Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 24 April 2016

:: NATIONAL ::

Govt looking to make exploration policy more attractive to private players

To make exploration more attractive for private players, the Union government will reimburse the costs to mining firms that fail to find adequate mineral wealth and ofer them a share of the revenue from blocks where they do strike valuable reserves.
However, the exploration firms will not enjoy any preferential right to the blocks where they find viable mineral reserves or be eligible for direct compensation from firms that end up operating the mines they discover, as was earlier envisaged.
The Union Ministry of Mines has set forth these ideas in the final Cabinet note on the new mineral exploration policy, which was circulated for inter-ministerial consultations this week.
Under the Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulations) Act of 2015, reconnaissance permits cannot be converted into a prospecting licence or a mining licence, though there was a provision for that in the earlier law.
Firms that did not find anything in the blocks they explored would be reimbursed on the basis of normative costs so that they did not suffer any loss.
The Geological Survey of India has identified 108 blocks in 23 States that can be taken up for mineral exploration, once the Cabinet approves the new policy.

IMD says that there will be no respite from heat waves for few more days

Several parts of India reeled under severe heat wave conditions, with the maximum temperature exceeding 47 degrees Celsius at Titlagarh in Odisha and above 45 degrees in several other parts of the country.
No respite is in sight till April 27, as India Meteorological Department issued severe heat wave or heat wave warnings for parts of Odisha, Jharkhand, Telangana and Rayalaseema in Andhra Pradesh.
Vidarbha in Maharashtra, Bihar and the Gangetic West Bengal also recorded above normal temperatures.
IMD declares a heat wave when the maximum temperature exceeds 40 degrees Celsius in the plains.
If the normal maximum temperature of a place is less than or equal to 40 degrees Celsius, an increase by 5-6 degrees Celsius is needed for heat wave to be declared.
If the temperature goes up 7 degrees Celsius above normal, it is considered a severe heat wave.
Heat wave across several places has already claimed over 160 lives. Heat wave during the third and fourth week of May last year claimed over 2,200 deaths in the country.

Ujjwala scheme to provide five crore free LPG connections

Petroleum Minister said 10,000 new LPG distributors will be appointed in the current financial year.
At present, there are 18,000 gas distributors in the country and in the coming three months, 2,000 new distributors will be made and by the end of this financial year 8,000 more distributors will be made
The Rs. 8,000-crore Ujjwala scheme will provide five crore free LPG connections to BPL families using the money saved from 1.13 crore cooking gas users voluntarily giving up their subsidies.
Mr. Modi will launch the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana on May 1 and do a repeat function at Dahod in Gujarat on May 15.
61 per cent households in the country have LPG connections, while in Uttar Pradesh 53 per cent houses have gas connections.

Centre notifies rules for amended SC/ST Act

Govt notified the amended Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989 to tighten provisions to ensure speedier justice to SCs and STs, to give effect to the changes on Babasaheb Ambedkar’s birth anniversary.
The object of the amended provisions is to speed up the process of dispensation of justice, liberalise and expedite access to relief for victims of atrocities, ensuring special sensitivity in cases of offences against women.
The new provisions now provide for an increase in the existing quantum of relief from between Rs. 75,000 to Rs. 7,50,000 to Rs. 85,000 to Rs. 8,25,000, depending on the nature of the offence.
It also provides for admissible relief to SC/ST women for offences of grievous nature, onconclusion of trial, even though they may not have ended in conviction.
The changes in the law also make provision for regular reviews of the scheme for the rights and entitlements of victims and witnesses in accessing justice at the State, district and sub-division level committees in their meetings.
Other important provisions include completing investigation and filing a charge sheet within 60 days and provision of admissible relief in cash or kind or both within seven days to victims, their family members and dependents.
For the first time, there is provision of relief for rape and gang rape.
No medical examination will be necessary to seek relief for non-invasive offences against women such as sexual harassment, gestures or acts intended to insult the modesty of women.

Access to Justice survey puts gloomy picture

Most of the litigants in the country earn less than Rs. 3 lakh a year, says a new survey by the Bengaluru- based civil society organisation DAKSH.
The nationwide “Access to Justice” survey was conducted across 305 locations in 24 States between November 2015 and February 2016 to hear the voice and explore the profile of people making use of judicial system in India.
The results of the survey, which were released, reveal that 90 per cent of the litigants earn less than Rs. 3 lakh per annum and the median expected cost of litigation for this group is around Rs. 16,000.
Though legal aid aims to provide free legal services to the weaker sections who otherwise can’t afford it, the survey found that that just one per cent of the respondents were making use of this service.
A majority of the respondents found their lawyers by way of reference from colleagues, acquaintances or family members.
Experts point out that accountability of legal aid lawyers towards their clients and lack of communication between the two are serious concerns plaguing the system.
The financial barrier is not just limited to accessing courts.The main reason individuals could not meet the conditions of bail was found to be lack of funds.
A third of the respondents, who couldn’t get a bail whenit was due, cited this as a reason.
Also, around half the litigants cited expense as a major deterrent for filing appeals in the High Court if their cases were not resolved in their favour.
The survey shows that two-thirds of all civil disputes were regarding land and property, followed by litigation on family matters.
Researchers and lawyers present during the release of survey concurred that ‘access to justice’ should not be equated with ‘access to courts’, which is too narrow.

