Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 20 July 2022

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 20 July 2022

::NATIONAL::

Congress files complaint against Presidential candidate Murmu

The Congress in Karnataka filed a complaint with the Election Commission (EC) against the NDA's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu and others alleging violations of the provisions of the law during the July 18 presidential election.
The Congress has alleged that the ruling BJP in Karnataka influenced MLAs who were voters on July 17 and 18 by offering bribes and other inducements. The Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah and state Congress president DK Shivakumar, in their complaint to the EC, said that voting MLAs were provided with luxury accommodation in a five-star hotel.
Complaints have been filed against NDA candidate (Murmu), Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel, senior BJP leader BS Yediyurappa, BJP chief whip in the assembly Satish Reddy, Ministers and others.
“All these acts of BJP leaders are nothing but bribery and undue influence on the voters/MLAs made on behalf of Draupadi Murmu for the furtherance of the prospects of the elections,” he said.
The letter, signed by Opposition leader in the assembly Siddaramaiah and in the council BK Hariprasad, said these acts of the BJP interfered with the free exercise of elections and urged the authorities to take cognizance of their actions.
Satish Reddy, the chief whip of the BJP in the assembly, told HT: “Our party is spending its own money and I don’t understand why they (Congress) have a problem with this. Their fear of losing is making them make these allegations. We called our party leaders to speak about our ideology and for our candidate. If they have evidence that we paid bribes or any other allegation, let them bring it out.”
NDA candidate Murmu is pitted against joint opposition nominee Yashwant Sinha in the polls. The system of secret ballot is followed in the presidential election, and parties cannot issue whips to their MPs and MLAs with regard to voting.
According to the election commission’s directions, while MPs get a green ballot paper, the MLAs get a pink ballot paper. The separate colours help the returning officer ascertain the value of votes of each MLA and MP.

::INTERNATIONAL::

Understanding why Europe’s heatwave is unprecedented

Anecdotal accounts suggest south-western parts of Europe have experienced unprecedented temperatures in the past week, leading to hundreds of deaths and wildfires. Preliminary data shows that this is indeed one of the warmest summers ever in Europe.
And while European maximum temperatures might appear to be benign when compared to those in India, the region has likely experienced more historical warming in the last decade than India. This means that people, infrastructure, even the natural environment in Europe are experiencing temperatures not commonly experienced in the continent until recently.
A heat wave in July might appear odd to most Indians, who experience some of the highest temperatures of the year in late May. The average maximum temperature peaks on India’s normal chart (average of temperatures in 1951-1980 period) on May 21.
The peak in Europe comes in July and August with the maximum peaking on August 1 for Europe on average. Maximum peaks in the UK (in the west of the continent) the earliest (on July 6) and in Cyprus in the east the last (on August 10).
While this is indeed the peak summer period in Europe, it is far from a normal peak. The average maximum for the continent on July 18 (the hottest so far) was 27.2 degrees, 3.1 degrees warmer than the warmest day on the continent’s normal chart. In comparison, the highest maximum India has experienced on average this year is 37.87 degrees, 0.96 degrees warmer than the warmest day of the year.
The average maximum for first 18 days of July in Europe is 25.24 degrees, which is 2.11 degrees warmer than normal for this period. The week ending July 18 was, however, 2.67 degrees warmer than normal and July 18 itself was 3.65 degrees warmer than normal.
As is the case with averages, almost half of Europe (5,223 of 11,718 grids or boxes bound by two adjacent latitudes and longitudes 0.25 degrees apart) has experienced a bigger deviation than the average for Europe. Southern France, northern Spain, north-eastern Portugal and parts of western Italy have experienced a deviation this month of more than 6 degrees. The top 10 countries with the biggest deviation have all been at least three degrees warmer, with Spain, France, and Portugal 5-6 degrees warmer than normal.

::ECONOMY::

Decentralised grain procurement: Parl panel urges govt rope in more states

A Parliamentary committee on Tuesday said the government should take "proactive steps" to encourage more states to adopt the Decentralised Procurement (DCP) system for foodgrains.
Under the DCP scheme, foodgrains are procured and distributed by the state governments themselves. The designated DCP states procure, store and issue foodgrains under public distribution system (PDS) and other welfare schemes of the Government of India.
The Standing Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, headed by Sudip Bandyopadhyay, in its 13th report had observed that only eight states have adopted the DCP scheme for wheat and 15 states for rice, even after 23 years of inception.
The committee had also observed that the DCP scheme has added efficiency to PDS by making it possible to supply grains suited to local taste, while recommending to the food ministry to promote it for adoption even though the scheme is mandatory for states.
The ministry has not apprised the committee about any suitable reasons for not adopting the scheme by the remaining states and union territories or any difficulty faced by them, it noted.
"The Committee, therefore, reiterate their earlier recommendation and urge the Ministry to take proactive steps to encourage remaining States/UTs to adopt the scheme and suggest remedial measures for the problem, if any, coming in the way of adoption of the scheme under intimation to the committee," it added.
The ministry has informed 16 states are undertaking DCP of rice. They include Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Andaman and Nicobar, and Tripura.
Nine states are undertaking DCP of wheat -- Maharasthra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Bihar, West Bengal, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh.

::Science and tech::

Aurora shows after solar storm hits Earth amid fear of global outages

Space enthusiasts were able to capture the shots of stunnig aurora after a solar storm struck Earth today amid fear of global outages impacting radio and GPS. Aurora is a natural light seen predominantly in high-latitude regions. Space weather researcher Dr. Tamitha Skov recently predicted that a big solar storm was likely to strike the Earth with possibility of strong aurora shows.
“Direct Hit! A snake-like filament launched as a big #solarstorm while in the Earth-strike zone. NASA predicts impact early July 19. Strong #aurora shows possible with this one, deep into mid-latitudes. Amateur #radio & #GPS users expect signal disruptions on Earth's nightside," the space weather physicist tweeted.
She said that minor solar storm is possible on July 20 at places with high latitudes, with 50% possibility of a major storm. In mid latitudes, active aurora is possible with 10% possibility of a major storm.
Skov later said that the solar storm is although waning now, “we do have more storming on the way.”
“It wont take much to bump us back to storm levels over the next few days,” she added.
Spaceweather.com said that solar wind entered Earth's magnetosphere after a crack opened in the planet's magnetic field on July 19, registering a minor G1-class geomagnetic storm.
Several social media users shared the pictures of aurora shows captured by them during the solar storm. Retweeting one of the images, Skov wrote, “#Aurora bright enough to be visible on a flight over the city lights in the Pacific Northwest USA, captured on an iPhone during the early part of this #solarstorm. I would think this view might be blinding through night vision goggles.”

::Sports::

Asia Cup 'likely' to be shifted from Lanka to UAE: SLC's Mohan de Silva

The Asia Cup is "likely" to be moved out of Sri Lanka in the wake of political unrest in the island nation, SLC secretary Mohan de Silva said on Sunday, adding that the tournament could be played in the UAE.
Sri Lanka, which has been battling an economic crisis, has witnessed widespread protests against the government for weeks.
"The Asia Cup is very likely that it will be held in the UAE," Sri Lanka Cricket secretary de Silva told PTI when asked about a possible change in the venue of the T20 tournament.
A qualifier will also take place before the main event with Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuwait and UAE battling out for the one qualification spot.
With Australia tour of Sri Lanka going off smoothly and Pakistan currently playing Test cricket in Sri Lanka, there were hopes that the SLC might be able to host the continental event.