Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 18 JULY 2020

SSC CGL Current Affairs

::NATIONAL::

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea for a uniform and common curriculum for school students in the age group of six to 14 across the country rather than have diverse ones such as the CBSE, the ICSE and State Boards. The court said it was a “matter of policy” and the judiciary could not “command” the government.
Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, leading a three-judge Bench, declined the petition by advocate AshwiniUpadhyay to set up a National Education Council/Commission and follow a “one nation, one-board” system and merge the ICSE with the CBSE.
Mr.Upadhyay also urged a standard textbook with chapters on fundamental rights and duties, directive principles and the golden goals set out in the Preamble, and make its study compulsory throughout the territory of India.
“Presently, each education board has its own syllabus and curriculum and entrance examinations are based on CBSE, so prevailing system doesn’t provide equal opportunity to all students,” the petition said.

The Election Commission of India has sought the views of the political parties regarding election and public meeting in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.
ECI has requested all the political parties to submit their views and suggestions by the end of this month. Election Commission of India in its letter said, bypolls in some states and the Bihar assembly elections are due this year.
It said, several guidelines have been issued by the Centre and state governments under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 in the current situation of COVID-19 prescribing safety measures to contain the spread of Covid-19.
Election Commission said, some of the precautionary measures are compulsory wearing of face mask in public places, social distancing, restrictions on large public gatherings and congregations, thermal scanning at the place of gathering and sanitisation.

The Centre's fiscal deficit is expected to touch 7.6 per cent in 2020-21, more than double the Budget Estimate, as the country spends extra to minimise the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic while facing a shortfall in revenues, a report said on Friday.
At a combined level, the fiscal deficit of the Centre and states together will come at 12.1 per cent, with the states contributing 4.5 per cent, India Ratings and Research said in the report.
The agency said India's gross domestic product (GDP) will contract by 5.3 per cent, while states like Assam, Goa, Gujarat and Sikkim are expected to witness a double-digit contraction, it said.
With the growth and revenues going down, the obvious impact will be on the fiscal deficit, which is considered an important macroeconomic health indicator.
The growth slowdown will have a significant impact on the asset quality of the financial sector, and both banks and non-banks would require more capital to continue lending, it said.

The Centre has assured timely and adequate supply of fertilizers to all the states as per the requirement projected before the beginning of a sowing season.
For Maharashtra, the requirement projected for the entire Kharif season is 15 lakh Metric Tonnes. The suppliers have been advised to ensure the supplies strictly as per the agreed supply plan and the same is being closely monitored by the Department of Fertilizers on daily basis.
The requirement of Urea from 1st April to 16th July was 8.83 lakh MT. Against this, 11.96 lakh MT has been made available including the opening stock of 4.02 lakh MT. During this period, the DBT sales of Urea have been 9.57 lakh MT. In spite of unprecedented higher sales this season the Urea availability has remained comfortable.
During the ongoing month of July against the projected requirement of 3.15 lakh MT, the Central Government has ensured availability of 4.34 lakh MT of Urea.

India has expressed concern over the recent reports of exchange of fire on Armenia-Azerbaijan border saying that the situation threatens regional peace and security.
India has urged both the sides to maintain restraint and take all possible steps to maintain peace at the border.
In response to media queries regarding the situation, External Affairs Ministry Spokesman AnuragSrivastava said, India believes that any lasting resolution of the conflict can only be achieved peacefully through diplomatic negotiations.

The Cochin Shipyard has signed contract with ASKO Maritime AS of Norway to build two autonomous electric ferries.
The project is to be partially funded by the Norwegian Government. The project aims to provide emission free transport of goods. It aims at emission free transport across Oslofjord inlet in Norway.
The vessels are 67 metres long and are delivered as full-electric transport ferry. They are powered by 1846 kWh batteries.
The value of the ships areRs 125 crores each. It is designed by the Naval Dynamics Norway. The ships were designed using Kongsberg Maritime Systems.
The Cochin Ship Yard is already building 23 hybrid electric boats for Kochi water metro. It is India’s largest ship builder.
The Kochi Water Metro envisages 15 routes connecting 10 islands. The plan is to ply 38 jetties. Around 1 lakh islanders are to benefit from the project.The project will introduce environmental friendly boats.

Deccan Chronicle Holding Ltd. — the owner of the now defunct Deccan Chargers — has been awarded a compensation of ₹4814.67 crore plus 10% interest from 2012, by a Bombay High Court-appointed arbitration tribunal, on Friday.
According to a statement released by the law firm Dhir and Dhir Associates, ‘the tribunal found illegal the termination of the Deccan Chargers IPL team by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).’