Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 27 January 2016

:: NATIONAL ::

President rule imposed in Arunachal Pradesh

President Pranab Mukherjee approved the Union Cabinet’s recommendation for the imposition of President’s rule on Arunachal Pradesh.
Mr. Mukherjee signed on the dotted line after being satisfied that the law and order situation in the border State was sensitive to this uncertainty in government.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh met the President on Monday afternoon to explain the reasons for the recommendation.
The Governor has been sending multiple reports that even the Raj Bhavan was not safe and had been seized by Congress MLAs and there was no law and order in the State.

To gauge the market trend better govt to make changes in job data

The government could soon launch a first of its kind annual employment sur- vey, with the ability to generate quarterly reports on job market trends in certain segments like urban India.
The plan is to release such employment data soon after the surveys, unlike other official data, by using modern technology so as to enable policymakers to react faster to labour market movements and track job creation goals.
An estimated million people are joining India’s workforce every month, thanks to its demographic dividend of a high number of youth in the population.
As of now, the only employment data in India is available through quinquennial (once every five years) surveys by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO).
A limited ad-hoc survey of employment in a few sectors that was initiated by the Labour Bureau after the global financial crisis in 2008 and the Annual Survey of Industries (which only captures the employees of the registered factories).
By contrast, developed markets have quarterly official data on employment, if not monthly reports, that help them assess the state of the economy better.
The NSSO has readied the design, modalities and mechanisms for conducting the survey and could start as soon as the nod comes for the formal proposal of the Statistics Ministry.

After change in Panchayati elections Haryana gets younger and educated sarpanches

Haryana villages will now boast about a large number of young and educated sarpanches as people have largely voted for such candidates in the first two phases of the three- phase elections to Panchayati Raj Institutions.
According to the e-dashboard of the State Election Commission, the average age of the elected sarpanch in the first two phases is just 34 years.
The average age in the case of Mewat is 28 years, the lowest average age of an elected sarpanch for any district in the State.
The low average age in the elections is being attributed to several new conditions, including minimum educational qualification, fixed by the Haryana government for the candidates this time.
The government has fixed matriculation as essential qualification for male (general) candidates contesting the panchayat elections, while the qualification for females (general) and Scheduled Caste male candidate is education up to Class VIII.
In the case of a female candidate belonging to the SC category contesting election for the post of panch, the minimum qualification is education up to Class V.
Of the total 2,576 sarpanches elected in phase one of the elections, 1,515 are males and 1,061 females. The total sarpanches in phase two are 1,964. Of these, 1,154 are males and 810 females.
In the first phase, 264 elected sarpanch are graduates or above.
Also, 344 elected sarpanches have studied up to the senior secondary level, while 1,552 and 416 sarpanches are matriculate or Class VIII pass respectively.
Besides, as many as WINDS OF 1,061 female sarpanches have been elected in the first phase of these elections and 810 in the second phase.

:: India and World ::

India’s permanent representative to UN met UN secretary-general

India’s new Permanent Representative to the United Nations Syed Akbaruddin presented his credentials to U.N Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon.
Mr. Akbaruddin takes charge at the U.N at a time when India is pushing hard for a permanent seat for itself in the Security Council.
India is also pushing the world body for an international convention on terrorism.
Mr. Akbaruddin, a 1985 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, served as the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Afairs from 2012 to 2015.
Mr. Ban appreciated the significant role that India plays at the U.N. as a “long trusted partner of the multi- lateral system,” receiving the credentials. Mr. Akbaruddin is India’s 21st Permanent Representative at the U.N.

:: INTERNATIONAL ::

Maldives Countered charges of change in policy towards India

The present Maldivian government’s China policy does not interfere with or diminish the country’s “special relationship” with India, according to the office of President Abdullah Yameen Abdul Gayoom.
On the observations made by former president Mohamed Nasheed regarding his country's “pro-China” tilt, President [Mr. Gayoom] has said: India is our closest partner in terms of diplomatic and political relations.
Maldives are committed to working together with India to expand the current level of political and economic cooperation relationship to higher level.
Pointing out that while the President was forging ahead with “a highly ambitious economic agenda that includes developmental and infrastructure undertakings where China is a partner.
The position of the Maldivian government had been conveyed by Mr. Gayoom in his discussions with Indian leaders and officials on their visit to the Maldives.
Earlier, the government had expressed its “profound disappointment” over what it called the denial of entry to a member of its London High Commission to attend Mr. Nasheed’s London press conference.

:: BUSINESS & ECONOMY ::

Chinese downturn is effecting African economies as well

Years of rapid economic growth across sub- Saharan Africa fuelled hopes of a prosperous new era.
To many, the world’s poorest continent was finally emerging, with economies that were no longer dependent on the fickle global demand for Africa’s raw resources.
But as China’s economy slows and its once seemingly insatiable hunger for Africa’s commodities wanes, many African economies are tumbling, quickly.
Since the start of this year, the outlook across the continent has grown grimmer, especially in its two biggest economies, Nigeria and South Africa.
Their currencies fell to record lows this month as China, Africa’s biggest trading partner, announced that imports from Africa plummeted nearly 40 per cent in 2015.
The International Monetary Fund has in recent months sharply cut its projections for the continent.
Credit rating agencies have downgraded or lowered their outlook on commodity exporters like Angola, Ghana, Mozambique and Zambia, which were the darlings of international investors until just over a year ago.
Like the currencies of many commodity-exporting nations, South Africa’s rand has declined sharply in recent months because of the world- wide fall in prices of raw materials and because of poor government policies.
The weak rand will make it more painful for South Africa, which is experiencing the worst drought in a generation and is usually an exporter of agricultural products, to import corn, the nation’s staple.
Higher food prices could pose a challenge to the government of President Jacob Zuma.
Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy and oil producer, is reeling from the crash in crude prices, at the same time President Muhammadu Buhari tries to deal with Boko Haram, the Islamic extremist group that has long terrorised the nation.

Public sector oil firms to set up India’s biggest refinery on the west coast

Public sector oil firms IOC, BPCL, HPCL and EIL will invest Rs.1.50 lakh crore in setting up India’s biggest refinery on the west coast, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said.
Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the nation’s biggest refiner, will build a 60 million-tonne-a-year oil refinery in Maharashtra along with Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Engineers India Ltd (EIL).
Refinery to be built in 2 phases (40+20 million tonnes); 1st phase will have more than Rs 1 lakh crore investment (biggest in In- dia).
IOC has been looking at west coast for a refinery as catering to customers in West and South was difficult with its refineries mostly in the North.
HPCL Maharashtra and BPCL have also been looking at a bigger refinery because of constraints they face at their Mumbai units.
The refinery will produce petrol, diesel, LPG, ATF and feed- stock for petrochemical plants in plastic, chemical and textile industries in Maharashtra.

Centre mulls coastal economic zones to boost manufacturing

Government is planning to create coastal economic zones along the country’s 7,500-km long coastline covering many States, ports and special economic zones having uniform policy to further boost manufacturing.
There is a thinking in the government that there should be a port-led development as was done in China where cities were granted special status of open coastal cities. These cities enjoyed special policies of the government.
Though India has many ports, there is no cluster or a section of coastline that en- joys special status and incentives.
However, there are special economic zones where investors can set up their manufacturing base and get incentives such as tax exemption, speedy regulatory clearance, round-the-clock power and security.