Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 24 May 2016

:: NATIONAL ::

India and Iran signed various agreements including to develop chahbahar port

India and Iran signed a series of agreements that will allow New Delhi to use the port of Chahbahar to access Central Asia and Afghanistan.
The first agreement, a bilateral, signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s May 22-23 visit, will provide India the right to develop and operate two terminals and five berths with multipurpose cargo handling capacities in the port of Chahbahar for 10 years.
India and Iran also sealed 11 other agreements, covering culture, finance and conservation, during Mr. Modi’s official meetings with the Iranian President.
Mr. Modi’s visit was preceded by those by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan when the contracts were finalised.
“The agreement to develop the Chahbahar port and related infrastructure, and availability of about $500 million from India for this purpose, is an important milestone. This major effort would boost economic growth in the region,” Mr. Modi said in his statement, following the signing of the agreement between IPGPL (India Ports Global Private Limited) and Arya Banader of Iran.

Kochi Special Circuit Bench of NGT prohibited older diesel vehicles

In an order with far-reaching implications, the Kochi Special Circuit Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) prohibited light and heavy diesel vehicles of more that 2000 cc engine capacity that are older than ten years from plying in six major cities of the State.
The ban, which will cover vehicles in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kochi, Thrissur, Kozhikode, and Kannur, will come into effect in another 30 days.
Each detected violation thereafter will entail a Rs.5,000 fine as environmental compensation. The fine should be collected by the traffic police or the Pollution Control Board.
This means that out of the 96 lakh vehicles registered in the State, close to two lakh diesel vehicles, which are already 10 or more years old and have engine capacities of 2000 cc or more, have to be phased out.
These include over 98,400 light motor vehicles, 44,524 medium motor vehicles, 41,121 heavy motor vehicles and 3,700 private stage carriers.
The NGT Bench comprising Chairperson Swatanter Kumar and Expert Member Bikram Singh Sajwan has also directed the State government not to register any more diesel vehicle of 2000 cc and above, except Public Transport and Local Authority vehicles.

The Centre has told States to withdraw less pictorial warning tobacco product

The Centre has set May 31 deadline for the States and Union Territories to withdraw from the market tobacco products whose 85 per cent packaging space is not covered with pictorial warning.
A communiqué from the Tobacco Control Division of Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has requested the Chief Secretaries of all States and UT's to take steps for strict enforcement of the new rules on pictorial warnings.
The Pictorial Warning Rules under Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) 2003 had come into force from April 1, 2016.
The communiqué said that packages not compliant with the new rules be allowed for sale “only by printing, pasting or affixing the new warnings thereon covering 85 per cent of the principal display area.”
Though the Union Health Ministry’s notification on the larger size of pictorial warning was issued in September last year to come into force from April 1, the cigarette manufacturers continued to mislead the public by restricting the warning to 40 per cent of the display space on one side.

:: Science and Technology ::

India takes baby steps towards developing a reusable launch vehicle

The test flight of the RLV-TD represented the first step towards the ISRO programme to master the reusable launch vehicle technology.
Termed the Hypersonic Flight Experiment, it was the first of a sequence of four test flights to validate various technologies.
Designed and developed by Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) at a cost of Rs. 95 crore, the RLV-TD weighing 1.75 tonnes used a thermal protection system (TPS) including 600 heat-resistant silica tiles and a Carbon-Carbon nose cap to withstand the high temperature during atmospheric re-entry.
Taking baby steps towards developing a reusable launch vehicle capable of sending spacecraft into orbit and returning to the earth’s surface.
The technology, when developed completely, would launch spacecraft, including satellites, into space and re-enter the earth’s atmosphere withstanding extreme pressure and heat conditions and land in an intended spot, helping to cut costs on launch vehicles substantially.
The design of the air frame, development of mono propellant thrusters for guidance and control and advanced avionics for mission management were other challenges.
As many as 600 engineers from ISRO centres, National Aerospace Laboratories, IITs and Indian Institute of Science were involved in the development of the RLV-TD over a period of eight years.

CSE puts alarming report on bread

Your daily bread could contain cancer-causing chemicals — including potassium bromate and potassium iodate — substances that are banned in many countries, but not in India, warns the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).
The study tested bread sold in Delhi and found residues of potassium bromate/iodate in commonly consumed varieties of the food item.
The use of potassium bromate — classified as a category 2B carcinogen (possibly carcinogenic to humans) — is banned in most countries. Potassium iodate contributes to thyroid-related diseases.
The CSE has now recommended the immediate ban of these two chemicals to prevent their routine exposure to the Indian population.
The study, conducted by the CSE’s Pollution Monitoring Laboratory (PML), says Indian bread manufacturers use potassium bromate and potassium iodate to treat flour while making bread.
The PML tested 38 commonly available branded varieties of pre-packaged breads, pav and buns, ready-to-eat burger bread and ready-to-eat pizza breads of popular fast food outlets in Delhi.
The study found that 84 per cent (32/38) samples were found to contain potassium bromate or iodate in the range of 1.15-22.54 parts per million (ppm).
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Monday said it has decided to remove potassium bromate from the list of permitted additives while it is examining evidence against potassium iodate before restricting its use.
In 1999, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified potassium bromate as possibly carcinogenic to humans. It was found to cause tumour of the kidney and thyroid, and cancer of the abdominal lining in laboratory animals.
Considering potassium bromate as a ‘genotoxic carcinogen’, the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives in 1992 said “use of potassium bromate as a flour treatment agent was not appropriate”.
The EU had already banned its use in 1990 and so did the U.K. Subsequently, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Nigeria, Peru and Columbia too decided against its use.

