Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 20 November 2015

:: National ::

Mastermind of terrorist attack in Paris has been killed

The Islamic State jihadist Abdelhamid Abaaoud suspected of masterminding the Paris attacks was killed in a major police raid.
The state of emergency will be in place for three months from November 26.
The measures include allowing the police to carry weapons when they are of duty and use them in the event of an attack, provided they wear a police armband to avoid any confusion.
President Barack Obama would not abandon plans to attend climate change talks in Paris at the end of November month despite security concerns in the city.

Recommendation of Central pay commission

Justice A.K. Mathur, Chairperson of the Commission, submitted 7th central pay commission report to Finance Minister.
The Seventh Central Pay Commission has recommended an overall increase of 23.55 per cent in pay,allowances, and pension for government employees.
Within this, the Commission’s report recommends a 16 per cent increase in basic pay, a63 per cent increase in allowances and a 24 per cent hike in pension. The recommendations are to come into force on January 1, 2016.
The total monetary impact on the central government would be Rs 1.02 lakh crore. Around Rs 74,000 crore would be the impact on the Union Budget and Rs 28,000 crore on the Railway Budget.
The present system of pay bands and grade pay has been dispensed with and a new pay matrix has been designed. Grade Pay has been subsumed in the pay matrix.
The status of the employee, hitherto determined by grade pay, will now be deter-mined by the level in the pay matrix.
The report also recommends an annual increment of 3 per cent in basic pay.
The report has recommended a one-rank one-scheme for all government employees, including military personnel who have retired before January 1, 2016. This formulation will bring parity between past pensioners and current retirees for the same length of service in the pay scale at the time of retirement.

Technical glitches at Delhi Jan Lokpal

The Jan Lokpal Bill of the Delhi government has come full circle, staring at the same uncertainty that had surrounded it one year and nine months ago.
The previous Aam Aadmi Party-led government had cleared the Jan Lokpal Bill, but before it could be tabled in the Assembly, the Lieutenant-Governor objected to it as the Bill required prior clearance from the Central government.
The same situation has arisen now as the Delhi Cabinet has once again cleared the Bill but not sent the draft to the L-G and the Union Home Ministry. It is likely to table the Bill in the on-going winter session.

Deaths due to pneumonia, diarrhoea are among highest in India

India has the highest number of pneumonia and diarrhoea deaths among children globally, reports the International Vaccine Access Centre (IVAC).
With 2,97,114 deaths, India is once again at the top of the list of countries with the highest burden of the two diseases among children under the age of five. The list includes Nigeria, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola.
Progress is evaluated by the Global Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea intervention scores, including parameters such as vaccination, exclusive breastfeeding,access to care and use of antibiotics, oral rehydration solution and zinc.
The global study does recognise in India, a strong political commitment to immunise all children in the next five years, increased efforts to monitor data and progress at the district levels.
Launch of Mission Indradhanush, aiming to expand immunization coverage in high-priority districts with large populations of unvaccinated and under-vaccinated children.

:: International ::

Possible situations in Syria

The tide of global rage against the Islamic State group lends greater urgency to ending the jihadists' ability to operate at will from a base in war-torn Syria.
That momentum could also force a re-evaluation of what to do about President Bashar Assad and puts a renewed focus on the position of his key patrons, Russia and Iran.
The Syrian leader has lost much of the country to the IS and other groups in the four-year war; half the population has been displaced, many areas have been levelled, and masses of refugees are flooding Europe.
Along the way, Assad's brutal military response has made him hated in most of the world.
Ceasefire in Syria could allow Assad and his military to take a leading role in battling IS.
The fact remains, though, that the U.S. and its allies don't want to see Assad benefit from any effort to dislodge IS from territory it controls in Syria unlike in Iraq.
A temporary reprieve is starting to seem more possible, setting the stage for what some observers suggest may be an arrangement in which Assad is part of a transition government that has a role in the priority of defeating ISIS but then quietly makes way.
Russia and Iran would have to be a big part of engineering such a solution.

Life-saving medicines in short supply in blockade-hit Nepal

Shortages of life-saving medicine because of political protests in Nepal that have blocked key roads could lead to a crisis, as hospitals have started to cut services.
Hospitals were rescheduling surgeries by weeks, and patients were finding it difficult to get to medical facilities due to fuel shortages.
Truckloads of medicine have been blocked at the main border crossing with India for the last few months by Nepal's Madhesi ethnic protesters.
Talks between the protesters and the government have made little progress. India, which has close cultural ties with the group, has restricted fuel and other goods to Nepal.
Nepal imports 60 per cent of its medicine from India. The remaining locally made drugs also get most of the raw material and packaging from India. Most of the fuel comes from India, and the restriction has led to severe shortages in Nepal.
Fuel rationing has led to buses and trucks cutting down services. People travel on rooftops and taxis charge four times the normal rate.
Patients with long-term illnesses including high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney and heart diseases, were also having difficulty finding medicine.

