Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 31 October 2018

::NATIONAL::

WWF claims India vulnerable to ecological crisis

India’s soil biodiversity is in grave peril, according to the Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas prepared by the World Wide Fund for Nature.
The WWF’s ‘risk index’ for the globe indicating threats from loss of above-ground diversity, pollution and nutrient over-loading, over-grazing, intensive agriculture, fire, soil erosion, desertification and climate change shows India among countries whose soil biodiversity faces the highest level of risk.
Coloured red on the Atlas, these include Pakistan, China, several countries in Africa and Europe, and most of North America.
Soil biodiversity encompasses the presence of micro-organisms, micro-fauna (nematodes and tardigrades for example), and macro-fauna (ants, termites and earthworms).
The findings were part of the bi-annual Living Planet Report (LPR) 2018. “A key aspect of this year’s report is the threat to soil biodiversity and pollinators [such as bees],” Ravi Singh, CEO, WWF-India, said.
Mr. Singh cited a Tamil Nadu Agricultural University study that observed that while 150 million bee colonies were needed to meet the pollination requirements of about 50 million hectares of agricultural land in India, only 1.2 million colonies were present.
While India’s per capita ecological footprint was less than 1.75 hectares/person (the lowest band among countries surveyed), its high population made it vulnerable to an ecological crisis, even if per-capita consumption remained at current levels, the WWF warned.

::ECONOMY::

19th FSDC meeting reviews the current global and domestic economic situation

The Nineteenth Meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) under the Chairmanship of the Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, ShriArunJaitleyreviewedthe current global and domestic economic situation and financial sector performance.
The Council discussed at length the issue of real interest rate, current liquidity situation, including segmental liquidity position in NBFCs and mutual fund space. The Council decided that the Regulators and the Government would keep a close watch on the developing situation and take all necessary measures.
FSDC took note of the developments regardingstrengthening of Cyber Security in Financial Sector including progress made towards setting up of a Computer Emergency Response Team in the Financial Sector (CERT-Fin) under a Statutory Framework.

Redemption of commercial papers worry NBFC’s & MFI’s

With commercial papers (CPs) worth Rs. 1 lakh crore coming up for redemption by mid-November, non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and micro-finance institutions (MFIs) are in a quandary on how to tide over the liquidity crisis. The estimate is from two bankers who did not wish to be quoted.
Banks and mutual funds are the main sources of funding for housing finance companies and other NBFCs. While banks contribute about 40% of the funding, MFs contribute 30%.
Anticipating liquidity pressure, micro-finance institutions are meeting their lenders on November 1 to discuss ways to tide over the liquidity crunch. Close to 30 lenders and rating agencies will attend the meeting, which is convened by the Micro Finance Institutions Network (MFIN). Lack of cash would impact business growth for MFIs in the festive season when loan demand is typically high.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Maldives supreme court suspends former president’s jail term

The Maldives Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended exiled former President Mohamed Nasheed’s 13-year jail sentence, clearing the way for his arrival in capital Male on November 1.
The top court asked the government, the police and the prison authorities to adhere to the ruling, until it reviews his conviction following a recent request from the Prosecutor-General, according to Male-based sources. The Prosecutor-General’s office had on Sunday sought a Supreme Court review of Mr.Nasheed’s conviction.
The September presidential elections in the Maldives saw joint opposition candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih unseat incumbent Abdulla Yameen in a high-stakes election after years of Mr.Yameen’s controversial tenure.
Mr.Yameen’s administration was accused of massive corruption and authoritarianism, charges he has repeatedly denied. Mr.Solih, who won 58.4% of the vote, has promised to restore democracy in the country.

India – Italy technology summit concludes

The Prime Minister, ShriNarendraModi, today, addressed the India-Italy Technology Summit at New Delhi. The Prime Minister of Italy,Mr. Giuseppe Conte, was also present on the occasion.
During the address, Prime Minister announced the launch of the next phase of the India-Italy Industrial Research and Development Cooperation program. He added that the program will enable our industry and research institutes to develop new products.
Talking about the importance of technology, Prime Minister said that India has made technology a medium forattaining social justice, empowerment, inclusionand transparency. He added that the government is using technology to ensure effective last mile delivery of services.
Prime Minister said that the government is emphasising on developing technological temperament along with scientific temperament among the citizens. In this context, ShriModi mentioned about Atal Innovation Mission, Umang App and three lakh Common Service Centres spread across the country.
He said that these technological solutions haveensured that government is brought to the doorsteps of the citizens.
Highlighting the Indian Space Program, Prime Minister said that it is an example of innovation with quality. He added that India is now able to send space satellites of many countries including Italy's and that it showcases India's capability of creating innovative solutions at low cost.
Prime Minister also expressed happiness in the enhanced cooperation between India and Italy in the field of Life Style Accessories Design, LAD . He added that special focus will be given forLeather sector and Transportation & Automobile Design , TAD.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Parker solar probe advances further

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, mankind’s first mission to ‘touch’ the sun, has set a new record for closest approach to the sun by a human-made object, the U.S. space agency announced.
Parker Solar Probe, which was launched on August 12, is on an unprecedented seven-year-long journey to unlock the mysteries of the sun’s fiery outer atmosphere and its effects on space weather.
The spacecraft passed the current record of 42.73 million km from the sun’s surface on October 29 as calculated by the Parker Solar Probe team, NASA said in a statement.
As the mission progresses, the spacecraft will repeatedly break its own records, with a final close approach of 6.12 million km from the solar surface expected in 2024, it said.

::SPORTS::

SAI decides to waive booking charges from world boxing championsip organisers.

The 51st Governing Body Meeting of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) on Tuesday decided to waive the booking charges from the organisers of the women's World Boxing Championship.
The championship is to be held at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex here from November 8 to 26. The Boxing Federation of India was reportedly keen to associate Khelo India, SAI, Union Sports Ministry as event partner.
The Governing Body decided to waive the charges for the stadium and at the instance of Union Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore supported the idea of extending this facility to other federations organising international events.