Digitising data on ‘stolen’ Buddhist relics

Chinese authorities are engaged in a major international effort to digitally accumulate information on the priceless cultural treasures of the Buddhist caves in Dunhuang
Most of the artworks, controversially removed from the iconic Mogao caves, hewn out of the imposing sandstone cliffs, found their way in the British Museum in London, the National Museum in New Delhi and The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.
Part of the collection, sometimes after a change of hands, also found its way to The Tokyo National Museum and The National Museum of Korea.
Dunhuang Buddhist caves, housing 2,000 painted sculptures and half a million square feet of wall paintings, are in the Gobi desert, at a major junction of the ancient Silk Road.
The Silk Road snaked between Xian in China, and Rome, passing through treacherous terrain of deserts and mountains.
Lured by the promise of large commercial fortunes, or spiritual solace, countless perished on this route as victims either to the calamities of nature or attacks by armed brigands.
Stein’s role was pivotal in this controversial chapter, which soon acquired a sharp emotive edge in the backdrop of nationalistic stirrings in China against imperial powers.
In three expeditions, mounted between 1900 and 1916, the former principal of Oriental College, Lahore, whose prime interest was in exploration of Central Asia, China, India and West Asia, removed 24 trunks of ancient Buddhist scriptures and five boxes of paintings, embroideries, and other artworks from the Mogao caves, all for a princely sum of £130.
More than a century after Stein’s arrival in Dunhuang in 1907, a major collaborative effort to ‘reunite’ information on the treasures of the Dunhuang caves has commenced.
This enterprise aims to unite information on “all these artefacts through the highest quality digital photography by coordinating international teams of conservators, cataloguers and researchers”.
The National Museum in New Delhi is a founding member of the IDP.

Barack Obama will not apologise for the atomic bombing of Hiroshima

Barack Obama will not apologise for the atomic bombing of Hiroshima when he this week becomes the first sitting U.S. President to visit the city, he told Japanese television.
The comments are the clearest yet from his administration over an issue that raises hackles in the United States and has been the subject of heated debate for decades.
“It’s a job of historians to ask questions and examine them, but I know as somebody who has now sat in this position for the last seven and a half years, that every leader makes very difficult decisions, particularly during war time.”
American airmen launched the world’s first atomic strike on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, causing the deaths of about 1,40,000 people.
Tens of thousands were killed by the fireball that the powerful nuclear blast generated, with many more succumbing to injuries or illnesses caused by radiation in the weeks, months and years afterwards.
The southern city of Nagasaki was hit by a second bomb three days later, killing 74,000 people, in one of the final acts of World War-II.
Mr. Obama will visit Hiroshima after attending the Group of Seven summit hosted by Japan.

:: Business and Economy ::

India needs to tighten security norms to deal with the threats that cybercrime

India needs to tighten security and regulatory norms to deal with the threats that cybercrime, terrorism, fire and corporate espionage will pose to businesses in the coming years, according to a recent study.
The report highlights the fact that while awareness about security issues is on the rise, there is a need to overhaul security standards and the regulatory framework.
Besides, there is also a lack of confidence in facing natural disasters like earthquakes and floods.
The ‘Physical Security Environment Survey 2016’ found that as many as 73 per cent opined that the number of security incidents had increased in the past two years.
The report added that India ranked 143 on the global peace index, lagging behind Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

RBI warned banks to be on guard against misuse of jan dhan account

Raising concerns that Jan Dhan accounts can be misused by ‘money mules’, the RBI today warned they are “very vulnerable” to frauds and asked banks to be on guard against such activities.
The newly opened accounts under the PMJDY (Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana) could be very vulnerable to fraud practises.
Third-parties can be used to launder the proceeds of fraud schemes (such as phishing and identity theft) by criminals who gain illegal access to deposit accounts by recruiting them as ‘money mules’.
Failure to guard against misuse of customer accounts, might result in banks incurring supervisory sanctions and enforcement action from the RBI.
He also expressed displeasure with entities surrendering their payments bank licences and said the RBI would explore the possibility of a levying processing fee on the applicants.
In August, the RBI granted in-principle licences to 11 entities. While Cholamandalam Investment dropped out in March, last week Sun Pharma promoter, Dilip Shanghvi, surrendered the licence.

Govt. relaxes licence fees for India-controlled ships

The government said domestic shipping firms will have to pay only a one-time licence fee of Rs.20,000 to own foreign flag vessels, in a bid to give a boost to the maritime sector.
Vessels of Indian Controlled Tonnage will now be required to pay only a one-time processing fee of Rs.20,000 towards issue of licence.
Till now, they were being charged Rs. 20,000 on a monthly basis by the Directorate General of Shipping as processing fee for issue of licence.
The government said the move would boost the Indian Controlled Tonnage Scheme and be a step towards promoting ‘ease of doing business’ in the maritime sector.