Apr 29, 2013

News for Oct 2012


  • The Kelkar’s committee’s recommendations were made public by the government for an informal debate by the stakeholders.
  • India’s heaviest satellite GSAT-10 was launched from the Kourou launch pad in French Guiana in South America. The satellite will boost telecommunications and DTH broadcasting and radio navigation.
  • Country’s space based GPS augmentation system GAGAN will start serving air navigation by mid 2013 :
    • It is GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) meant for the advancement of air navigation. The system was launched as a payload with GSAT-8 in 2011. It was also launched with recently launched GSAT-10.
    • Advantages : 
      •  It will modernize air traffic management and communication-navigation-surveillance system.
      •  Aircrafts will get more accurate figures while landing, take-off and in-flight.
      •  India would join the club of U.S., Europe and Japan who have the same level of space-based augmentation.
  • Justice Altamas Kabir was sworn-in as the 39th chief justice of India by President Pranab Mukherjee. He took the position of Justice Sarosh Homi Kapadia, who retired after serving the Supreme Court.
  • First National Security Advisor of India , Brajesh Mishra passed away. Mishra (84) was instrumental in making of the foreign policies during the NDA regime of Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
    • He was Indian permanent representative to United Nation
    • He was Indian permanent representative to Geneva, Served Indian ambassador to Indonesia.
  • Geographical Indications (GI) Registry: ‘No illegality in granting Darjeeling Tea tag’.
  • The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has come up with a fresh draft legislation that seeks to do away with the plenary guardianship system(Under this system, a guardian substitutes for the person with disability before the law and takes all legally binding decisions for him or her) and replace it with a limited guardianship system(Under the limited guardianship system, decisions will be made jointly on mutual understanding and trust b/w the guardian and the person with disability). 
    • In case of a conflict of interest b/w a person providing support and a PwD in a particular financial, property or other economic transaction, then such supporting person shall desist from providing support to the PwD in that transaction.
    • Set up of a National Commission for PwD to devise rules that lay down the criteria of availableness for the physical environment, transportation, information and communications, including appropriate technologies and systems. Like bodies will be set up at the State and district-levels. The Commission will take up issues that breach the requirements of the Act.
  • Prof. Banwarilal lal sharma passed away recently in Chandigarh. 
    • convenor of the movement named Azadi Bachao Andolan.(against nuclear energy)
  • Prohibition in use of animals in Election Campaigns : EC
  • India slips to 7th position in Coffee production.(after Brazil,Vietnam,Indonesia,Columbia)
    • Arabica and Robusta : Species of coffee
  • Scientist  from University of Illinois develop water soluble electronic device : 
    • To design such a electro thermal device Magnesium or Mg as the electrical conductor, MgO and Silicon dioxide as dielectrics, specially fabricated nanomembrane silicon semiconductor etc. is usedThe entire device dissolves away when placed in de-ionized water. Researchers used a sheet of silk to pack this device to keep it intact for a set period of time, after which it dissolves in the body water, exposing the electronic device which too dissolves away.
    • Implementation : e- waste disposal ,for removal pacemakers no need to have re-surgery.
  • Britain Historian Eric Hobsbawm passed away 
    • Coined the term long nineteenth century , which began with the French Revolution in 1789 and ended with the beginning of The Great War in 1914.
    • Some of his eminent work: 
      • The Age of Revolution (1962)
      • The Age of Capital (1975) 
      • The Age of Empire (1987)
      • Age of Extremes (1914 to 1991)
      • How to Change the World
  • BN Srikrishna committee of Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission Recommendations.
  • Ministry of rural development launched a campaign named Nirmal Bharat Yatra  which aims at making the country free from open defecation.
    • The yatra began from Wardha District of Maharashtra and will go through Indore, Kota, Gwalior, and Gorakhpur and will conclude in Bettiah district of Bihar.
    • As per World Health Organisation and UNICEF: with 626 million  people defecating in the open, India has largest population without access to toilets
    • Poor sanitation and hygiene is the single biggest cause of malnutrition in India.
