Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 26 June 2016

:: National ::

People of the cities have to decide about the development of their cities: PM

“People of the cities have to decide about the development of their urban spaces and such decisions cannot be taken in Delhi,” PM Narendra Modi said.
“The spirit of participative governance is vital. Let us consider urbanisation as an opportunity. Gone are the days when it was seen as a challenge or obstacle,” said Mr. Modi.
Remarking that cities were not merely growth centres, Mr. Modi asserted that India’s urban spaces had the strength and the capacity to mitigate poverty, noting that there was a positive atmosphere of competing on development works under the mission.
Remarking on the robustness of the ‘Smart City’ project, he said the project in itself was “a mass movement” and that the “experiment had been successful.”
The Prime Minister flagged off 14 projects in the city while laying emphasis on the need to focus on solid waste management.
“Smart cities are about modern facilities and becoming centres of development,” Mr Modi said, adding, “The people of India are the smartest. Once their skills are harnessed then see the wonders that will occur.”

Informal consultative process for India's entry into NSG

Closed-door session of the NSG that ended its annual plenary in Seoul appointed Argentine Ambassador as the “Facilitaor of the Chairperson to having informal consultations with the Participating Governments (PGs) in the group”.
The decision indicates that despite opposition from China and other countries on the issue of the NPT that India has refused to sign, and the desire of several NSG countries to look for a “non-discrimatory” membership process.
Members reportedly agreed to the informal arrangement after a special session where several countries raised India’s case.
Eventually the NSG joint statement only recorded a bland account of the session, recording that “The NSG had discussions on the issue of “Technical, Legal and Political Aspects of the Participation of non-NPT States in the NSG.”
Ambassador Grossi’s appointment to assist the new Chairperson from Switzerland with the “continued discussion” on India is significant, as Mr. Grossi is the outgoing Chairperson of the NSG, and was keenly involved in bringing India’s bid to the NSG table this year.
Argentina has been very supportive of India’s bid, Mr. Grossi is an international expert on disarmament, and negotiated the accession of 197 members to the Chemical Warfare Convention (CWC) some years ago.
News of Mr. Grossi’s appointment came even as a U.S. official reportedly said that the NSG session had ended with a “path forward” for India’s acceptance as a member.

Environment Ministry revokes draft forest policy

The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has repudiated a ‘Draft National Forest Policy’ that it uploaded on its website earlier this month calling it an “inadvertent” error.
The ‘Draft National Forest Policy, 2016’, was uploaded on the Ministry’s website on June 16 along with an office memorandum calling for comments.
The Environment Ministry had tasked the Bhopal-based Indian Institute of Forest Management, an affiliated organisation, with reviewing and revising the existing forest policy.
This is the first time that the policy was being re-looked since 1988 as it wanted to update the several changes in forest laws and provide a forward-looking policy that talked about increasing India’s forest cover and tackling the effects of climate change.
While the policy was a study prepared for the “consideration of the government” it was unusual for the government to so “vehemently” deny that it was a draft.
The draft policy made several suggestions including promoting the commercial use of wood, a greater role for industry in forest management and time-bound reviews of the progress being made in effectively managing forests.

:: International ::

Brexit gives too many problems to Britain

The Brexit referendum verdict continued to spread turmoil in the United Kingdom’s political and economic landscape on day two after the vote.
While the long-term economic consequences of the break with the European Union remain unclear, its political fall out is more immediate.
Scotland announced after a cabinet meeting that her government would begin work on legislation for the option of a second independence referendum.
In Northern Ireland, which also voted by a majority to remain, similar rumblings are being heard.
Brussels, meanwhile, is pressing hard for the U.K. to quickly initiate Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty that triggers the process of disengaging from the EU.
Statements issued by foreign ministers of the six founding countries of the EU, following an emergency meeting in Berlin, indicated the urgency with which the countries wish to insulate the EU and their own economies from the Brexit upheaval.

