21-22 JUNE 2016m
Martian crater named after Nepal quake-hit village Langtang
Langtang: A popular trekking site in Nepal that was worst hit by the devastating earthquake
The International Astronomical Union in June 2016 named a 9.8 kilometers wide crater on Mars as Langtang, a popular trekking site in Nepal.
Langtang is one of the villages of Nepal that was worst hit by the 25 April 2015 earthquake. As per reports, at least 215 people were killed in the village after the quake triggered an avalanche.The researcher behind the move, Dr. Tjalling de Haas, said that he chose this name because his colleague had worked there while studying Himalayan glaciers. It was his base camp for a long period, so we said may be it is a nice tribute.
Dr de Haas, who studies Mars's physical geography at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, has named another crater as Bunnik, his hometown in Utrecht.
Both names were approved by the International Astronomical Union Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature.
Union Government bans use of Potassium Bromate as food additive
he Union Government on 20 June 2016 banned use of potassium bromate (KbrO3)as a food additive on recommendation of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
Early in May 2016, FSSAI in its recommendation asked health ministry to remove potassium bromate, a cancer causing chemical, from the list of permissible food additives.
The recommendation was made following a study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) that claimed that potassium bromate, which is classified as a category 2B carcinogen, can be a cause of cancer to humans.
CSE in study found that 84 percent of 38 commonly available brands of pre-packaged breads, including pav and buns, tested positive for potassium bromate and potassium iodate (KIO3).
Besides, FSSAI has referred potassium iodate, also claimed to be carcinogenic used as a food additive, to a scientific panel.
These two food additives are banned in many countries and listed as hazardous for public health.
Punjab government launches Mukh Mantri Punjab Hepatitis C Relief Fund
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on 18 June 2016 launched the fund titled Mukh Mantri Punjab Hepatitis C Relief Fund to provide free treatment for patients affected by Hepatitis C.
With this initiative, Punjab became the first Indian state to provide free treatment to confirmed cases of Hepatitis C.
Highlights of the Mukh Mantri Punjab Hepatitis C Relief Fund
• The fund will have initial corpus of 20 crore rupees.
• It will provide free treatment to all the residents of Punjab affected by Hepatitis C.
• Free treatment for Hepatitis C would be provided to the patients in the state government medical colleges at Patiala, Amritsar and Faridkot besides 22 district hospitals.
• Under this scheme, the patients of Hepatitis C will be registered at the 25 treating hospitals.
• Medicines for the course of treatment will be issued after examination and testing by the medical specialists.
• The patient has to pay only for the viral load and the genotype of the Hepatitis C Virus for which the Punjab Government has also done rate contract with Lal Path Laboratories.
• The medicines will be given free of cost.
Comment
With a prevalence rate as high as 3 percent, there are up to 10 lakh cases of suspected Hepatitis C in the state, of which up to 6 lakh require treatment.
Until recently, the treatment consisted of injectable peg-interferon which was very expensive and unaffordable. However, through Mukh Mantri Punjab Hepatitis C Relief Fund, free treatment for Hepatitis C would be of great help for the patients.
International Day of Yoga 2016 observed across the world
21 June: International Day of Yoga
The International Day of Yoga was on 21 June 2016 observed across the world with the theme Connect the Youth.
This year’s observance of the Day highlights the important role healthy living plays in the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals, adopted in 2015 by all 193 UN Member States.
In India, the Union Government organised the event titled The National Event of Mass Yoga Demonstration at the Capitol Complex in Chandigarh where Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself performed yoga.
Background
• The idea to celebrate 21 June as the International Day of Yoga was initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 27 September 2014 during his address to the UN General Assembly (UNGA).
• Following this, the UNGA on 11 December 2014 adopted the resolution to commemorate 21 June as the International Day of Yoga every year.
• This resolution was adopted under the Global Health and Foreign Policy by the General Assembly in order to provide a holistic approach to the people worldwide for their health and well-being.
