Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 27 April 2016

:: NATIONAL ::

SC backed the resolve of the banks to go after Vijay Mallya

The Supreme Court backed the resolve of the banks to “go after” chairman of Kingfisher Airlines, Vijay Mallya, by handing over details of his overseas assets to them despite his plea to keep them a secret.
Mr Mallya accused the banks – who have said he is a “fugitive fleeing from justice” of trying to lure him back with appeals of a “negotiated settlement” of his debts, when in fact they just wanted to send him “straight to Tihar Jail”.
Mr Mallya, whose passport has been revoked by the government, and who has all but lost his status as a Rajya Sabha member, called the wrecked Kingfisher Airlines a “bonafide business failure”.
He said he had never misused his bank loans, and though a “defaulter,” he had never been a “wilful defaulter” as the government and the banks made him out to be.
The Bench ordered the Supreme Court’s Registry to hand over to the banks a sealed envelope submitted by Mr Mallya, containing details of foreign assets owned by him, his estranged wife and children.

48 Youths had been arrested for allegiance to IS and for planning attack

48 youths had so far been arrested nationwide for their allegiance to the IS and for planning attacks on behalf of the outfit.
During a countrywide raid in January-February this year, the National Investigation Agency arrested 25 men for allegedly trying to establish an Islamic State-backed caliphate in India.
The Islamic State is definitely a threat to India and the State intelligence officials were asked to improve intelligence-gathering techniques. The group may be losing steam internationally, but India remained vulnerable to it.
As per an estimate, there are 70-80 active terrorists in the Valley, and all of them are identified in police records.
They belong to the Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) among others.

Advanced new ship Shoor commissioned

Coastal security, particularly in the State, has received a shot in the arm as an advanced new ship, Shoor, of the Indian Coast Guard, commissioned about two weeks ago, arrived at its base in Mangaluru.
The 105-m-long Shoor, an offshore patrol vessel, is the fifth ship of the Coast Guard based in Mangaluru at the New Mangalore Port.
The Coast Guard already has four ships which are fast patrol vessels based at New Mangalore Port.
They are Savtiribai Phule, Kasturba Gandhi, Amartya and Rajdoot. In addition, the Coast Guard has two hovercrafts based in Mangaluru.
Designed and built by Goa Shipyard Ltd., Shoor can carry a helicopter. The ship can carry a single engine Chetak helicopter or a double engine advanced light helicopter.
The ship is also capable of carrying pollution response equipment to combat oil spill contamination at sea.
It carries five high speed boats, including for fast boarding operations, search and rescue, law enforcement and maritime patrol.

:: International ::

After India deny visa to Uighur leader, China says establish direct communication with Pak

China nudged India and Pakistan to establish direct communication to resolve differences on listing JeM chief Masood Azhar on the UN terror roll, close on the heels of New Delhi’s decision to deny visa to an Uighur leader wanted by Beijing.
In a written response Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said: “We encourage all parties related to the listing matter of Masood Azhar to have direct communication and work out a solution through serious consultations.”
She added: “China is willing to continue with its communication with all the relevant parties,” signalling Beijing’s intent to stay diplomatically engaged on this subject, and achieve results based on consensus.
Provision of international law could help Beijing steer clear of a possible controversy in the future, for adopting a “condescending approach” towards a subject that embroiled India and Pakistan.
Sustained diplomatic interaction between the two South Asian neighbours could yield a “suitable language”, which could be included in a new draft acceptable to both sides.
The officials, however, were non-committal on whether a closure to the controversy had now been achieved, pointing out that official communication from New Delhi on this subject was yet to be received.

British Court says Hillsborough tragedy was gross negligence by Police

The 96 Liverpool fans who died in the Hillsborough football stadium disaster were unlawfully killed, a jury found, blaming police for the worst tragedy in the history of British sport.
Following the longest-running inquest in English legal history, jurors concluded that policing decisions at the ill-fated match in 1989 “caused or contributed” to the deaths, and amounted to “gross negligence”.
Relatives of the victims have fought a 27-year campaign to get to the heart of what happened during the disaster, and were angry at an initial inquest ruling the deaths were accidental.
They emerged from the courtroom hugging and in tears, holding pictures of their loved ones and a scarf reading “JUSTICE”.
They linked hands above their heads and sang the Liverpool Football Club anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone” and chanted “Justice for the 96”.
Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute to their “extraordinary courage” in their “long search for the truth”.
The disaster occurred on April 15, 1989 during an FA Cup semi-final between the teams of Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough stadium in northern England.

:: Science and Technology ::

Plant breeders focussing on disease-resistant fruits

To promote organic cultivation of fruits, plant breeders are now focussing on developing disease-resistant fruit varieties which can be grown without using pesticides.
Even as efforts are on to develop various cultivation practices to reduce pest attack, scientists now feel that developing varieties which are resistant to major diseases will go a long way in promoting organic cultivation.
About 120 plant breeders and horticulturalists from across the country are deliberating on issues related to development of disease-resistant varieties of fruits, among other things.
A symposium on ‘Fruit breeding in tropics and sub-tropics: an Indian perspective’ being jointly organised by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR).
organic fruits are not just healthier, but would also fetch additional income to farmers, especially in the export market. The symposium would look at conservation of indigenous fruit varieties.