    • Sikkim  is the state which has achieved the status of ODF (Open Defecation Free)
    • Sanitation Ambassador : Mrs Vidya Balan
  • Ministry of water resources and parliamentary affairs released Atlas for six states namely- Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Chattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and Meghalaya.
    • Atlas named Aquifer Sysytem of India , the Central Ground Water Board has compiled and integrated data on various aspect of ground water since its inception. The atlas gives a panorama and summary of the most important information available for each principal and major aquifer systems and provides aquifer wise ground water scenario. It also gives an account on major issues and challenges which need immediate attention for sustainable management of ground water resources.
    • The Atlas will be immensely useful in Regional and National ground water resources planning by the policy makers and anyone who wants to comprehend ground water scenario in the country.
  • Law Commission supports Passive Euthanasia :
    • As per the Commission, Passive Euthanasia is not objectionable legally or constitutionally.    
    • Suggestions were sought after the legalization of Passive Euthansia in Aruna Shanbaug case after SC verdict.
    • Suggestions : 
      • A “competent” adult patient, who can take an informed decision, has the right to insist that there should be no invasive medical treatment by way of artificial life sustaining measures.
      • If patients cannot take a decision on their own, then the decision of the doctors or relatives to withhold or withdraw the medical treatment will not be final.
      • Same rule for minor above 16 yrs
      • Active euthanasia still remains a crime under Section 302(murder) or 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC, along with the physician who abetted suicide under section 306 IPC (abetment of suicide)
      • Euthanasia: It is the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering.
      • Passive euthanasia :  common treatments, such as antibiotics, necessary for the continuance of life are withheld.
      •  Active euthanasia : lethal substances or forces, such as administering a lethal injection, are used to kill. 
  • Union Cabinet approves XII plan
    • Growth rate : 8.2%
    • Agriculture Sector Growth : 4%
    • Manufacturing Sector Growth : 10%
    • Final Approval from National Development Council(NDC) is pending
  • UN Women unveiled South Asia's 1 virtual knowledge hub in India.
    • UN Women is a UN organization established in 2010 with the aim to promote for gender parity and women empowerment. 
      • Objectives 
        • Help inter governmental bodies in formulation of policies,global standards and norms
        • Assist member UN nations to implement required standards,provide financial and technical help
        • Facilitate member nations to have regular monitoring
      • The Virtual center for women will work online that will provide a common platform to the women representatives living in rural areas to share their problems and experiences. It will be first of its kind in the world which will function in 9 different languages and empower women through audio visual applications. It will boost up their leadership quality. The centre will also have Interactive mobile technology and community radio.
  • India successfully test-fired Prithvi-II ballistic missile from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur of Balasore district, off Odisha coast. 
  • India, Austria ink pact on Technology Cooperation in the Shipping and Ports Infrastructure Sector
    • Importance : Geographically, Austria can serve as a gateway to upcoming market economies in Central & East Europe. High-end technology is Austria`s bastion in several specialized areas of interest to us, particularly in infrastructure.  
    • India can utilize Austria’s technology in the areas like implementation of International Ship & Port Security code, use of radio frequency identification in logistics and transport planning and optical character recognition in terminals to speed up the processing of containers in and out are the areas.  
  • The recently approved Infrastructure Debt Fund (IDF) will be based on a tripartite agreement b/w developer, lender (bank) and the IDF. The decision has been taken to infusing greater funds into infrastructure development in the country. Loans by the banks would be refinanced by IDF so that the lenders have free funds for more lending bcoz banks lend for 5-7 yrs so IDF will fund for remainder of the life of the project ,for projects that will take 20-25 yrs to complete.The fund would try to gather resources from domestic and off-shore institutional investors, especially insurance and pension funds.
    • An IDF may be established either as a trust or company. A trust based IDF (Mutual Fund) would be regulated by SEBI, while an IDF created as a company (NBFC) would be regulated by the RBI.     
    • The 12th Plan (2012-17) has pegged the requirement of infrastructure fund at $1 trillion.
