Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 30 October 2018

::NATIONAL::

Pakistan accepts Indian invitation to SCO meeting

India will host Pakistan and representatives of seven member countries that are part of the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation on handling urban disaster this week.
The National Disaster Response Force is hosting the preparatory meeting for the “Joint mock exercise on urban earthquake search and rescue” to be held next year in India. The meeting assumes significance as India called off dialogue with Pakistan last month.
On his Kyrgyzstan visit in August 2017, Home Minister Rajnath Singh had announced that India would host the 10th meeting of Heads of Departments of disaster prevention of SCO member states.
The National Disaster Response Force is hosting the preparatory meeting for the ‘Joint mock exercise on urban earthquake search and rescue’ to be held next year in India. The meeting assumes significance as India had called off dialogue with Pakistan last month.
A senior NDRF official said Pakistan had accepted the invitation. “We have received a confirmation from Pakistan. It is not clear whether they would be represented from the High Commission here or someone would be coming from Pakistan,” the official said.

::ECONOMY::

Former Financial services secretary says minimal interaction between RBI & finance ministry

Neither the RBI nor the Finance Ministry is making an effort to maintain interaction between each other and as a result, the respect and trust between the two organisations have deteriorated, said former Economic Affairs and Financial Services Secretary R. Gopalan.

“From demonetisation onwards, the blame was put on the Governor, who said that it was handed down to him, and then there was the February 12 circular, and then the PNB crisis came, and then the RBI was forced to give an interim dividend for the first time. Then, the government asked that power sector NPAs should have a different system of recognition, and that the PCA rules should be relaxed.”
Tensions between the RBI and Finance Ministry are not new, but the fact that they are coming out in public now is worrying, according to former Governors of the central bank and economists alike.
On speculation that the government was considering reviewing RBI Governor Urjit Patel’s tenure, an official in the Finance Ministry said: “All this talk about the government reviewing the RBI Governor’s term is just mischievous reporting”.
“The Governor’s term is for three years, and that will come to an end in September next year. A review will be done at that time, there is no review happening right now.”

RBI board meeting discusses PCA framework & NPA issues

The Reserve Bank of India’s October 23 board meeting was a stormy affair that lasted about eight hours in which 20 items were on the agenda for discussion. However, only three were discussed, albeit without arriving at a decision.
One of the issues discussed was the prompt corrective action (PCA) framework of RBI — which is essentially certain restrictions that the banking regulator has imposed on banks due to worsening capital, asset quality and profitability. If a bank breaches a particular threshold on any of these parameters, restrictions are imposed.
According to sources, some board members were in favour of diluting the risk threshold relating to capital. They argued that capital norms for Indian banks were a lot stringent than what the Basel norms prescribed, such as 9% capital adequacy ratio as compared with the 8% requirement of Basel norms.
However, RBI officials argue that the non-performing asset provision norms for Indian banks are less stringent than what Basel proposes. Presently, there are 12 banks, 11 in the public sector and one in the private sector, that are under the PCA framework

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::INTERNATIONAL::

India –Japan relationship advances further

The India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership, firmly rooted in history and based on common values is the mainspring for advancing the two countries’ shared strategic objectives and achieving peace, prosperity and progress to realize a better future for the people of the two countries.
As the two Prime Ministers resonantly elucidated in the series of SAMVAD dialogues, the universal values of freedom, humanism, democracy, tolerance and non-violence, which have been shared between India and Japan throughout a long history of academic, spiritual and scholarly exchanges, not only constitute the basis for the India-Japan bilateral relationship but also underscore the principles for the two countries to work together for the benefit of the Indo-Pacific region and the world at large.
The two leaders shared their view that in order to achieve this shared vision, India and Japan must endeavour to work together for a rules-based and inclusive world order that fosters trust and confidence by enhancing communication and connectivity to ensure rule of law, unimpeded trade and flow of people, technology and ideas for shared prosperity.
The two leaders’ vision for the Indo-Pacific is based on a rules-based order that respects sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations, ensures freedom of navigation and overflight as well as unimpeded lawful commerce, and seeks peaceful resolution of disputes with full respect for legal and diplomatic processes in accordance with the universally recognised principles of international law, including those reflected in the UNCLOS, without resorting to threat or use of force.

Jair Bolsonaro elected as Brazilian president

Former Army Captain JairBolsonaro was elected President of Brazil on Sunday, promising a fundamental change in direction for the country.
Despite repulsing many with his open support of the torture used by Brazil’s former military regime, as well as remarks deemed misogynist, racist and homophobic, Mr.Bolsonaro managed to tap voters’ deep anger with corruption, crime and economic malaise.
Official results gave him 55.13% of the votes in the run-off election, to 44.87% for leftist opponent Fernando Haddad, with 99.99% of the ballots counted.
Mr.Bolsonaro, 63, will take office on January 1. “We will change Brazil’s destiny together,” he said in his victory speech broadcast live from his home on Facebook, the platform he has used to campaign since an attacker stabbed him in the stomach at a rally on September 6.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Researchers develop new drug for TB

Thousands of scientists, activists and disease survivors recently wrapped up a global conference on lung health dominated by the announcement of several breakthroughs in the battle against tuberculosis.
Some strains of TB a severe lung infection that can spread to the brain are resistant to antibiotics and have been historically extremely difficult, and painful, to treat.
Several countries including South Africa, which has among the highest tuberculosis burden in the world, announced that a new drug had shown astonishing success against multidrug-resistant TB.
Bedaquiline, which in countries such as Belarus cured 80% of patients, was hailed by experts as a “game changer”, and can replace months of excruciating and often ineffective injections for sufferers.

::SPORTS::

India wins match against West Indies

India showcased the same quality on Monday as it annihilated Windies at the Brabourne Stadium, barely two days after suffering a defeat in Pune, to regain the lead in the series with a 224-run mauling in the fourth ODI here on Monday.
Rohit Sharma (162, 137b, 20x4, 4x6) and AmbatiRayudu (100, 81b, 8x4, 4x6) continued their special bond with Brabourne with a scintillating 211-run partnership for the third wicket.