Doubt Classes

Daily Gk by Doubt Classes

For SSC,IBPS

29th May 2017

National

NIA summons two separatist leaders

·         The National Investigation Agency has summoned two Kashmiri separatist leaders to its headquarters in Delhi in connection with a case related to funding of terror and subversive activities in Jammu and Kashmir.

·         Farooq Ahmad Dar alias ‘Bitta Karate’ and Javed Ahmed Baba alias ‘Gazi’ of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat have been asked to bring certain bank and property documents, besides other papers, before the NIA team that had questioned them here for four consecutive days earlier this month.

·         The questioning comes after the agency named Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Taiba chief Hafeez Saeed, hardline Kashmiri separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Jammu and Kashmir National Front Chairman Nayeem Khan in a Preliminary Enquiry (PE). Mr. Khan has since been suspended from the Geelani-led Hurriyat Conference.

New restrictions on cattle slaughter

·         The Centre has banned the sale of cattle for slaughter at animal markets across the country.

·         Under a notification, titled the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017, those who wish to sell cattle — bulls, cows, buffaloes, steers, heifers and camels — may do so only after they formally state that the animals have not been “brought to the market for sale for slaughter”.

·         The rules, notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on May 23, demand that buyers “follow the State cattle protection and preservation laws” and “not sacrifice the animal for any religious purpose”. They also prohibit cattle purchased from animal markets being sold outside the State, without permission.

·         Monitoring committees at the State and district levels will be set up to implement the rules and monitor the functioning of animal markets. Such markets will be identified and registered; any new market that is set up will need the approval of the District Animal Market Monitoring Committee, which will be chaired by the Collector or District Magistrate.

·         To inhibit smuggling, animal markets may not function within 25 kilometres of a State border and 50 kilometres of an international border.

Slain militant Burhan Wani’s successor killed in encounter

·         Eight militants, including the successor of slain Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, were killed in two anti-militancy operations in the Kashmir Valley.

·         There were violent protests in the Valley after the killing of Wani's brother Sabzar Ahmad Bhat. Internet has been snapped in Kashmir as protests spread. Schools are reportedly closing in Srinagar.

·         Three militants were trapped in a residential area of Tral’s Saimoo village, Pulwama. They had attacked the Army convoy and fled from the spot. Later, the security forces zeroed in on them. Two houses are reportedly damaged in the operation.

Cattle trade rules go against 1960 law

·         Restrictions placed by the new rules of the Environment Ministry on the sale of cattle in a livestock market for purposes of slaughter and religious animal sacrifices contravene the very law — Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960 — under which it has been notified.

·         The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules of 2017 permit the sale of cattle in markets only to verified “agriculturists”, who have to give an undertaking to authorities that cattle will not be sold or slaughtered for meat. Nor shall the animal be used for sacrifices. The animal will be used only for farming.

·         The rules take away the rights of the owner to even sell the carcass of an animal dying of “natural causes” in the market. The rules prescribe that the carcass will be incinerated and not be sold or flayed for leather.

·         The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, enacted on December 26, 1960, however, does not impose any such restriction. It does not ban a cattle owner to sell the carcass of his animals for leather. The legislative intent of the 1960 Act is to “prevent the infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering on animals”.

International

eMigrate violates our sovereignty: UAE envoy

·         The United Arab Emirates, one of the largest employers of Indians in the Gulf, has raised a red flag with the Ministry of External Affairs over the government’s flagship eMigrate programme over what it terms as “sovereignty issues.”

·         After hundreds of complaints from workers about mistreatment, the MEA’s Overseas Affairs department (then a separate ministry) had in 2015 set up a database initiative called the eMigrate programme, that gathers extensive information on emigrants as well as foreign employers, their companies and recruiting agents.

·         According to a World Bank study on emigrants and remittances worldwide, published in April 2017, while India retained the top position as a recipient of remittances, it saw the biggest year-on-year decline of 8.9% in 2016. In 2014 India received $69.6 billion in remittances, which dipped to $68.9 billion in 2015 and fell to $62.7 billion last year.

G7 summit ends with split between Donald Trump, other leaders on climate change

·         The summit of Group of Seven wealthy nations pitted Mr Trump against the leaders of Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Japan on several issues, with European diplomats frustrated at having to revisit questions they hoped were long settled.

·         Mr Trump, who has previously called global warming a hoax, tweeted that he would make a decision next week on whether to back the 2015 Paris Agreement on curbing carbon emissions following lengthy discussions with G7 partners.

·         "The entire discussion about climate was very difficult, if not to say very dissatisfying," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters.

·         "There are no indications whether the United States will stay in the Paris Agreement or not."

·         However, there was relief that Mr Trump agreed to language in the final G7 communiqué that pledged to fight protectionism and commit to a rules-based international trade system.

