Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 25 May 2017

:: National ::

PM will visit Germany, Spain, Russia and France

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Germany, Spain, Russia and France between May 29 and June 3.
The External Affairs Ministry has announced that he will hold bilateral talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Spanish Prime MinisterMariano Rajoy and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Ms. Merkel will host Mr. Modi at her official Meseberg Country Retreat. Both the leaders will hold the fourth India-Germany Intergovernment Consultations (IGC). They will later jointly address a business forum.
Following the summit, the Prime Minister will participate in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 2 as a Guest of Honour.
He will hold bilateral discussions with the newly elected President Macron of France on strategic issues.

Move to remove Justice Nagarjuna Reddy

Mr. Ansari has admitted the motion and has sought the advice of Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar.
The next step in the process is for the Vice-President to constitute a three-member committee under the 1968 Judges (Inquiry) Act, which generally consists of a sitting Supreme Court judge and two High Court Chief Justices. T
his is done in consultation with the CJI. The Committee will function like a trial court, examining the accusations against Justice Reddy and ruling whether they are well-founded. Thereafter, it will advise in favour, or against the judge’s removal.
The Committee’s decision will then be placed in both houses of Parliament for a vote, and would require a two-third majority of MPs present voting in favour of the motion in the same session, or an absolute majority of a joint session, for the judge to be removed.
Article 124 (4) of the Constitution stipulates that a minimum of 50 Rajya Sabha MPs or double that number from the Lok Sabha are required as signatories to initiate impeachment, the only means to remove judges from office in the country’s higher judiciary.
When the process is initiated, Justice Nagarjuna Reddy would be only the fifth judge of the higher judiciary to face impeachment.

52 genes linked to human intelligence discovered

Scientists have discovered 52 genes linked to human intelligence, 40 of which have been identified as such for the first time.
The findings also turned up a surprising connection between intelligence and autism that could one day help shed light on the condition’s origins.
Taken together, the new batch of “smart genes” accounted for 20% of the discrepencies in IQ test results among tens of thousands of people examined, the researchers reported in Nature Genetics .
Most of the newly discovered gene variants linked to elevated IQ play a role in regulating cell development in the brain, especially neuron differentiation and the formation of neural information gateways called synapses.
An international team of 30 scientists combed through 13 earlier studies in which detailed genetic profiles and intelligence evaluations — based on IQ tests — had been compiled for 78,000 people, all of European descent.
Increasingly powerful computers have made it possible to scan and compare hundreds of thousands of genomes, matching tiny variations in DNA with diseases, body types or, in this case, native smarts.
The human genome has some 25,000 genes composed of more than three billion pairing of building-block molecules.
Many of the genetic variations linked with high IQ also correlated with other attributes: more years spent in school, bigger head size in infancy, tallness, and even success in kicking the tobacco habit.
One of the strongest — and most surprising — links was with autism, noted Ms. Posthuma.
Conversely, the absence of certain high-IQ genes was more common in people suffering from schizophrenia or obesity.

India and Japan unveiled a vision document for the Asia Africa Growth Corridor

India and Japan unveiled a vision document for the Asia Africa Growth Corridor, proposed by the Prime Ministers of the two countries last November.
More details are likely to be firmed up by September in time for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to New Delhi.
Unlike China’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) project, about which India has raised several concerns, the Asia Africa Growth Corridor is conceived as a more open and inclusive programme.
It will be based on more consultations and keep people as the centre piece rather than just trade and economic ties.
The document presented to the board of the African Development Bank’s governors at their annual meeting here, proposes four key elements that leverage the strengths of India and Japan.
They are enhancing capacity and skills; building quality infrastructure and connecting institutions; development and cooperation projects in health, farming, manufacturing and disaster management; and people-to-people partnerships.
The Ambassador also called for greater cooperation between Indian and Japanese firms in furthering Africa’s development and urged Indian investors to participate in the new economic zone coming up around Kenya’s Mombasa port with Japan’s assistance.

