Short Terms : April 2013

Thuraya Satellite Phone 

• Thuraya from the Arabic name Thurayya meaning Star, is an international mobile satellite services provider based in the United Arab Emirates.
• Use of Thuraya Satphones was banned in India in 2010, after the company failed to convince the Indian government that its services could not be abused by terrorists targeting India.

Armed Forces ( Special Powers) Act 

• The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), was passed on September 11, 1958, by the Parliament of India. It grants special powers to the armed forces in what the act terms as "disturbed areas" in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. It was later extended to Jammu and Kashmir as The Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990 in July 1990.
• According to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), in an area that is proclaimed as "disturbed", an officer of the armed forces has powers to:
• After giving such due warning, Fire upon or use other kinds of force even if it causes death, against the person who is acting against law or order in the disturbed area for the maintenance of public order,

• Destroy any arms dump, hide-outs, prepared or fortified position or shelter or training camp from which armed attacks are made by the armed volunteers or armed gangs or absconders wanted for any offence.

• To arrest without a warrant anyone who has committed cognizable offences or is reasonably suspected of having done so and may use force if needed for the arrest.

• To enter and search any premise in order to make such arrests, or to recover any person wrongfully restrained or any arms, ammunition or explosive substances and seize it.

• Stop and search any vehicle or vessel reasonably suspected to be carrying such person or weapons.

• Any person arrested and taken into custody under this Act shall be made over to the officer in charge of the nearest police station with the least possible delay, together with a report of the circumstances occasioning the arrest.

• Army officers have legal immunity for their actions. There can be no prosecution, suit or any other legal proceeding against anyone acting under that law. Nor is the government's judgment on why an area is found to be disturbed subject to judicial review.

• Protection of persons acting in good faith under this Act from prosecution, suit or other legal proceedings, except with the sanction of the Central Government, in exercise of the powers conferred by this Act.

United Nations Arms Trade Treaty

• U.N. passed (with 154 members voting ‘Yes’; three — Iran, Syria and North Korea — voting no; and 23, including India, abstaining )an unprecedented arms trade treaty (ATT) to better regulate the international sale in weapons.
• In addition to India, the nations that abstained included China, Egypt, Myanmar, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka. Pakistan voted in favour of the treaty.
• Restricting arms movement to and from areas where groups are suspected of violation of human rights. 
• India's Stance : 
• The adopted treaty text covers weapons such as tanks, armoured combat vehicles, large-calibre artillery systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, missiles and missile launchers, and small and light arms
• However it does not explicitly cover predator drones and grenades. 
• Ammunition exports are subject to the same criteria as the other included items, although its imports are not covered.  

Ricin

• From the castor oil plant Ricinus communis, is a highly toxic, naturally occurring protein.
•  A dose the size of a few grains of table salt can kill an adult human.
•  Oral exposure to ricin is far less toxic and a lethal dose can be up to 20–30 milligrams per kilogram. 
• Abrin is a toxin similar to ricin, but more toxic, that is found in the highly ornamental rosary pea.
•  Acting as a toxin by the inhibition of protein synthesis.
• Ricin is classified as a type 2 ribosome inactivating protein (RIP).
• Using ricins in the treatment of cancer, as a so-called "magic bullet" to destroy targeted cells

Proxy Voting

• Proxy voting is a form of voting whereby some members of a decision-making body may delegate their voting power to other members of the same body to vote in their absence, and/or to select additional representatives.
• In 2003, India's People's Representative Act was amended to allow armed forces personnel to appoint a proxy to vote on their behalf.

Mealy Bug

• Mealybugs are insects in the family Pseudococcidae, unarmored scale insects found in moist, warm climates. They are considered pests as they feed on plant juices of greenhouse plants, house plants and subtropical trees and also acts as a vector for several plant diseases.
• In April 2013 : Outbreak of these pests found in papaya, hibiscus, sorrel leaves, tomato, brinjal etc. in Tamil Nadu.

Farm Pond

• The farm ponds are constructed at the lower side of the fields and the runoff from the higher side of the fields are channelised into the pond.
• Farm ponds play big role in tiding over droughts. 

Green Field Project

• In many disciplines a greenfield is a project that lacks any constraints imposed by prior work. The analogy is to that of construction on greenfield land where there is no need to remodel or demolish an existing structure.
• A greenfield investment is the investment in a manufacturing, office, or other physical company-related structure or group of structures in an area where no previous facilities exist.
• In wireless engineering jargon, a greenfield is a project which lacks any constraints imposed by prior networks.

Capital Control 

• Any measure taken by a government, central bank or other regulatory body to limit the flow of foreign capital in and out of the domestic economy
• This includes taxes, tariffs, outright legislation and volume restrictions, as well as market-based forces. Capital controls can affect many asset classes such as equities, bonds and foreign exchange trades.

Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor 

• Ahmedabad-Dholera (Gujarat), Shendra-Bidkin (Maharashtra), Manesar-Bawal (Haryana), Khushkhera-Bhiwadi-Neemrana (Rajasthan), Pithampur-Dhar-Mhow (Madhya Pradesh), Dadri-Noida-Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) and Dighi (Maharashtra). These are the first seven National Manufacturing Investment Zones (NMIZs), spanning the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC). 

