Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 28 June 2017

::National::

US and India says relationships will continue to grow

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump jointly declared on Monday that bilateral ties between India and the U.S. would continue to grow.
• With Mr. Modi by his side in the Rose Garden of the White House after they met for the first time, Mr. Trump said the relationship “has never been stronger, has never been better.”
• A joint statement issued after the deliberations underscored the fight against terrorism as a cornerstone of mutual cooperation between the countries.
• It went beyond the usual American position on Pakistan that usually pulls it up for harbouring terrorist groups and echoed Indian concerns regarding the Chinese-led Belt and Road initiative. 
• Both sides reiterated their commitment to continuing the course on strategic convergence in Asia Pacific, increasing defence trade partnership and added energy as a new thrust area of cooperation.
• A fact sheet provided by the White House said, with the sale of Guardian drones, Apache attack helicopters, and C-17 aircraft, defence orders by India for American companies will be nearly $19 billion, “supporting thousands of U.S. jobs.”
• Addressing the media after the formal talks but before the reception and dinner, Mr. Trump and Mr. Modi spoke of shared democratic values, and their status of being leaders of two big democracies. 
• “The friendship between the United States and India is built on shared values, including our shared commitment to democracy,” the President said.

China lodged a formal protest with New Delhi for incursions 

• China confirmed that it had suspended the entry of Indian pilgrims undertaking the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and lodged a formal protest with New Delhi, following an alleged cross-border incursion by Indian troops.
• Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman GengShuang said: “We have lodged solemn representation in Beijing and New Delhi to elaborate our solemn position.”
• He pointed out that China’s diplomatic protest was in response to the “trespassing into the Chinese border by Indian border personnel.” 
• He demanded “immediate actions” by India to withdraw personnel “who have overstepped and trespassed into the Chinese border.”
• The Chinese protest comes after a warm personal meeting earlier this month between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Astana, on the sidelines of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
• The two leaders are also expected to meet in the coastal Chinese city of Xiamen during the BRICS summit in September.

India and Netherlands strongly condemned double standards towards terrorism

• India and the Netherlands strongly condemned the use of ‘double standards’ in addressing the menace of terrorism, saying there can be no justification for acts of terror on any grounds.
• Expressing concern about the serious threat posed by the spread of terrorism and violent extremism to both the countries and the world.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte reaffirmed their commitment to combat terrorism and prevent radicalisation that could lead to violent extremism.
• In a joint communique after their bilateral meeting, they also reiterated the need for a unified and collective effort by the international community to eliminate terrorism through a holistic approach.
• The two prime ministers agreed that there should be zero tolerance to terrorism, the statement said.
• Both leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation in combating terrorism both at the bilateral level and within the multilateral system.
• In this regard, they called for early conclusion of negotiations on the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, the statement said.

Multi-disease testing devices for Tuberculosis, HIV and Hepatitis

• The World Health Organization (WHO) on released new advice to countries, recommending the use of multi-disease testing devices for Tuberculosis, HIV and Hepatitis.
• A single device called the GeneXpert can be used to diagnose TB and HIV infections, and quantitatively measure HIV and hepatitis C viral loads. India recently procured 600 GeneXpert machines for the National Tuberculosis programme.
• The WHO is recommending use of these state-of-the-art portable machines the size of a microwave oven, which can run molecular tests. However, most countries do not use them for multi-disease testing.
•  “With the power and adaptability of molecular technologies, we are in an era of great advancement for the rapid diagnosis of many diseases using single platforms,” said Dr Mario Raviglione, Director of WHO’s Global TB Programme. 

::Science and Tech:: 

Major extinction event that wiped out around a third of marine species

• Scientists have discovered a major extinction event that wiped out around a third of marine species and reduced their diversity by 55% between two to three million years ago.
• The disappearance of a large part of the terrestrial megafauna such as the sabre-toothed cat and the mammoth during the Ice Age is well known.
• The team investigated fossils of marine megafauna from the Pliocene and the Pleisto-cene epochs — 5.3 million to around 9,700 years B.C.
• As many as 43% of sea turtle species were lost, along with 35% of sea birds and nine per cent of sharks.

::International:: 

Colombia’s leftist FARC rebel force declared its disarmament complete

• Colombia’s leftist FARC rebel force declared its disarmament complete on Tuesday after half a century of war against the state, bringing Latin America’s oldest civil conflict close to an end.
• “Farewell to war. Farewell to arms, welcome to peace!” said commander Rodrigo Londono, alias Timochenko, in a speech in the central town of Mesetas, site of one of the group’s demobilisation camps. 
• The move is a key part of efforts to end the long territorial and ideological conflict under a 2016 peace accord. The accord was at first narrowly rejected by Colombians in a referendum last year before it was redrafted and pushed through Congress.
• Since then, the process has been blighted by ongoing violence involving other armed groups.United Nations monitors said they “have the entirety of the FARC’s registered individual arms stored away”.
• That excluded some arms that were exempted for transitional security at rebel demobilisation camps until August 1.

A global wave of cyber attacks brought havoc on govt and corporate systems

• A global wave of cyberattacks that began in Russia and Ukraine wrought havoc on government and corporate computer systems as it spread to Western Europe and across the Atlantic.
• Several multinational companies said they were targeted, including U.S. pharmaceutical giant Merck, Russian state oil giant Rosneft, British advertising giant WPP and the French industrial group Saint-Gobain.
• The first reports of trouble came from Ukrainian banks, Kiev’s main airport and Rosneft, in a major incident reminiscent of the recent WannaCry virus.
• Some IT experts identified the virus as “Petrwrap”, a modified version of the Petya ransomware which hit last year and demanded money from victims in exchange for the return of their data.
• But global cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab said: “Our preliminary findings suggest that it is not a variant of Petya ransomware as publically reported, but a new ransomware that has not been seen before,” which it named “NotPetya”.
• The cyberattack also recalled a ransomware outbreak last month which hit more than 150 countries and a total of more than 200,000 victims with the WannaCry ransomware. 

::Business and Economy:: 

GST may make several household items cheaper

• The Goods and Services Tax will make several household commodities like soap cheaper, as well as keep small businesses with a turnover of less than Rs. 75 lakh out of the purview of the full-fledged indirect tax regime.
• “The equivalence principle followed in setting the rates in GST was based on what the rate on a good or service was prior to June 30 combining the centre’s excise duty and the states’ VAT,” Mr. Jaitley said. 
• “Household items like soap, which were earlier taxed at 31% combining central and state taxes, will now be in the 18% bracket.”
• “The socio-economic nature of the country is changing, and also goods such as these are used by the common man, and so it was decided to tax them at this rate,” the Finance Minister added. 
• However, keeping revenue neutrality in mind, the Government cannot lower tax revenue by too much so that it doesn’t itself have enough income to meet its needed expenditure.
• Mr. Jaitley said that companies with a turnover of less than Rs. 20 lakh need pay no tax under GST, while those earning less than Rs. 75 lakh would fall under the composition scheme that allows them to file quarterly returns at lower tax rates as opposed to the monthly filing requirement of GST.

GST Network has completed all software trials and testings

• GST Network, providing technology backbone for the new tax regime, said it has completed all software trials and testings necessary to successfully rollout GST from July 1. Over 66 lakh taxpayers have enrolled on the GSTN portal. 
• GST IT system has undergone all mandatory tests and has been opened for new registrations and enrolments on June 25. We would like to assure everyone that the system is functioning smoothly.

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