Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 29 March 2019

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 29 MARCH 2019

::NATIONAL::

EC assures supreme court that present counting method of VVPAT perfect

The Election Commission (EC) today told the Supreme Court that the present method of counting the VVPAT slips is the most suitable one. The Apex court asked the Election Commission on Monday to give its view on increasing the number of random sample surveys from one booth per assembly segment.
In its reply, the commission said that it may consider any suggestions in future elections for further improving the holding of polls in a free and fair manner.
The Commission added that the writ petition filed by 21 opposition leaders, led by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, does not raise any ground or base for altering the existing system at this juncture.
The affidavit was filed by the EC in a plea in which 21 opposition leaders sought that VVPAT slips of at least 50 per cent of voting machines in each assembly constituency be checked randomly in the LokSabha elections next month.

Vice president urges people to become nature friendly

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has said that climate change is the most common challenge faced by the world today and the best way to face climate change is to be friendly with nature and live in harmony with it.
Addressing an event in New Delhi today, Mr Naidu said, as people brace themselves to cope with the challenges of climate change, everyone have to marshal all the intelligence, knowledge, science and understanding of nature to do that.
He said, shared mobility systems, electric vehicles, bicycles and connected vehicles are beginning to occupy center stage in the global mobility systems. Mr Naidu said, these are welcome changes and it will have an impact of reducing traffic congestion, cleaning up the air and reducing the need for parking space.
The Vice President said, the air quality has been a matter of concern and every winter many parts of the country face ambient air quality that is extremely poor. He said, it cannot be allowed to go on.

::ECONOMY::

RBI might put off new loan pricing scheme

Banks will be getting more time to migrate to the new loan pricing regime which was scheduled to be implemented from April 1. This new pricing scheme, based on an external benchmark, will be applicable for floating rate loans extended to individuals and small businesses.
Bankers said with the central bank yet to come up with the final guidelines, the introduction of the scheme was expected to be postponed.
During the December monetary policy review the last such review by former RBI Governor Urjit Patel the central bank had said that all new floating rate retail loans such as housing and auto loans, and floating rate loans extended by banks to micro and small enterprises from April 1, 2019, should be linked to an external benchmark. RBI also said that the final guidelines would be issued by December-end.
Most banks have opposed the decision of linking lending rates to an external benchmark saying their cost of funds is not linked to those external benchmarks. They argued that lending rates should depend on the cost of funds
RBI has also mandated that the spread over the benchmark rate, which will be decided by banks at the inception of the loan, should remain unchanged through the tenure of the loan, unless the borrower’s credit assessment undergoes a substantial change or as agreed upon in the loan contract.

GST authority gives clarification regarding transfer of ownership

The Goods and Services Tax, GST Authority has clarified that transfer or change in the ownership of business will include transfer or change in the ownership of business due to death of the sole proprietor.
In a circular, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, CBIC said, that the transferee or the successor will be liable to be registered with effect from the date of such transfer or succession, where a business is transferred to another person for any reasons, including death of the proprietor.
It said, the applicant will be required to mention the reason to obtain registration as death of the proprietor, in the registration form, GST REG-01 to be filed electronically in the common portal. The legal heir of the dead sole proprietor will be required to give application for cancellation of the existing registration.
In an another circular related to verification of applications for grant of new registration, the CBIC said there have been instances when registration gets cancelled due to one reason or any other reason, such businesses prefer to apply for new registration rather than applying for revocation of cancellation of registration.
It added that such persons would be required to pay all liabilities due from them for the relevant period in case they apply for revocation of cancellation of registration. Hence, to avoid payment of the tax liabilities, such persons may be using the route of applying for fresh registration. One can take separate registration on the same PAN in the same State.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

U.S initiates procedure of listing JeM chief in UNSC

The U.S. on Thursday took the lead in bringing sanctions against Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief MasoodAzhar at the United Nations by circulating a draft resolution among Security Council members.'
The move comes weeks after the 1267 Sanctions Committee failed to designate Azhar as a terrorist, after China placed a hold on a listing request that the U.S., the U.K., and France had brought before the Committee.
The resolution stresses “the primary responsibility of Member States in countering terrorist acts and reiterating their obligation to prevent and suppress the financing of terrorist acts as well as its call upon all States to become party to the international counter-terrorism conventions and protocols as soon as possible.”
Mr.Geng said Washington’s move had “reduced the authority of the (1267) committee as the main anti-terrorism body of the Security Council”.

UNSC passes resolution to combat terror financing

The UN Security Council has unanimously passed the first-ever resolution ordering members to enforce laws against terror financing.
UNSC yesterday's resolution demands all states "ensure that their domestic laws and regulations establish serious criminal offenses" to collect funds or financial resources to terrorist groups or individual criminals.
It also calls on members to create financial intelligence units. Nations that fail to carry out the resolution would face U.N. sanctions. U.N. counter-terrorism chief Vladimir Voronkov said the resolution comes at a "critical time," adding terrorists have gotten their hands on cash through both illegal and legal channels.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Researchers decode human response to earth’s magnetic field

Scientists have long known that turtles, birds, honeybees and even bacteria can sense the earth’s magnetic field and use them for navigation. But this magneto-reception has hardly been tested in humans and many studies have been inconclusive.
Now a team of researchers from California Institute of Technology, U.S. and the University of Tokyo has shown that humans do indeed unconsciously respond to the changes in the earth’s magnetic fields. But they are yet to decode what our brains may be using this information for.
They selected 34 volunteers, who sat with their eyes closed in a dark room. The room was wrapped with electrical coils, which helped simulate the earth’s natural magnetic field.
The participants were connected to an EEG set-up and their brain activity was monitored. In the one-hour session, for a few minutes, the magnetic field around the chamber was shifted. They noticed that during this period, the alpha power of the brain began to drop.
The most interesting find was that the participants’ brain responded only to changes when the magnetic field pointed toward the floor. This may be due to the fact that the study participants were people who live in the Northern Hemisphere.

::SPORTS::

BCCI Ombudsman will also serve as ethics officer : CoA

The Committee of Administrators, COA running Indian cricket has said that the newly appointed ombudsman by the BCCI, Justice (Retd.) DK Jain will also be its ad-hoc Ethics Officer.
The COA, in its 10th Status Report filed on October 28, 2018, had requested the Supreme Court to appoint an Ethics Officer in addition to an Ombudsman for looking into the matters of Conflict of Interest.
The three-member COA requested Justice Jain earlier this month to take over as Ethics Officer on an ad-hoc basis till a permanent appointment takes place. Justice Jain, who is already looking into HardikPandya-KL Rahul chat show controversy, agreed to the request.