact at a future date.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Nepal set to cleanse Everest from waste materials

After every party it is time to clean up and Mount Everest is no different. The record number of climbers crowding the world’s highest mountain this season has left a government cleanup crew grappling with how to clear away everything from abandoned tents to human waste that threatens drinking water.
Budget expedition companies charge as little as $30,000 per climber. Everest has so much garbage — depleted oxygen cylinders, food packaging, rope — that climbers use the trash as a kind of signpost. But this year’s haul from an estimated 700 climbers, guides and porters on the mountain has been a shock to the ethnic Sherpas who worked on the cleanup drive this spring.
Moreover, the tents are littering South Col, or Camp 4, which, at 8,000 metres (26,240 feet), is the highest campsite on Everest, just below the summit. The high winds at that elevation have scattered the tents and trash everywhere.
“The altitude, oxygen levels, slippery slopes, and bad weather make it very difficult to bring big things as tents down,” said Dawa Steven Sherpa, who led an independent cleanup last month and has been a leading figure in the campaign to clean Mount Everest for the past 12 years.
Exhausted climbers struggling to breathe and battling nausea leave heavy tents behind rather than attempt to carry them down. Mr. Sherpa said the logos on the tents were deliberately ripped out so the culprits could evade detection.
“It took us an hour to dig out just one tent out of the frozen ice and bring it down,” said Sherpa. His expeditions have alone brought down some 20,000 kg of garbage since 2008.

::SPORTS::

Indian junior women’s team is the best in Black forest cup

In Boxing, India's junior women pugilists clinched seven medals, including five gold, while the team was adjudged the best of the tournament in the Black Forest Cup in Villingen, Schwenningen, Germany.
Haryana's Neha (54kg) and Karnataka's Anju Devi (50kg) claimed the honours of best boxer and promising player of the tournament.