:: India and World ::

Home ministries of India and China linked to counter terror

India and China have decided to establish a ministerial mechanism that would, for the first time, link the two home ministries, filling a vital gap in the overall institutional architecture of the bilateral ties.
The two sides also discussed counter-terror collaboration at length, in the backdrop of the Paris attacks, and other events, including the killing of a Chinese hostage in Syria by the Islamic State.
Communication lines between the two establishments would also be opened to ensure information flows on aircraft hijacking and hostage situations.
The new mechanism will provide an institutional platform that will cover all issues that impact on the “internal security” of the two countries.
The topics include law enforcement, cyber crimes, terrorism, trans-border crimes and drug trafficking. The first ministerial meeting of this forum is expected in the first half of 2016.

:: Economy and Business ::

Two weeks on, Govt. gets just 400 gm yellow metal’

Gold Monetisation Scheme,launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this month, has so far attracted 400 grams of gold,industry body GJEPC. According to official estimates, around 20,000 tonnes of gold worth over Rs.52 lakh crore is lying idle with households and temples in the country.
If the 13,000 BIS-certified jewellers are allowed to act as collection agents, then there is a hope that the scheme will take of in a good way.
Finance Ministry was requested to allow jewellers registered with BIS to act as collection point for gold.
Under Gold Monetisation Scheme, launched on November 5,banks were authorised to collect gold for up to 15 years to auction them off or lend to jewellers from time to time. Depositors will earn up to 2.50 per cent interest per annum, a rate lower than bank deposits.
As far as the scheme is concerned, earnings are exempt from capital gains tax, wealth tax and income tax.
The designated banks will accept gold deposits under the short-term (1-3 years) bank deposit as well as medium (5-7 years) and long-term (12-15 years) government deposit schemes.
The designated banks may sell or lend the gold accepted under the short-term bank deposit to MMTC for minting India Gold Coins and to jewellers, or sell it to other designated banks participating in the scheme.
To meet the growing domestic demand, India imports about 800-1,000 tonnes of gold annually.

Reliance Group to develop 6,000 MW solar park

Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group will develop a6,000 megawatt Solar Power Park in Rajasthan, a plan that has potential to attract an investment of Rs.60,000 crore.
The Reliance Group is the pioneers to set up the first largest solar photovoltaic project of 40 MW at Dhirubhai Ambani Solar Park at Pokhran, Jaisalmer District, in a record time of just 129 days.
Reliance Group was also the first to commission the world’s largest concentrated solar power project(CSP) of 100 MW.

Centre to auction eight blocks in fourth round

The government will auction eight coal blocks for the unregulated sector,which includes — iron, steel, cement and capacitive power plants — in the fourth round of e-auctions to be held in January 2016.
The coal blocks to be put on auction include Brahmapuri and Suliyari in Madhya Pradesh, Bundu and Gondul-pura in Jharkhand, Gondkhari and Khappa & Extn in Maharashtra and Jaganathpur A and Jaganathpur B in West Bengal.
These mines together have re-serves totalling 1,143.42 million tonnes (MT) and their peak rated capacity is 12.86 MT. The first three rounds of auctions had fetched over Rs.3 lakh crore, which would be realised over 30 years by States where the mines are located.
The e-auctions are taking place following the Supreme Court decision last year to cancel the allocation of 204 coal mines to companies without auction.
Coal India, which accounts for over 80 per cent of the domestic coal production, is targeting one billion tonnes of coal production by financial year 2020.
Coal imports in India dropped for the third successive month in September by 27 per cent to 12.6 million tonnes as compared to the year-ago period on the back on increased domestic production.

:: Sports ::

Maiden gold for Supuksorn

Thailand's Supuksorn Nuntana claimed her maiden gold medal of the Track Asia Cup cycling championship by lapping Bidiyaluxmi Devi in the women's 3-km individual pursuit.
Besides this silver, India also collected a bronze in the event when Rutuja Satpute expectedly lapped Bangladesh's Shila Farhana Sultana.
An assured bronze came the way of the host when, in the junior section, Aashu Sharma beat Amritha Reghu-nathan in the 2-km individual pursuit. In the men's and junior men's sections, India drew a blank