Current Affairs 12 July 2022

CONTENTS

1. United Nations’ World Population Prospects
2. New guidelines to prevent unfair trade practices
3. Sarfaesi Act
4. Dark matter

United Nations’ World Population Prospects

Context:

The 2022 edition of the United Nations’ World Population Prospects (WPP) was released.

• India is projected to surpass China as the world’s most populous country in 2023.

Relevance:

GS II- Population & Associated Issues

Dimensions of the Article:

1. What is the World Population Prospects?
2. Main takeaways for the global population
3. What is the significance of India overtaking China?

Click Here To Read More: United Nations’ World Population Prospects

New Guidelines To Prevent Unfair Trade Practices

Context:

Recently, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) announced five guidelines to prevent unfair trade practices and to protect consumer interests regarding the levy of service charges in hotels and restaurants.

• The guidelines are in addition to the Centre’s 2017 guidelines which prohibit the levy of service charges on consumers by hotels and restaurants, and terms the charging for anything other than “the prices displayed on the menu card along with the applicable taxes” without “express consent” of the customer as “unfair trade practices”.

Relevance:

GS II- Polity and Governance

Dimensions of the Article:

1. About Central Consumer Protection Authority
2. What is a service charge?
3. What do the new guidelines specify? 
4. Why were new guidelines issued?

Click Here To Read More: New Guidelines To Prevent Unfair Trade Practices

Sarfaesi Act

Context:

Banks have invoked the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (Sarfaesi) Act against telecom infrastructure provider GTL to recover their pending dues.
Context:

GS III- Indian Economy

Dimensions of the Article:

1. What is the Sarfaesi Act?
2. Why was such a law needed?
3. What powers do banks have under the law?

Click Here To Read More: Sarfaesi Act

Dark Matter

Context:

Many physicists strongly believe that the entire visible part of the universe forms only 5% of all matter in it. They believe the rest is made up of dark matter and dark energy.

• The latest to hit the news in the field of dark matter is a dark matter detector experiment named LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) in South Dakota in the U.S. As of today this is the most sensitive dark matter detector in the world.

Relevance:

GS III- Science and Technology

Dimensions of the Article:

1. Details
2. What is dark matter and why is it so elusive?
3. Why do physicists believe strongly that dark matter exists?
4. What are the evidences from other distance scales?

Click Here To Read More: Dark Matter