Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 03 March 2022

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 03 March 2022

::NATIONAL::

Supreme Court gives Centre 2 days to allay concerns on kids’ vaccination

The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave the Centre time till Saturday, to respond to a petition challenging the states’ vaccine mandate for children aged between 15 and 18 years.
A bench of justices L NageswaraRao and BR Gavai was hearing a petition filed by Jacob Puliyel, former member of the national technical advisory group on immunization, who termed the states’ vaccine mandate as “unethical” as children were not allowed to give their consent for taking the jab and parents were unable to make an informed decision in the absence of data on vaccine trials.
Appearing for the petitioner, advocate PrashantBhushan referred to data on states’ refusal to provide ration, access to public services and restricting the right to work of citizens who were not vaccinated. He also pointed out the decisions of the Haryana and Andhra Pradesh government making vaccination compulsory for children.
These were in addition to communications issued by the ministry of women and child development (MWCD) mandating vaccination for children in child care institutes and another by Council for Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) mandating vaccination for students appearing for examinations.
The petition also said that data from various countries where children in the concerned age group were inoculated showed greater incidence of myocarditis (heart inflammation) due to mRNA vaccines.
“Data from Israel shows that this risk for children is about 1 in 6000. Considering this, many European countries recently stopped the use of the Moderna vaccine for those under 30,” Bhushan said.

::INTERNATIONAL::

Nepal's Parliament approves Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a $500 million US government aid program

Nepalese Parliament approved a $500 million U.S. government aid program Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) overcoming domestic political divisions and objections from China.
China which is in tussle with US for influence in the Himalayan nation said in a sharp reaction on Monday that Washington should not undermine the sovereignty of other countries through “coercive diplomacy”.
In a move leaving Beijing bewildered, Nepal’s Parliament on Sunday ratified the contentious US-funded USD 500 million MCC Nepal compact along with an ‘Interpretive Declaration’ a day ahead of the February 28 deadline set by Washington, ending months of debates, protests and polarisation in Nepal. Experts say, China was edgy about the MCC which was signed between Nepal and the U.S. government in September 2017 as over the years it wielded influence among the influential Marxist parties in Nepal and pushed its BRI (Belt and Road Initiative). Currently, the Nepali Congress is leading the ruling Coalition in Kathmandu which includes major Left parties – CPN-Maoist Centre CPN-Unified Socialist.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing in Beijing, “China has noted the decision and the ‘interpretive declaration’ by the Nepalese Parliament.” Senior leader of the ruling Nepali Congress Ram Chandra Poudel has said that the declaration includes the statements that the MCC is not part of the Indo-Pacific Strategy, Nepal’s constitution will be above any provisions of the MCC and the country will perceive it purely as economic assistance.
In the run up to the deadline of February 28, China repeatedly accused US of “coercive diplomacy” in Nepal. Additionally, Chinese officials lobbied hard to dissuade Nepalese politicians from accepting the American aid under MCC Nepal compact, which is perhaps the biggest US grant for Nepal in recent years. The MCC is a bilateral United States foreign aid agency established by the US Congress in 2004. It is an independent agency separate from the State Department and USAID. Nepal’s political parties were sharply divided on whether to accept the US grant assistance under the MCC agreement. On February 23, while Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister HuaChunying attacked the MCC in Beijing; Song Tao, Minister of the International Liaison Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, had a virtual meeting with former pro-Beijing Nepalese Prime K P Sharma Oli, as reported in prominent Nepalese media.

::ECONOMY::

E-Bill system will end 'rent seeking' in govt contracts: FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on Wednesday said the new Electronic Bill (e-Bill) processing system will stop any possible 'rent seeking' in the clearance of dues to contractors or suppliers of government departments.
The e-Bill processing system, which was announced in the Budget, was launched. It will be implemented across all central ministries and departments and suppliers and contractors will now be able to submit their claim online, which will be trackable on a real-time basis.
Speaking at the 46th Civil Accounts Day, Sitharaman said this will ensure end-to-end digitisation and make the payment process transparent by using technology not just within the government departments, but extending the second leg to the citizen's use.
The e-Bill, she said, will shut even "any small window which is available" for "misuse in terms of rent-seeking", as a contractor or supplier to the government will be able to file their claims digitally.
"Put your claim with digital signatures, and you do not have to come to government offices. Your payment reaches (to you) as soon as your claim reaches with a digital signature," Sitharaman said.
The civil accounts officers, she said, have ensured that the common man who works with the government will not have to wait for months, or not even go and meet officials, seeking the release of their dues.
She said that even other countries are taking note of India's public finance management system (PFMS), which has helped in providing relief directly to the people during the pandemic.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

Tons of space junk likely to punch hole up to 20-metre hole in Moon

The leftover rocket will smash into the far side of the moon at 5,800 mph (9,300 kph), away from telescopes’ prying eyes. It may take weeks, even months, to confirm the impact through satellite images.
It's been tumbling haphazardly through space, experts believe, since China launched it nearly a decade ago. But Chinese officials are dubious it's theirs.
No matter whose it is, scientists expect the object to carve out a hole 33 feet to 66 feet (10 to 20 meters) across and send moon dust flying hundreds of miles (kilometers) across the barren, pockmarked surface.
Low-orbiting space junk is relatively easy to track. Objects launching deeper into space are unlikely to hit anything and these far-flung pieces are usually soon forgotten, except by a handful of observers who enjoy playing celestial detective on the side.
SpaceX originally took the rap for the upcoming lunar litter after asteroid tracker Bill Gray identified the collision course in January. He corrected himself a month later, saying the “mystery” object was not a SpaceX Falcon rocket upper stage from the 2015 launch of a deep space climate observatory for NASA.
Gray said it was likely the third stage of a Chinese rocket that sent a test sample capsule to the moon and back in 2014. But Chinese ministry officials said the upper stage had reentered Earth’s atmosphere and burned up.
But there were two Chinese missions with similar designations — the test flight and 2020′s lunar sample return mission — and U.S. observers believe the two are getting mixed up.

::SPORTS::

Sreeshankar, Paul set early standards in Indian athletics

MuraliSreeshankar was keen to test himself early in the new season, especially after a disappointing Tokyo Olympics. Three weeks back, he also fractured his hand in training, though that did not stop him from competing at the Indian Open Jumps Competition in Thiruvananthapuram.
He took off the cast for his jumps, and impressed in the season opener by recording three 8m-plus jumps, the best of 8.17m off the last attempt ensuring victory. MuhammedAnees Yahiya pushed him all the way, taking the lead with his last jump of 8.15m, a personal best.
The national record holder (8.26m) though is not used to taking second place at home, and was spurred on with his fellow Kerala jumper Anees too joining in cheering him from the sidelines. Sreeshankar produced the winning leap before breaking into a grin and hugging his main rival.
“I knew he would jump over 8m, but 8.15m was a surprise. We were cheering for each other. It was a really good competition,” said Sreeshankar.
Both Sreeshankar and Anees cleared the Asian Games qualifying distance set by the Athletics Federation of India. Their performances though will not be counted for the qualifying mark as there was no wind gauge, which is a must as only attempts with a tailwind of 2m/sec or less is legal.