:: India and World ::

India and Pakistan foreign secretary meet first time after Pathankot attack

The much-anticipated talks between the Indian and Pakistani Foreign Secretaries on Tuesday failed to make headway on the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue, with both sides trading allegations.
Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar conveyed that Pakistan cannot be in denial on the impact of terrorism on the bilateral relationship. Terrorist groups based in Pakistan targeting India must not be allowed to operate with impunity
The Pakistan delegation, led by Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, alleged that Indian intelligence agencies were responsible for the unrest in Balochistan, and Mr. Jaishankar “firmly rebutted” the charge.
The meeting between Mr. Chaudhry and Mr. Jaishankar was the first after the January 2 Pathankot attack.

:: Business and Economy ::

Moody’s warns against risk of sovereign debt levels

India faces the risk of sovereign debt levels climbing higher if economic growth isn’t robust enough and could ultimately put pressure on the government’s ability to fund itself, Moody’s Investors Service has warned.
India’s government debt to GDP ratio, which we forecast to fall to 65.7 per cent in 2016 from 67.5 per cent in 2015, is well above the median for Baa-rated sovereigns but in a gradual declining trend.
“Debt interest payments as a proportion of revenues are more than double the median for similarly rated peers, at over 20 per cent. This reflects the government's narrow revenue base.”
However, robust private savings, capital controls and bank liquidity requirements allow India to sustain debt that is higher than its peers, the credit ratings agency said.
While policy moves are likely to enhance India’s medium-term economic strength, the constrained fiscal space available with the government puts India at risk in the event of slower-than-expected growth, the report notes.
“In the absence of robust growth, India’s debt could start to climb, and ultimately put pressure on the government’s ability to fund itself.” Regarding India’s corporate sector
Moody’s observed that although the growth of private debt was modest, the level of non-performing assets was leading to increased stress on state-owned bank balance sheets.
The main threat to the sovereign credit profile would be via a significant and prolonged worsening in asset quality at state-owned banks, beyond the recognition of bad loans currently underway, that causes contingent liabilities to crystallise on the government's balance sheet.

EU looking to gradually solve India’s contention to BTIA

The European Union has said that it offered India the possibility of asymmetric and gradual elimination of tariffs in the car and car parts and wines and spirits sectors as part of the negotiations on the bilateral free trade agreement known as the BTIA.
A continuing absence of agreement in these sectors has contributed to the lack of progress on the trade deal despite last month’s summit level talks between India and the EU.
“In terms of the car sector, in some cases, EU exporters face Indian import duties of up to 100 per cent on car and car parts,” a European Commission spokesperson for trade said.
“We suggested or agreed on long transitional periods for their elimination or even going as far as accepting an asymmetric elimination of these duties in favour of India.”
“The same goes for wines and spirits where our exporters face duties of up to 150 per cent and the proposal made in 2013 was for a gradual if not complete elimination of these duties, again taking into account Indian sensitivities,” Mr. Rosario said.
High on India’s priority list has been access to European markets for Indian service professionals (such as from the IT sector). This however does not seem imminent.
India has also been keen to obtain ‘data secure’ nation status from the EU, a classification that is crucial for the development of its IT and ITES sectors in Europe.

Apex Court wants Govt to explain recovery mechanism for bad loans

The Supreme Court asked the government to explain threadbare the mechanism followed to recover bad loans while making a preliminary remark that the present system for recovery does not seem perfect.
“Tell us about mechanism for recovering the dues. There may be some mechanism to deal with it. There is also a need of amendments. Suggest the ways and means by which these things can be prevented,” a bench said.
Solicitor-General Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the Centre, said the government was in the process of amending laws to safeguard banks against write-offs and non-performing assets. The matter was fixed for further hearing on July 19.

Finance minister expects good rain will take country towards 8.5 % growth rate

The economy is expected to grow over eight per cent this fiscal with the forecast of an above-normal monsoon raising hopes of the agriculture sector’s revival after two successive drought years, said Niti Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya.
He said the economic growth in the current fiscal could be even higher in view of policy and monetary interventions by the government and the Reserve Bank, which would ultimately push the sluggish industrial growth.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had also expressed hope that good rains would propel India’s economic growth to 8.5 per cent during the current fiscal, higher than the Central Statistics Office advance estimates of 7.6 per cent for 2015-16.
According to IMD, there are 94 per cent chances of country receiving “normal to above normal” rainfall, while there is only 1 per cent probability of “deficient” rainfall.
Agriculture, which contributes 15 per cent to India’s GDP and employs about 60 per cent of the country’s population, is heavily dependent on monsoon as only 40 per cent of the cultivable area is under irrigation.
The interest regime is also conducive to economic growth now, as the Reserve Bank has cut the key interest rate by 0.25 per cent and introduced a host of measures to smoothen liquidity supply.
The repo rate, at which RBI lends to the financial system, has come down to 6.5 per cent. This will also push economic activities.