Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 10 June 2016

:: National ::

More than one lakh people loose life in road accidents

An official report, released by Union Road Transport and Highways Minister, said 1.46 lakh people were killed in road accidents in India in 2015 — an increase of five per cent from 2014.
Road accidents as a whole rose 2.5 per cent during 2015 to 5.01 lakh or 1,374 accidents every day, claiming 400 lives, the report said.
The report said a majority (54.1 per cent) of those killed in road accidents during 2015 were in the age group of 15-34.
Thirteen States, including Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, accounted for the highest number of accidents.
Among cities, while Mumbai had the highest number of accidents (23,468), Delhi saw the most number of deaths (1,622) in road accidents.
Also, drivers’ fault was responsible for 77.1 per cent of the accidents, deaths and injuries, mainly because of over-speeding, the report noted.
Alarmed by rising road accidents, the Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry has sent a Cabinet note for setting up a National Road Safety and Traffic Management Board to advise the government on road safety standards and guidelines.

Street view of Google denied permission

A technical committee of the Defence Ministry, which comprises officials from Indian Air Force, Military Intelligence, Navy, Army and Intelligence Bureau, had unanimously opposed the service.
The main concern was security of sensitive defence installations. The Defence Ministry said it was not possible to monitor the service once it was launched and it would be detrimental to national security.
The proposal was rejected in February itself, primarily amid security concerns after the terror attack at the Pathankot airbase on January 1-2.
Investigating agencies suspect that terrorists used Google maps as they were aware of the airbase’s topography.
The Home Ministry recently uploaded the draft Geospatial Information Regulation Bill 2016 for comments from the public.
The Bill proposes jail term of seven years and a fine upto Rs. 100 crore for wrongly depicting the map of India, a move that is likely to hit Google and Microsoft.
In April 2015, Google representatives made a presentation on Street View for the MHA.
They had told the officials then that the platform would be useful for tourism and disaster management.
A formal proposal was submitted in July same year to shoot images through high-end cameras and upload them on ‘Street View’.
In 2011, Google launched Street View as a pilot project in some of the tourist sites like Qutub Minar, the Thanjavur temple, the Varanasi riverbank, the Taj Mahal, the Red Fort, Nalanda University etc. in partnership with the Tourism Ministry.\
The service was launched in 2007 in the U.S. and has since expanded to other parts of the world.
The Street View imagery has run into trouble in Germany, Greece, Switzerland, Poland and the United Kingdom amid privacy concerns and data protection issues.

India working hard to get support for NSG

Given China’s public opposition to India’s entry into the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), India has been working on garnering support of other countries in the group to isolate China.
Ahead of the plenary session that began in Vienna to consider membership application Govt hopes for a domino effect, where countries that support India influence the ones still holding out.
Though NSG negotiations are held behind closed doors and a final decision is expected by consensus at the plenary session in Seoul on June 24 and 25.
Reports from Vienna say Austria, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and Austria are among countries still holding out on India.
In particular, Pakistan’s application for membership, which will also be taken up, is expected to queer the pitch.
Pakistan, which had applied for membership a week after India did in May, said it was warning NSG members that India’s entry would disturb “strategic stability in South Asia”.

:: International ::

Hillary Clinton gets Obama’s support

U.S. President Barack Obama endorsed Hillary Clinton to succeed him, declaring in a video message “I’m with her.”
The endorsement comes after a hard fought Democratic primary season, in which Ms. Clinton struggled against her rival Bernie Sanders.
“I don’t think there’s ever been someone so qualified to hold this office.” “I have seen her judgment. I’ve seen her toughness. I’ve seen her commitment to our values up close,” Mr. Obama said of Ms. Clinton.
Looking forward to her presidential campaign, the first major decision Ms. Clinton will have to make ahead of the national convention in July is that of choosing a vice-presidential running mate.
The selection of the V-P candidate is normally part of a wider agreement the nominee reaches with other sections of the party, and with an eye on reaching out to crucial constituencies or winning a swing State.
The most talked about woman in this context is Elizabeth Warren, Senator from Massachusetts who has emerged as a leading liberal voice in the party.
Ms. Warren, the only woman Senator who has not endorsed Ms. Clinton, shares most of the concerns with Mr. Sanders and could be attractive to his supporters who are now feeling dejected.