:: International ::

Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ announced his resignation

Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ announced his resignation so that the leader of his coalition partner party can succeed him, in line with an agreement between the two parties.
Mr. Prachanda of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) became Prime Minister in August 2016 with the support of Nepali Congress, the country’s largest party.
The two parties agreed to switch Prime Ministers after nine months, when Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba would become Nepal’s leader.
It will take weeks for Mr. Deuba to assume office, and Mr. Prachanda will serve as acting PM in the interim. The two parties have enough votes in Parliament to obtain the simple majority vote needed to form a new coalition government.
During his time in office, Mr. Prachanda was able to hold local elections to municipal and village councils for the first time in 20 years.

:: Business and Economy ::

Cabinet provides preference to local suppliers in Government procurement

The Union Cabinet approved a policy that provides preference to local suppliers in Government procurement.
The new policy — aimed at pushing the ‘Make in India’ initiative — is to boost domestic manufacturing and services, thereby creating employment and enhancing income.
It will also stimulate the flow of capital and technology into domestic manufacturing and services. It will also provide a further thrust towards the manufacture of parts, components and sub-components of these items, it added.
Procurement by the Government is substantial in amount and can contribute toward this policy objective.
The policy, approved by the cabinet will be implemented through an order pursuant to the General Financial Rules, 2017 to provide purchase preference (linked with local content) in Government procurement.
The order also covers autonomous bodies, government companies/entities under the government’s control.
Under the new policy, local suppliers are those whose goods or services meet prescribed minimum thresholds (ordinarily 50%) for local content.
Local content is essentially domestic value-addition, according to the statement, which added that local content could be increased through partnerships, among others.
A Standing Committee in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion will oversee the implementation of this order and issues arising out of them, and make recommendations to nodal ministries and procuring entities.
In the procurement of goods for Rs. 50 lakh and less, and where the nodal ministry determines that there is sufficient local capacity and local competition, only local suppliers will be eligible.
The new policy also requires that specifications in tenders must not be restrictive — that is, it should not require proof of supply in other countries or proof of exports in respect of previous experience.

Govt is not considering extending the rollout date for the GST

The government is not considering extending the rollout date for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) past July 1, and the GST Network is almost ready for that deadline.
Mr. Kumar also added that the GST Network, the company behind the IT backbone of the new tax regime, had received registrations from 60.5 lakh out of the 83 lakh tax payers eligible to be on the network.
Regarding concerns that the GST Network — of which the government owns 49% and private companies own 51% — would face the moral hazard of sensitive private data being used for private purposes.
The 49% government holding is divided along the lines of 24.5% Centre and 24.5% states and UTs. The 51% is divided between five companies.
The 24.5% of the states and the Centre have three board members each, and the 51% private companies have three board members. And nothing can happen without the decision of the directors.

The Centre has proposed widening the scope of its UDAN scheme

The Centre has proposed widening the scope of its UDAN scheme for regional connectivity by making more flight operations eligible for a host of concessions, including viability gap funding.
All routes which do not have flight services at present may become part of the Scheme.
The Centre has invited stakeholders’ comments on its proposal and will finalise the RCS by June 30.
For instance, airlines operating on Lucknow-Varanasi route may be eligible for concessions under the UDAN scheme as there are no flights on the route at present although there are flights operating out of these airports to other destinations.
However, to be eligible, airlines need to participate in the bidding process. At present, only airports that are either categorised as unserved or underserved fall under the Scheme.
The Civil Aviation Ministry has further proposed decreasing the exclusivity on flight operations under the RCS from three years to one year. However, the subsidy to airlines will continue for three years.
At present, no other airline, except the one which has won the bid, is allowed to operate on routes awarded under the Scheme.
The Government may also allow flights between airports less than 150 kilometres of distance from each other, for instance, Bengaluru-Mysuru route, to be eligible to fall under the UDAN scheme.

Union Cabinet approved the phasing out of the 25-year-old FIPB

The Union Cabinet approved the phasing out of the 25-year-old Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).
The decision is aimed at making India more attractive for foreign direct investment (FDI) by improving ease of doing business and promoting the ‘Maximum Governance, Minimum Government’ principle.
The move entails abolishing the FIPB and allowing administrative ministries/departments to process applications for FDI requiring government approval.
“Work relating to processing of applications for FDI and approval of the government” would now be handled by the concerned ministries/departments in consultation with the DIPP, the government said.