Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 14 FEBRUARY 2020
::NATIONAL::
SC directs political parties to publish criminal details of candidates
- The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered political parties to publish the
entire criminal history of their candidates for the Assembly and LokSabha
elections along with the reasons that goaded them to field suspected
criminals over decent people.
- The information should be published in a local and a national newspaper
as well as the parties’ social media handles. It should mandatorily be
published either within 48 hours of the selection of candidates or less than
two weeks before the first date for filing of nominations, whichever is
earlier.
- The published information on the criminal antecedents of a candidate
should be detailed and include the nature of the offences, charges framed
against him, the court concerned and the case number.
- A political party should explain to the public through its published
material how the “qualifications or achievements or merit” of a candidate,
charged with a crime, impressed it enough to cast aside the smear of his
criminal background.
- The four-page judgment was based on a contempt petition filed by
advocate AshwiniUpadhyay about the general disregard shown by political
parties to a 2018 Constitution Bench judgment (Public Interest Foundation v.
Union of India) to publish the criminal details of candidates in their
respective websites and print as well as electronic media for public
awareness.
Archaeological department set to restore Konark sun temple
- A plan to restore and preserve the nearly 800-year-old Konark Sun temple
in Odisha would be drawn up soon, after a two-day conference of experts at
the end of the month, Union Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said.
- The 13th century temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, had been filled
with sand and sealed by the British authorities in 1903 to stabilise the
structure, an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) official said.
- A scientific study was carried out by the Roorkee-based Central Building
Research Institute from 2013 till 2018 to ascertain the temple’s structural
stability as well as the status of the filled-in sand, the official said.
- The ASI was in the process of removing the scaffolding erected around
the temple for the study, the official said, adding that it would be taken
down by the end of the month.
::ECONOMY::
Fifteenth FC to setup panel to address fiscal policy issues
- The Fifteenth Finance Commission will soon set up a panel to address
issues related to fiscal policy for both the Centre and the States, and
present a road map for the same, Commission’s Chairman N.K. Singh said.
- The panel will be headed by Mr. Singh and have representation from the
Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the Reserve Bank of India, the
Ministry of Finance, the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM)
panel and some of the States.
- Mr. Singh added the Commission had also constituted a group on defence
and internal security, whose mandate will be ‘to examine whether a separate
mechanism for funding of defence and internal security ought to be set up,
and if so, how such a mechanism could be operationalised.’
- On the fiscal committee, the Chairman said, “I proposed to constitute a
broad-based committee which will address some of the issues on fiscal
policy, particularly in relation to the debt and the deficit of the States
as well as the Central government,there is a need to have a fiscal road map
that covers the Centre and the State government.”
- He said the principal terms of reference (ToR) of the fiscal committee
will enhance the ability of the Finance Commission to address its ToR
relating to giving a consolidated fiscal debt road map for the general
government.
SEBI develops new system to track client security movement
- The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has developed an
in-house system to track the movement of client securities that are
collected as collateral by brokers.
- There had been instances of brokerages using client securities to raise
funds for themselves. The most high-profile case was that of Karvy Stock
Broking, which has been barred from getting new clients on board.
- “In the recent past years, it has been observed that some brokers have
misused clients’ securities received as collateral to meet their own
settlement obligation or obligations of other clients. Some brokers have
also misused clients’ securities by pledging them with banks and NBFCs to
raise funds for their own use,” SEBI said.
- SEBI has already taken a slew of measures to minimise such misuse,
including an early warning mechanism to detect diversion of clients’ funds
and securities; restricting the broker from pledging clients’ securities
even with the consent of the client; transferring securities to the client
account or Client Unpaid Securities Account (CUSA) within 24 hours of
payout; and mapping of Unique Client Code with the demat account of the
client to detect diversion of payout of securities.
::INTERNATIONAL::
PM to hold talks with Portugese president
- Prime Minister NarendraModi will hold delegation-level talks with
President of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in New Delhi today. The
visiting dignitary will meet President Ram NathKovind at RashtrapatiBhavan
who will host a banquet in his honour.
- Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu will also call on the Portuguese
President. The visiting dignitary will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at
RashtrapatiBhavan this morning. He will also visit Mahatma Gandhi's
samadhiRajghat.
- Mr de Sousa arrived in New Delhi yesterday on a four-day visit to India.
Minister for Shipping MansukhMandaviya received him at the airport. The
President of Portugal is accompanied by Minister of State and Foreign
Affairs Professor Augusto Santos Silva, Secretary of State for
Internationalization Professor EuricoBrilhante Dias and Secretary of State
for National Defense Jorge SeguroSanches. This is President Marcelo’s first
visit to India. The last visit by a President of Portugal to India was in
2007.
- During his visit, Portuguese President will also travel to Maharashtra
and Goa. India’s relations with Portugal are marked by warmth and friendship
and have assumed dynamism in recent years. Recent high-level political
exchanges include the visit of Prime Minister Antonio Costa to India in
December last year and Prime Minister NarendraModi to Portugal in June 2017.
- The two countries have active and growing cooperation in the field of
economy and business, science, culture and education.They share considerable
convergences on international issues.
::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::
MSME launche “apiery on wheels” to boost National Honey Mission
- On February 13, 2020, the Ministry of MSME (Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises) launched “Apiary on Wheels”. It is a unique concept framed by
KVIC (Khadi and Village Industries Commission). The main aim of “Apiary on
Wheels” is to make migration easy.
- Apiary on wheels is an approach to make beekeeping simpler. It is a
platform to carry 20 Bee Boxes. The vehicle has 2 large wheels on either
sides and 4 separate compartments to place the boxes. It also has a solar
panel that automatically powers a fan when the temperature inside the boxes
reaches 35 degree Celsius.
- Also, it is designed in such a way that it can easily be connected with
tractors or trolleys. As a beginning, they are to be placed in mustard
farms.
- It addresses the challenges faced by the beekeepers. Bee keeping
involves laborious and mental challenges such a placing the bee boxes in
strategic positions,migrating the bee boxes and fulfil the nourishment needs
of the bees. The Apiary on Wheels addresses all the above issues.
- The Apiary on Wheels addresses all the above issues. The concept was
launched as a part of National Honey Mission launched in 2017.
- The mission since its launch has been training beekeepers, educating
unemployed youths, distributing bee boxes. Under the mission, KVIC provides
training and awareness to bee farmers.
::SPORTS::
Indian hockey captain named IHF player of the year
- The Indian men's hockey team captain Manpreet Singh was today named
Player of the Year for 2019 by the International Hockey Federation.
- Manpreet, a midfielder, became the first Indian to win the accolade
since the awards were introduced in 1999.He beat competition from Belgium's
Arthur van Dorren and Lucas Villa of Argentina, who came second and third.
