Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 25 September 2016

:: National ::

Prime Minister Narendra Modi s first public speech after the terror attack in Uri did not disappoint in the sharpness of its message to Pakistan.
He invoked the people of Pakistan in a direct dialogue, urging them to fight common socioeconomic ills that alict both neighbours, while warning that country's leadership that any threat to India's security will be strongly met.
Speaking at a well-attended public meeting on the Kozhikode beach on Saturday on the sidelines of the BJP national council meet, Mr. Modi also accused Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of reading from a script prepared by terrorists at the United Nations General Assembly last week, in his serenade to Kashmir .
Taking forward his Balochistan speech at the Red Fort on August 15, Mr. Modi reminded Pakistan of its own internal strife in Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit.
The rally, held on the first day of the national council meeting, was expected to contain a strong message to Pakistan and address the outrage both in the country and Sangh cadre.

The Prime Minister’s Office has asked the Railways to apply the brakes on its ambitious fast track plan to set up an independent regulator for freight and passenger tariffs
The PMO has asked the Ministry to follow the legislative route to create the regulator rather than push it through an executive order.
The Ministry had proposed Rail Development Authority by issuing a notification through an executive order and subsequently strengthen its powers through the legislative process, in a bid to bypass possible hurdles in Parliament.
After decision to merge the rail Budget with the general Budget, Railway Minister had cited setting up of an independent regulator to determine tarif as per the market demand as the topmost priority for the Railways.
The legislative route may be a major setback for the Railways on this front, as it was banking on creating the independent regulator this year in order to perk up its worse-than-expected financial performance in the first half of this fiscal year.

The conclusion of the deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets is awelcome step to augment the capabilities of the Indian Air Force but the number is too small for logistical and operational reasons.
They also agreed that until India can build its own aircraft, the increasing diversity in the fleet cannot be addressed, another cause of concern for the IAF.
India and France signed the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA), ending negotiations for the direct purchase which began after PM Modi announced the direct purchase in April 2015.
The deal, interestingly, does not have an optional clause, which means the IAF will have just two squadrons in service.
The deal for 36 aircraft is valued at € 7.87 bn or about Rs. 1,630 crore per plane and it included the spares, weapons, maintenance and performance guarantee for five years.
The average cost of the basic aircraft is € 91 million or about Rs. 680 crore and the 36 jets include 28 single and eight trainer variants.

India, Germany, Japan and Brazil will continue to push for comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council, Foreign Ministers of the four countries who met on the sidelines of General Assembly resolved.
India was represented by Minister of State for External Afairs M.J. Akbar.
The Group of 4 (G4) wants permanent membership of the Security Council for themselves, and wide and far-reaching reform of the UN.
“More than 70 years after the founding of the UN, the Security Council also has to adapt in order to cope with the ever growing global challenges,” a joint statement by the four countries said.

A number of Baloch activists and leaders staying in Europe could approach India to seek asylum if the host countries tried to deport them to Pakistan, leader of the Free Balochistan Movement.
Mr. Marri is the second major Baloch leader after Mr. Bugti to declare his intention to seek asylum in India.
In 2015, Free Balochistan Movement reached out to India to seek support and appointed a Baloch residing in Delhi as its representative.
Mr. Marri said India should consider providing educational opportunities for Baloch activists as many of them have been denied education in Pakistan due to their political leanings.

The Centre is not considering any proposal to withdraw the ‘Most Favoured Nation’ (MFN) status accorded to Pakistan as even without the move the level of bilateral trade is very low.
The MFN status was accorded in 1996 as per India’s commitments as a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
According to the MFN principle of the WTO’s General Agreement on Tarifs and Trade to which India is a signatory/contracting party —each of the WTO member countries should “treat all the other members equally as ‘most favoured’ trading partners.
According to the WTO, though the term ‘MFN’ “suggests special treatment, it actually means non-discrimination.”
In the wake of the deadly attack on Indian soldiers in Uri, an incident for which India is holding Pakistan responsible, there have been calls in India for tough action against its neighbour, including the revocation of the MFN status.
Bilateral trade between the two South Asian neighbours was just $2.6 billion in 2015-16 which represented a minuscule 0.4 per cent of India’s overall goods trade worth $643.3 billion in the same year.
The MFN concept is an integral part of the WTO agreements and is among the principles forming the foundation of the multilateral trading system.
As per the WTO, whenever a country brings down a trade barrier or liberalises a sector.

Government has ruled out any extension to the September 30 deadline for filing income disclosure under the black money compliance window.
Under the IDS, people can disclose their undeclared income and escape prosecution. The scheme, which was launched on June 1 to uncover black money, closes on September 30.
Those disclosing assets under the IDS will have to pay 45 per cent tax plus penalty.
Also the payments can be made in three instalments till September 2017.