Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 08 MAY 2020

::NATIONAL::

In Andhra Pradesh, the death toll in Visakhapatnam gas leak has risen to 11. The styrene had gas leaked during wee hours yesterday from a Polymers Plant at RR Venkatapuram village near Visakhapatnam and quickly spread to villages in a five-kilometre radius. Hundreds of villagers, most of them children, suffered from irritation in their eyes, breathlessness, nausea and rashes.
Prime Minister NarendraModi took stock of the situation at a high level meeting. Mr Modi discussed measures being taken for the safety of the affected people. Prime Minister also spoke to the officials of Union Home Ministry and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). The meeting was attended by Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh among others.
Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba also reviewed the situation with the Secretaries of the Ministries of Home Affairs, Environment, Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Pharmaceuticals, Information and Broadcasting, Members of the National Disaster Management Authority and Director General, National Disaster Response Force and others.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved a proposal for the abolition of 9,304 posts in the Military Engineering Service (MES), the Defence Ministry said on Thursday.
This is in line with the recommendations of the Lt. Gen. D.B. Shekatkar (Retd.) Committee, which had suggested measures to enhance combat capability and rebalance armed forces’ expenditure.
One of the recommendations was to restructure the civilian workforce in a manner that the work of the MES could be partly done by departmentally employed staff and other works could be outsourced, it stated.
It was aimed at making the MES an effective organisation with a leaner workforce, well equipped to handle complex issues in an efficient and cost- effective manner, it added.
The 11-member committee, appointed by the late Defence Minister ManoharParrikar in 2016, had made about 99 recommendations, from optimising defence budget to the need for a Chief of the Defence Staff.

Public Sector Banks have sanctioned loans worth 5.66 lakh crore rupees for more than 41 lakh 81 thousand accounts during March-April this year.
For MSMEs and others, pre-approved Emergency credit lines and working capital enhancements are being prioritised by Public Sector Banks. More than 27 lakh customers have contacted from March 20 and 2.37 lakh cases have been sanctioned loans worth 26,500 crore rupees.
Public Sector Banks complemented RBI on loan moratorium. Their effective communication and proactive actions ensured that over 3.2 crore accounts availed three-month moratorium. Quick query redressals allayed customer concerns and ensured responsible banking amid lockdown.

India is seeking to lure U.S. businesses, including medical devices giant Abbott Laboratories, to relocate from China as President Donald Trump’s administration steps up efforts to blame Beijing for its role in the coronavirus pandemic.
India expects to win over U.S. companies involved in healthcare products and devices, and is in talks with Medtronic Plc and Abbott Laboratories on relocating their units to the country, an official said. Medtronic spokesman Ben Petok and Abbott spokeswoman Darcy Ross didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
India’s trade ministry has sought detailed feedback from U.S. companies on changes needed to make the country’s tax and labor laws more favorable to companies, said one of the officials. Modi’s federal government is working with states to ensure long term solutions, the official added, including developing land banks to ensure a quick start for units.

Israel's Supreme Court has ruled that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may form a new government while under indictment for corruption charges, clearing the way for him and his rival-turned-uneasy ally to join together in a controversial power-sharing deal.
Earlier, Netanyahu and his rival-turned-partner, Benny Gantz, said they expected their coalition to be sworn into office at the earliest. Their unanimous decision, has ended a 17-month political stalemate and prevented the country from plunging into a fourth consecutive election in just over a year.
After battling to three inconclusive elections over the past year, Netanyahu and Gantz, a former military chief, announced their emergency government last month, saying they would put aside their rivalry to steer the country through the coronavirus crisis.
The two sides agreed on a coalition deal that makes the two men equal partners, with virtual veto power over each other's decisions. Because of the nature of arrangement, the Knesset must pass new legislation before they take office.

Emergency services across Europe have seen a sharp rise in domestic abuse calls under sweeping lockdowns imposed across the continent, the World Health Organization’s regional office said Thursday.
Billions of people are subject to some form of stay-at-home orders across the globe, and experts say women and children are most vulnerable to abuse.
WHO’s regional director for Europe, Hans Kluge, said countries “are reporting up to a 60% increase in emergency calls by women subjected to violence by their intimate partners in April this year, compared to last”.
According to the organisation, domestic violence often increases in times of crisis, and is exacerbated due to restrictions and containment measures put in place to limit the spread of the new coronavirus.
“We have an increase in reporting from almost all countries,” said Isabel Yordi, Technical Officer for Gender and Health at WHO Europe.

Intensive farming techniques have led to a common antibiotic-resistant pathogen to become capable of infecting both cattle and humans, according to a study which suggests the need to check agriculture practices for such outbreaks.
Based on their findings, published in the journal PNAS, the researchers said the bacterium is able to infect more than one species because of its ability to transfer genes, and adapt quickly to new host environments.
They said overuse of antibiotics, high animal numbers, and low genetic diversity caused by intensive farming techniques increase the likelihood of these pathogens becoming a major public health risk.
These bacteria are often resistant to antibiotics, due to use of the drugs in farming, and can be transferred to people when they eat undercooked meat and poultry, the scientists said.
According to study co-author Sam Sheppard from the University of Bath in the UK, cattle infected with the pathogen pose a major public health risk for humans.
"There are an estimated 1.5 billion cattle on Earth, each producing around 30 kilogrammes of manure each day. If roughly 20 per cent of these are carrying Campylobacter, that amounts to a huge potential public health risk," Sheppard said.

Formula One says Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero, Real Madrid goalkeeper ThibautCourtois and Barcelona midfielder Arthur will compete alongside drivers in this weekend’s virtual Spanish GP.
Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Alex Albon, Antonio Giovinazzi, George Russell and Nicholas Latifi will be the F1 drivers in Sunday’s event.