Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 7 September 2017

::National::

13-year-old was allowed to terminate pregnancy by SC

• “How can a 13-year-old become a mother?” The question from Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra laid bare the vulnerability of a 13-year-old rape survivor, who has been allowed by the SC to terminate her 31-week-old pregnancy. A medical board opinion said the termination was possible, but would have serious consequences on the Class VII Mumbai student.

• The Supreme Court allowed a 13-year-old rape survivor to terminate her 31-week-old pregnancy.

• A medical board opinion said medical termination of her pregnancy was possible at this stage, but would have serious consequences on the Class 7 student from Mumbai.

• Medical experts, whose opinion was sought by the SC, said if the pregnancy was allowed to continue, the baby would be pre-term and would require intensive neo-natal care. Either way, doctors said both the ‘mother’ and baby would be at grave risk.

States should take responsibility to stop attacks by cow vigilantes - SC

• Supreme court ordered the States and the Union Territories to appoint nodal police officers in every district to crack down on such groups.

• BJP-ruled Haryana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat accepted the apex court’s suggestion to appoint dedicated officers in the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police to prevent ‘gau rakshaks,’ as they call themselves, from taking the law into their own hands or becoming a law unto themselves.

• A three-judge Bench of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices Amitava Roy and A.M. Khanwilkar was hearing an intervention by Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson, Tushar Gandhi, about the lack of responsibility and accountability shown by the Centre and State administrations as vigilante groups wreaked havoc and resorted to murder in broad daylight in the name of the cow.

• Dalits and Muslims have reportedly been at the receiving end of violence unleashed by lynch mobs, especially in the four northern States. The court exhorted the Centre to uphold its constitutional mandate under Article 256 and direct the States to act against the groups. It said the Centre could not remain silent, leaving everything to the States.

• The court directed the Centre to respond to a submission by senior advocate Indira Jaising, for Mr. Gandhi, that the government cannot wash its hands of its constitutional responsibility under Article 256. The Centre should reply to this argument in the spirit of “co-operative federalism.”

• The Centre has maintained that violence by ‘gau rakshaks’ was a ‘State subject’ and it had no role to play, though it condemned all forms of violence.

Indian roads became deadlier

• Indian roads became deadlier than ever in 2016, with a total of 1.51 lakh people dying in 4.81 lakh accidents, as per official data released. This denotes a 3% increase in fatalities over the previous year, even as the number of accidents declined by 4.1%, indicating a rise in the severity of accidents.

• In 2016, 55 accidents and 17 deaths took place every hour, which works out to a death every 3.5 minutes on Indian roads, according to the report, ‘Road Accidents in India 2016’, released by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.

• The report noted with concern that the share of fatal accidents and seriously injured accidents in total accidents rose to 28.3% and 25.1% of total road accidents during 2016, as against 26.3% and 23.9% respectively in 2015.

• The accident severity, a crucial indicator defined in terms of the number of persons killed by 100 accidents, stood at an all-time high of 31.4 in 2016, compared with 29.1 in 2015, and 28.5 in 2014. The number of persons injured in road accidents declined by 1.1% and totalled 4.95 lakh in 2016.

• The report also noted that 1.8% of the people killed were using their mobile phones while driving, and held this behaviour responsible for causing the accident. Two-wheeler riders were the most vulnerable road users, with their percentage share in fatalities at 34.8%, followed by car, taxi and van users at 17.9%. Out of the 52,500 two-wheeler riders killed in 2016, 19.3% were not wearing helmets.

• The fault of the driver in road accidents soared to 84% in 2016, compared to 77.1% in 2015, with the main fault being over-speeding.

• Among cities, Chennai had the highest number of road accidents (7,486) while Delhi had the highest fatalities (1,591) in 2016. The accident severity in 50 cities with over a million population rose sharply to 19.8 in 2016, as compared with 14.9% in 2015.

• Among States, Tamil Nadu topped the total number of road accidents with a percentage share of 14.9%, followed by Madhya Pradesh (11.2 per cent), and Karnataka (9.2 per cent).

• The official figures revealed for the first time that drivers who were minors (younger than 18 years of age) were involved in 4% of the total accidents and 3.5% of the fatal accidents.

