Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 10 MARCH 2020

::NATIONAL::

After several years of rising trends, the Centre has reduced the percentage allocation of funds for education of schoolchildren from SC and ST communities as well as for the north-eastern region in the coming year.
A parliamentary panel expressed concern that any shortage of funds for these marginalised communities could be critical, especially given that more than one in five SC and ST students drops out of school at the secondary level.
For at least three years, the amounts allocated to these groups have been on the rise in comparison to total allocations for the department. However, the percentage allotted to these communities dipped in 2020-21.
Out of a total ₹59,845 crore allotted to the Department of School Education and Literacy, 17.16% went to the Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCSP) in comparison to 18.14% the previous year. \

As much as 67% of donations to national parties in 2018-19 came from “unknown sources,” an increase from 53% in the previous financial year, said a report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms on Monday.
The ADR analysed the income tax returns and donation statements submitted to the Election Commission by the BJP, the Congress, the Trinamool, the Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Nationalist Congress Party and the BahujanSamaj Party.
The BSP declared zero voluntary contributions, the report said.The total income of the parties was ₹3,749.37 crore, of which ₹951.66 crore was from known donors.Electoral bonds accounted for 78% of the ₹2,512.98-crore income from unknown sources.
While parties are required to give details of all donations above ₹20,000, donations under ₹20,000 and those through electoral bonds remain anonymous.Of the total income from unknown sources, 64% went to the BJP and 29% to the Congress.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday said it has received ₹48,856 crore worth of bids in the fourth long-term reverse repo operation (LTROs) conducted for an amount of ₹25,000crore with a three-year tenor.The RBI received 37 bids in the LTRO with a reversal date on March 7, 2023.
“The total bids that were received amounted to ₹48,856 crore, implying a bid-to-cover ratio (i.e., the amount of bids received relative to the notified amount) of 2,” the RBI said in a release. The RBI allotted an amount of ₹25,021 crore with a pro-rata allotment percentage of 51.18%.
Last week, the apex bank received ₹1.719 lakh crore in the LTRO conducted for an amount of ₹25,000 crore with a three-year tenor.
The RBI conducted two LTROs with three-year and one-year tenors for ₹25,000 crore each on February 17 and February 24, respectively.It will also conduct LTROs of ₹25,000 crore each on March 30 and March 31.

The rapid spread of the deadly Novel Corona virus is expected to take a serious toll on foreign direct investments worldwide, with UN economists forecasting a drop of up to 15 percent.
A fresh report from the United Nations Conference on Trade, Investment and Development (UNCTAD) warned that regardless of how quickly the COVID-19 outbreak lasted, it would significantly drag down global FDI, which is a measure of cross-border private sector investment.
Efforts to halt the spread of the virus, which has killed more than 3,500 people and infected more than one lakh people around the world, have wreaked havoc on international business.
The UN agency pointed to estimates that growth in the global economy will slow between 0.5 and 1.5 percent this year, depending on whether the outbreak is reined in during the first half of this year or if it rages through the end of 2020.

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani was sworn in for a second term today as his rival Abdullah Abdullah held a parallel inauguration that could plunge the country deeper into crisis ahead of peace talks with the Taliban.
The oath-taking ceremony of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was attended by hundreds of people, including visiting foreign dignitaries, diplomats and senior political figures.
Ghani was declared as the winner of the election held last September, but Abdullah Abdullah, who disputed the vote, held a parallel ceremony surrounded by hundreds of supporters.

India has finally shared two whole genome sequence data of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) with the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID).
The two sequences were shared by the Pune-based National Institute of Virology. This news comes after The Hindu reported on March 4 that India has not shared any genome sequence data with the GISAID.
In a tweet on March 6 evening, Newstrain said it has “updated” the database with “two SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Kerala sampled at the end of January”. It added: “These sequences do not link very closely to other sequences in the tree.”
The three adults in Kerala who were found to be infected with the novel virus had returned from Wuhan. The first COVID-19 patient in India, a medical student who had returned from Wuhan, was laboratory confirmed by NIV on January 30. Two more adults from Kerala were laboratory confirmed by NIV within a couple of days.
So far, 26 countries, including India, have shared 178 SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences with the GISAID. At 70, China has shared the highest number of sequences.
The other countries that have shared higher number of sequences are the U.S. (22), Australia and Japan (10 each), and Singapore and South Korea (eight each). Nepal, Vietnam and Cambodia have also shared one sequence each.