Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 14 June 2016

:: National ::

HC of Bombay clears Udta Punjab Movie

The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to issue an ‘A’ certificate to the movie Udta Punjab (Punjab on a High) with the deletion of one scene and a modified disclaimer.
The Court ordered the CBFC to certify the movie within 48 hours, enabling its release on schedule on June 17.
A Division Bench of Justices said, “We do not find anything in the script that affects the sovereignty and integrity of the Nation.”
While dictating the strongly-worded order, the court said, “The power to exercise deletions and cuts should be consistent and in consonance with provisions of the Constitution and directions of the Supreme Court.”
The court said, “It is undisputed that the CBFC possesses powers to call for cuts, changes, deletions in a movie while certifying it. However, in the present case, the CBFC-imposed restrictions were not correct.
The movie has to be seen as a whole and it is not permissible to take the characters, scenes and songs out of context.”
After dictating the order, the Bench said, “There are so many litigants awaiting justice. This is hardly a cause to be brought before the court, let alone the highest court of the State.”

A fresh transgression by Chinese troops into Indian territory

A fresh transgression by Chinese troops into Indian territory has come to light. The incident happened on June 9 at Yangtse which is located 25-30 km east of Bum La pass in western Arunachal Pradesh.
According to official sources, about 250 Chinese troops had crossed into the Indian side on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and went back in a few hours.
This happens regularly due to differences in perception on the boundary and after claiming that the area belongs to China, troops tend to go back.
The incident coincides with India’s efforts at securing membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) which China has openly opposed citing India’s non-accession to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
In March, Chinese troops had entered Indian territory in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir.
On March 8, Chinese troops had entered almost 6 km deep inside Indian territory near the Pangong lake in Ladakh.

President refused to give assent to legislation that protects 21 AAP MLAs

President Pranab Mukherjee has refused to give assent to a legislation that protects 21 party MLAs, who have been appointed Parliamentary Secretaries and face the prospect of disqualification.
Petitions have been filed with the President seeking disqualification of these MLAs on the ground that they occupied office of profit, violating constitutional provisions.
Acting as a quasi judicial body, the Election Commission, to whom the President referred the issue, had sought replies of the MLAs.
The Delhi Government had sought an amendment to the Delhi Members of Legislative Assembly (Removal of Disqualification) Act, 1997.
Through the Bill, the AAP government wanted “retrospective” exemption for the parliamentary secretaries from disqualification provisions.
The Bill was forwarded by Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung to the Centre which, in turn, sent it to the President with its comments.

Pulses to be imported to keep prices in check

To bridge the demand-supply gap and maintain stability in prices of pulses, the Union government is planning a government-to-government contract, said Union Minister for Food and Public Distribution.
Addressing presspersons, Mr. Paswan said the Centre had worked out a strategy to import pulses to mitigate the shortage and maintain price stability.
This year, there will be a demand supply gap of over 76 lakh tonnes.
While private importers will be able to import only 60 lakh, the Centre is planning to have a government-to-government contract to procure the remaining quantity to meet the demand.

:: International ::

UN expresses concern over targeted killing in Bangladesh

As Bangladesh reels under a spate of targeted killings, the United Nations has expressed concern at the “dramatic increase” in murders, including that of people belonging to religious minority groups.
In a wide-ranging opening speech at the Human Rights Council, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein called for investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators.
Meanwhile, the government said categorically that Bangladesh does not need help from any foreign country or government to protect members of its minority communities.
Press Trust of India (PTI) said that “two leaders from Bangladesh’s Hindu community” had sought assistance from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Minister claimed that the government’s tough stance has already ensured the rights of religious minority groups.
Since the beginning of a crackdown on terrorists and extremists, law enforcement officials have arrested a total of 5,287 people, of which 85 have suspected militant links.

Islamic state claims responsibility for Orlando shooting

The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the Orlando shooting that killed 50 people, saying in a radio bulletin that it was carried out by “one of the soldiers of the caliphate”.
The jihadist group declared its “caliphate” in Syria and Iraq in 2014. The IS-linked news agency Amaq said on Sunday that the attack on the gay night club had been “carried out by an Islamic State fighter”.
U.S. media reported that the gunman, identified as Omar Mateen, a 29-year old American citizen, had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.

:: Science and Technology ::

Mars Orbiters have for the first time found a seasonal dust storm pattern

NASA’s Mars Orbiters have for the first time found a seasonal dust storm pattern on the Red Planet — paving the way to improve scientists’ ability to predict hazards there.
Temperature records from Mars orbiters reveal a pattern of three types of large regional dust storms occurring in sequence at about the same time each year during the southern hemisphere spring and summer.

:: Business and Economy ::

Consumer Price Index accelerated to 5.76 per cent in May

Retail inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), accelerated to 5.76 per cent in May, its highest level in 21 months.
CPI acceleration is driven primarily by rising food prices, making it more unlikely for the central bank to cut rates in the near future
The index came in at 5.47 per cent in April 2016. It was 5 per cent in May last year. The last time the retail inflation was higher was in August 2014 when it crossed 7 per cent.
Shortage in the sugar market has also moved up prices and could move up further during the festival season.
Efficient management of the food basket is likely to become crucial for any monetary easing in the future. Expect easing to commence only when the RBI is sure of hitting the 5 per cent target in March next year.
The data, released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Monday, shows that inflation in the ‘food and beverages’ segment accelerated to 7.2 per cent in May.
Overall, only food inflation witnessed acceleration while the other major segments in the index recorded marginal slowdown.
The housing segment saw a marginal easing of inflation to 5.35 per cent in May, down from 5.37 per cent in April.
Core inflation moved down imparting a downward bias to the overall print. However, this decline could possibly be short lived as the seventh pay commission is implemented and the base effect in certain categories wears off.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella outlined his thoughts on the LinkedIn buy

In an email to company staff, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has outlined his thoughts on the LinkedIn buy, the biggest for the software giant.
The key questions that weighed on his were: Does it expand the total addressable market of Microsoft? Is this asset riding secular usage and technology trends?
“The answer to all of those questions with LinkedIn is squarely yes,” he said.
“This deal brings together the world’s leading professional cloud with the world’s leading professional network,” he said.
As these experiences got more intelligent, the LinkedIn and Office 365 engagement would grow, he opined.
This would help create new opportunities for monetisation through individual and organisation subscriptions and targeted advertising, he added.

Central Bank revised the norms for banks to undertake debt restructuring

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) revised the norms for banks to undertake debt restructuring if they feel the project is viable in the long run
Under the scheme titled ‘Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets (S4A),’ at least 50 per cent of the debt should be serviced in the same period as that of the existing loan.
The balance can be converted into equity or quasi-equity instruments.
Where malfeasance on the part of the promoter has been established, through a forensic audit or otherwise, this scheme shall not be applicable if there is no change in promoter or the management is vested in the delinquent promoter.
The scheme is applicable to projects that have commenced commercial operation and where the banks’ exposure is over Rs.500 crore.
According to the norms, an advisory body called Overseeing Committee (OC) will be constituted by the Indian Banks Association (IBA) in consultation with the RBI.
Banks have to submit the resolution plan to the OC. The OC will review the processes involved in preparation of the plan, etc. for reasonableness and adherence to the guidelines and give an opinion , RBI said.