Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 9 July 2015

:: National ::

PSLV ready to launch tomorrow

India’s workhorse satellite launcher, the PSLV, will make its fifth fully commercial launch on Friday. The customer is from the U.K., and the rocket will carry no Indian satellite.
The PSLV-28 will be lifting five satellites totally weighing 1,440 kg into orbit, making them its heaviest commercial payloads to date.
In its 29 flights since 1993, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle has had a lone partial failure. The rocket launched the Chandrayaan-1 lunar mission of 2008 and the Mars Orbiter Mission of 2013 and has been putting into orbit the regular national remote sensing satellites (IRS).
However, a consistently good space ride and a price tag 30 per cent lower than competition do not seem to have fetched it matching business, especially as a single big spacecraft.
The PSLV made its last commercial launch almost a year ago with France’s SPOT-7 and before that, in 2013. Going commercial in its fifth flight in 1999, the rocket has so far launched mostly small, experimental university spacecraft or Earth observation spacecraft weighing from 1 kg to 712 kg (SPOT 6 & 7). But it has double that capacity, as it showed by lifting the 1,400-kg communication satellite GSAT-12 in 2011.

Entire Nagaland declared as ‘disturbed area’

The Centre has declared entire Nagaland as a “disturbed area” as it finds that a “dangerous condition” prevails in the State and armed forces should assist the civil administration in maintaining law and order.
In a gazette notification, the Home Ministry said it was of the opinion that the whole of Nagaland is in such a disturbed or dangerous condition that the use of armed forces in aid of civil power is necessary.
“Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958, the Central government hereby declares that whole of the said State to be a disturbed area for a period of one year with effect from June 30, 2015 for the purpose of the Act,”.
The decision came almost a month after NSCN-K, the dominant Naga rebel group, attacked an army convoy in Manipur’s Chandel district and killed 18 soldiers.

Caste Census for 2011 : Five key takeaways

Last week, the government released the results of the Socio Economic and Caste Census for 2011 (SECC). This exercise, based on a comprehensive door-to-door enumeration across the country, throws up valuable insights into the socio-economic status and living conditions of rural households. We identify five major ones.
While India is overwhelmingly rural, rural isn’t as much agricultural. Out of the country’s total 243.95 million households, 179.16 million or nearly three-fourths are in rural areas. However, only 30.1 per cent of rural households depend on cultivation as their ‘main’ source of income. A majority — 51.14 per cent — derive sustenance from manual casual labour (MCL). While that may also include working in farms, it helps dispel a common perception that agriculture ‘supports’ around two-thirds of India’s population and contributes barely 15 per cent to its GDP.
2. 56.25% of rural households own no agricultural land, which is consistent with the earlier 51.14 per cent figure relating to MCL-dependency. The two, indeed, virtually go together. Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have landlessness ratios between 65 and 73 per cent..
There is evidence that such non-farm job generation did happen over the past decade. National Sample Survey reports show India’s total agricultural workforce to have registered a decline from 259 to 228 million between 2004-05 and 2011-12 — the first time in history — even as the size of those engaged in non-farming sectors rose from 198 to 239 million. Among other things, it helped raise rural wages and living standards, which is captured in the SECC data
Consumer durable ownership, while symbolising rising aspirations, may represent only superficial progress. According to the SECC data, only 17.34 million or 9.68 per cent of rural households have members with salaried jobs — and mostly in the government and public sector undertakings (10.95 million).
Last but not the least is the fact that deprivation levels in rural India are still far too high. The SECC data points to the main earner in 74.49 per cent of all rural households drawing a monthly income below Rs 5,000. This ratio is even more for the likes of West Bengal (82.47 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (83.52 per cent), Odisha (87.88 per cent) and Chhattisgarh (90.79 per cent), not to speak of Dalits (83.56 per cent) and Adivasis (86.57 per cent). True, the numbers are for 2011. Besides, there may be a tendency for survey respondents to under-report incomes for fear of losing entitlement benefits. But even after adjusting for these, one can safely assume that the earnings of three-fourths of rural India are nowhere close to what can guarantee existence beyond basic survival.

:: Business ::

NHAI, six other PSUs to raise Rs.40,000 cr through tax-free bonds

Union Government on Wednesday allowed seven state-owned entities, including NHAI, IRFC and NTPC, to raise Rs.40,000 crore in the current fiscal through tax-free bonds.
The National Highways Authority of India has been permitted to raise Rs.24,000 crore and Indian Railways Finance Corporation Rs.6,000 crore, said a notification issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
Housing and Urban Development Corporation has been allowed to raise Rs.5,000 crore and Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Rs.2,000 crore. NTPC, Power Finance Corporation and Rural Electrification Corporation can issue tax-free bonds of Rs.1,000 crore each.
Retail investors, which include HUFs and NRIs investing on repatriation basis, can invest up to Rs.10 lakh in such bonds.
Those investing higher amount would be classified as HNIs. The bonds will have a tenure of 10, 15 or 20 years and the interest rates is to be decided with reference to the rates of Government Securities.
The coupon rate for below ‘AAA’ rated bonds could go up to 20 basis points above the rates offered for the bonds with highest rating.
Besides, retail individual investors (RIIs), qualified institutional buyers, corporates, trusts, partnership firms, limited liability partnerships, co-operative banks, regional rural banks and other legal entities and high networth individuals (HNIs) would be eligible to subscribe the bonds.
The circular said that companies will have to raise 70 per cent of the issue size through public offer, of which 40 per cent has to be reserved for retail investors.
The remaining portion of the issue size can be offered through private placement route. Interest earned through tax-free bonds, which are usually issued by PSUs to raise long-term funds, do not attract tax

:: Sports ::

Inderjeet Singh make history

Star athlete Inderjeet Singh scripted history as he became the first Indian to clinch a gold in athletics in the World University Games by winning the men's shot put event in Gwangju, Korea on Wednesday.
Indian men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol team also bagged a bronze to take India's medal count to four (one gold, one silver, two bronze) on the fifth day of competition. ph
It was not an easy outing for the Asian champion Inderjeet as he won the event with his final throw of 20.27m at the Gwangju Universiade Main Stadium to open India's gold medal account in the Games.
The 27-year-old Inderjeet was at second spot after the fifth and penultimate throw as he had a 19.80m best throw till then before he came up with 20.27m in his final attempt to run away with the gold and better the colour of the medal from silver he won in the last edition in 2013 in Russia to yellow this time.
He had won Asian Championships in China with 20.41m before bagging a gold in each of the three legs of the Asian Grand Prix in Thailand last month. He won a bronze in the Asian Games last year with 19.63m.

Ritu Rani hockey sensation

Antwerp on Saturday, New Delhi on Monday and back home in Shahbad, Haryana, the same day.
The cities may be different, but what's stayed the same for Ritu Rani, captain of the Indian women'shockey team, has been the celebrations.
And why not? With a win over Japan to finish fifth at the Hockey World LeagueSemifinals, the eves stand a chance of qualifying for the 2016 Rio Olympics for the first time since 1980.
Rani, who has been captain of the side since 2011 and has more than 200 caps under her belt since her debut in the 2006 Asian Games in Doha.

HOW INDIA CAN MAKE IT

By beating Japan and finishing fifth, India have a shot at the reserve spot that can open up if the same team that has qualified through the Hockey World League Semifinals also wins the continental title. Thus, for India to qualify: