Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 26 April 2022

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 25 April 2022

::NATIONAL::

Tamil Nadu passes bills empowering state govt to appoint V-Cs

The Tamil Nadu legislative assembly on Monday passed two Bills that empower the government to appoint vice-chancellors (V-Cs) to state-run universities, a move seen as an attempt to clip the wings of the governor on this subject.
The move by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government came on a day when Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi inaugurated a two-day conference of V-Cs of state, central and private universities at the Ooty Raj Bhavan.
At present, the governor, who is the ex-officio chancellor of state universities, makes the appointments of V-Cs. The higher education minister is the pro-Chancellor.
On Monday, higher education minister K Ponmudy tabled the two Bills that amend the laws of 12 universities — including the Madurai-Kamaraj University Act, 1965, the Anna University Act, 1978 and the Chennai University Act, 1923 — to allow the state government appoint V-Cs to the universities.
As soon as the Bills were tabled in the House, the principal Opposition party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and its alliance partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) opposed them, with their members staging a walkout.
“It is considered that in line with the aforesaid other State University laws, the government of Tamil Nadu should be empowered to appoint the Vice-Chancellors of the state universities,” stated the Bills. They added that the government has decided to amend 12 University Laws for this purpose.
The Bills also stated that in a review meeting held by the higher education departmental on December 21 last year under the chairmanship of the state’s chief secretary, it was decided to include the finance secretary as one of the Syndicate Members in all the Universities, by bringing necessary amendments in the university statutes.

::INTERNATIONAL::

IMF urges Sri Lanka to tighten monetary policy, raise tax to address debt woes

Sri Lanka must tighten monetary policy, raise tax and adopt flexible exchange rates to address its debt crisis, a senior International Monetary Fund (IMF) official said.
The country of 22 million people has requested loans from the IMF as it struggles to pay for imports amid crushing debt and a sharp drop in foreign exchange reserves that has fueled soaring inflation.
"We've had very good, fruitful, technical discussions on preparations for the negotiations with authorities over the past weekend and couple of days before," said Anne-Marie Gulde-Wolf, acting director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department, speaking at an online news conference.
Sri Lankan Finance Minister Ali Sabry was in Washington last week to talk to the IMF, the World Bank, India and others about financing help for his country, which has suspended payments on portions of its $51 billion in external debt.
"The requirement for fund lending will be progress toward debt sustainability," Gulde-Wolf said, calling on Sri Lanka for measures to increase tax revenues to address critical spending needs.
"Monetary policy has to be tightened to keep inflation in check," she said. "We see a need for flexible exchange rates."
Gulde-Wolf did not reply to a question on the total value for any IMF package, nor the estimated timing of a conclusion to the negotiations with Sri Lanka.

::ECONOMY::

Suryoday SFB partners Kyndryl to drive digital, IT transformation

Suryoday Bank will partner Kyndryl to drive its technology transformation program, improve operational efficiency, and increase digital banking adoption among its customers as part of a five-year transformation deal.
Kyndryl will provide advisory and implementation services to the bank to deploy and support a new core banking system and integrate with digital channels to deliver an agile banking platform that accelerates retail business growth and enhances the bank’s customer experience.
Kyndryl will manage the bank’s critical core and mobile banking application ecosystem and provide deep expertise in hybrid cloud services, data analytics, and IP-based transformation services frameworks to enable the bank’s digital transformation journey. Apart from modernising the bank’s technology and network connectivity, Kyndryl will also provide security and resiliency services using Kyndryl’s Cyber Resiliency Orchestrator to ensure the bank remains compliant with current and future risk management guidelines and regulatory requirements.
“Suryoday Bank is committed to delivering highly available and robust services to our customers and we are invested in building advanced IT and digital offerings that are best-in-class. We are investing in technology and digital infrastructure for enhanced customer centricity, operational efficiency, and risk management. Our collaboration with Kyndryl provides us a single point of management for our entire IT requirements that will enable improved services uptime, security, and functionality for our customers,” said R BaskarBabu, MD & CEO, Suryoday Small Finance Bank.

::Science and tech::

Russia tests the world's "most powerful" nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile "RS-28 SARMAT,"

Two months into the invasion in Ukraine and after failing to take Kyiv, Russia in a show of strength tested a new nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICMB). The Russian defence ministry called the RS-28 Sarmat “the most powerful missile” in the world.
What is Sarmat capability? And how true is Russia’s claim? Here are some answers.
The Sarmat, the heavy ICBM, is the latest addition to Russia’s nuclear arsenal. Weighing more than 200 tonnes, it can be deployed with 10 or more warheads on each missile, according to the United States Congressional Research Service.
It has been designed to elude anti-missile defence systems with a short initial boost phase, giving enemy surveillance systems a tiny window to track, according to a report in NDTV.
The long-range missile has been under development since the early 2000s and was scheduled to be deployed at the end of 2022. Now the launch comes at a time of extreme geopolitical tension over the war in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that the missile can hit any target on Earth.
He was shown on TV being told by the military that the long-awaited Sarmat missile had been test-launched for the first time from Plesetsk in northwest Russia and hit targets in the Kamchatka peninsula, nearly 6,000 km away, reports Reuters.
“The new complex has the highest tactical and technical characteristics and is capable of overcoming all modern means of anti-missile defence. It has no analogues in the world and won't have for a long time to come,” Putin said.
“This truly unique weapon will strengthen the combat potential of our armed forces, reliably ensure the security of Russia from external threats and make those who, in the heat of aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country, think twice,” the president warned.

::Sports::

Anurag Thakur asks IOA details over shooting, wrestling omission from 2026 CWG

Union sports minister Anurag Thakur has directed the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to provide details over shooting and wrestling, the country’s big medal events, being dropped from the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Australia.
Thakur has asked the IOA to give information on who represented the apex sports body when such a decision impacting Indian sport was being taken by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF).
“The Sports Ministry would like to ask the IOA what was the reason that shooting and wrestling were not made a part of Commonwealth Games 2026 and who went to take part in the meeting when this decision was taken, in which situation this decision was taken,” Thakur was quoted as saying by ANI on the sidelines of the Khelo India University Games in Bengaluru.