24-30 Apr 2013
- Reliance Jio Infocomm, the broadband subsidiary of Mukesh Ambani-led
Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), signed an indefeasible right
to use (IRU) agreement with Bharti Airtel to use the latter’s i2i submarine cable for its 4G service for an unspecified amount.
- Legendary singer Shamshad Begum, one of the first playback singers in
the Hindi film industry and voice behind hit songs like ‘Mere Piya Gaye
Rangoon’, ’Kabhi Aar Kabhi Paar’ and ‘Kajra Mohabbat Wala’, has died
- Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and
State Agricultural Universities have developed several early maturing
varieties of crops which perform well under moisture stress/drought
conditions. In rice techniques like System Rice Intensification (SRI), direct seeded rice (DSR), aerobic rice, alternate wet and drying (AWD)
conditions are being standardized which require less water than normal
transplanted rice.
- Enrico Letta deputy leader of Central- left Democratic Party asked to form government in Italy.
- Hewlett-Packard on Wednesday launched for business in India its latest
range of Officejet Pro X 500 series printers that are recognised as
world's fastest desktop printer by Guinness Book of Records.It Prints 70 pages per minute
- The International Criminal Police Organisation, popularly known as
Interpol, is in the advanced stages of developing I-Checkit, a product
verification tool that is linked to a database of identifying
information supplied by the manufacturer of the given product.
- China's top oil refiner, Sinopec, has successfully flown a plane using a
newly developed variant of biofuel made from palm oil and recycled
cooking oil.
- China is now the fourth country in the world to have developed aviation biofuel, following the United States, France and Finland
- The use of liquid sodium as a coolant in fast breeder reactors has been
made safer, due to — electrochemical hydrogen meter —
developed by scientists at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research
(IGCAR), Kalpakkam, off Chennai.
- Liquid sodium metal, not water, is used for extracting heat from the
extremely hot core (where nuclear fission takes place) of a breeder
reactor. Aside from other properties, liquid sodium has excellent heat
transfer properties compared with water
- The liquid metal at about 550 degree C transfers the heat to water in
the secondary circuit to generate steam; the steam eventually runs the
turbine
- The pressure on the sodium side is low (1 bar) as the liquid sodium is at
an operating temperature of 550 degree C, well below the 883 degree C
boiling point. However, at about 160 bar, the pressure on the steam side
is very high. But all that separates sodium and steam is a thin (4-5
mm) ferretic steel tube through which steam flows.
- There is a possibility, even if remote, of tube failure. Steam, which is
at a higher pressure than sodium, tends to leak into the coolant when
the tube develops a leak. On reaction with sodium, hydrogen and sodium
hydroxide are formed. Sodium hydroxide, which is a caustic material,
further aggravates the problem. Due to its low melting point, sodium
hydroxide turns into a molten material at the site of the crack causing
further corrosion of the tube.
- Hence the presence of dissolved hydrogen in sodium is continuously monitored to detect the initiation of a leak
- The sensor can measure hydrogen down to 70 parts per billion in sodium
- Hydride ion-conducting solid electrolyte is needed for measuring
dissolved hydrogen concentration in sodium at elevated temperatures.
- Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Puraskar” (RGGSP)) were conferred upon the best performing States and Panchayats.
- The Panchayat Strengthening Index Awards (PSI) were
given to States this year. Under the Cumulative PSI Awards 1st Prize is
won by Maharashtra, while 2nd Prize is bagged by Karnataka, 3rd Prize
Kerala and 4th Prize Tripura.
- India and United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed an MoU on Air Services
- TechVIL established by CSIR under the scheme CSIR-800.
- The Railways have cut by half to 60 days, the maximum period for advanced reservation of tickets with effect from May 1.
- Foreign tourists would continue to enjoy the facility of booking ticket
360 days in advance.
- The Railways have retained the lower time limit for
reservation for certain trains such as the Taj Express and the Gomti
Express.
- BSB, a joint-venture between Bharti Enterprises and SoftBank
Corporation, focused on the mobile-internet space, today announced USD 7
million fresh investment in hike, its free messaging app.
- WHO launches regional programme in SE asia to tackle malarian parasite (falciparum is a protozoan parasite) that has become resistant to artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), the global standard treatment for the disease
- A collaborative effort between The World Bank, the Planning Commission,
the Centre, including other CEM partner led to the launch of a
South-South-North Knowledge Exchange (SSNKE) facility during the 4th
Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) held in the New Delhi recently.
- United Bank of India (UBI) would apply for licences to the Reserve Bank
of India for opening overseas branches in South Africa, and BRIC
countries.
- Disney India, on Thursday, tied up with realty firm Supertech for a Disney-themed housing project in Greater Noida
- Samsung to block access to app store in Iran.
- The U.S. blacklist has been compiled under the so-called Magnitsky Act
passed last year. It was named after Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky,
who died in prison after blowing the whistle on a multimillion tax scam
organised by corrupt Russian officials. Russia retaliated by adopting an
“anti-Magnitsky” law that mirrored U.S. sanctions and also banned
American adoptions of Russian orphans.
- The International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT)
conferred its lifetime achievement award on Jai Chandiram( IAWRT’s first Asian president), former Deputy
Director General of Doordarshan
- Indian Railways have entered into a Memorandum of
Understanding with Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO)
for jointly developing bio-toilets.( Bio-Digester or Bio Toilet, the human wastage is decomposed in a pit using bacteria to convert them into bio gas and water.)
- After a gap of over 20 months, India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) --
three large democracies from three different continents – will meet at
the summit level at India on June 6.
This will be the sixth IBSA Summit with the first one held in Brasilia in 2006
- Kisan Credit Card norms simplified :
- As per the revised Scheme, the KCC is valid for five
years subject to an annual review. The farmer is required to furnish
one-time documentation at the time of first availment of loan and,
thereafter, simple declaration about crops raised/proposed is required
to be given from the second year onwards issued by RBI and NABARD.
- Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA)
has informed that the insurance coverage to AYUSH treatments has been
facilitated
- Indira Gandhi Super Thermal Power Project now starting its first phase at Jhajjar
in Haryana.
- A Leaf turns Yellow” edited by Shri Muzaffar Ali
- the book is a thoroughly researched account of Sufism
in (erstwhile) Awadh, India and introduces to its history, traditions,
sub-cultures, institutions and poetry
