Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 14 January 2017

:: National ::

Nepal is facing financial crisis due to demonetisation

India’s demonetisation has triggered a serious financial crisis in Nepal. Not just the government but the people are also facing hardships, said Nepal’s envoy.
The government is facing a severe shortfall of its annual stock of Indian currency, due to the lack of supplies from the Reserve Bank of India.
Mr. Upadhyay said citizens living in the far-flung mountain region of Himal have nowhere to go with the Indian currency that they traditionally held as savings for difficult times.
The Nepal Rashtra Bank has asked the Reserve Bank of India to make some Nepal-specific rules to help the people hit by the note ban that it can do the needful for Nepali citizens if RBI could make some Nepal-specific rules.
The envoy said that Nepal’s difficulties with demonetisation in India is far more extensive.

Chief of Army Staff promised a “suggestion and grievance” system

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) asserted that concerns of superseded Eastern Army Commander Praveen Bakshi would be looked into if they were brought to his attention.
He even promised a “suggestion and grievance” system to be put in place to enable soldiers to reach him directly. Gen. Rawat’s comments came after a jawan took to social media to air his grievances with Army’s sahayak system.
The General said India awaited Pakistan’s response on maintaining peace and tranquillity in J&K but cautioned that in case “they act wrongly, we reserve the right to retaliate”.
Lance Naik, serving in the 42 Infantry brigade, posted a video on social media, expressing his grievances against his superiors and alleged that he was tortured by the latter for having written to the Prime Minister.
He said everyone irrespective of rank and file could put their concerns in a sealed cover mentioning their details inside and drop at the boxes.

:: International ::

US is worried about range of Pak missiles

The U.S. is increasingly worried over the rising range and variety of Pakistan’s missile capability and that the recent decision of the Obama administration to impose trade restrictions on seven Pakistan entities came out of this concern.
The official announcement of the decision did not detail the reasons, but said there was “reasonable cause to believe, based on specific and articulable facts”, that these entities “have been involved in actions contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States”.
All the entities are linked to Pakistan’s missile programme. With the addition of these seven, there are 47 Pakistani entities that are under strict watch of U.S. agencies.
What has triggered the alarm bells in Washington is Shaheen-III, which has a range of 2,750 km.
Pakistan has officially explained its longest-range missile to date, tested for the first time in 2015, as a capability to strike the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the farthest Indian territory from its shores.
But the missile also has Israel in its range, along with several European countries — something that the U.S. strategic community finds unnerving.
The incoming administration will continue with the existing U.S. policies towards India, Pakistan and Asia in general, Defence Secretary-designate indicated during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Forces Committee.

France is hosting more than 70 countries at a West Asia peace summit

In a message to Israel and Trump administration, dozens of countries are expected this weekend to reiterate their opposition to Israeli settlements and call for the establishment of a Palestinian state as “the only way” to ensure peace in the region.
France is hosting more than 70 countries at a West Asia peace summit, in what will be a final chance for the Obama administration to lay out its positions for the region.
According to a draft statement obtained by The Associated Press, the conference will urge Israel and the Palestinians “to officially restate their commitment to the two-state solution”.
It also will affirm that the international community “will not recognise” changes to Israel’s pre-1967 lines without agreement by both sides.
The draft says that participants will affirm “that a negotiated solution with two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security, is the only way to achieve enduring peace”.
Israel has settled some 600,000 of its citizens in the West Bank and east Jerusalem occupied territories claimed by the Palestinians for a future independent State. Israel captured both areas in the 1967 war.
The summit comes on the heels of a U.N. Security Council resolution last month that condemned the settlements as illegal. The resolution passed 14—0 after the U.S. declined to use its traditional veto power and instead abstained.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out a return to the 1967 lines, and many members of his nationalist coalition oppose Palestinian independence and support expanded settlements.
Mr. Netanyahu has rejected the U.N. resolution and accuses the Obama administration of conspiring behind Israel’s back. Israel has refused to participate in the French conference.
The Palestinians, who also are not invited to this weekend’s conference, have welcomed the French initiative. In recent years, they have campaigned for the international community to assume a greater role in resolving the conflict.

:: Business and Economy ::

India imposed anti-dumping duty on steel products

India has imposed anti-dumping duty on certain variety of steel products imported from China and European Union to protect the domestic players from cheap inbound shipments.
The duty was slapped on ‘pre-painted, colour coated or organic coated flat steels in coils or not in coils whether or not with metallic coated substrate of zinc, aluminium-zinc or any other substrate coating, excluding plates of thickness 6mm or more.
The Department of Revenue in a notification said that the anti-dumping duty is being imposed for six months on the imports from these countries.
The measure follows recommendation by the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties.

NITI Aayog to soon come up with new poverty line

NITI Aayog, the government’s premier think-tank, will soon set up an expert committee to arrive at a new poverty line, according to an official.
“We have said that we needed an expert committee to look at poverty line as most states are not much in sync with each other,” said a senior government official.
Pursuant to the decision taken at the first meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog held at 2015, a Task Force on Elimination of Poverty in India was set up by NITI Aayog on March 16, 2015.

India’s trade deficit narrowed to $10.36 billion in December 2016

India’s trade deficit narrowed to $10.36 billion in December 2016 — the lowest in the last three months — as exports expanded year-on-year for the fourth consecutive month and outpaced imports, government data showed.
Exports in December 2016 posted a 5.72% year-on-year growth to $23.88 billion thanks to a low base of (-) 14.40 % growth in December 2015, according to data released by the Commerce Ministry.
Eighteen of the 30 major segments, including petroleum products, drugs and pharma, gems and jewellery, recorded a growth in December 2016.
The 5.72% growth in December 2016 was up from 2.26% in November 2016 but slower than 8.22% in October 2016.
Imports rose by just 0.46 % to $34.25 billion in December 2016. Gold imports shrunk (-) 48.5 % to $1.96 billion after having risen in the previous two months.
In terms of growth, this was the lowest since (-) 77.44 % in August 2016, while in value terms it was the lowest since $1.94 billion in September 2016.

The number of unemployed people in India is expected to rise by 1 lakh in 2017

The number of unemployed people in India is expected to rise by 1 lakh in 2017 and another 2 lakh in 2018, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
The ILO predicted that the number of jobless will increase from 17.7 million in 2016 to 18 million by 2018 even though the country’s unemployment rate is expected to go down from 3.5 per cent to 3.4 per cent in 2017.
Globally, the ILO reckons that the number of jobless people will increase by 3.4 million in 2017, in its report on World Employment and Social Outlook for 2017, with projections based on econometric modelling carried out in November 2016.
The global unemployment rate is expected to rise modestly from 5.7 to 5.8 per cent in 2017 as the pace of labour force growth outstrips job creation.
Vulnerable forms of employment, which include contributing family workers and own account workers, are expected to stay above 42 per cent of total employment.
About 1.4 billion people are likely to be engaged in such employment in 2017, with the number rising by 11 million per year, with Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa being the most affected.