M-Wallet

• Mobile wallet which is also abbreviated as M-Wallet, is a an electronic account that is linked to a person’s mobile phone in which money can be electronically deposited and the same can be used as cash

Specific Absorption Rate 

• Specific absorption rate is the measure of the rate at which energy is absorbed by the body when exposed to a radio frequency (RF) in electromagnetic field.
• Power absorbed per mass of tissue and its unit is Watts per kilogram (W/kg).
• It has suggested SAR limit for mobile handsets of 1.6 watt/kg averaged over a 6 minutes period and taken over a volume containing a mass of 1 gram of human tissue.
• The electromagnetic radiation pervading the environment is now increasingly realized and this has added to the list of another pollutant in the environment i.e. electro Pollution.

Article 62 and 63 of Constitution of Pakistan

• As per Article 62(g) of Constitution of Pakistan: Qualifications for membership of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament): 62 (g): he has not, after the establishment of Pakistan, worked against the integrity of the country or opposed the ideology of Pakistan.
• As per Article 63 of Constitution of Pakistan:Disqualifications for membership of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament):
• (h)   he has been, on conviction for any offence involving moral turpitude, sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years, unless a period of five years has elapsed since his release; or       
• (i)    he has been dismissed from the service of Pakistan or service of a corporation or office set up or, controlled, by the Federal Government, Provincial Government or a Local Government on the grounds of misconduct, unless a period of five years has elapsed since his dismissal; or       
• (j)   he has been removed or compulsorily retired from the service of Pakistan or service of a corporation or office set up or controlled by the Federal Government, Provincial Government or a Local Government on the ground of misconduct, unless a period of three years has elapsed since his removal or compulsory retirement.

VOR - VHF Omni Directional Range

• Short range radio navigation system
• Utilizes radio frequencies in the VHF band from 108 – 117.95 MHz.
• Standard air navigational system in the world
• Used for both commercial and general aviation
• VOR stations are fairly short range: the signals have a range of about 200 miles.
• Relies on the ground based transmitters which emitted signals to VOR receiver.
• VOR is used to enhance the visibleness at the time of landing and takeoff by the airplanes at the airport.  Radio signals transmitted by a network of fixed ground radio signals and receiver unit in a plane receives them and in turn assists the pilot in determining the position of the airplane and thus stays on course.

DNA Profiling

• DNA profiling (also called DNA testing, DNA typing, or genetic fingerprinting) is a technique employed by forensic scientists to assist in the identification of individuals by their respective DNA profiles. DNA profiles are encrypted sets of numbers that reflect a person's DNA makeup, which can also be used as the person's identifier.
• DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid, is found in every cell with a nucleus in all living things. DNA consists of a chain of four different chemical compounds (adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine) that appear in pairs known as base pairs. The unique order in which a person’s  base pair are arranged determines physical characteristic like sex and hair color, as well as other genetic traits such as predisposition to certain diseases.

Minimum Alternate Tax(MAT) And AMT

• Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) is levied on companies as per section 115JB of the Indian Income Tax Act, 1961. And Alternate Minimum Tax (AMT) is levied on limited liability partnerships (LLPs) as per section 115JC.
• MAT : If the income-tax payable by a Company, on the total income as computed under this Act in respect of any previous year relevant to the assessment year commencing on or after the 1st day of April, 2011, is less than 18.5% of its book profit.

i2i

• i2i is a submarine telecommunications cable connecting India to Singapore. This cable is owned by Bharti Airtel Limited of India.
• The Cable consists of 8 fibre pairs using DWDM Multiplexing with full capacity of 8.4 Tbit/s when all 105 wavelengths are used. 

System of Rice Intensification

• The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is a methodology aimed at increasing the yield of rice produced in farming
• Principles included applying a minimum quantity of water and the individual transplanting of very young seedlings in a square pattern

Direct Seeding of Rice

• In traditional rice cultivation, rice is sprouted in a nursery; sprouted seedlings are then transplanted into standing water. With direct seeding, rice seed is sown and sprouted directly into the field, eliminating the laborious process of planting seedlings by hand and greatly reducing the crop’s water requirements.

Aerobic Rice

• Aerobic rice is a production system in which 
  especially developed “aerobic rice” varieties are 
  grown in well-drained, non-puddled, and non-
  saturated soils
• Target Areas : 
• Favourable Uplands
• Fields on upper slopes rainfed lowlands
• Water short irrigated lowlands.

Magnitsky Act

• The Magnitsky Act, formally known as the Russia and Moldova Jackson-Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012, is a bipartisan bill which was passed by the U.S. Congress in November–December 2012
• In 2009, lawyer and auditor Sergei Magnitsky died in a Moscow prison after investigating fraud involving Russian tax officials
• Intention behind Law : prohibit their entrance to the United States and use of their banking system
• Bill was sponsored by Senator : Ben Cardin
• Russian Reaction : 
• proposal to similarly deny entrance to Americans guilty of gross human rights violations.
•  On December 19, 2012, the State Duma(lower house) voted 400 to 4 to ban the international adoption of Russian children into the United States. The bill was unofficially named after Dmitri Yakovlev(Chase Harrison), a Russian toddler who died in 2008 of heat stroke after neglect from his adoptive American father
• Both passed list of 18 nationals of each other country facing ban.