Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 29 June 2016

:: National ::

Panchayati Raj ministry could be closed soon

After facing a massive budget cut last year, the future of the Panchayati Raj Ministry continues to look bleak.
After the BJP government shuttered two of its key programmes — BRGF and the RGPSA it would soon be closed down and turned into a department under the Ministry of Rural Development.
Last year’s budget cut, from Rs. 7,000 crores to Rs. 96 crores, left such an impact on the Ministry that it lost confidence in empowering panchayats nationwide.
Some elements of RGPSA were retained and renamed as Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA). This year, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley allotted Rs. 655 crores to RGSA.

Maharastra creating its version of the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team

Maharashtra has taken the first steps towards creating its version of the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) to ward off external cyber threats.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, heading a high-power committee on cyber security, appointed a consortium of M/s C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) and Railtel Corporation of India to set up a CERT.
The consultancy report for the Rs. 838-crore project, for which the government has already released half the funds, will be submitted in eight days. The consultancy will cost around Rs 2 crore.
Railtel meanwhile, has expertise in working out a complex multimedia network based on broadband.
It has already put in place a network using modern transmission systems and high-end routers created for the Railways’s seamless right-of-way along 63,000 km tracks across 7,000 stations.
The state CERT will also work in coordination with the RBI to counter phishing websites. While banks will have authentication mechanisms in place, the CERT will work to mitigate further risks.

Govt to come up with recommended salary increase for employees

The Finance Ministry is set to propose on Wednesday a 23.55 per cent overall increase in salaries and pensions for more than 1 crore government employees and pensioners, in line with the 7th Pay Commission’s recommendations.
The cost to the exchequer on this account is estimated at Rs.1.02 lakh crore.
In November 2015, the pay panel had recommended increases of 16 per cent in pay and 24 per cent in pensions within the overall 23.55 per cent.
Its estimate was that these recommendations could result in an additional outgo of almost 0.65 per cent of the GDP.
The 6th Pay Commission had recommended a 20 per cent increase, which the UPA government doubled while implementing it in 2008.
On the contentious issue of non-functional upgrade, on which the 7th Pay Commission had failed to reach consensus, the Ministry’s note for the Cabinet’s consideration recommends maintaining status quo, the source said.
Of the total financial impact of Rs.1.02 lakh crore, the panel proposed that Rs.73,650 crore be borne by the General Budget and the remaining Rs.24,450 crore by the Railway Budget.
It suggested raising entry level pay to Rs.18,000 per month from the current Rs.7,000. The recommended maximum pay for the Cabinet Secretary is Rs.2.5 lakh per month against the current Rs.90,000.
Earlier, a panel headed Cabinet Secretary P.K. Sinha, vetted the pay panel’s recommendations that will impact remunerations of almost 50 lakh Central Government employees and 58 lakh pensioners.

:: International ::

China defends its move of blocking India's NSG bid

An editorial in China’s state-run Global Times asserted that at least 10 countries opposed India’s bid to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG.
The daily stressed that lack of India’s membership to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) — the cornerstone of NSG membership — was the chief obstacle in New Delhi’s path to become a member of the club.
The write-up attributed India’s sharp reaction to the rejection of application at Seoul to the sustained “adulation” of India by the Western powers.
“Recent years have seen the Western world giving too many thumbs up to India, but thumbs down to China. India is spoiled.
Although the South Asian country’s GDP accounts for only 20 per cent of that of China, it is still a golden boy in the eyes of the West.”
The editorial made two additional points. First it stressed that “nationalists” in India are yet to develop a mindset befitting the citizenry of a “major power”.
It also contrasted the response by a section of people in India to the reaction in China to Beijing’s inability to become a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)
Meanwhile, Han Hua, the director of Arms Control and Disarmament at Peking University, pointed out that the strong structural linkage between NPT and the NSG is likely to undermine India’s efforts to become a member.

