Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 27 November 2015

:: National ::

Obesity on the rise in India

Obesity has emerged as the new killer disease making the young vulnerable to long-term chronic diseases like cardiovascular issues,diabetes and blood pressure fluctuations.
obesity is now plaguing children, who often become over weight due to innumerable factors like lack of physical activity,unhealthy eating habits, in-creasing reliance on convenience foods and hormonal issues.
Early incidence of obesity causes the deposition of plaque in the heart wall arteries at a much younger age,triggering premature heart attacks. Parents must keep a check on the weight of their children to help ensure that they have a long and healthy life

Corvette Anti-submarine

Kadmatt, the second of the four indigenously built stealth Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) corvette, was formally handed over to the Navy
The Corvette which is named after an island in the Lakshwadeep archipelago, has advanced stealth features is likely to be commissioned with the Navy in January. Indigenously developed with special grade high-tensile, the hull of the ship has bulk of sensors and weapon system. It can accommodate 17 officers,, 106 sailors and can carry a helicopter onboard.
The first ship of the series INS Kamorta was inducted into the Navy in August 2014. Two remaining corvettes of the series Kiltan and Kavaratti will be delivered to the Navy in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

Armed forces to have 33% quota for women

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh told Parliament on Thursday that the government was considering 33 per cent reservation for women in the paramilitary forces.
According to the data available with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA),women comprise only 2.04per cent of the paramilitary forces. Forces like the Central Reserve Police Force(CRPF), Border SecurityForce (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Central Industrial SecurityForce (CISF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and AssamRifles together constitute a9.8 lakh-strong force. Of these, only 19,575 are women.
The CRPF, which is the largest paramilitary force deployed in the country for law and order duties as well as in the Left-wing extremism-hit areas, has only6,234 women in its fold.

‘Fuzzy logic' to optimise water use

Should water be saved for power generation or should it be released for agriculture? This is the dilemma the Karnataka government finds itself up against at the end of a season of failed monsoons.
However, researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) have devised an algorithm that could possible ease the situation. The complex number crunching was tested out at the 71.50- TMC storage Lakkavalli gravity dam across the Bhadra in Shivamogga district that irrigates 1.68 lakh hectares across Chitradurga, Shivamoga, Chikkamagalur, Davangere, and Ballari taluk.
“In India, about 75 per cent of water is used in agriculture. But, the efficiency in use of water is very low, at just around 40 per cent,” says Pradeep Mujumdar, Professor at the Civil Engineering Department, who believes that calculating the amount and times for release of water can go a long way in conserving large amounts of water.
Soil moisture content for each of the crops was calculated, and based on the rainfall received at these stations, the researchers could calculate — through a mathematical tool called ‘Fuzzy logic' — the amount of water that needed to be released.

Ram Sethu dilemma

The Supreme Court gave the Centre four weeks' time to respond to BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's information that a Cabinet decision had been taken to “not touch” the ancient Ram Sethu or the Adam's Bridge in the implementation of the Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu was hearing a plea filed by Dr. Swamy urging the apex court to verify the Centre's stand and wrap up the litigation pending with it.
It was Dr. Swamy who had moved the Supreme Court seeking the project to be scrapped as the original route was to cut across the Ram Sethu.
Acting on the suggestions of the Supreme Court, the government had then appointed a high-power committee under Dr. R.K. Pachauri to study whether an alternative route to Alignment 6 (cutting through Ram Sethu) was feasible.

:: International ::

Reforms in China Military structure

China will shake up its military by establishing a joint operational command structure by 2020 and rejig existing military regions as part of overall reforms, President Xi Jinping.
In a lengthy speech carried by the official Xinhua news agency, President Xi gave a broad-brush description of the reforms he wanted, but gave few details aside from repeating a September pledge to cut troop numbers by 3,00,000.
“Under the leadership of the [Communist] Party, our military has gone from small to big, from weak to strong, from victory to victory. On this road, reform and innovation steps have never stopped,” he was quoted as saying.
China's navy is investing in submarines and aircraft carriers, while the air force is developing stealth fighters. The troop cuts are part of long-mooted reforms to simplify and further professionalise the military, especially command and leadership structures that are still largely run along Soviet lines.
As part of this move, China's seven military regions, which have separate command structures that tend to focus on ground-based operations, are expected to be reduced.

