Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 28 February 2016

:: NATIONAL ::

PM says govt blocked all routes to corruption

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the Opposition, saying they were criticising him as he had “blocked all routes of corruption” and the “hungama over petty issues” stemmed from this.
PM said his government had stopped “chor bazaar” (black market) in many sectors, citing the fertilizer manufacturing and distribution as an example.
PM also said The chor bazaarwale are angry and all these hungama over petty issues is because of it.

Parliamentary standing committee on defence wants higher allocation to defence

Parliament’s Standing Committee on Defence has expressed dismay over the government’s reluctance to commit to a minimum percentage of its expenses for the armed forces, despite its recommendations.
The committee desires that declining ratio should be arrested in the next financial year itself, so that the services are provided adequate funds, and hence they are not deprived of essential equipmentand ammunition.
The committee had then told the government that it should “consider fixing a minimum benchmark for this percentage, which should be adhered to, in every case”.
Though the defence budget is increasing numerically annually, as a proportion of the Central budget, it has consistently been declining.
In 2009- 10, the defence expenditure of Rs. 1,41,781 crore was 13.84 per cent of the total expenditure.
In 2010-11, the budget increased in absolute terms, but in percentage terms, it came down to 12.87 per cent.
In 2011-12, the defence expenditure rose to Rs. 1,70,913 crore, but in percentage terms, it was merely 13.1 per cent of the government’s expenditure. Since then, it has been sliding continuously.
In 2012-13, the defence expenditure was pegged at Rs. 1,81,776, which was 12.89 per cent of the government’s expenditure. However, it further came down to 12.81 per cent under the revised budget.

Govt. may leverage assets under LIC, EPFO

The government is exploring the possibility for leveraging the assets under management of Life Insurance Corporation, Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation and the National Pension Scheme.
They will be used as part of the plans for recapitalising the public sector banks that have stressed balance sheets and are saddled with bad loans.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley could also make a small reference to the road map being planned.
The Economic Survey recommends that the assets of the RBI and other regulatory institutions be similarly used. Cross-holdings among banks could be considered later.

:: INTERNATIONAL ::

After five years calm in Syria

A rare calm prevailed across much of Syria as the first major ceasefire of the five-year war took hold and an international task force prepared to begin monitoring the landmark truce.
Guns fell silent at midnight in suburbs around the capital and the bomb-scarred northern city of Aleppo, after a day of intense Russian air strikes on rebel bastions.
The nationwide cessation of hostilities, brokered by Washington and Moscow, is seen as a crucial but fragile step towards ending a war that has claimed 270,000 lives and displaced more than half the population.
It faces formidable challenges, including the exclusion of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group and Al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate Al-Nusra Front, which control large parts of the country.
United Nations envoy Staffan de Mistura said peace talks would resume on March 7 if the truce holds and more aid is delivered – a key sticking point in negotiations.
The complexities of a conflict which escalated from anti-government protests into a full-blown war drawing in rival world powers make brokering a lasting halt to the fighting a huge challenge.

Iran indicates for a split verdict

The first results from Iran’s parliamentary election showed a split of seats among conservatives, reformists and independent candidates, media reports said, after turnout of around 60 per cent.
Coming just a month after sanctions were lifted under Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers, the outcome of vote is being seen as a de-facto referendum on President Hassan Rouhani.
Out of 27 constituencies — less than 10 per cent of the total — eight went to conservatives, four to reformists and eight to independents, with others set to go to a second round because no candidate won 25 per cent of the vote.
As well as electing 290 MPs the electorate was voting for a new Assembly of Experts – a powerful 88-member committee that will elect the next supreme leader.

:: INDIA and WORLD ::

India’s plan of acquiring aircraft from Japan facing problems

India’s plans to acquire amphibious aircraft from Japan, in the first big military deal between the two countries, is facing serious challenges.
Indicating at a longer wait- ing period for India’s plans to acquire the amphibious aircraft, US-2, in a deal involving 12-18 aircraft, Japan had no immediate plans for “selling or delivering” the capacity-multiplier aircraft to India.
The absence of diplomatic progress on India acquiring the aircraft is significant in view of the fact that during Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to India in December 2015.
The two countries had concluded agreements on Transfer of the Defence Equipment and Technology, and, Security Measures forthe Protection of Classified Military Information, aimed at deals such as the one on the US-2.

:: BUSINESS and ECONOMY ::

NDB’s president says Bank is an assertion of global south

The formation of the New Development Bank (NDB) of the Brazil-Russia- India-China-South Africa (BRICS) grouping is an assertion of the Global South and its significance would be felt beyond the economic domain, says K.V. Kamath.
The New Development Bank was not an economic instrument alone, but an initiative that also symbolised an assertion of political sovereignty of the five emerging economies.
Currency reserve arrangement that is in place in the BRICS context, it is a commitment of another 100 billiondollars.
Mr. Kamath also said that two institutions, NDB and the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) are complementary rather than competitive.

Survey says More scrutiny on FDI is needed

A close scrutiny of foreign direct investments from Singapore and Mauritius is needed as both the nations accounted for about 60 per cent of the $30 billion worth of FDI in India during the first three quarters of the current fiscal year.
A detailed examination is needed to find out if they constitute actual investments or whether they are diversions from other sources to avail tax benefits under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) that India has with these two countries, according to the Economic Survey.
According to government data, of the $29.5 billion FDI into India during April-December 2015 in 2015-16, around $11 billion was from Singapore, while $6.1 billionwas from Mauritius.
Most of the FDI coming in- to India through Mauritius, Singapore and Cyprus are actually from the U.S. or from India-related investors.
The Mauritius route is used for availing tax benefits and for ensuring anonymity.
FDI from Mauritius is however sector-agnostic unlike FDI from countries like Japan, Germany and France, which are mostly in manufacturing-related sectors.

G-20 asks to look for policies of growth other than ultra low interest rates

The world's top economies declared that they need to look beyond ultra-low interest rates and printing money to shake the global economy out of its torpor, while renewing their focus on structural reform to spark activity.
A communique from the Group of 20 (G20) finance ministers and central bankers flagged a series of risks to world growth, including volatile capital flows, a sharp fall in commodity prices and the potential "shock" of a British exit from the EU.
The global recovery continues, but it remains uneven and falls short of our ambition for strong, sustainable and balanced growth.
Faltering growth and market turbulence have exacerbated policy frictions between major economies in recent months, and the statement also noted concerns over escalating geopolitical tensions and Europe's refugee crisis.
The G20, which spans major industrialised economies such as the United States and Japan to the emerging giants of China and Brazil and smaller economies such as Indonesia and Turkey, reiterated in the communique a commitment to refrain from targeting exchange rates for competitive purposes, including through devaluations.