• Drivers aged 25-35 years were involved in the most number of accidents during 2016. Around 83% of the people killed in accidents belonged to the working age group of 18-60 years.

• Concerned by the high rate of fatal accidents, Mr. Gadkari said that a district-level road safety committee will be formed to monitor the road safety record in the area. This committee would be headed by the Member of Parliament of the constituency, he added.

Rohingya crises

• The Home Ministry held a high-level meeting on Wednesday to firm up its reply in the Supreme Court regarding the deportation of Rohingya Muslim immigrants.

• Officials said they were concerned with the deportation plan as Myanmar had in the past refused to accept the Rohingya as its citizens.

• In the Supreme Court earlier, Prashant Bhushan, counsel for two Rohingya, Mohammad Salimullah and Mohammad Shaqir, made a plea to “protect their life and liberty”.

• The Ministry had directed the States to conduct surveys and prepare to deport them in a “continuous manner”. Its advisory (No. 24013/29/Misc./2017-CSR.III(i)) of August 8 said the State governments were also told that the “powers to identify and deport the foreign nationals staying illegally in the country” had been delegated to them, and that they should “sensitise all law enforcement and intelligence agencies” to the risk from Rohingya.

• Infiltration from Rakhine State of Myanmar into Indian territory besides being [a] burden on the limited resources of the country also aggravates the security challenges.

SC asks to probe assets of politicians

• The Supreme Court criticised the government for not investigating the huge increase in assets, by up to 500%, of politicians from what they show at the time of nomination.

• A Bench of Justices J. Chelameswar and S. Abdul Nazeer said the government had been saying it was in favour of electoral reforms, but it was not forthcoming when it came to revealing details about such massive rise in assets.

• Even the affidavit filed by the Central Board of Direct Taxes leaves a lot to be desired.

• It directed the government to file a detailed affidavit by September 12.

• The top court was hearing a plea disclosure of sources of income by the candidates contesting elections when they file nomination for elections.

• The court was hearing a petition filed by a non-governmental organisation, Lok Prahari, for the inclusion of a column in the nomination form seeking details of the sources of income.

• The plea has claimed that the candidates while filing their nomination papers were disclosing their assets, assets of their spouse, children and other dependents, but they do not reveal the sources of their income.

Supreme court asks WhatsApp, FB what data do they share

• A five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court directed instant messaging platform WhatsApp and social media giant Facebook to file affidavits stating what user data they shared with “third parties.”

• The Bench led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra is hearing a petition filed by two law students alleging that a contract entered into between Facebook and WhatsApp in 2016 on data sharing was a violation of a citizen’s right to privacy. The data, according to them, included photographs, messages, pictures and other personal documents shared by users on WhatsApp.

• Initially, senior advocate Kapil Sibal representing WhatsApp, submitted that the instant messaging platform does not share any personal data of its users with third parties. He said only four details, ‘telephone number, type of device, last access of the user and registration date,’ are shared.

• The petitioners, represented by advocate Madhavi Divan, countered that the court should injunct WhatsApp from sharing user data with third parties. Ms. Divan submitted that European privacy watchdogs have warned

• WhatsApp against sharing user information with parent company, Facebook. WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook in 2014. The petitioners argued that the same restriction should be imposed in India.

• The Centre, represented by Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, submitted that a committee had been set up under former Supreme Court judge B.N. Srikrishna, on July 31, 2017 to identify “key data protection issues” and suggest a draft Data Protection Bill.

• Petitioners are concerned with certain information you will come to know, which will reveal the pattern or behaviour of the user, like his communication of health details and reports with his doctors.

PPP model in Rajasthan govt. schools

• The Rajasthan Cabinet has given clearance to the introduction of public-private partnership (PPP) in the school education, paving the way for private players to take over the government schools.

• The BJP government has been working on introducing the PPP model for schools since 2015, claiming that it will improve the quality of education.

• Though activists have raised objection to the concept, the State government went ahead with a revised 2017 policy without seeking public feedback.

• In the first phase of the policy’s implementation, 300 schools functioning in rural areas will be operated under the PPP model on a pilot basis.

• Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajendra Rathore told reporters after the State Cabinet’s approval that the policy would not be extended to model schools and schools in district and divisional headquarters.