Contemporary Economic Developments

Centre’s expenditure rises after new Feb. 1 Budget date

·         The advancement of the Budget date to February 1 had a positive effect on the pattern of government expenditure, which increased “substantially” in April and May compared to previous years, according to a Finance Ministry official.

·         The Budget for the financial year 2017-18 was presented on February 1 instead of at the end of the month in order to facilitate a timely disbursal of funds for various sectors.

·         “The advancement of the Budget date to February 1 has already seen the disbursement of planned expenditure increasing in the months of April and May, instead of having to wait till the monsoon got over, as was happening earlier,” a senior official in the Ministry of Finance told

·         “The exact increase is still being calculated, but it is definitely substantial and we will make the report public soon.

·         It should have increased by about 10-15% of what was happening last year.”

·         According to the Government, the February 28 date for the presentation of the Budget meant that the actual disbursal of funds got delayed till the very end of the monsoon.

Centre scouting for new State Bank of India chief

·         The Finance Ministry has initiated the process for finding new chief of the country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) as Arundhati Bhattacharya’s extended term comes to an end on October 6.

·         “Department of Financial Services has communicated to Banks Board Bureau the emerging vacancies at the top level of PSU banks which will have to be filled during course of the year,” a senior Finance Ministry official said.

·         This also includes chairman and one managing director of the SBI, which alone has market share of more than 20%.

·         Ms. Bhattacharya will complete her four-year term as chairperson of SBI on October 6. Besides chairman, SBI has four managing directors looking after different departments.

·         The post assumes significance as the bank has recently merged five associates and the Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) pushing SBI into the league of top 50 banks globally in terms of assets.

·         State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Travancore, besides Bharatiya Mahila Bank, merged with SBI with effect from April 1. The process of integration would at least take a year.

Science & Technology

ISRO set to launch heaviest rocket

·         Scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation or ISRO have developed an indigenously-built rocket - the largest ever made in India - that could soon be used to take "Indians into space from Indian soil" for the first time ever. The rocket, said to be as heavy as 200 full-grown Asian elephants, could catapult India into the big league of sending manned-missions to space. The rocket will be tested in the first week of June.

·         Standing tall on the rocket port at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh is the country’s latest rocket — the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk- III) — the heaviest rocket ever made by India that is capable of carrying the heaviest satellites.

·         “We are pushing ourselves to the limits to ensure that this new, fully self-reliant Indian rocket succeeds in its maiden launch,” Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar said.

·         If all goes well with the maiden launch of the GSLV-Mk III (earlier named Launch Vehicle Mark-3) and subsequent flights, this rocket could be India’s vehicle of choice to launch “Indians into space, from Indian soil using Indian rockets” he said.

·         The heavy lift rocket is capable of placing up to 8 tonne in a low Earth orbit, enough to carry India’s crew module

Cellphone study shows irregular eating habits

·         A recent study conducted in Delhi revealed how most adults eat more than three high-calorie meals with the largest portion of food being consumed at night.

·         Eating foods like cooked rice and sweets late at night with fewer intervals between dinner and breakfast the next day could lead to metabolic disorders like obesity and diabetes.

·         For this study, scientists from Delhi used cellphone camera as a new tool to understand the eating patterns. The findings were published in PLOS ONE.

A new combination of drugs for combating hepatitis C

·         Drugs that prevent entry of the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) into the host cells are equally effective as other drugs, finds a new study from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

·         These drugs, called entry inhibitors, when combined with drugs that prevent the multiplication of the virus inside the host cell, or direct-acting antivirals, can be a potent combination for treating the infection.The Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects the liver and spreads mainly through infected needles. Estimates suggest up to 1% of the Indian population may be infected with HCV. A large number of afflicted people develop chronic infection, and sometimes even liver cancer.

·         A study published in early 2017 by Japanese researchers reported that a combination of three direct-acting antivirals was most powerful in treating the infection in the lab and ranked various drug combinations according to their potency. Such studies help find candidates for clinical trials.

Sports

Vettel drives to glory

·         Sebastian Vettel secured a memorable one-two for Ferrari in 75th Monaco Grand Prix to extend his World Championship lead to a luxurious 25 points over Lewis Hamilton.

·         Taking full advantage of generous support from teammate Kimi Raikkonen, who led from pole position to the start of the pit-stops, the four-time champion came home 3.1 seconds clear of the Finn in glorious Mediterranean sunshine.

·         Vettel’s success was Ferrari’s first in the principality since seven-time champion Michael Schumacher triumphed in 2001. It was the 82nd 1-2 in the team’s history.

Mo Farah runs year’s fastest 5000m in Oregon

·         British double Olympic champion Mo Farah made his last U.S. track race a special one, running the year's fastest 5,000 metres at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League.

·         Farah, who will be moving up to the marathon after August's IAAF world championships in London, sprinted down the straight to defeat a high-quality field in 13 minutes, 00.70 seconds.

• Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha finished second in 13:01.21 and Kenyan Geoffrey Kamworwor claimed third in 13:01