Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 05 JUNE 2020
::NATIONAL::
India calls for more talks on LAC
- A day after Prime Minister NarendraModi’s surprise visit to the Union Territory of Ladakh, the government is preparing for the next round of the meeting of the ‘Special Representatives of India and China on the Boundary Question,’ as it looks for military and diplomatic measures to ease the tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, according to a senior Home Ministry official.
- National Security Adviser AjitDoval, who is India’s Special Representative, met his Chinese counterpart last on December 21, 2019, in New Delhi. It was agreed then “that an early settlement of the boundary question serves the fundamental interests of both countries”.
- In the June 30 meeting, the two sides decided to verify the de-escalation at all the friction points. The official said, “After the June 15 incident, the Chinese built stone walls or semi bunkers within India’s perception of the LAC at the very same point where the clashes occurred.
PM calls for development of organic and natural farming in cluster based approach
- Prime Minister NarendraModi has called for adoption of organic and natural farming in a cluster based approach. He said, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has developed a geo-referenced Organic Carbon Map of India and identified 88 bio control agents and 22 Bio pesticides which can promote organic agriculture.
- Mr Modi reviewed the progress of agriculture research, extension and education in India through video conference yesterday. Prime Minister directed that start-ups and agri-entrepreneurs need to be promoted to ensure innovation and use of technology in Agriculture and allied sectors. He highlighted the need to leverage information technology to provide information on demand to the farmers.
- Mr Modi directed that Hackathons may be organized twice a year to solve identified problems and meet design needs for tools and equipment that can reduce drudgery if farming activity, given that a large number of farm workers are women. He exhorted the need to create awareness regarding inclusion of millets like Jowar, bajra, ragi and several other minor millets in diet to ensure healthy diet.
- Mr Modi said that study of grasses and local fodder crops should be undertaken to understand their nutritive value.
::ECONOMY::
Commerce ministry moots replacement of MMTG act
- The Commerce Ministry is considering replacing the Multi-Modal Transportation of Goods Act (MMTG) with a full-fledged national logistics law with a view to promote growth of the sector, a senior government official said on Saturday.
- Multimodal transportation refers to a combination of more than one mode of movement, such as rail, road or sea, for end-to-end delivery of goods.
- The move assumes significance as high logistics cost impacts the competitiveness of domestic goods in the international market. Effective implementation of the policy would help provide an impetus to trade, enhance export competitiveness, and improve India’s ranking in the Logistics Performance Index.
- India’s logistics sector is highly fragmented and the government aims to reduce the logistics cost from the present 14% of the Gross Domestic Product to less than 10%.
- According to an earlier statement from the Ministry, the sector is complex, with more than 20 government agencies, 40 partnering agencies, 37 export promotion councils, 500 certifications and 10,000 commodities.
Centre claims formation of FPO’s to transform rural sector
- Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has said that rural sector will be transformed by constitution of 10 thousand new Farmers’ Producer Organizations (FPOs).
- He said that 86 per cent farmers in the country are small and marginal farmers, who will strengthen the rural economy through these FPOs. Mr Tomar said, this will not only help in agricultural progress, but also create new avenues for the development of the country.
- The Minister said, all FPOs will be provided professional support and handholding for five years. He said, 15 per cent of the FPOs are to be constituted in aspirational districts, and will be formed on priority basis in scheduled tribal areas.
::INTERNATIONAL::
Boycott China protests held by various communities in United States
- In the United States, a demonstration calling for boycott of Chinese products was carried out jointly by the Indian American, Tibetan and Taiwanese-American community at the Times Square in New York.
- The protest was continuation of many anti-China protests that have taken place in several cities in the United States since the Galwan standoff between India and China.
- The protesters raised the Indian and Tibetan national flags while chanting pro-India and anti-China slogans. The protesters demanded to put an end on trade by boycotting Chinese products, complete independence of Tibet and support of Taiwan.
- According to the protesters, there are three T's to defeat China, to put an end on Trade- the boycott of Chinese products, complete independence of Tibet and total support of Taiwan.
- They asserted that the three T’s can be successfully handled by a global coalition led by the three world leaders including Indian Prime Minister NarendraModi, U.S President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Pakistan affirms completion of CPEC project at any cost
- Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan vowed on Friday that his government would complete the ambitious China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) at “any cost” as the $60 billion project is a manifestation of the all-weather friendship between the two countries.
- Addressing a meeting held in Islamabad to review progress on the CPEC projects, Mr. Khan said the “gigantic multi-faceted initiative would guarantee a bright future for the nation”, the Dawn newspaper reported.
- Mr. Khan’s statement came a day after Chinese Foriegn Minister Wang Yi discussed the CPEC projects with his Pakistani counterpart Shah MahmoodQureshi during a phone conversation.
::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::
- Researchers develop technology to convert written text to synthesises speech
- Automated conversion of the written text to spoken form is very useful, especially in this time of online classes. Having lectures originally presented in English made available in all Indian languages has obvious uses.
- A group from the computer science department of Indian Institute of Technology Madras is working on this. The researchers are developing the technology to enable text-to-speech conversion for 13 Indian languages.
- In order that the synthesised speech sound as natural as possible, and close to a sentence that has been read out by a human being, there is a need to convert punctuations into pauses of suitable lengths.
- Using the inputs, the text is split into phrases using the findings. “A phrase location–based speech synthesis system was built [which delineates the first phrase, last phrase and middle phrases]. The phrases of the text were synthesised using the appropriate phrase-based synthesis systems.
::SPORTS::
Sports ministry removes caps on coaches salary
- The Sports Ministry is set to remove the ₹ 2 lakh per month cap for Indian coaches, fulfilling a long-standing demand in an attempt to bring parity and encourage more Indians to turn to professional coaching. They would also be given four-year contracts, subject to annual review, at par with foreign coaches.
- “The government is keen to attract the best coaches from across the country to train elite athletes and we do not want the cap on compensation to be a deterrent,” Sports Minister KirenRijiju said.