• There are a total of 9,895 secondary and senior secondary government schools in the State. Mr. Rathore said facilities such as grants, scholarships and mid-day meals would continue in the schools and there would be no extra burden on the students and their parents.

• The Minister said initially those schools where the results had been below average would be handed over to private players and in the subsequent stages, 75% of schools in the rural areas and 25% in the towns would be run under the PPP model.

• The private partners will be required to invest Rs.75 lakh to create infrastructure, besides providing teachers and other staff for classes I to XII.

Supreme court bench questions exception in sec 375 IPC

• The Supreme Court questioned the reason for Parliament to create an exception in the penal law declaring that sexual intercourse by a man with his minor wife is not rape.

• The apex court asked the reason behind such an exception in the Indian Penal Code when the age of consent was 18 years for “all purposes.”

• “We do not want to go into the aspect of marital rape. That is for Parliament to see if they want to increase or decrease the age of consent. But once Parliament decided that we have fixed 18 years as the age of consent, can they carve out an exception like this,” a Bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta asked the Centre.

• Section 375 of the IPC, which defines the offence of rape, has an exception clause that says intercourse or sexual act by a man with his wife aged below 18 is not rape. Responding to the query, government counsel submitted that the exemption was created after due thought and consideration by Parliament.

• During the hearing, the Bench referred to the aspect of child marriage and said that despite there being a law which held it illegal, the practice was still going on.

Centre says to focus on ‘impactful’ Smart City projects

• In an obvious measure to grab eyeballs, the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has asked the State governments to push up implementation of “impactful” projects which will get people talking about the Smart City Mission.

• The Centre and the State governments together have identified 261 projects worth Rs. 32,600 crore under this category. Majority of these projects are in the first lot of 20 smart cities announced in January 2016. Projects have been shortlisted without any clear definition of what “impactful” means.

• 261 impactful projects have been identified in consultation with the States and circulated earlier vide letter dated August 16, 2017. These projects are expected to have visible and transformative impact on the various aspects of the lives of the citizens.

• The list of “impactful” projects varies from Museum of Urban History in Bhubaneswar, to Adventure Park in Udaipur, to rejuvenation of water bodies in Coimbatore, to 5 km-long heritage walk in Warangal, to conservation of built heritage in Thanjavur, to redevelopment of world-famous Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi.

• The Ministry has sent out this missive after the review of Smart Cities by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 30. He directed the Chief Secretaries to review the progress of projects on weekly basis.

• Since the list of first 20 smart cities came out on January 1, 2016, questions have been raised on the mission. For one, the Smart City is a misnomer, because only small pockets of the city are to be developed. The latest review of Smart City projects reveals that only 79 projects with total budget of Rs. 841 crore have been completed. Another 204 projects, with a budget of Rs. 7963 crore are under implementation.

• To accelerate work, the Ministry has now decided to award World Bank and AFD (Agence Francaise De Développement) funds on competitive basis.

::INDIA AND WORLD::

INDIA-CHINA

• Jolted by the military face-off in the Doklam plateau, India and China are rebooting their ties, by opening new channels of official communication to address points of friction before they develop into full-blown crises.

• The Chinese appear to have taken a strategic decision to reboot ties with India with a new and positive mindset following the Doklam crisis.

• After talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping, there is much anticipation that the quality of core communication between the two countries will greatly improve.”

• Yet, New Delhi has concerns that despite the fresh start in Xiamen on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, the leadership changes in China at the 19th party congress in October will impact the trajectory of New Delhi and Beijing ties.

• China’s apparent policy shift on international terrorism, as reflected in the BRICS statement, will be tested when the United Nations 1267 committee meets in October to discuss designation of Masood Azhar, the head of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad, as an international terrorist.

• China has so far resisted putting Azhar on the list of global terrorists, but there is some optimism now that Beijing may be ready to shift its stance on this issue, notwithstanding its special relationship with Pakistan.

• The new hands-on mechanism will supplement the already-existing periodically held “strategic dialogue”. It is expected to address concerns of an aspirational India and rising China in the region, including the Indian Ocean and the Asia-Pacific.