Brexit split the nation

More than a million Britons pleaded for a second referendum as Britain’s seismic vote to abandon the EU split the nation after pounding world markets, toppling the Prime Minister and raising the threat of a breakup of the island nation.
In a sign of the fissures exposed by the June 23 vote, 1.2 million people signed a petition on the official government website calling for a repeat vote.
A parliamentary committee, which can put forward petitions for debate by lawmakers, will consider the proposal on 28th June.
European powers called for Britain to be shown the door quickly as they grappled with the impending loss of one of the world’s top economies, the first defection in the bloc’s 60-year history.

China and Russia signed a raft of agreements to increase tie

China and Russia signed a raft of agreements, that ranged from the areas of food and energy security to military, cementing the strategic core of a relationship that apprehends US growing military presence in their backyards.
Over 30 agreements have been signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s whirlwind visit to Beijing.
The agreements covered joint development of a longrange civilian aircraft.
Moscow was starting the development of the heavy aircraft engine with a thrust of 35 tonnes for the aircraft.
The two countries are also developing a heavy-lift helicopter based on Chinese specifications.
It would have a maximum take-of weight of 38.2 tonnes, and fly at maximum speed of 300 km per hour.

:: India and World ::

DAC gave approval Ultra-Light Howitzer from the U.S.

The Army’s eforts to induct new artillery guns made progress with the Defence Acquisition Council giving advanced approvals for the procurement of M-777 Ultra-Light Howitzer from the U.S. and Dhanush developed by the OFB.
The DAC meeting chaired by Defence Minister considered 19 projects. New proposals worth Rs. 28,000 crore were discussed and a large number of existing schemes were reviewed.
In the M-777 deal for 145 ULH worth around $750 million, the DAC approved the case under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route from the U.S.
BAE systems, which manufactures the guns, will set up an Assembly, Integration and Test (AIT) facility in India for which it has already selected Mahindra group.
Of the 145 guns, 25 will be imported while the remaining 120 will be assembled in India.
However the number is expected to go up further given the Army’s need for guns to quip the mountain strike corps on the Eastern front.

:: Business and Economy ::

India looking for projects to be funded by AIIB

India is identifying projects worth $2-3 billion that could be funded by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.
Mr. Jaitley signalled India’s full support for the China-led lender by calling upon it to open a regional office in New Delhi — a move that could help support South Asia’s burgeoning demand for infrastructure.
The projects in India, which were being identified, were in the areas of urban development, including smart cities, urban transport, energy, inland waterways and water supply.
The Beijing-based AIIB is headed by former Assistant Chinese Finance Minister, while India’s DJ Pandian is its Vice President and Chief Investment Officer.
Mr. Jailtley said that India had continued to maintain a high growth rate of 7.6 per cent in 2015-16, despite the overall “very modest” recovery of the global economy.
Mr. Jaitley said Britain’s decision to leave the European Union would have only a temporary impact on India.

The Centre to make it mandatory for companies to give appointment letters

The Centre will soon make it mandatory for companies with more than ten workers to give appointment letters to employees at the time of joining — a move that would benefit millions of workers in the informal sector.
An absence of legislation on the issue makes it difficult for workers, including those who are employed informally or via contractors in the organised sector, to establish proof of employment and gives companies room to violate labour laws and not ensure any social security benefits for such employees.
A proposal to make appointment letters mandatory is part of the draft labour code on working conditions finalised by the Union Labour and Employment Ministry.
Companies in the manufacturing, construction, plantation, mining and a few other sectors will have to issue a letter of appointment within days of hiring, even if this involves contractual or migrant short-term workers.
The Centre may prescribe a format for appointment letters which would include details such as designation of the worker, the time period for which she is employed and other working conditions and benefits.

Britain faces credit rating risk

Ratings agency Moody’s said Britain's creditworthiness was now at greater risk after voting to leave the European Union, as the country would face substantial challenges to successfully negotiate its exit from the bloc.
Moody’s assigned a negative outlook to its ‘Aa1’ rating for British government debt after referendum showed that a clear majority of Britons wanted to leave the EU, prompting Prime Minister David Cameron to announce he would resign.
Britain’s finance ministry and central bank had warned voters the country would face a major economic hit if it left the EU after more than 40 years as a member, and sterling fell to its lowest against the dollar since 1985.
Standard & Poor’s - the only major one to still assign Britain a top-notch triple-A.