Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 8 July 2017

::National::

PM came out strongly against Pakistan in G20

• Naming Pakistan-based terror groups LeT and JeM, PM Modi said some countries were using terror as a tool to achieve political objectives and pressed for “deterrent” action collectively by the G20 members against such nations.
• Addressing the G20 summit in this German city, he equated the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-Mohamamd, as also the Haqqani network to the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, saying their names may be different but their ideology is the same.
• With leaders like U.S. President, Russian Presidentand Chinese President listening, Mr. Modi regretted that the international response to terrorism was weak, and said more cooperation was needed to fight the menace.
• The Prime Minister presented an 11-point ‘Action Agenda’ which included suggestions for exchange of lists of terrorists among G20 nations, easing and expediting of legal processes like extradition and concrete steps to choke funds and weapon supply to the terrorists.
• At an informal meeting of BRICS leaders, Mr. Modi and Mr. Xi shook hands and had a conversation on a “range of issues.”

Experts believe pale tiger of Nilgiris is an aberrant genetic mutation 

• While the pale tiger of the Nilgiris has won global attention, it could be just an instance of an aberrant genetic mutation, say experts.
• The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, where the pale tiger was photographed, also encompasses the Mudumalai-Bandipur-Nagarhole-Wayanad complex, which is home to the world’s largest wild tiger population. 
• Random genetic mutations could occur in large populations and since this contiguous patch allowed good intermixing of genes, this could just be a random genetic mutation as was natural in the wild.
• In 2013, scientists from China’s Peking University sequenced genomes of white and normally-coloured Bengal tigers and found that a very small mutation in a single pigment gene – SLC45A2 – causes the white colouration. 
• This genetic mutation is already known to cause light coloration in horses, chicken and fish. 
• Concluding that such mutations are natural, especially since adult white tigers have been recorded in the wild in India in the past, the researchers say that white tigers could be viable in the wild and important for a healthy wild tiger population.

India along with North Korea are the only country to not allow Wi-Fi in aircraft

• Civil Aviation Secretary R.N. Choubey said India was the only country other than North Korea to not allow Wi-Fi facility in aircraft. Mr. Choubey said security agencies were still not convinced about allowing in-flight Wi-Fi services.
• Mr. Choubey said the Indian Air Force controlled two-thirds of Delhi's airspace, causing flights to hover above for long, which led to the wastage of fuel and escalated airfare, and that “civil aviation needs to be harmonised with the IAF”. 
• The Secretary said security at the new airports inducted under the recently announced regional connectivity scheme UDAN would be “airport specific”.
• The cost of security at airports is to be reimbursed by the airport operator and only 15 of the 115 airports operated by Airport Authority of India are making a profit, he said. 
• The Aviation Secretary said that though intelligence agencies had “veto power”, they should look for innovative solutions.

China says it has no objection to Malabar exercise

• China guardedly reacted to Malabar exercises between the navies of India, the U.S. and Japan, saying it has “no objection” to normal cooperation and hoped that it was not directed against any third country.
• “As we have said before, we have no objection to normal bilateral relationship and cooperation among relevant countries,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman GengShuang said. 
• “We hope that this kind of relationship and cooperation will not be directed against third country and that it will be conducive to the regional peace and security,” he said.

::International:: 

Nearly all G20 leaders agree on free and fair trade

• Nearly all G20 leaders agreed on the need for free and fair trade, but some differences of opinion mean officials drafting the summit’s final communiqué still had a long night’s work ahead, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.
• “On the issue of trade, virtually everyone believes we need free but also fair trade,” she said. “However, I can predict that as far as trade is concerned in the communiqué, the sherpas have a lot of work ahead of them tonight.”
• Ms. Merkel pressed fellow Group of 20 leaders to compromise. “ We all know the big global challenges and we know that time is pressing. 
• And so solutions can only be found if we are ready for compromise and move towards each other, but without — and I stress this — bending too much, because of course we can also state clearly when there are differences.”
• The draft underlines that the 2015 Paris climate accord is “irreversible” and affirms that other G20 nations are committed to the deal while taking note of Washington's decision to quit the agreement.
• Ahead of the summit, a key concern among Western allies was whether they would be able to convince G20 members to stand firm on the Paris agreement on combating global warming. 
• If the draft is confirmed it would reflect the 19-versus-the-U.S. split over the issue. British Prime Minister Theresa May said world leaders would redouble efforts to persuade Mr. Trump to rejoin the Paris deal.

::Business and Economy::

Centre eases more norms to make doing business easier

• In a move that is likely to boost mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the country, the Centre has done away with the thirty-day time period to submit before the Competition Commission of India (CCI) an application for pre-merger clearance.
• The notification means that parties can make a CCI application at any time in course of an acquisition but cannot effect or close an acquisition before obtaining the CCI’s approval, according to the law firm Majmudar& Partners.
• It will give parties the liberty and flexibility to decide at what stage they want to make the CCI filing, depending on the deal parameters and commercial terms, Majmudar& Partners said in a statement.
• Besides, this will specifically benefit large, multi-jurisdiction transactions where parties may be burdened with regulatory requirements in several jurisdictions and, therefore, need more time to assess the Indian law implications and prepare a comprehensive CCI application.

Pick up in consumption to increase the growth rate

• The aggregate topline of companies in key sectors, excluding banking, financial services and oil, is likely to have clocked about 7% growth in the first quarter of 2017-18, due to a pick-up in consumption, according to CRISIL Research.
• In its ‘Q1 FY18 Results Outlook,’ CRISIL said the growth in these sectors was hemmed in by factors such as a rise in input costs, an appreciating rupee and output cuts ahead of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime rollout from July 1.
• Commodity-linked sectors had been expected to do well, led by a robust increase in realisations in crude oil, steel and aluminium, and moderate growth in demand.
• However, export-linked sectors such as IT and pharmaceuticals, which had consistently outperformed the domestic industry by recording double-digit growth, is expected to have slowed down to only 3%.
• This follows strengthening of the rupee, a surge in protectionism across the globe and pricing pressure in the U.S.
• It added that there could be demand and supply disruptions in the short term due to GST, though from a long-term perspective, the new regime will lead to efficiency gains and greater tax compliance.

Click Here for Daily Current Affairs Archive

Click Here for Study Material for SSC CGL Exam

Click Here to Join Online Course for SSC CGL Exam