Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 04 February 2017

:: National ::

Supreme court puts status quo on Gujjar reservation

The Supreme Court’s interim order for maintenance of status quo on employment and admission to educational institutions to Special Backward Classes (SBCs), including Gujjars, has come as a setback to the government in Rajasthan.
While refusing to stay High Court’s judgment which struck down 5% reservation to SBCs, the apex court has directed the State government not to make any fresh admissions and appointment till the final hearing of the matter.
Passing its interim order on SLP moved by the State government against the High Court's judgment, a two-judge Bench also said the admissions and appointments made so far would not be disturbed pending final hearing.
A State Cabinet sub-committee, comprising three Ministers, had assured Gujjars on Thursday that the community's quota would be safeguarded in all ongoing recruitments by the different departments.
It said the State government would make efforts to grant appointments to SBC candidates who had cleared the recruitment process and protect the rights of those who were at various stages of appointment.
The State government, which was earlier exploring legal options and had sought time from Gujjar leaders to resolve the issue, has now been left with no option other than stopping the exercise for recruitment and admissions to colleges.

U.S. imposed sanctions on more than two dozen Iranian entities

The U.S. imposed sanctions on more than two dozen Iranian entities, two days after the Islamic republic dismissed President Donald Trump’s warnings over its latest missile test as baseless and provocative.
The announcement also comes a day after Trump put Iran “on notice” for its alleged destabilising behaviour and carrying out ballistic missile test in violation of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231.
This calls on Tehran to not test missiles capable of delivering a nuclear weapon. The ballistic missile launch was the first by Iran since Trump became president.
According to reports, Iran’s missile test occurred at a well-known site outside Semnan, about 225 km east of Tehran. The Khorramshahr medium-range ballistic missile flew 600 miles before exploding.
Entities and individuals slapped with sanctions were involved in procuring technology and materials to support Iran’s ballistic missile programme, as well as for acting for or on behalf of, or providing support to, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force.

India highlighted it’s commitment to the Palestinian cause

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who skipped India on a visit to Bangladesh and Pakistan will visit New Delhi later this year, the Ministry of External Affairs said.
MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup highlighted India’s commitment to the Palestinian cause and said President Abbas had accepted the country’s invitation.
“Our ties with Palestine are very robust and wide-ranging and our commitment to the Palestinian cause is well known. President Abbas has accepted our invitation to visit India and the visit will take place sometime this year,” said Mr. Swarup.
The MEA’s comment is significant as it came even as President Abbas visited Islamabad and Dhaka during a week which marks the 25th anniversary of normalisation of diplomatic ties between India and Israel.
There has been speculation about whether PM Narendra Modi would visit Palestine or have a stand alone visit to Israel.
The Ministry of External Affairs, however, said it did not expect every visitor to neighbouring countries to visit India.
The visit of Mr. Abbas has been expected since President Pranab Mukherjee visited Palestine in October 2015. Bilateral ties have been steady since then though a reciprocating visit by Mr. Abbas could not take place in the meanwhile.

:: International ::

US raising objections to settlement by Israel

Israel discovered that settlement construction may not be as simple as it thought under U.S. President Donald Trump, implying it would tone down activity ahead of crucial Washington talks.
Palestinians, however, were worried by the Trump administration’s first direct statements on the issue made since the January 20 inauguration.
The White House issued a statement seeming to tone down Mr. Trump’s full-throated support of settlement construction after a series of Israeli announcements on thousands of new homes in settlements.
But the remarks did not criticise the very existence of Jewish settlements in Palestinian territories as previous U.S. administrations had consistently done.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had welcomed Mr. Trump’s presidency as bearing “significant opportunities” after eight years of often strained relations with Barack Obama.
Mr. Netanyahu, who is due to meet with Mr. Trump in Washington on February 15, did not comment on the remarks, but lower ranking officials played down their significance and noted their upside.
Israel has now approved more than 6,000 homes for settlers since Mr. Trump took office, having signalled a softer stance on settlement construction than his predecessor Obama.

