Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 02 January 2022

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 02 January 2022

::NATIONAL::

2 western disturbances to bring rainfall across northwest, central India: IMD

Two consecutive western disturbances are likely to cause widespread rainfall over northwest and adjoining parts of central India over the next week, the IMD said.
Two consecutive western disturbances are likely to cause widespread rainfall over northwest and adjoining parts of central India over the next week, the India meteorological department (IMD).
While the first disturbance extends from January 3-6, the second is expected to occur between January 7 and January 9, the department said.
The first distrurbance and its associated induced cyclonic circulation is likely to affect northwest India from January 3 is likely to cause widespread rainfall or snowfall during between January 3 and 7 with the possibility of isolated heavy snowfall/rainfall over Jammu & Kashmir on January 4-5 and over Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand on January 5.
Isolated hailstorms are also likely over J&K on January 4- 5 and over Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand on January 5. Scattered to fairly widespread light/moderate rainfall is likely over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, north Rajasthan and West Uttar Pradesh during January 5-7 and light isolated rainfall is also likely over west Madhya Pradesh on January 5. Isolated thunderstorms activity is likely over Punjab, Haryana, West Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, accompanied with hailstorms over Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan on January 5.
Under the influence of the second disturbance, rainfall/snowfall activity is likely to increase over the western Himalayan region with the possibility of isolated heavy rainfall on January 8 and scattered to fairly widespread light to moderate rainfall/thunderstorm over plains of northwest and adjoining central India during January 7-9. Isolated heavy rain and hailstorm is likely over Rajasthan and adjoining areas of West Madhya Pradesh on January 8 and over Punjab, Haryana, UP and MP on January 9.
“We are expecting widespread rains over northwest India and parts of central India till January 9 with chances of heavy rain on January 5 and 6 and January 8 and 9. Due to two intense western disturbances back to back, day temperatures may be lower than normal and there is likely to be overcast sky. Night temperatures are likely to be above normal. There is likely to be widespread rain over Delhi also on January 5 and 7. Due to the effect of the second disturbance, there will be rainfall and hailstorm in Telangana, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand also,” said RK Jenamani, senior scientist, national weather forecasting centre at IMD.

::INTERNATIONAL::

South Africa's national assembly completely destroyed in massive fire

A massive fire in South Africa's houses of parliament in Cape Town has completely destroyed the National Assembly where parliamentarians sit, a spokesman said on Sunday as the blaze continued to rage.
"The entire chamber where the members sit... has burned down," MolotoMothapo said, adding that the blaze had still not been extinguished.
No casualties have been reported so far but President Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters at the scene an arrest had been made.
"Someone has been held right now and is being questioned," he said.
As day dawned, smoke could be seen billowing from the building against a blue sky.
"The roof of the Old Assembly building has collapsed and is gone," Jean-Pierre Smith, Cape Town's mayoral committee member for safety and security, told reporters earlier.
The historic building houses a collection of rare books and the original copy of the former Afrikaans national anthem "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" ("The Voice of South Africa"), which was already damaged.
After ravaging the older wing of the building, the flames spread to newer parts of the complex which are currently in use.
"Firefighters are currently trying to control the fire in the New Wing, where the fire has affected the National Assembly Chamber," parliamentary spokesman Mothapo told an online news conference earlier in the day.

::ECONOMY::

GST mop-up signals economic recovery despite worry over Omicron

The goods and service tax (GST) numbers for December cap an extraordinary quarter in terms of receipts from the nationwide tax for the Centre and states. At an average monthly gross collection of Rs 1.3 trillion, the October-December quarter of 2021-22 (FY22) was the best for the Centre and states since GST was introduced (July 1, 2017), showing just how strong economic recovery has been.
Barring May and June, which were impacted by lower economic activity due to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the first nine months of FY22 have seen encouraging GST receipts at above Rs 1 trillion.
However, the Omicron variant of the coronavirus continues to be a big unknown, in terms of the economic impact. Depending upon how fast the third wave spreads and how severe the restrictions upon businesses are, GST collections in February and March 2022 could be affected, observe analysts.
Gross GST collections for May 2021 (which would reflect April activity) came in at Rs 97,821 crore, while those for June (a barometer for May's economic activity) were the year’s lowest at Rs 92,800 crore. Hit by a deadly second wave, these were the only two months in FY22 which registered collections of Rs 1 trillion.
“I don’t see a complete lockdown like we saw at the peak of the second wave. But economic activity will definitely get impacted. Yes, the collections could be lower than what we have seen in the past two-three months. However, it may not be as bad as what we saw in May-June,” said Rajat Bose, partner, ShardulAmarchandMangaldas& Co.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

Fresh revelations in anatomy: New layer of muscle discovered on the jaw

In a revelation that could redefine certain aspects of anatomical studies as we know it, scientists have now discovered humans have a new layer of muscles behind the cheeks that stabilise the lower jaw.
The masseter is a thick, somewhat quadrilateral muscle found at the back of the mouth of mammals and its most notable function is to elevate the mandible, thus moving the jaw and helping in chewing. The action of this muscle is prominently felt when one presses the teeth together.
The new study, published in the Annals of Anatomy journal earlier this month, indicates an additional layer of muscles in the masseter, which stabilises the lower jaw and is possibly the only part that can pull the lower jaw back toward the ear.
“The masseter muscle is considered to be bilayered, consisting of a superficial and a deep part,” the introductory text to the study reads.
“However, a few historical texts mention the possible existence of a third layer as well, but they are extremely inconsistent as to its position. Here we performed an anatomical study to clarify the presence and morphological characteristics of a distinct third layer of the masseter muscle,” it says.
Detailing the results of the study, the text reads, “An anatomically distinct, deep third layer of the masseter muscle was consistently demonstrated, running from the medial surface of the zygomatic process of the temporal bone to the root and posterior margin of the coronoid process.”

::SPORTS::

Hockey team wants to build on historic Tokyo Olympics campaign, says Rani Rampal

From a historic fourth-place finish at the prestigious Tokyo Olympics to achieving the best-ever FIH World Rankings to bagging FIH Hockey Stars Awards 2021 in all categories, the year 2021 was a fairytale for the Indian Women's Hockey Team.
The Indian eves became the first of India's hockey teams to return to international hockey after the pandemic-enforced hiatus disrupted the calendar. The team began the Olympic year 2021 with Argentina tour in January, followed by a four-match Germany tour in February.
After having spent the following months at SAI Centre in Bengaluru, the Indian Women's Hockey team went on to script history at the Tokyo Olympics in August 2021.
Rani-led India, who started their campaign with three losses, pulled off arguably one of the biggest upsets in world hockey as they defeated the mighty Australian side in what was their historic Quarter-Final encounter of the Olympic Games. However, they missed out on a medal by a whisker as they narrowly lost in both Semi-Final and the Bronze Medal classification matches against Argentina and Great Britain, respectively.