Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 26 August 2016

:: National ::

Home Minister says future of India and Kashmir is linked

The future of India and Kashmir are linked, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said, stating that the Centre was willing to talk to all groups, including the separatists.
During his visit to Kashmir, the Minister announced reconciliatory measures to douse the 47-day unrest in the State, including replacing pellet guns and sending an all-party delegation.
Addressing a joint press conference with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, Mr. Singh said, “An expert committee on pellet guns will submit its report soon to find an alternative."
"Whether a civilian or a soldier dies, it pains the entire nation. However, nobody will be allowed to play with the future of Kashmir.”
He said the forces were “exercising maximum restraint” and more than 4,600 security personnel had been injured so far.

India hardened its position on talks with Pakistan

Hardening its position on talks, New Delhi has sent another letter to Islamabad outlining the need for talks on its “core concern” of battling terror emanating from Pakistan that targets “not just India, but other countries in the region”.
Mr Jaishankar have repeated that India is prepared to speak to Pakistan only about terrorism issues including the investigations into the Pathankot airbase attack in January 2016 and Mumbai 26/11 attacks in 2008.
However this time with the addition of a new demand that Pakistan vacate Pakistan-occupied Kashmir immediately.
The letter also details the confession of arrested militant Bahadur Ali, who admitted to being trained by the Lashkar-e-Toiba in Pakistan, and travelling to Jammu and Kashmir to carry out attacks here.
Last week, India had responded sharply to a suggestion from the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Jordanian Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein who had asked to visit Kashmir.
Confirming that the decision to engage other neighbours like Bangladesh and Afghanistan, who have also complained about attacks from terror groups in Pakistan, is a deliberate one.
Bangladesh, angry over the Dhaka café attack and others that it links to Pakistani support, has refused to send high level officials to any of the SAARC related events in Pakistan.
In a visit to Delhi this month, the Bangladesh Interior Minister Hassanul Haq Inu squarely blamed Pakistani groups for the attacks, and is understood to have discussed these with Indian officials.
Afghanistan’s President Ghani has also said terror attack on the American University in Kabul where 13 people including teachers and students were killed, was “organised” in Pakistan.

China urged India to do more to reinforce peace and stability along the border

China urged India to do more to reinforce peace and stability along the border, following reports that New Delhi was deploying advanced cruise missiles in the eastern sector.
“To maintain peace and stability along the India-China border is an important consensus reached by the two sides,” Chinese defence ministry said.
The BrahMos can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land. A result of India-Russia collaboration, the missile was inducted in the Army in 2007 and was being tested for induction in the Su-30 fleet of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
The controversy precedes the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Hangzhou next month for a meeting of the G-20 countries. He is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the summit.
Mr. Modi will reach Hangzhou after visiting Vietnam, which has expressed its interest in buying the BrahMos missiles. India is free to export these missiles as it has got the membership of the Missile Technology Control Regime.

:: International ::

UN investigation said that President Bashar carried out chemical attacks

A UN investigation has established that President Bashar al-Assad’s forces carried out at least two chemical attacks in Syria and that Islamic State jihadists used mustard gas as a weapon, according to a report.
The panel was able to identify the perpetrators of three chemical attacks carried out in 2014 and 2015.
The panel found that the Islamic State “was the only entity with the ability, capability, motive and the means to use sulphur mustard” in an attack on the town of Marea in northern Aleppo province on August 21, 2015.

Obama administration wants second term for Jim Yong Kim

The Obama administration is nominating current World Bank President Jim Yong Kim for a second term leading the 189-nation international lending organisation.
Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew praised Kim for using his first term at the World Bank to effectively address “today’s most pressing global challenges in innovative ways, from ending extreme poverty.”
Kim, the former president of Dartmouth College, was first tapped by President Barack Obama to head the World Bank in 2012.

:: Business and Economy ::

RBI has announced a raft of measures to boost investor participation

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced a raft of measures to boost investor participation and market liquidity in both the corporate bond and currency markets.
The central bank will allow commercial banks to issue rupee bonds in overseas markets — known as Masala bonds, both for their capital requirement and for financing infrastructure and affordable housing.
It has been now been decided by the regulator that the aggregate PCE that will be provided by the financial system for a given bond issue will be increased from the present level of 20 per cent to 50 per cent of the bond issue size.
RBI said it has also been decided to seek suitable legal amendments to enable it to accept corporate bonds under the Liquidity adjustment Facility (LAF).
In order to ease access to the foreign exchange market for hedging in over the counter (OTC) and exchange-traded currency derivatives, the RBI has allowed entities exposed to exchange rate risk.
To enhance participation in the corporate bond market, the RBI has decided that brokers authorised as market makers will be allowed to participate in the corporate bond repo market.
With an aim to reduce risk in banking sector, RBI has proposed to limit exposure of a bank to a business group to up to 25 per cent of its capital, down from the existing 55 per cent, the central banks said.

India-U.S. talks to focus on ways to improve the quality of goods and services

India and the U.S. will focus on measures to improve the quality of goods and services, develop smart cities as well as promote entrepreneurship and innovation during the forthcoming bilateral Strategic and Commercial Dialogue.
Talks are also likely on ‘ease of doing business’ initiatives in the context of the Parliament recently passing the Constitution Amendment Bill for Goods and Services Tax.
The S&CD is the main bilateral forum to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation in areas including trade and defence. The S&CD will be held in New Delhi during August 29-31.
This will be the second S&CD and the first such meeting in India. The first S&CD was held in Washington DC in September 2015.
India and the U.S. will also consider a partnership between BIS and NIST for analysis of notifications made at the World Trade Organisation on food safety, and animal & plant health measures as well as on technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures.
India and the U.S. will also assess the progress made by the Confederation of Indian Industry and the American National Standards Institute in developing an online portal for standards information that can be used by the industry.
Another area that will receive attention during the S&CD is infrastructure development and the proposal to build smart cities in India.
India will agree to facilitate visits of American delegations for smart city development, the sources said, adding that an American private sector consortium is keen on master planning activities to develop Visakhapatnam.
Bilateral trade in FY’16 had shrunk 3.4 per cent to $62 billion with India’s exports to the U.S. contracting 5.1 per cent to $40.3 billion and U.S. exports to India shrinking by 0.17 per cent to $21.7 billion.