More than one lakh visas revoked since travel ban

Over 1,00,000 visas have been revoked as a result of President U.S. Donald Trump’s ban on travel from seven Muslim-majority countries, an attorney for the government said.
The number came out during a hearing in a lawsuit filed by attorneys for two Yemeni brothers who arrived at Dulles International Airport and were quickly put on a return flight to Ethiopia in response to President’s executive order.
The government attorney could not say how many people with visas were sent back to their home countries from Dulles in response to the travel ban, The Washington Post reported.
An executive order signed by Mr. Trump over the weekend had halted the U.S. refugee programme for 120 days and indefinitely banned all Syrian refugees.
A separate order also suspended all entry from Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Syria on national security grounds.

:: Science and Technology ::

Vaccine made from genetic material protected lab animals from the Zika virus

An innovative vaccine made from genetic material protected lab animals from the Zika virus in experiments, scientists reported, calling it a “promising” lead in fighting the threat to humans.
A single, low dose of the vaccine shielded mice exposed to Zika five months after the shot, they reported in the journal Nature. Monkeys exposed five weeks after they were innoculated were also not affected by the virus.
“We observed rapid and durable protective immunity without adverse events,” said senior author Drew Weissman, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
Zika erupted on a large scale in mid-2015 and more than 1.5 million people have been infected.

:: Business and Economy ::

Budget 2017-18, coming at a time of global uncertainty, is a pragmatic

Budget 2017-18, is a pragmatic, growth-oriented and smart policy statement, taking forward the reform agenda in a convincing and progressive manner. Its stand-out features are many and innovative.
Adhering to the path of fiscal prudence is a key message reiterating the Government’s commitment to sound macroeconomic management even when the situation calls for enhanced public spending.
The high emphasis on infrastructure through big increase in government expenditure, particularly transport facilities and affordable housing, is very welcome as it would kick-start a new cycle of investment in downstream sectors.
Reduction of corporate tax for companies with less than Rs. 50 crore turnover is another pertinent measure that can greatly boost their competitiveness and encourage more job creation.
Consumer demand can be expected to receive a fillip with the higher allocation for rural and agricultural sectors, as also halving of tax rates at the lower end.
Budget has taken a step towards public asset monetisation with airport land in tier 2 cities, where the proceeds can be used for upgradation of airports. This is an innovative move, and will gain pace in other sectors in time to come.
Institutional reform is evident in the abolition of FIPB and listing of PSEs. The FIPB was rendered redundant after continued liberalisation of FDI regime, and the FM has promised further opening up to foreign investments.
The listing of PSEs is evidence of government’s effort to add efficiency to their operations, besides promising to raise resources.
Demonetisation goes a step further with the stress on digitalisation and formalisation of the economy, which will have benefits for tax revenue and a better investment climate over the longer term.
The Budget has also come out with an innovative electoral bond to clean up political funding, adding to the overall campaign against black money.
Further, the National Innovation Fund was announced earlier for boosting R&D.
We would like to see a shift in R&D spending towards higher education institutes to bring it on par with the global average expenditure by universities, currently about 0.4% of GDP as compared to India’s average of 0.04%.
This would also help to incentivise private sector outlay on R&D to make India a source of global innovation at a time when Industry 4.0 is rapidly converging on us.
There is one item in the Budget of introduction of 10% surcharge on the incomes between Rs. 50 lakh and Rs. 1 crore which we feel is not in the spirit of rewarding the honest taxpayer.
The data on taxpayers mentioned in the Budget speech was eye-opening and it is important to expand the tax base.
Employment creation has been a central idea of the Budget, and the inclusion of leather and footwear for promotional attention at par with the apparel sector is laudable.
The Budget crucially reassures investors that the strategic direction of the economy will remain on course.
The need of the hour is to revitalise the critical drivers of growth of private consumption and investment, boost employment generation, create new infrastructure and stabilise the economy at a time of global turmoil.

Cabinet approved appointment of Sanjeev Sanyal as the Principal Economic Adviser

The Cabinet approved the appointment of Sanjeev Sanyal, a former managing director at Deutsche Bank, as the Principal Economic Adviser in the Department of Economic Affairs for three years.
Mr. Sanyal was the chief economist and director of Global Markets Research at Deutsche Bank in Singapore until 2008 and is currently an Adjunct Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies in Singapore.
He is a Visiting Fellow at Oxford University, chief adviser to the John Templeton Foundation, director of the Green Accounting for Indian States Project, and Member of the Governing Council of the Economic Society of Singapore.
Mr. Sanyal has authored four books, including ‘The Incredible History of India's Geography.’