Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 13 March 2016

:: NATIONAL ::

PM says India proves democracy and high growth can go together

Taking a swipe at China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India’s growth rate of over seven per cent was being achieved in a country that is also a vibrant democracy.
Speaking at the Advancing Asia conference here, he said India dispelled the myth that democracy and rapid economic growth could not go together.
India’s rapid economic growth, he said, was also very distinct in Asia, as the country had never tried to gain in trade at the expense of partners, never undervalued its exchange rate; it rather added to the world and Asian demand by running current account deficits.
The IMF recently included China’s yuan into its reserve currency basket.
Amid global problems, Mr. Modi said, India was a haven of macro-economic stability.
In a difficult external environment and despite a second successive year of weak rainfall, India has increased growth rate to 7.6 per cent, the highest among major economies in the world.
India and the IMF also announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for establishing the South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Centre.
It is expected to become the focal point for planning, coordinating, and implementing the IMF’s capacity-development activities in the region.

Some good news for Indian students applying for US visa

After all the negativity associated with US education in the recent months, here is some good news for Indian students.
The US government has made certain changes to non-immigrant visas that will now allow the eligible students to obtain the Optional Practical Training (OPT) for three years.
However, the facility will be extended only to the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) students who secure their degrees from accredited institutes and the companies that are part of the E-verify programme.
Since most Indian students enrol in these courses, the new norms may work to their advantage despite the stringent norms attached to the changes.
The new rule also says that STEM-OPT students should not replace any American worker, temporary or permanent and the salary offered to the OPT students should be similar to the American workers.
Students who prefer good institutes in the US will gain while those from non-accredited institutions will not gain from the new rules.
Another positive note may be that OPT students will get more time to apply for the H1B visas that are capped at 65,000 every year in addition to the 20,000 meant for US-educated students.

Kerala secures top ranking in public affairs index

Kerala and Tamil Nadu have acquired the first and second rank in the public affairs index (PAI) of governance in States, while Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha lag behind, a latest survey by a think-tank, Public Affairs Centre (PAC), Bengaluru, has revealed.
Karnataka secured the top position among all States in the category of providing adequate and effective social protection to its citizens. West Bengal and Kerala secured the second and third positions.
The survey, which was based on 10 themes, 25 focus subjects and 68 indicators, said Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi secured top three ranks among the small States (less than two crore population).
Karnataka, which ranked ninth in the ease of doing business in the World Bank report released last year, was placed at an overall rank three in the PAC survey.
'Education and health are said to be the pillars of development and it is worth mentioning that the State has performed well and has bagged the second rank,” the survey said.
Punjab, which secured overall 6th rank, bagged top spot on the infrastructure front, followed by Haryana and Gujarat. Among small States, Delhi led, followed by Goa and Himachal Pradesh.
In maintenance of law and order, Tamil Nadu topped the list followed by Gujarat and Kerala.
Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha are ranked low in social protection, economic freedom, delivery of justice, women and child development and essential infrastructure indicators.

RSS think tank wants education and health should be prioritise

BJP president Amit Shah spoke at the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, the RSS’s highest decision-making body. The conclave passed resolutions on affordable education and health care.
The meeting passed resolutions on affordable education, with suggestions for more budgetary allocation for education and a greater community participation.
"Inadequate allocation for education and lack of priority for education in the government policy during the preceding years have left open this field to institutions aiming for profits,” the resolution said.
The resolution called for value-based, nationalistic, employment-oriented and skill-based education for each child.
The health resolution called for medical facilities in small towns and villages and made a case for more philanthropic health care efforts. It also called for medicines to be brought within the reach of the people.

:: International ::

US president wants mobile data to accessible to government

President Barack Obama has made a passionate case for mobile devices to be built in a way that will allow the government to access personal data if needed to prevent a terror attack or enforce tax laws.
The President said he could not comment on the legal case in which the FBI is trying to force Apple to allow access to an iPhone linked to San Bernardino, California, shooter Rizwan Farook.
But he made clear that despite his commitment to Americans' privacy and civil liberties, a balance was needed to allow some government intrusion if necessary.
Last month, the FBI obtained a court order requiring Apple to write new software and take other measures to disable passcode protection and allow access to Farook's iPhone.

UN to probe South Sudan attack

A high-level board of inquiry will investigate how United Nations peacekeepers responded to an attack at their camp in South Sudan where tens of thousands of civilians were sheltering.
Gunmen in army uniforms stormed the camp in the northeastern town of Malakal on February 17 and 18, firing on civilians and torching shelters.
At least 25 people were killed and 160 were wounded.
UN said the independent panel will “conduct an in-depth investigation into the UN mission's response to clashes that broke out.”
The UN mission in South Sudan is also reviewing security at the eight “protection of civilians” sites.

:: Business and Economy ::

Government planning to provide PF to contractual labours as well

The government has decided to get tough with large employers who increasingly rely on contract workers often without paying them their statutory dues such as employees’ provident fund contribution.
As part of the plan, the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EFPO) has asked all the public sector firms to upload on their websites the details of project contracts awarded to various agencies in a bid to ensure contract workers get provident fund benefits.
Central PF Commissioner V.P. Joy, who recently took charge of the Rs. 10 lakh crore retirement fund body, is expected to send a similar directive to 4,700 private companies employing over 1,000 workers each.
The Contract Labour Act requires employers to pay equal pay and benefits for work done by contract employees that is similar to regular employees’ role.
But its implementation has been weak and attempts to bring in a stronger law have been thwarted as government agencies and public sector units also deploy a large number of contract employees and are reluctant to pay them more.
EPFO is looking to make public as well as private sector companies, which are the principal employers of contract workers, accountable for providing PF benefits.
The public sector companies will have to register the details of all contract employers of each project on EPFO’s website.

Central Bank Governor says exchange rate is at right place

Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan sought to allay fears about India’s weak exchange rate saying that it is broadly in the right place and the country’s trade is likely to be muted for some time.
“Indian trade is likely to be muted for some time. But we are not alone in this. Global trade is weak.” said Raghuram Rajan
Apart from the exchange rate and the weak global economy, Mr. Rajan pointed to several other reasons that could be leading to this decline in global trade.
The first, he said, is that as countries get more developed, they begin to consume services more, which are not generally traded. The second reason was that the trade in capital goods has seen a decline.
And the third reason was that countries are increasingly pulling inwards. That is, their supply chains are increasingly being geared towards their own needs rather than the needs of other countries,
Mr. Rajan said “I believe the monetary reforms of this government will stand out as one of its major achievements.”
The Monetary Policy Committee, the composition of which was laid out in the Finance Bill 2016, will be in charge of keeping inflation within specified targets, failing which it will be answerable to the government.
While emphasising the need for macroeconomic stability, the Governor lauded the government on its adherence to its fiscal targets and in focussing on structural reforms.
“Economists will say we need structural reforms. But such moves tend to upset constituencies. The problem is that the costs are immediate and well-defined. But it is an ill-defined group which doesn’t know if it will benefit from the changes later on.”
The Governor also pointed out that the cumulative FDI in this financial year till January at $38.7 billion was just $3 billion short of the highest FDI ever recorded in India, of $41.7 billion in 2008-09, and there were two months still to be completed.