• Analysts say the thinking driving India’s Act-East policy and China’s Belt and Road Initiative is far from aligned. India’s Indo-Pacific doctrine is raising apprehensions in China that instead of pursuit of an independent policy, India is allowing itself to drift into a China-containment mode, with Tokyo and Washington as partners.

• India has its own concerns about Chinese intentions in the South China Sea and the South Asian neighbourhood, including Sri Lanka, Nepal and the Maldives.

• During a media briefing after the meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar highlighted that the two leaders had “laid out a very positive view of our relationship.” They had held “a detailed discussion about the mechanisms which could help both countries really go forward in that direction”.

INDIA-MYNAMAR

• India said that it shares Myanmar’s concerns over “extremist violence” in the Rakhine State, from where 1,25,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging all stakeholders to find a solution that respects the country’s unity.

• Mr. Modi, who held wide-ranging talks with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, said it was important to maintain the security and stability of the land and maritime boundaries of the two countries.

• The two leaders also vowed to combat terror and boost security cooperation.

• Mr. Modi’s first bilateral visit here comes at a time when the Myanmarese government, led by Nobel laureate Suu Kyi, is facing international pressure over the 1,25,000 Rohingya Muslims who have poured into

• Bangladesh in just two weeks after Myanmar’s military launched a crackdown in Rakhine.

• When it comes to a big peace process or finding a solution to a special issue, we hope that all stakeholders can work together towards finding a solution which, while respecting the unity and territorial integrity of Myanmar, ensures peace, justice and dignity for all.

• His remarks came a day after Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said Rohingyas are illegal immigrants and will be deported from India.

• Mr. Rijiju had asserted that nobody should preach to India on the issue as the country has absorbed the maximum number of refugees in the world.

• After the Modi-Suu Kyi talks, 11 agreements were signed between the two sides in areas like maritime security, strengthening democratic institutions in Myanmar, health and information technology. Mr. Modi, in his statement, stressed on scaling up security cooperation, saying that being neighbours, the two countries have similar security concerns.

::INTERNATIONAL::

Suu Kyi angry over misinformation’

• Myanmar said it is negotiating with China and Russia to ensure they block any UN Security Council censure over the violence that has forced an exodus of nearly 1,50,000 Rohingya Muslims to Bangladesh in less than two weeks.

• Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi blamed “terrorists” for “a huge iceberg of misinformation” on the strife in the northwestern State of Rakhine but, in a statement, she made no mention of the Rohingya who have fled.

• Myanmar National Security Adviser Thaung Tun told a news conference in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, that Myanmar was counting on China and Russia, both permanent members of the Security Council, to block a UN resolution on the crisis.

• Ms. Suu Kyi spoke by telephone with Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan. In a statement issued by her office on Facebook, Ms. Suu Kyi said the government had “already started defending all the people in Rakhine in the best way possible” and warned against misinformation that could mar relations with other countries. She referred to images on Twitter of killings posted by Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister that he later deleted because they were not from Myanmar.

Fifteen states sue President over repeal of scheme

• Fifteen States and the District of Columbia have filed a lawsuit in New York challenging U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to end a programme protecting young immigrants from deportation.

• The suit was first announced by Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who called Mr. Trump’s act “a dark time for our country.” Mr. Ferguson had earlier this year sued Mr. Trump over a travel ban affecting mostly Muslim nations.

• Business leaders, unions, religious groups, Opposition Democrats and many within Mr. Trump’s own Republican party have joined forces to criticise the phased end of protections for people who arrived in the U.S. under the age of 16.

• The announcement also prompted ex-President Barack Obama to make a rare re-entry onto the political stage to decry the decision as “wrong”, “self-defeating” and “cruel”.

UN blames Syrian government for sarin attack

• United Nations war crimes investigators said they had evidence that Syrian government forces were behind a chemical attack that killed dozens of people in Khan Sheikhun in April. In the first UN report to officially blame

• Damascus, the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Syria said it had gathered an “extensive body of information” showing the Syrian Air Force was behind the horrific sarin gas attack on April 4.

• At least 83 people, a third of them children, were killed and nearly 300 wounded in the attack on Khan Sheikhun, a town in the opposition-held northern Province of Idlib, it said.

• The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, has previously given a death toll of at least 87. Syria’s government has denied involvement and claims it no longer possesses chemical weapons after a 2013 agreement under which it pledged to surrender its chemical arsenal.

