Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 08 April 2022

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 08 April 2022

::NATIONAL::

Gujarat puts on hold stray cattle bill passed days after assembly cleared it

The Gujarat government has decided to put on hold the controversial stray cattle bill in view of the opposition of the state’s pastoral communities, education minister and government spokesperson Jitu Vaghani said in Gandhinagar.
Vaghani said the legislation has been put in abeyance till concerns of the pastoral communities are addressed.
He said that a meeting was held between representatives of the pastoral communities and chief minister Bhupendra Patel for the second time on Thursday in connection with the bill. State urban minister Vinod Moradiya was also present at the meeting held at the chief minister’s residence that went off very well, according to Vaghani.
“The CM has decided to put the implementation of the new proposed law on hold so that there is no inconvenience to any groups or sections of the society,” said Vaghani.
On March 31, the Gujarat government introduced the Gujarat Cattle Control (Keeping and Moving) in Urban Areas Bill, 2022, to curb the problem of stray cattle in urban areas and passed it hours later despite objections from the Opposition.
Members of the Maldhari (pastoral) community have been opposing the bill for the last few days. Some of their leaders even threatened to disrupt milk supplies across the state if it was not repealed.
Earlier this week, Gujarat BJP chief CR Paatil said that he has requested the chief minister to reconsider the decision of implementing the bill after leaders of the pastoral community met him about the new law.
According to the new bill, cattle owners would need a licence to keep cattle. The registration and tagging of animals was also made mandatory in municipal areas.

::INTERNATIONAL::

Russia suspended from UNHRC, India abstains

In a diplomatic win for the United States (US)-led western coalition and Ukraine, which had been pushing for the suspension, 93 countries voted to suspend Russia, 58 abstained, and 24 voted against suspending Russia.
Triggered by the allegations of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, particularly the reports of civilian killings and mass graves in Bucha, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) voted to suspend Russia from rights of its membership of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Thursday. In a diplomatic win for the United States (US)-led western coalition and Ukraine, which had been pushing for the suspension, 93 countries voted to suspend Russia, 58 abstained, and 24 voted against suspending Russia.
India abstained on the resolution and said it was doing so for both reasons of “substance and process” — but termed reports of civilian killings in Bucha “deeply disturbing”. “We have unequivocally condemned these killings and support the call for an independent investigation,” India said in its explanation of the vote.
Speaking at the emergency UNGA session — the third on Ukraine in just over a month — Indian permanent representative to the UN, TS Tirumurti, said that since the inception of the conflict in Ukraine, India stood for “peace, dialogue and diplomacy”. “We believe that no solution can be arrived at by shedding blood and at the cost of innocent lives. If India has chosen any side, it is the side of peace and it is for an immediate end to violence,” he said.
Tirumurti pointed out that the impact of the crisis had been felt beyond the region, with increasing food and energy costs, especially for developing countries, and that it was in everyone’s collective interest to work constructively, within the UN and outside, towards seeking an early resolution to the conflict.

::ECONOMY::

Rajnath Singh releases third list of defence items banned for import

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh released a third “positive indigenisation list” of 101 major pieces of defence equipment that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) will no longer clear for import. Instead, these 101 items will be incrementally procured from indigenous sources in accordance with the provisions of Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020.
These weapons and platforms will be incrementally banned for import, with some items embargoed from December 2022, and additional items added each December until 2027.
The 101 items embargoed for import today were preceded by two earlier lists: The first list of 101 items was promulgated on August 21, 2020; and a second list of 108 items was announced on May 31, 2021.
“The list, notified by the MoD’s Department of Military Affairs, consists of equipment and systems that are close to being fully developed by indigenous agencies and which are likely to translate into firm orders in next five years,” stated an MoD release.
The third list includes lightweight tanks, 155 millimetre, 52 calibre mounted artillery gun systems, guided extended range (GER) rockets for the Pinaka multi-barrelled rocket launcher (MLRS), naval utility helicopters (NUH), next generation offshore patrol vessels (NGOPV), multi-function surveillance targeting and acquisition radar (MF STAR), medium range anti-ship missiles (MR-SAM naval variant), advanced lightweight torpedo, high endurance autonomous underwater vehicle, medium altitude long endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (MALE UAV), anti-radiation missiles, and loitering munitions.

::Sports::

Mumbai City FC eye history as they make AFC Champions League debut

Mumbai City FC endured a difficult outing in the latest edition of the Indian Super League (ISL), a campaign which exposed their inconsistency. The team got off to a flying start and scored 17 goals in the first six matches. However, fate soon took a U-turn and after a series of poor results, the defending champions eventually finished fifth on the points table.
However, as coach Des Buckingham said “what's done is done”, the Islanders now look to enter a new competition, in fact a bigger one, with fresh but realistic ambitions.
Mumbai are all set to make their debut in the AFC Champions League, making them the second Indian club after FC Goa to feature in the elite Asian football tournament. The team will lock horns with Al-Shabab FC, a Saudi Arabian club, on Friday night, who if assessed by the current form appear to be the easiest opponent for Mumbai in their group.
The team will then face Air Force Club Iraq, who have won the competition on three previous occasions and then Al Jazira, who currently enjoy the third position in the Arabian Gulf League.