Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 08 February 2017

:: National ::

PM puts strong defence or demonetisation and surgical strikes

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit out at critics, mounting a strong defence of his government’s decisions in the last year, from demonetisation to surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC).
He was responding to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President for his address to the joint Houses of Parliament that was passed in the Lower House.
Declaring that his government was working for the poor and the downtrodden, Mr. Modi in his over 90-minute speech justified the timing of the demonetisation and denied that it had been done in hurry.
“Just notice the change in the discourse after our government came to power. Earlier it was about how much money was lost due to scams and now it is about how much black money has been recovered because of demonetisation.”
The Opposition, he charged, had denied his government a chance in the Winter Session of Parliament to debate demonetisation, fearing that its own fire would be weakened.
“Some people have asked why was this [demonetisation] decision taken when the economy was doing well. It was the best time as the economy was strong. Had the economy been weak, then we could not have done it successfully,” he claimed.

For the first time open court contempt proceedings against HC judge

For the first time in the country’s history, seven seniormost Supreme Court judges led by CJI J.S. Khehar are convening in open court to initiate suomotu contempt action against sitting Calcutta High Court judge.
Justice C.S. Karnan charged for “scurrilous remarks” made against senior judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts and impeding the process of justice administration.
Justice Karnan, who was a judge of the Madras High Court, was once summoned to the Supreme Court and warned in person by then Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur for his offensive behaviour towards the Chief Justice of the High Court.
In February 2016, as a Madras High Court judge, he had turned judicial hierarchy upside down by ‘staying’ his own transfer to the Calcutta High Court, forcing the Supreme Court to authorise a freeze on his functions as a judge.
Later, he wrote to the Chief Justice of India, acknowledging that he had passed an “erroneous order due to his mental frustration resulting in loss of mental balance.”
The contempt action, an unprecedented move by the highest judiciary to put its house in order and send a strong message that indiscipline would not be tolerated, comes on the very day Justice Karnan is to appear in person to argue his case against his transfer to the Calcutta High Court.
In the past, Justice Karnan had frequently raised the issue of his caste status, complaining to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and even threatening to file criminal charges against Chief Justices and other judges.

India is taking its first steps to evolve a policy on synthetic biology

India is taking its first steps to evolve a policy on synthetic biology, an emerging science through which new life forms can potentially be made in labs and existing life forms, such as bacteria and other microbes, tweaked to produce specific proteins.
Govt will convene group of experts on biodiversity and biotechnology, to assess synthetic biology work pursued in Indian labs, potential benefits and risks, and the implications of the trans-boundary movement of such life forms.
Synthetic biology in microbial systems holds promise for production of drugs, vaccines, fuel components and other chemicals.
A popular example is the production of artemisinin, a powerful anti-malarial drug, in yeast, at a commercial level. Microorganisms have also been constructed to act as sensors that can detect a toxin in vitro or in vivo (inside a living organism).
India, so far, has no policy on synthetic biology, and according to a presentation made at the venue, it has promised to “put in place a Synthetic Biology Team for articulating India’s view” at a forthcoming meeting.

US recognised India as major defence partner

Recognising India’s status as a ‘Major Defence Partner,’ the U.S. has made changes in its export control laws that will benefit India by facilitating smoother transfer of technologies and arms.
The new rule that makes changes in the export control laws “creates a presumption of approval” for Indian firms seeking to import the Commerce Department-controlled military items, except weapons of mass destruction-related goods.
Only in the rarest circumstances will India be denied licences.

:: International ::

China again blocks move against Masood Azhar

China has opposed a U.S.-led proposal in the UN Security Council to designate Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad’s founder Masood Azhar a global terrorist, more than a month after it vetoed an earlier proposal for the same.
The “technical hold” put by China on the proposal jointly moved by the U.S., the U.K. and France indicates its continued eagerness to shield Pakistan.
Pakistan had recently said the JeM leader had been put under house arrest, even as it became clear that the outgoing Obama administration had renewed the proposal to designate Azhar terrorist, immediately after the Chinese veto in December.
When the UNSC meets as al-Qaeda, Taliban & IS Sanctions Committees, it works on the principle of ‘unanimity and anonymity’ — a single member’s opposition amounts to a veto, and the deliberations and the voting will remain secret.
India had last year opposed this practice which it called the “hidden veto”. Last year, China put the proposal on hold, first for six months, and then extended it for three months before finally blocking it altogether. Once it is ‘blocked,’ a new proposal can be moved.
The JeM is already a UN-designated terrorist organisation and China has so far refused to explain how it distinguishes the leader from the organisation.
The question of Azhar — who was among the terrorists released by India following the hijacking of IC-814 in 1999 — came to the foreground last year after India held him responsible for the Pathankot attack.
India hopes that the Trump administration policy at the UN will signal continuity with the Obama administration on the issue.

:: Business and Economy ::

Japan finding ways to increase FDI

Japan is wooing foreign direct investment through a slew of measures such as an easier visa regime and lower corporate taxes, at a time when the proposed visa curbs continue to trouble Indian firms.
In a bid to attract global talent, from India and other nations, Japan has said it will soon introduce a new Green Card programme —billed as the fastest such system in the world — and expedite the granting of permanent residency to highly skilled foreign professionals.
The new ‘Japanese Green Card for Highly Skilled Foreign Professionals’ will substantially reduce the period of stay required.
before highly skilled foreign professionals can apply for permanent residence — from the current five years to just one year in cases where the applicant secures the required points.
Incidentally, there is a fall in native-born population in Japan, a country where foreign workers account for a minuscule 1-2% of its total workforce.
Currently there is an “investment imbalance” between Japan and India. The investments by Japan in India as at the end of 2015 were $14.1 billion, while investments from India into Japan were worth only $0.074 billion.
FDI (2015 figures) from India to Singapore ($5.27 billion), to the U.S. ($3 billion) and to the U.K. ($779 million) were much more than to Japan (just $27 million).
Japanese government had also said it will make the Points-based System for highly skilled foreign professionals more user-friendly by revising requirements and promoting further awareness.
In the case of significant investors and human resources in growth fields such as IT and regenerative medicine, Japan is looking at expediting applications for permanent residence by highly skilled foreign professionals.
Besides, there is a plan to reduce corporate real tax rate from 34.62% in 2014 to 29.74% in 2017. To address the issue of language barrier, Japanese laws and regulations will be translated into foreign languages.

Global economic order to shift to emerging economies

The global economic order is expected to shift from advanced to emerging economies over the next few decades, and by 2040 India could edge past the U.S. to become the world’s second largest economy in PPP terms, according to a report.
According to PwC, E7 economies comprising Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia and Turkey would grow at an annual average rate of almost 3.5% over the next 34 years, compared to just 1.6% for the advanced G7 nations.
“In fact, China has already overtaken the U.S. to become the world’s largest economy in PPP terms, while India currently stands in third place and is projected to overtake the U.S. by 2040 in PPP terms,” PwC said.
PwC opines Vietnam, India and Bangladesh would be three of the world’s fastest growing economies over this period.

All Public sector banks to join BHIM app

All Public Sector Banks are expected to join the Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) app for digital payments by the end of February, the National Payments Corporation of India said.
BHIM app enables digital transactions using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and has been downloaded by 13.8 million users by the end of January. However, just 3.6 million users have linked the app to their bank account.
“The gap in the number of app downloads and the number of customers linking the app to their bank account has been because it is observed that most of these customers have downloaded BHIM without checking if their bank is active on the platform,” the NPCI added.