  • Abdi Farah Shirdon Said has been chosen as the new Prime Minister of Somalia. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud who was recently chosen by parliament in a UN-backed process, selected his close ally Shirdon.
    • This event is one of the first major steps of the new administration, which brought to an end the eight years of transitional rule by the corruption imbued and Western supported government. After more than two decades of anarchy and war, Somalia's capital Mogadishu has been resurrecting since the Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents left frontline fighting positions. 
  • 5+5 Summit calls for greater co-operation b/w member countries at the capital of Malta Auberge de Castille for two days. They discussed several issues including regional security, irregular migration, and ways of strengthening political and economic cooperation in the wake of Arab Spring.
  • India successfully test fired naval version of Prithvi missile-Dhanush , from a naval ship off the coast of Balasore, Odisha. The missile is indigenously developed by DRDO.
  • The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) rejected the proposal of the Parekh committee on the financing of infrastructure to increase the ceiling on FDI in this sector from current 74% to 100% due to security concerns.
    • Recommendations : 
      • Allow 100% FDI in Telecommunication.
      • The 2G spectrum licencees be allowed external commercial borrowing (ECB).
      • Rs 20,000 crore corpus collected for the Universal Service Obligation Fund be used for subsidizing telephone connections for the rural population still not uncovered.
    • As per the panel, auction-based investment requires large investment of equity by companies desiring to establish pan-India operations. It reasoned that the current limit of 74% already permits foreign investors to exercise complete control over their telecom companies. In such condition, finding Indians willing to invest large sums to meet the remaining 26% and yet own a minority stake constitutes a major hindrance in getting competitive foreign investment at the right valuation. As per the panel, the move is needed to attract more competitive offers in the proposed auctions and also bolster FDI. Appropriate safeguards could be put in place to address security concerns.
  • Sebastin Vettel won the F1 title race of the Japanese Grand Prix.Vettel is a German Formula One racing driver, currently driving for the Austrian racing team Red Bull Racing(Based in England but have a austrian licence) . He is the current World Champion. 
  • Swift J1745-26 newly discovered black hole  toward the centre of MIlky way galaxy discovered by NASA's Swift satellite  which detected a rising tide of high-energy X-rays from a source toward the center of our Milky Way galaxy. It is named after the coordinates of its position in the sky. The nova is located a few degrees from the center of our galaxy toward the constellation Sagittarius
    • An X-ray nova is a transitory X-ray source that appears suddenly, reaches its emission peak in a few days and then fades out over a period of months. 
    • The outburst occurs when a torrent of stored gas suddenly rushes toward one of the most compact objects known, either a neutron star or Black Hole
  • In a collaborative effort World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-India and the Uttar Pradesh forest department with the support of HSBC bank  will hold a 3-day programme "My Ganga, My Dolphin"  to count the number of Dolphins in the Ganges in and around UP.
    • Ganges River Dolphin or Platanista gangetica : National Animal.
    • Locally named : Susu
    • Found in Ganges, Meghna and Brahmaputra rivers in India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, and the Karnaphuli River in Bangladesh
    • River dolphin is a critically endangered species in India and therefore, has been included in the Schedule I for the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
    • These dolphins are found in Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal (7 states ) and ideal habitats are in the Ganga, Chambal, Ghaghra, Gandak, Sone, Kosi, the Brahmaputra and Kulsi rivers.
  • The Indian Navy successfully test-fired the Brahmos  missile from a warship off the Goa coast. It is a 290- km range, supersonic cruise missile, capable of carrying a conventional warhead of 300 kg. The missile is developed by Indo-Russian joint venture.  
    • The missile was test-fired from guided missile frigate INS teg.It is a two-stage missile, the first one solid and the second one ramjet liquid propellant. It has already been inducted into the Army and Navy, and the Air Force version is in final stage of trial.
  • Free higher education to students who bring honor for the country in Sports events.
    • Ministry of HRD also announced launching of a national level university Cricket league and university level Hockey league to promote sports in a big way in the campuses. 