• A fact-finding mission by the UN’s chemical watchdog, the OPCW, concluded earlier this year that sarin gas was used in the attack, but did not assign blame.

• The report also found the Syrian government responsible for at least 23 other chemical attacks in the country since March 2013.

• The investigators, who have never been granted access to Syria, said they based their findings on photographs of bomb remnants, satellite imagery and eyewitness testimony. They determined that a Su-22 fighter bomber, which is only operated by the Syrian Air Force, conducted four air strikes in Khan Sheikhun at around 6.45 a.m. on April 4.

Bangladesh calls for UN intervention

• Bangladesh asked the United Nations to intervene to send back Rohingya refugees to Myanmar. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asked for assistance in this regard during her meeting with UN Resident Coordinator Robert Watkins.

• Meanwhile, UN chief Antonio Guterres has written to the Security Council expressing his concern that the violence Rakhine could spiral into a “humanitarian catastrophe with implications for peace and security that could continue to expand beyond Myanmar’s borders”.

• The UN’s migration agency, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) appealed for an immediate relief assistance of $18 million. This appeal will be followed by a more comprehensive needs assessment and response plan.

• Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Foreign Office, for the fourth time since August 25, summoned the Myanmar envoy in Dhaka and handed a protest note expressing deep concern over the fresh influx of the Rohingya people.

::ECONOMY::

Task force led by NITI Aayog to suggest on new jobs

• The NDA government has constituted a new task force led by NITI Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar to recommend measures to increase employment by promoting labour-intensive exports.

• While the Indian workforce has high aspirations, a majority of the workers are still employed in low-productivity, low-wage jobs in small, micro and own-account enterprises. An urgent and sustained expansion of the organized sector is essential to address India’s unemployment and under-employment issue.

• An important strategy is to enable a shift towards more labour-intensive goods and services that are destined for exports. Given the importance of exports in generating jobs, India needs to create an environment in which globally competitive exporters can emerge and flourish,” the Aayog noted. The committee has been asked to submit its report by November 2017.

District-wise plan to help boost manufacturing’

• The new commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu outlined his priorities. They include firming up a district-wise industrial investment plan to help boost the share of manufacturing in the country’s GDP, as well as improving India's economic diplomacy to spur exports and investments.

• His priorities also include addressing challenges being faced by exporters owing to the Goods and Services Tax, integrating India's exports into the global supply chain, improving logistics to reduce transaction costs of exporters and bringing out an agricultural export policy.

• Addressing reporters, Mr. Prabhu said he had held a meeting with ‘Invest India’ (the government's investment promotion and facilitation arm), and sought a district-wise plan for boosting investments in manufacturing and other sectors.

• Ultimately every investor makes their investments in districts, and base their decisions on factors including the district’s human resources, natural resources and the law and order situation. Noting that each district had core competencies, Mr. Prabhu said he would work with state governments to bring out a plan.

• The minister said there would also be a re-evaluation of the ‘Make In India’ initiative to find out more ways to revitalise manufacturing. He also called for laying emphasis not only on the ‘Make in India’ initiative but also on ‘Design In India’ for attracting investments.

Penal action against unauthorised use of bank accounts

• The government has warned directors of the 2.09 lakh companies, which have been struck off the Register of Companies, against siphoning funds out of these firms’ bank accounts, for, this could attract punishment that includes at least six months up to three years of imprisonment.

• The finance ministry had, urged banks to freeze bank accounts of 2.09 lakh firms. On Wednesday, the ministry warned that the ‘two to three lakh directors’ of firms that have been disqualified would face ‘strict action’ even if they have ‘siphoned off any money prior to’ banks imposing restrictions on such accounts.

• Newly appointed Minister of State for Corporate Affairs P.P. Chaudhary said more shell companies were being identified, as efforts were under way to identify the ultimate beneficiaries behind firms already struck off.

• Professionals such as chartered accountants, company secretaries and cost accountants associated with such shell companies and involved in illegal activities had been identified in certain cases and action against them was being monitored, he added.

• The weeding out of shell companies would not only help in checking the menace of black money but also would promote an ecosystem of ‘Ease of Doing Business’ and enhancing investors’ confidence.

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