Pakistan accuses India of derailing talks

Pakistan accused India of using the Pathankot terror attack as an “excuse” to derail the bilateral dialogue process and said talks are the best way forward to resolve outstanding issues, including “mutual concerns” related to terrorism.
Pakistan and India had agreed to start the dialogue in December 2015 when Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj visited Islamabad, he said.
“But before the Foreign Secretaries could meet and finalise a schedule for resuming the Comprehensive Dialogue, the Pathankot incident of January 2 gave India an excuse to postpone the resumption of the dialogue.” He said
India has accused Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed for the Pathankot attack and has linked the resumption of the dialogue process to Pakistan taking action against the group.

:: India and World ::

UNGA meet set the world on course to end HIV by 2030

At a high-level meeting on HIV/AIDS at the United Nations General Assembly, Health Minister reinforced India’s commitment to fast-track progress on ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030.
At the meeting member states have adopted a new political declaration, including time-bound global targets, to be reached over the next five years and end the epidemic as a public health threat by 2030.
The UNGA meeting brings together heads of state and government, people living with HIV , and donor organisations, to reiterate commitments made in the Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS and to set the world on course to end the epidemic by 2030 within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals
India proposed a five-point strategy — the ‘global family’ — to end AIDS. He stated that India was committed to enforcing TRIPS flexibilities to make drugs affordable.
“India is proud of being one of the leading partners in the global fight against AIDS epidemic.”
These remarkable successes would not have been possible without access to affordable medicines.
The low cost generic medicines produced by the Indian pharmaceutical industry have been instrumental in scaling up access to HIV treatment not only in India but in other parts of the world.
More than 80 per cent of the antiretroviral drugs, used globally, are supplied by the Indian pharmaceutical industry,” he said.
The five point strategy includes adoption of the fast-track target; reaching 90 per cent of all people in need with HIV treatment; commitment to maintain the TRIPS flexibilities; creating an inclusive society with programmes that work towards restoring the respect and dignity of individuals, and lastly, global solidarity.

India gets more support for its bid to NSG

As the extraordinary two-day plenary of the Nuclear Suppliers Group began in Vienna to discuss membership applications, India’s chances received a boost from Mexico, considered a “non-proliferation hardliner” thus far.
Mr. Modi was in Mexico on the last leg of his five-nation tour, and his visits to both Mexico and Switzerland, which also announced its support, were aimed at garnering backing for entry to the NSG.
Italy, which had earlier blocked India’s entry over issue of the arrest of Marines accused of killing Indian fishermen, has indicated that it will support India’s case
India’s biggest concern from the 48-nation group comes from China, which has argued that NSG members must be signatories to the non-proliferation treaty (NPT).
India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel are among countries that have not signed the NPT, which India believes is discriminatory.

:: Business and Economy ::

RBI Governor asks for better coordination among countries

RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has urged greater co-ordination among countries to tackle spill-over effects – the impact that economic policies in some countries may have on other economies.
“How do we take cognizance of the fact that the world is quite integrated and therefore, policies across countries have spill-over effects and today we don’t have a system to coordinate these spill-overs; each country does what it has to and other countries have to accept that and the consequences,” he said.
The former IMF chief economist has been critical of ‘ultra-low’ monetary policies adopted among some countries in the developed world.
Their decisions to keep interest rates low to support growth and re-inflate their economies have impacted emerging market economies.
He cited the example of Brexit, which is the possibility that Britain will withdraw from the European Union. The country will hold an in-out referendum on its EU membership on June 23.

Food Ministry proposes 25 % duty on sugar export

The Food Ministry has proposed to impose 25 per cent duty on export of sugar to ensure sufficient supply of the sweetener in the domestic market, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said.
The international prices of sugar are rising and therefore traders may increase the export of sugar to make profit, Mr.Paswan said.
He added that this move will keep sufficient availability of sugar in domestic market and the price will be under control.
According to trade sources, sugar exports have become viable now as global prices have increased by 50 per cent in last three months due to disruption in supply from Brazil.
As demand and supply of sugar in India are at par, the government does not want any export from the country.
The country had exported 1.4 million tonnes of sugar so far in the 2015-16 marketing year (October—September).
Retail sugar prices last month had crossed Rs.40 per kg due to 11 per cent fall in domestic sugar output in the ongoing 2015-16 season.
Sugar production in India, the world’s second largest producer is estimated to be about 25 million tonnes in 2015-16, as against 28.3 million tonnes last year.