:: International ::

China to provide power to islands through floating nuclear plants

All the radar systems, lighthouses, barracks, ports and airfields that China has set up on its newly built island chain in the South China Sea require tremendous amounts of electricity, which is hard to come so far from the country’s power grid.
Beijing may have a solution: floating nuclear power plants.
A state-owned company, China Shipbuilding Industry Corp., is planning to build a fleet of the vessels to provide electricity to remote locations including offshore oil platforms and the contentious man-made islands.
China would not be the first country to employ floating nuclear power plants. In the 1960s, the U.S. Army installed a nuclear reactor inside the hull of a World War II freighter to provide electricity for the Panama Canal Zone.
And nuclear power has been on vessels since 1955, when the commanding officer of the Nautilus, an American submarine, sent word that the craft was “underway on nuclear power”.

IS takes responsibility for Bangladesh professor’s murder

The Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the murder of Rezaul Karim Siddiquee, an English professor in Bangladesh’s Rajshahi University.
The group said it killed him for “calling to atheism” in Bangladesh, according to U.S.based SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist outfits. The claim was made by IS-linked Amaq Agency, according to SITE.
But fellow university teachers said Mr. Siddiquee, while active in cultural events, never spoke or wrote anything about religion or Islam.
He was attacked near his home in Rajshahi. Witnesses and police said the assailants on a motor.
Five secular bloggers and a publisher have been killed in a similar fashion since February last year.
The IS has claimed responsibility for the killings of two foreigners, attacks on mosques and Christian priests in Bangladesh in recent months. The government says there is no organisational network of IS in Bangladesh.
The gruesome killing triggered protest by teachers and students of the Rajshahi University who blocked a major road and demanded immediate arrest of the killers. Three teachers at the university have been killed in recent years.

:: Business and Economy ::

Randstad award survey says salary and employee benefits are major criteria for workers

Salary and employee benefits, long-term job security and financial health of the company are the top three priorities among the Indian workforce while choosing an employer, says the Randstad Award survey.
The Randstad public opinion survey on employer branding, independently conducted with more than two lakh respondents across 25 countries worldwide.
Survey also revealed that salary and employee benefit continued to be top driver with (48 per cent), long-term job security (46 per cent), financial health of the company (43 per cent), pleasant working atmosphere (40 per cent) and good work- life balance (38 per cent).
However, the importance of salary has decreased from 2015 (six per cent).
The survey findings also reflected that the Indian workforce prefers to work or move to sectors such as IT and Communication (70 per cent), followed by automobiles (66 per cent) and FMCG, re- tail and e-commerce (64 per cent).
It is a proven fact that companies that are capable of attracting the right talent for the right job simply perform better.

GST will help resolve various taxation issues

Implementation of GST will help resolve various issues concerning taxation and logistics with regard to e-commerce business, which has been recording rapid growth in the country, says a study.
The e-commerce space has rapidly evolved but several challenges have surfaced primarily in areas of taxation, logistics, payments, internet penetration and skilled man power
In taxation, for example, the lack of a uniform tax structure leads to several issues such as double- taxation or impediments in the free flow of goods across the country.
However, the ensuing Goods and Services Tax (GST) is expected to help in overcoming these challenges through a uniform tax structure.
Clearly defined rules for e-commerce transactions in GST and a consultative approach while framing these rules will be favourable to both, the government as well as e-commerce companies.

Negative interest rates may not provide desired benefit

Europe and Japan’s central bank policies of negative interest rates are a “horror” and will run counter to the desired effect, Mr.Jefrey Gundlach, the widely followed investor said.
Mr.Gundlach, said negative rates would not help fight deflation but withdraw liquidity from the market because people would rather hoard cash than invest or deposit it in a bank account.
Last year, Mr.Gundlach predicted that oil prices would plunge, junk bonds would live up to their name and China’s slowing economy would pressure emerging markets.
In 2014, he correctly forecast that U.S. Treasury yields would fall, not rise as many others had expected.

:: Sports ::

Indian Olympic association has signed Salman Khan as goodwill ambassador

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has signed actor Salman Khan as the good- will ambassador for the Indian contingent bound for the Rio Olympics.
The announcement was made in the presence of Olympic medallists and Rio star athletes boxer M.C. Mary Kom, hockey captain Sardar Singh, and shooter ApurviChandela, among others.
And, in its long-term goal towards becoming financially independent, the Indian Olympic Association has roped in three sponsors.