Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 27 AUGUST 2019

SSC CGL Current Affairs


Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 27 AUGUST 2019


::NATIONAL::

Plea in supreme court seeking establishment of RTI web portal in all states

  •  The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre and 25 States to respond to a writ petition for a direction to establish Right to Information (RTI) web portals across all States to enable citizens, especially those living abroad, to file RTI applications online.
  •  The Central government established an online RTI portal whereby any Indian citizen, including Non-Residential Indians (NRIs), can apply for information under the RTI Act with the desired Ministry or Department under the Central government. An applicant can also pay the requisite fee through online payment in this portal and submit the RTI application, the petition said.
  •  The Centre had also requested, via a letter dated December 13, 2013, the various State governments to explore the feasibility of implementing online RTI portals. It had even offered to provide technical support for this purpose through the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to the States.

More than 80 % decline in HIV cases in India

  •  The government today said that there has been more than 80 per cent decline in new HIV infection cases in the country since its peak in 1995. The global average of decline in new infection is estimated at 47 per cent.
  •  Talking to reporters at a function in New Delhi, Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said, National Aids Control Organization has signed anMoU with 18 Ministries and Departments to augment a comprehensive AIDS response mechanism. He said the government is committed for meeting all the set goals to eradicate HIV from the country.
  •  National Aids Control Organization, NACO today signed anMoU with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for prevention and control of HIV related disease. The MoU intends to create awareness and educate people about the ill-effects of drugs abuse on the individual, family, workplace and society at large.
  •  It aims to reduce stigmatization of and discrimination against, groups and individuals dependent on drugs in order to integrate them back into society.

::ECONOMY::

Bimal Jalan committee recommends transfer of funds to government

  •  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), at its board meeting on Monday, decided to transfer Rs. 1.76 lakh crore to the Centre including the interim dividend of Rs. 28,000 crore paid in February which is likely to address the precarious fiscal situation of the government to a great extent.
  •  The RBI had formed a committee, chaired by former Governor BimalJalan, to review its economic capital framework and suggest the quantum of excess provision to be transferred to the government. The committee was formed after a demand from the government for more money. The RBI Board has accepted all the recommendations of the Jalan committee.
  •  The panel recommended a clear distinction between the two components of economic capital - realized equity and revaluation balances. It was recommended that realized equity could be used for meeting all risks/ losses as they were primarily built up from retained earnings, while revaluation balances could be reckoned only as risk buffers against market risks as they represented unrealized valuation gains and hence were not distributable.
  •  The committee also recognised that RBI’s provisioning for monetary, financial and external stability risks is the country’s savings for a ‘rainy day’, (a monetary or financial stability crisis), which has been consciously maintained with the RBI in view of its role as the Monetary Authority and the Lender of Last Resort.

Analysts claim economic issues will take time to fade away

  •  Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcements pertaining to revival of the economy Friday last may have improved sentiments and might augment liquidity in the system, but it will take time for the current slowdown to fade away.
  •  Any further job loss is expected be curbed and consumer spend in the upcoming festive season will decide the quantum of bounce-back in the economy and the fortunes of companies affected by the slowdown.
  •  While analysts are unanimous about the positive impact of the announcements on the economy, they feel that revival would be a gradual process.
  •  Analyts expect markets to react positively to these moves and recommend investors to use these ‘turbulent times’ to build the portfolio of companies with ‘moats in their business and ability to withstand technology disruptions’.

    Click Here for Study Material for SSC CGL Exam

    SSC CGL (Tier-1) Exam Crash Course

::INTERNATIONAL::

G7 hails India’s effort to conserve water and eliminate single use plastic

  •  At G7 Summit, Prime Minister Narendra highlighted India's large scale efforts towards eliminating single-use plastic, conserving water, harnessing solar energy and protecting flora and fauna for a sustainable future.
  •  Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted that reiterating India's commitment to tackle global challenges Prime Minister underlined India's contribution to address reducing biodiversity, climate change, water stress & ocean pollution.
  •  AIR correspondent reports, clouds covered the sky of Biarritz yesterday, but there is a new dawn waiting for India today which was invited as a partner country in G7 summit. Apart from getting a diplomatic win on the Kashmir issue, India also gave an idea to the world on the forum of G7 that how to fight against the natural calamities.
  •  In his one to one talk with UN general secretary, Antonio Guterres Prime Minister NarendraModi suggested about how the world could come together to create a pool of trained volunteers which will help the countries in case of disaster.

Trump confirms resuming talks with Chinese traders

  •  United States President Donald Trump today said that US and Chinese trade negotiators would very shortly resume trade talks.
  •  Talking to reporters at the G-7 summit in Biarritz, Trump said China called last night and stressed to make a deal over the issue.
  •  Trump's remarks came amidst reports of Asian stock markets tumbling today. On Friday, US President announced tariff hikes on effectively all Chinese imports to the US. It came after Beijing said it would impose fresh duties and raise tariffs on US imports into China.
  •  Meanwhile, the Chinese yuan weakened to a fresh 11-year low against the US dollar. The onshore yuan was around 7.15 per dollar in morning Asian trade.
  •  Trump later said talks with China were “more meaningful than at any time” because the United States was doing well while China was “losing millions of jobs”.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Study reveals higher levels of physical activity lowers risk of death in middle ages

  •  Higher levels of physical activity, regardless of intensity, are associated with a lower risk of early death in middle aged and older people, says a study.
  •  The findings, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), also show that being sedentary, for example sitting for 9.5 hours or more a day, excluding sleeping time, is associated with an increased risk of death.
  •  The World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity each week for adults aged between 18 and 64 years.
  •  However, these are based mainly on self-reported activity, which is often imprecise. So exactly how much activity, and at what intensity, is needed to protect health remains unclear.
  •  Deaths fell steeply as total volume of physical activity increased up to a plateau of about 300 minutes (five hours) per day of light-intensity physical activity or about 24 minutes per day moderate intensity physical activity.

::SPORTS::

Indian archers shine at world championships