:: Science and Tech ::

NASA tested the Space Launch System (SLS)

NASA performed its second and last test-fire of a rocket booster for the Space Launch System (SLS), a powerful engine that may one day launch astronauts to Mars.
NASA has described the SLS as the “world’s most powerful rocket,” and said the test aims to see how the propellant performs at the colder end of its temperature range.
The first full-scale booster test in March 2015 showed the booster performed adequately at 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 C) — the highest end of the booster’s accepted propellant temperature range.
The SLS will also carry 13 tiny satellites to test innovative ideas. These small satellite secondary payloads or ‘CubeSats’ will carry science and technology investigations to help pave the way for future human exploration in deep space.
SLS’ first flight, referred to as Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), provides the rare opportunity for these small experiments to reach deep space destinations, as most launch opportunities for CubeSats are limited to low-Earth orbit.
The CubeSats will be deployed following Orion separation from the upper stage and once Orion is a safe distance away.

:: Business and Economy ::

NPA's saw a big jump

Gross bad loans at commercial banks could increase to 8.5 per cent of total advances by March 2017, from 7.6 per cent in March 2016, according to RBI's Financial Stability Report.
The central bank has been pushing lenders to review the classification of loans given by them as part of an Asset Quality Review (AQR).
The resultant sharp surge in provisions for bad debts has eroded profitability, especially at state-owned banks, in recent quarters.
The gross bad loans of public sector banks increased to 9.6 per cent as of March 2016, from about 6 per cent a year earlier, RBI data showed.
There was an almost 80 per cent jump in gross bad loans in 2015-16, according to the report. Gross bad loans of Indian banks widened to 7.6 per cent from 5.1 per cent in September and from 4.6 per cent in March 2015.
In 2004, gross bad loans in the Indian banking sector touched 7.8 per cent, while the ratio was 11.1 per cent in 2002.
The rise in gross NPA is mainly because of the AQR, RBI said in the report. The AQR conducted by the banking regulator found several restructured advances, which were standard in the banks’ books,
The net NPA of the banks also increased sharply to 4.6 per cent in March 2016, from 2.8 per cent in September 2015. Public sector banks’ net NPA was 6.1 per cent, while the ratio for private sector banks was 4.6 per cent.
On the business side, the report noted that credit and deposit growth remained in single digits for the previous financial year. While credit growth was 8.8 per cent, deposit growth was 8.1 per cent.
There was a stark difference in the credit and deposit growth of public sector banks as compared with their private sector counterparts.
According to RBI data, for public sector banks, loans grew at 4 per cent while it was 24.6 per cent for private banks. Deposits of state-run banks grew by 5.2 per cent, while for private banks it was 17.3 per cent.
The only silver lining is the housing sector, according to the financial stability report, which said with gross NPAs of the retail housing segment at 1.3 per cent, it does not pose any significant systemic risks in the Indian context.

Shifting from five year Plans to be discussed soon

The Centre will discuss with state CM's strategy to shift from the five-year plan approach to a new system that would consist of an overarching 15-year vision document supplemented by a seven-year strategy and three-year action plans.
Besides the new planning process, the Council is also expected to discuss the model law on land leasing developed by the Aayog.
The target enunciated by the Centre to double agricultural incomes in five years is also likely to come up for discussion.
The Prime Minister had in February this year urged all state governments to give priority to boosting the agriculture sector with a target of doubling the income of farmers by 2022.
The Aayog’s vice chairman Arvind Panagariya is expected to table an appraisal of the XIIth Five Year Plan at the meeting and is also like to apprise the council of the activities under taken over the past year by the Aayog.
The practice of five-year plans, being followed for over six decades, will end after the ongoing XIIth Plan that concludes in 2016-17.
The 15-year vision document to be prepared by the Aayog will also cover internal security and defence that have traditionally not been part of the planning process.
The Council is also likely to review the action taken on the three reports submitted by groups of chief ministers – on Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, Skill Development and rationalization of centrally-sponsored schemes.

Declaration under Income Declaration Scheme wont be shared with authorities

The government has sought to assure industry that it would not harass those who came forward with their undeclared income.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley held a meeting with industry leaders and chambers of commerce regarding the Income Declaration Scheme where he sought to assuage these concerns.
The compliance window is open for people with undisclosed income to legitimise it by paying 45 per cent tax between June 1 to September 30.
Any declaration made under this law (the Income Declaration Scheme 2016) is protected, (and) that information won’t be shared with any other authority.”
This comes a couple of days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke about the Income Declaration Scheme in his Mann Ki Baat radio address.
“I have also promised that for those who voluntarily declare to the government their assets and their undisclosed income, the government will not conduct any kind of enquiry,” the Prime Minister added.