  • Human Health issues to be integrated with Convention on Biodiversity: CoP 11(International conference on Biodiversity) held at Hyderabad.
    • CoP11 will encourage Taxonomy scientists for identification and cataloging of living species.
    • CoP also decided to establish a scientific body to discuss ways and means to integrate Traditional Knowledge to serve the objectives of the convention on biodiversity.
  • Nobel Prizes
  • India, France ink pact for Sustainable Urban Development.
  • Poet-writer Chandrashekar Kambar has been conferred with the Jnanpith Award. The award was given to him in recognition to his contributions to Kannada literature.
    • The Jnanpith Award is a literary award. It is one of the two most prestigious literary honours in the country, the other one is Sahitya Akademi Fellowship. The award was instituted in 1961. 
    • Any Indian citizen who writes in any of the official languages of India is eligible for the award. The award is presented by the Bharatiya Jnanpith , a trust founded by the Sahu Jain family, the publishers of the The Times of India newspaper.
  • World observes first International Day of Girl Child on Oct 11 2012.
    • Theme for this year : Ending Child Marriage
  • "Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986" amendments : 
    • Broaden the scope of the law to cover the audio-visual media and material in electronic form. 
    • Penalties to be enhanced to a maximum of 3 years of imprisonment and fine of b/w Rs.50,000 to Rs.1,00,000 for first conviction, and imprisonment of not less than 2 years, but which may extend to 7 years, and a fine b/w Rs.1,00,000 to Rs.5,00,000 for second conviction. 
    • Police officers not below the rank of Inspectors authorized to carry out search and seizure, in addition to State and Central Government officers authorized by the State or Central Government. 
  • Anil Kumble named Chairman of ICC Cricket Committee replacing West Indies captain Clive Lloyd
    • ICC : it is a 16-member committee which meets twice a year to consult on playing matters and offer suggestions to the ICC on technical aspects and rules of the sport.
  • “Boosted Board” : World’s Lightest Electric Vehicle by team of Stanford University
    • · Travel a distance up to 9 kilometres with a speed of 20 mph
  • Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek defeated the Indian duo of Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna to win the ATP Shanghai Masters men's doubles tennis title at Shanghai, China. 
  • India was ranked at 65th position out of 79 countries on the Global Hunger Index released by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Welthungerhilfe, and Concern Worldwide. 
    • The theme of the report was “The Challenge of Hunger: Ensuring Sustainable Food Security under Land, Water, and Energy Stresses”
    • China placed at 2nd , Pak at 57th and Sri Lanka at 37th Position
    • After Timor-Leste, India with 43.5% of its children less than 5 underweight, stands at 2nd  spot in the list of the 129 countries compared for underweight child.
  • Gaganjeet Bhullar clinched the Venetian Macau Open title
  • Rodents (member of the Muroidea rodent super family that includes hamsters, gerbils, mice and the common kitchen rat) that detect TB faster than human in Africa in 200th of a second by detecting a distinctive odor if trained properly.
    • Rats are also used to detect mines
  • GE Healthcare in a partnership with Fortis Healthcare launched eICU or electronic Intensive Care Unit facility –Critinext. 
    • Critinext - The fusion of Critical Care Skills, Technology, and Imagination & Compassion is a solution to provide “Intensive Care beyond Boundaries".
    • Launced to fill the gap between the number of ICU wards and specialist personnel
    • eICU- Critinext equipment is wired to the devices in the local hospital’s ICU, ventilator pumps, patient monitors and the local health information system, if any. All the relevant data regarding the particular patient will be sent to the Central Command Centre, where specialists offer expert advice.
    • a teleICU technology.
  • Arabic included in the official languages at Vatican in the list of Languages at Pope Benedict's weekly general audiences.
  • Monisha Kaltenborn  of Indian origin became the First Woman Team Principal in Formula one  after taking the hold of team Sauber , a swiss Formula one team.    
    • took the place of Peter Sauber, the founder of the Sauber team after he stepped down 
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