Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 26 February 2022

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 26 February 2022

::NATIONAL::

SC seeks data from Centre on domestic violence law within 4 weeks

The observations came while the Court was dealing with a PIL filed by We the Women of India, a NGO which alleged that the protection officers provided under the Act are not sufficient.
Not happy with the decision by states to have revenue officers and district collectors appointed as protection officers, meant to be the first contact for women in distress under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act of 2005, the Supreme Court embarked on a reality check to discover how effective this legislation’s 17-year journey has been by directing the Centre to provide the number of pending litigations, complaints filed, besides funding pattern and eligibility criteria for protection officers.
While ordering the Centre to provide this information within four weeks, the bench commented that grand laws are made in the country with hardly any mechanism to know its effectiveness on ground.
“It is one thing to create a beautiful, grand law but at the ground, how do you create a mechanism to get feedback to pull the reins tighter,” said a bench of justices UU Lalit, S RavindraBhat and PS Narasimha.
The observations came while the Court was dealing with a PIL filed by We the Women of India, a NGO which alleged that the protection officers provided under the Act are not sufficient. Advocate Shobha Gupta who appeared for the NGO told the Court that even if they have been appointed, there is hardly any information available for women who are victims of domestic violence to approach them for protection, compensation, and other reliefs envisaged under the Act.
On a closer look of the list, the bench said, “It is very well to say you have 2500 bulk officers but these governments are designating revenue officers and sub-collectors holding additional responsibility as protection officers. This is not the intention of the Act. There has to be a dedicated cadre. How do you expect IAS officers to be protection officers?”
The Court further wished to know if Centre provides funds to states or the operation of the Act is managed using resources available with states. ASG informed the Court that in 2018, the Centre wrote to states asking them to appoint sufficient number of protection officers. “In 2018, you were aware this has to be done and you are still continuing with this. It is essential to have a specific cadre. In some states, geographical dispersion is large, so having an officer in each district will not be enough,” the bench observed.

::INTERNATIONAL::

UK freezes President Putin, Russian minister's assets over Ukraine invasion

The Treasury issued a financial sanctions notice against the two men, adding them to a list of Russian oligarchs who have already had their property and bank accounts in the UK frozen.
The UK government ordered all assets of President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov frozen over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Treasury issued a financial sanctions notice against the two men, adding them to a list of Russian oligarchs who have already had their property and bank accounts in the UK frozen.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier told his NATO partners that he was planning "imminent" sanctions against Putin and Lavrov.
Downing Street said Johnson told his counterparts that Russia's invasion of Ukraine was a "catastrophe" and the Kremlin chief was "engaging in a revanchist mission to overturn post-Cold War order".
Warning that Putin "may not stop there" and calling the situation a "Euro-Atlantic crisis with global consequences", he urged leaders to cut Russia off from the SWIFT international bank transfer system "to inflict maximum pain".
Johnson's comments ratchet up British action this week against Russian interests including banks, businesses and billionaires, though some lawmakers and experts have said the UK is not going far enough.
"The leaders agreed that more sanctions were needed, including focusing on President Putin's inner circle, building on the measures that had already been agreed," Johnson's office said after the meeting.
The JEF, set up in 2012, is made up of NATO members Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom, and non-members Finland and Sweden.

::ECONOMY::

Cabinet likely to consider proposal for FDI in IPO-bound LIC

The Union Cabinet is likely to consider on Saturday a proposal seeking changes in the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy to facilitate disinvestment of the country's largest insurer LIC, sources said.
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has mooted the proposal after taking views from the finance ministry.
"The Cabinet will take up the matter tomorrow," a source said.
According to the current FDI policy, 74 per cent foreign investment is permitted under the automatic route in the insurance sector. However, these rules do not apply to the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), which is administered through a separate LIC Act.
The Cabinet had in July last year approved the initial public offering (IPO) of LIC and the stake sale is being planned for the current March quarter.
Setting the stage for the country's biggest-ever public offering, Life Insurance Corporation on February 13 filed draft papers with capital market regulator Sebi for the sale of 5 per cent stake by the government for an estimated Rs 63,000 crore.
The initial public offering of over 31.6 crore shares or 5 per cent government stake is likely to hit D-street in March. Employees and policyholders of the insurance behemoth would get a discount over the floor price.
According to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), LIC's embedded value, which is a measure of the consolidated shareholders value in an insurance company, has been pegged at about Rs 5.4 lakh crore as of September 30, 2021, by international actuarial firm Milliman Advisors.
Although the DRHP does not disclose the market valuation of LIC, as per industry standards it would be about three times the embedded value or around Rs 16 lakh crore.
The LIC public issue would be the biggest IPO in the history of the Indian stock market. Once listed, LIC's market valuation would be comparable to top companies like RIL and TCS.

Swadeshi Jagran Manch urges government to reject new Air India CEO

The SwadeshiJagranManch is calling on the government to block the appointment of IlkerAyci (pictured) as chief executive of Air India, citing his previous political links in Turkey, with which New Delhi has strained relations.
This comes as government agencies carry out what one government official said were more intensive than usual background checks on Ayci, who was an adviser in 1994 to Erdogan, when the Turkish president was mayor of Istanbul. Ayci, a former chairman of Turkish Airlines, did not answer repeated calls by Reuters for comment.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

Canada clears world's 1st plant-based Covid vaccine

Canada approved the use of Covifenz, the world’s first plant-derived Covid-19 vaccine jointly developed by Medicago Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline Plc. The vaccine has been cleared for people aged 18 to 64 since its safety and effectiveness, according to Health Canada, have not been established in people younger than 18 or older than 64 years of age.
Covifenz is made from plant-based proteins that look like coronavirus and uses Glaxo’s adjuvant that contains DL-alpha-tocopherol, squalene, polysorbate 80, phosphate-buffered saline. The other ingredients include potassium phosphate monobasic anhydrous, anhydroussodium chloride, sodium phosphate dibasic anhydrous, and water for injection.
Medicago uses living plants as bioreactors to produce a particle that mimics the target virus. The virus-like particles, or VLPs, are developed through a process of synthesis, infiltration, incubation, harvest, and purification.
The virus code containing genetic instructions which can be 'read' by plants are inserted into bacteria that carries the information into the plant’s cells, according to the vaccine maker. During the incubation period, the plants are placed for at least four days in a carefully controlled greenhouse.
Medicago said that a severe allergic reaction, called anaphylaxis, is rare post-vaccination with Covifenz. The signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis may include hives, swelling of the lips, face, tongue or airway, difficulty breathing, increased heart rate, loss of consciousness, sudden low blood pressure, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea.

::SPORTS::

International Chess Federation strip Russia of Olympiad, FIDE Congress

The International Chess Federation on Friday decided that the 44th Chess Olympiad, including the competition for players with disabilities, and the FIDE Congress, will not take place in Russia.
"FIDE Council has decided that the 44th Chess Olympiad, including the competition for players with disabilities and the FIDE Congress, will not take place in Russia. FIDE will do our utmost to find another organizer for the Olympiad and provide more information in due time," FIDE tweeted.
The chess federation also confirmed that FIDE Congress will take place in 2022, but its location and dates will be announced later.
Earlier in the day, the Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) urged all International Sports Federations to relocate or cancel their sports events currently planned in Russia or Belarus.