Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 19 July 2022

::National::

SC stays Karnataka HC judge’s proceedings against anti-corruption bureau

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed efforts by a Karnataka high court judge to ascertain the impartiality and competence of the state anti-corruption bureau (ACB), noting the judge’s orders, including the one in which he claimed to have indirectly received a threat of transfer for an adverse order in a corruption case, were not relevant to the bail proceedings pending before him.
The bench, headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, which also included justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli, noted that instead of considering the bail application, the judge focussed on several other things which may not be relevant and beyond the scope of the pending proceedings.
“We stay proceedings like asking for service report, ... (and other) observations (of the judge) on ACB etc. Prima facie, the observations made were unconnected to the bail petition. The conduct of the ACB officer is unconnected to the bail petition.”
It asked the judge in question, justice HP Sandesh, to take up and decide only the bail plea filed by deputy tehsildar PS Mahesh.
Mahesh was arrested in a graft case registered in May this year for allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹5 lakh to pass a favourable order in a land dispute in Bengaluru. He told the high court that the money was received at the instance of a deputy commissioner whose name was not mentioned in the FIR.
On July 12, the bench agreed to examine the appeal filed by the Karnataka ACB against the order passed by justice Sandesh on July 4 and 11, and asked the high court judge not to proceed in the matter till it takes up the case on the next date. ADGP Singh also filed a petition to expunge the remarks against him.
Justice Sandesh created a flutter during the court proceeding on July 4 when he stated that he was threatened with a transfer on July 1 when attending the farewell dinner for the then chief justice of Karnataka.

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::International::

Turkey warns it can ‘freeze’ Sweden, Finland's NATO process

Turkey can still “freeze” Sweden and Finland's membership in NATO unless the two countries take steps that meet Ankara's security demands, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
Turkey lifted its objection to Sweden and Finland joining the alliance but warned that it would block the process if they fail to extradite suspects with links to outlawed Kurdish groups or the network of an exiled cleric accused of orchestrating a failed coup in 2016.
The Nordic countries' accession still needs to be approved by the parliaments of all 30 NATO members and Turkey's parliament could refuse to ratify the deal.
“I would like to remind once again that if these countries do not take the necessary steps to fulfill our conditions, we will freeze the (accession) process,” Erdogan said in a televised addressed following a Cabinet meeting. “Our stance on this issue is very clear. The rest is up to them.”
Erdogan said that Sweden in particular was not “projecting a good image”, but didn't elaborate.
There was no immediate reaction from Sweden and Finland to Erdogan's comments.
Turkey accuses the two countries of being too lenient toward groups it considers to be national security threats.
Turkey's justice minister said earlier this month that the government had renewed requests for the extradition of terror suspects wanted by his country.
Turkey, Sweden and Finland signed a joint memorandum during a NATO summit last month that allowed the alliance to move ahead with inviting the Nordic countries to the military alliance that seeks to enlarge and strengthen in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
With the memorandum, Finland and Sweden agreed to address Turkey's “pending deportation or extradition requests of terror suspects expeditiously and thoroughly ... in accordance with the European Convention on Extradition”.

::Economy::

Opposition targets Centre over imposing GST on pre-packaged food items

The Opposition attacked the Centre over imposing GST on packaged food items such as milk and curd, saying it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "masterstroke" of making India miserable.
BJP MP Varun Gandhi also criticised the move, saying this will hurt people already struggling with "record-breaking unemployment." BJP, however, accused opposition parties of doing politics over the issue, saying states not ruled by the BJP were also part of the decision taken by the GST council.
A 5 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) has kicked in on pre-packaged and labelled food items such as cereals, pulses and flour weighing less than 25 kg. For a commodity measured in litres like curd and 'lassi, the limit is 25 litres.
Rahul Gandhi hit out at the ruling BJP and shared a graph on Twitter showing how commodities like curd, paneer, rice, wheat, barley, jaggery and honey are being taxed now.
There was no tax on these items of mass consumption earlier. "High taxes, No jobs. BJP's masterclass on how to destroy what was once one of the world's fastest growing economies," Gandhi said on Twitter. BJP spokesperson Zafar Islam said opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi were deliberately misleading people by blaming the central government for the five per cent GST.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took a swipe at Prime Minister Modi, saying that arrangements were being made for some to earn indiscriminately, but the poor and middle class were being maligned with the talk of "Revadi culture."

