Current Affairs For SSC CGL Exam - 30 January, 2014

Current Affairs For SSC CGL Exam

Taking his fight against the Centre to the next level, Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy challenged it to place in Parliament the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill 2013 in the same form as had been referred to the State legislature.
Mr. Reddy took potshots at the Centre on the penultimate day of the seven-day extension given by the President for the A.P. legislature to complete the debate on the Bill.
Mr. Reddy reiterated his stand that the draft Bill referred to the State legislature was incomplete in several aspects as it lacked aims, objects and reasons for bifurcation.

A week after the Supreme Court ruled that “delay is a ground for commuting death penalty to life sentence”, the government is set to file a review petition against the verdict.
Meanwhile, the court is set to hear the petition filed by three convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case — Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan — who have pleaded for commutation of their death sentences, citing delay in disposal of their mercy pleas.
In their verdict, the three-judge bench of Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam, Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Shiva Kirti Singh had held that the right to seek mercy is a constitutional right “not at the discretion or whims of the executive”, and there cannot be any distinction based on whether a person on death row was convicted on charges of terror or otherwise while entertaining their petition.
The court said it was also not in favour of adjourning the matter any further. The order puts pressure on the government to file a review petition before its law officers start arguing the case.

Though Delhi faces the same challenge in cleaning up its air as Beijing, the Indian Capital lacks the aggressive approach needed to protect public health, according to a study by the Centre for Science and Environment.
After comparing air quality data from the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee and the Central Pollution Control Board, the CSE found that Beijing has worked much harder in reducing pollution and achieved a lot on that front. On the other hand, Delhi is losing the race very fast and is more polluted than Beijing.
Both cities face serious pressures to clean up their air. But Delhi seems to lack Beijing’s scale, stringency and frenetic pace of action.
After years of consistent and aggressive efforts, Beijing has evidence to show an improvement in its air quality. Delhi, on the other hand, has lost its air quality gains due to weak enforcement.
The Capital has introduced Euro IV emission standards. All buses and auto-rickshaws and some taxis run on CNG.However, the city will have to meet the ambient air quality standards prescribed by the 12 Five Year Plan by the end of the plan period. This requires time-bound action plan for each source of pollution, especially automobiles.
Restricting car usage, upgrading public transport with walking and cycling access, and leapfrogging vehicle emissions standards to Euro V and Euro VI are the options available.

Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh have retained their highest base price bracket of Rs.2 crore for the upcoming IPL auctions.
There are 46 capped Indian players on the list of 208 international players who have enrolled for the auction.
Kiwi sensation Corey Anderson’s base price is a relatively modest Rs.1 crore.While Michael Clarke has pulled out of the auction, Ashes hero Mitchell Johnson’s base price is Rs.2 crore.
Like Sehwag and Yuvraj, Ashish Nehra is also expected to fetch atleast Rs.2 crore or more at the auction, going by his highest bracket base price.
Dinesh Karthik, who was widely tipped to be retained by Mumbai Indians, also has a base price of Rs. 2 crore.
Yusuf Pathan is in the highest bracket too despite three poor seasons with Kolkata Knight Riders.
Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, M. Vijay, Manoj Tiwary and Robin Uthappa are the other capped Indian players in the highest bracket.

Rs.2 crore: Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Robin Uthappa, Amit Mishra, Murali Vijay, Manoj Tiwary. Rs.1.5 crore:Zaheer Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Cheteshwar Pujara, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma. Rs. 1 crore:Parthiv Patel, Mohit Sharma, Ashoke Dinda, Wriddhiman Saha.

Confident Top-ranked golfer Anirban Lahiri made his intentions clear by gaining a two-shot lead at the end of the first round of the PGTI Ahmedabad Masters
The Bangalorean’s round one exploits helped him set the KBG course record which is staging its first ever professional event. Angad Cheema, who was part of group comprising Lahiri and Rashid Khan, posted a creditable six-under-66 to lie second.