Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 14 June 2022

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 14 June 2022

::NATIONAL::

‘Agnipath’: Service chiefs announce new military recruitment model

The three service chiefs have announced and revealed the details of a much-debated short-term recruitment policy called ‘Agnipath’ at a press conference with defence minister Rajnath Singh in presence.
Soldiers recruited under the new model (also referred to as tour of duty in the past) will be inducted in the armed forces as ‘Agniveers’, a new distinct rank, as opposed to sepoys who joined the Indian Army under the legacy recruitment model, according to an HT reported on Tuesday.
‘Agniveers’ will form a distinct rank in the three services, and will also wear a distinct insignia as part of their uniform.
The announcement sets the stage for the army to restart its recruitment process after a two-year freeze caused by Covid-19 restrictions.
The ‘Agnipath’ model envisages the recruitment of personnel below officer rank (PBOR) in the army, air force and navy for four years, including six months of training, the officials said.
The proposed model has been at the centre of an intense debate in military circles, with several veterans questioning the concept and arguing that disadvantages may outweigh the advantages.
The soldiers recruited under ‘Agnipath’ will be released from service after four years, though the new system will have a provision for retaining around 25% of them after another round of screening. They are likely to be given a severance package of over ₹11 lakh, though they will not be entitled to pensions. However, the ones retained will serve in the defence services for another 15 years, and will be entitled to pensions.

::INTERNATIONAL::

Blinken assures Sri Lanka of support to promote American investments

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has assured crisis-hit Sri Lanka of support to promote American investments in the country after the completion of IMF negotiations, as he spoke with Prime Minister RanilWickremesinghe to discuss the island nation's current economic and political challenges.
Wickremesinghe explained the current status of the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He further said that Sri Lanka is willing to have closer cooperation with the US.
"It was a pleasure speaking to Secretary of State @SecBlinken. I briefed him on the current economic situation and requested for our countries to work closer. He assured his support to further promote US investments in Sri Lanka upon the completion of IMF negotiations," Wickremesinghe tweeted.
Sri Lanka has decided to seek the assistance of the Washington-based global lender to combat the worst economic crisis since its independence from Britain in 1948. The talks between Sri Lanka and the IMF commenced on April 18.
The nearly bankrupt country, with an acute foreign currency crisis that resulted in foreign debt default, announced in April that it is suspending nearly USD 7 billion foreign debt repayment due for this year out of about USD 25 billion due through 2026. Sri Lanka's total foreign debt stands at USD 51 billion.

::ECONOMY::

Russia becomes India's second biggest oil exporter in May: Report

Russia rose to become India's second biggest supplier of oil in May, pushing Saudi Arabia into third place but still behind Iraq which remains No. 1, data from trade sources showed.
In May Indian refiners received about 819,000 barrels per day (bpd) Russian oil, the highest thus far in any month, compared to about 277,00 in April, the data showed.
Western sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine prompted many oil importers to shun trade with Moscow, pushing spot prices for Russian crude to record discounts against other grades.
That provided Indian refiners, which rarely used to buy Russian oil due to high freight costs, an opportunity to snap up low-priced crude.
Russian grades accounted for about 16.5% of India's overall oil imports in May, and helped raise the share of oil from the C.I.S. countries to about 20.5%, while that from the Middle East declined to about 59.5% %, the data showed.
He said apart from availability of cheaper Russian barrels, higher official selling prices of Middle Eastern oil also pushed Indian refiners to buy Nigerian crude.
India's oil imports in May totalled 4.98 million bpd, the highest since December 2020, as state refiners raised output to meet growing local demand while private refiners turned focus to gain from exports, the data showed.
India's oil imports in May were about 5.6% up from the previous month and about 19% from a year earlier, the data obtained from sources showed.
India has defended its purchase of "cheap" Russian oil saying imports from Moscow made only a fraction of the country's overall needs and a sudden stop would drive up costs for its consumers. Higher oil imports from Russia, curbed OPEC's share in India's overall imports to 65% in April.

::Science and tech::

Air pollution reducing life expectancy in India by 5 years: Study

Air pollution is the greatest threat to human health in India reducing life expectancy by five years with Delhi, the most polluted state, standing to gain it by 10 years on average if annual average pollution levels did not exceed five micrograms per cubic metres, according to Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC)’s Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) released on Tuesday. In contrast, child and maternal malnutrition reduces average life expectancy by about 1.8 years and smoking by 1.5 years, it said.
Delhi was also the most polluted state with around 9.7 years of life expectancy lost on average as per AQLI’s analysis last year based on the old revised World Health Organisation (WHO) target of 10 micrograms per cubic metre for reducing the burden of disease. As per this year’s analysis, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana and Tripura are among the top five polluted states, which stand to gain the most in life expectancy if the pollution levels are met.
Globally, India is the second most polluted country preceded by Bangladesh, where life expectancy reduced by 6.9 years in 2020 due to poor air and followed by Nepal (4.1 years), Pakistan (3.8 years) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (2.9 years).
The AQLI found that particulate air pollution takes 2.2 years off global average life expectancy, or a combined 17 billion life years. The impact on life expectancy is comparable to that of smoking, more than three times that of alcohol use and unsafe water, six times that of HIV/AIDS, and 89 times that of conflict and terrorism, the analysis said.
All of India’s 1.3 billion people live in areas, where the annual average particulate pollution level exceeds the WHO limit. Over 63% of the population lives in areas that exceed the country’s own national annual air quality standard of 40 micrograms per cubic metre, the analysis found.

::Sports::

Haryana won the title of Khelo India Youth Games 2021

The Khelo India Youth Games 2021 with Haryana grabbed the top position in the medal tally with 52 gold, 39 silver and 46 bronze medals. Maharashtra got second position by winning 125 medals including 45 gold, 40 silver and 40 bronze medals. Karnataka remained at third place with 22 gold,17 silver and 28 bronze medals
In the closing ceremony organised at Indradanush Auditorium in Panchkula, Chief Guest Haryana Governor BandaruDattatreya said that he is sure the Khelo India Youth games will produce international level players. He said that the players from different states did hard work and won the medals.
Addressing the sportspersons on this occasion Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur congratulated the Chief Minister ManoharLal and Haryana Sports Minister Sandeep Singh for organizing the fourth edition of Khelo India youth Games 2021 and providing all the facilities to the participating sportspersons.
The fourth edition of the Khelo India Youth Games saw athletes from over 36 states and Union Territories compete in 25 different sports.