Morgan Stanley expects India's FY24 GDP growth to slow down to 6.4%

American brokerage Morgan Stanley on Monday cut its FY23 real GDP expansion estimate for India by 0.40 per cent to 7.2 per cent on slower global growth.
It said the GDP growth will slow down to 6.4 per cent in FY24, the brokerage said, adding that this is lower by 0.30 per cent compared to the earlier estimate.
A majority of watchers are expecting FY23 GDP growth to come at over 7 per cent levels. The RBI estimate also stands at 7.2 per cent.
"We pare our GDP forecasts by 0.40 per cent to 7.2 per cent for FY23 and by 0.30 per cent to 6.4 per cent for FY24 on the back of slower global growth.
"We see downside risks emanating from a weaker than expected global growth trend, supply-side-driven commodity price shock and faster than warranted tightening of financial conditions," the brokerage said in a note.
December 2022 from 4.7 per cent registered in the year-ago period, which will have an impact on the export growth for India.
However, domestic demand will be providing a partial offset to the impact of the slowing export growth, it said, noting that the government's supply-side response and the reopening vibrancy to partially counter the downside.
The ongoing moderation in commodity prices is improving the near-term trajectory for macro stability and also cut its FY23 average inflation target to 6.5 per cent against 7 per cent earlier.
"However, we do not expect much change in inflation beyond FY23 and expect it to average 5.3 per cent in FY24. Near-term risks to the inflation trajectory stem from changes in commodity prices and/or domestic food prices," it said.
The Reserve Bank will continue with the policy normalisation measures, and the repo rate will be at 6.5 per cent by April 2023 against 4.9 per cent at present, it said.

::Science and tech::

India made robotic surgery system installed at Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute

A leading cancer hospital in Delhi has installed a "made in India surgical robotic system" devised by a new-age medical technology start-up that will make robotic surgery more accessible to patients, according to a statement issued by the company.
The system has been set up at the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre (RGCI), a visionary project of the Indraprastha Cancer Society and Research Centre aimed at providing the best of oncological care to those who need it.
The RGCI has installed the "first-ever made in India surgical robotic system, SSI-Mantra, devised by new-age Indian med-tech start-up SS Innovations," the statement said.
The ingenious SSI Mantra, "a brainchild of robotic cardiac surgeon Dr Sudhir P Srivastava, will be signifying the beginning of a new era of surgical procedures in India, making robotic surgery accessible and affordable for the people of our country," it said.
"After two pilot projects where Dr Sudhir Rawal and his team from RGCI successfully performed a total of 26 surgeries with SSI Mantra, thereby validating safety, feasibility and effectiveness, the robot is now ready to provide an advanced method of surgery, which will be accessible to the general public at a much lower cost," the company said.

::Sports::

Neeraj Chopra aims to shatter 90m-barrier at World Championship

Neeraj Chopra will be wishing for another memorable throw and hopes to join a list that has only one Indian name – former long jumper Anju Bobby George, who had won the bronze medal at the 2003 Paris World Championships.
A year since bagging a historic gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, 24-year-old Neeraj Chopra is set on a new quest. He is projected as a top contender to win a medal at the ongoing World Athletics Championship in Oregon, a competition where India is yet to make its presence felt having won just one medal in the previous 17 editions.
With a billion expectations riding on his shoulders, Neeraj will be wishing for another memorable throw and hopes to join a list that has only one Indian name – former long jumper Anju Bobby George, who had won the bronze medal at the 2003 Paris World Championships.
Neeraj, for the longest time, has been dreaming of breaching the 90-meter mark and this time is no different. A record throw to get India another historic medal would be the icing on the cake for Neeraj, who has already etched himself in Indian Olympic sports only at the age of 24.