Dhaka rejects UN demand

Bangladesh has strongly refuted the UN human rights body's statement on war crimes trials, saying it was “highly disturbing.”
The UN's human rights office called on Bangladesh to stop implementing death sentences awarded by the war crimes tribunal “given the doubts on its fairness.”
The statement came after two convicted war criminals — Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed — were recently hanged
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has also claimed that the trials were “not fair” and called for abolishing the death penalty
The Foreign Ministry told the OHCHR that it was “highly disturbed” by the conclusion the rights body had made based on its “mis-perception or misconception” about the realities.
The letter also detailed the process of the trial, appeal and further review for the benefit of the UN body. The letter explained that the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh considered only the crimes committed by individuals in 1971, not related with the present political status of the convicts.

:: Business And Economy ::

‘undistorted' goods and services tax backed of Industry body

Finance Minister Arun Jaitely got the backing of India Inc. for bringing in an ‘undistorted' goods and ser-vices tax (GST) regime with corporations opting for a complete move to GST even if it involved making a compromise on its structure.
“I have no doubt that we can attain 9 per cent growth in the economy by 2018-19, if political parties can rise above their differences and help ring in the new indirect tax regime that has been in the making for over a decade,” said Sunil Kanoria, vice chairman of Srei Infrastructure and current president of industry chamber, Assocham.
“GST can help kickstart our economy…we are bolstering connectivity infrastructure like highways, railways and digital, but doing business between states remains a nightmare and 4.5 lakh MEs particularly suffer on this account.”
Global investors would also consider it a critical element in the ease of doing business – a parameter on which the Mo-di government is trying to improve India's abysmal standing.
The industry, however, was not in favour of the one per cent inter-state cascading sales tax to be imposed over the GST in order to compensate manufacturing states for a possible loss of revenue.
“We should be moving towards a united India rather than dividing states, so there should be a single rate and the 18 per cent GST rate that the Finance Ministry seems to be considering is reasonable,” the Assocham president said, adding that the GST shouldn't be creating new problems.
The government's efforts to improve the business regulatory environment and give entrepreneurs the confidence to invest fresh capital would start showing results by 2017-18 following a marginal improvement in growth and investments in 2016-17, the Assocham chief said.
Indian industry has not been able to have a regular audience with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the NDA government has not reconstituted the PM's Council on Trade and Industry and other forums.

Rupay Insurance cover period extended

The government has extended the usage criterion of the RuPay debit cards in order to avail of the in-built insurance cover, according to a press statement issued by the Ministry of Finance.
Earlier, cardholders had to use the card within 45 days prior to claim the insurance claim. This has now been extended to 90 days. “One of the stipulations of meeting the claim under Accidental Death and/or Permanent Disablement was that the RuPay Card holder has to carry-out at least one successful financial or non-financial transactions…up to 45 days prior to the date of incident resulting into Accidental death / Permanent Disability.
This condition was posing problem to the RuPay Card holders,” according to the statement. The National Payment Corporation has extended the usage clause to 90 days for RuPay Classic card-holders from November 25.
Only accidents arising on or after November 25 will be considered for the extended period. Claim intimations on accidents having occurred before November 25 will re-main under the previous eligibility criterion of 45 days. Under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana 16.54 crore accounts have been provided a RuPay debit card.

Incentives for shipbuilding industry

The government announced additional income tax incentives for the domestic shipbuilding industry in a bid to help Indian shipbuilders remain afloat at a time when the global industry is going through an extended slump.
The new tax incentives include an exemption of all raw materials and parts used in the manufacture of ships, vessels, and tugs from customs and central excise duties
India has a small percentage of the global market share and other countries actively back the ship-yards by making sure they get the necessary loans and capital
The government notification did away with the requirement stating that only vessels manufactured in custom-bounded warehouses were eligible for customs and excise duty exemptions.