• More than 177 countries including USA, Canada, China and Egypt supported this move including 175 nations co-sponsoring the resolution.
About Yoga
• Yoga is an ancient physical, mental and spiritual practice that originated in India and is now practiced in various forms around the world.
• It finds mention in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the author of the grammatical Mahabhasya.
• The word yoga is derived from Sanskrit and means to join or to unite, symbolizing the union of body and consciousness.
• Yoga balances body and soul, physical health and mental well-being.
Virginia Raggi became first female mayor of Rome
Virginia Raggi, a leading member of the populist anti-corruption Five Star Movement (M5S), on 20 June 2016 was elected as Rome’s first female mayor.
She is also the first candidate from that party, M5S to be elected to Rome's mayoralty.
Raggi, who will turn 38 in July 2016, is also the youngest mayor in Rome's history.
A lawyer and local councilor, Raggi was elected to the post for the Italian capital after winning 67% of the vote in a runoff ballot against the Democratic Party’s (PD) Roberto Giachetti.
Apart from her, Chiara Appendino another M5S candidate won the mayoral elections in Turin.
M5S is a political party which was founded by comedian-turned politician Beppe Grillo. With this win in Rome, the party also emerged as the main opposition to centre-left Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi.
IWAI and IPGPL signed MoU on Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project
Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and India Ports Global Private Limited (IPGPL) on 1 June 2016 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project.
The MoU has been signed for implementation of the following three additional works, which are independent of the on-going works and are estimated to cost 476 crore rupees. They are
• Container handling facilities at Sittwe & Paletwa
• Operation & Maintenance of the completed works
• Wrecks removed in Sittwe Port basin area
IWAI shall remain as the overall Project Development Consultant (PDC) to Project Development Consultant (PDC) for implementation of PORT & IWT component of Kaladan project.
Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project (KMTTP) in Myanmar
KMTTP was conceptualised and is being administered by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). It was planned with an aim to facilitate connectivity between the mainland and the North Eastern States of the country through maritime shipping, inland waterways and roads of Myanmar.
The link between North Eastern States of India and Myanmar will pave the way for enhanced trade & commerce across the border. It will also enable cultural and social integration at the regional level.
Project Development Consultant of the Project, IWAI
MEA had appointed Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) as the Project Development Consultant (PDC) for the implementation of the Port & Inland Water Transport (IWT) component of the Kaladan Project on 19 March 2009 and by Supplementary Agreement dated 28 April 2016.
India Ports Global Private Limited (IPGPL)
IPGPL was established as a Joint Venture between Kandla Port Trust and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust for the purpose of development of ports overseas. IPGPL was asked to partner IWAI in the Kaladan project as a sub-PDC.
It will help complete the implementation of Kaladan project within the scheduled timeframe of April 2019 and provide relief to IWAI. The responsibilities of IWAI has increased manifold due to declaration of 106 new National Waterways and implementing the ambitious ‘Jal Marg Vikas” project.
Kannada movie Thithi won Best Film Award at 19th Shanghai International Film Festival
Kannada Movie Thithi in the third week of June 2016 won two awards - Best Film and Best Script Writers - under the Asia New Talent Awards Category at the 19th Shanghai International Film Festival.
Earlier, in August 2015, the film premiered at the 68th Locarno International Film Festival and won the Golden Leopard honour in the Filmmakers of the Present category and the Swatch First Feature award.
The film also won numerous other awards at film festivals held in Mumbai, Palm Springs, Marrakech, etc. Some of the important among them are–
• 63rd National Film Awards: It won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada.
• 2016 Karnataka State Film Awards: It bagged the awards, namely, First Best Film, Best Supporting Actress and Best Dialogue award.
• It was invited to the 45th edition of New Directors/New Films in New York, the USA.
About Thithi
Thithi is a drama film consisting of a cast of non-professional actors from villages in the Mandya district of Karnataka. It is a light-hearted story about three generations of men reacting to the death of their 101-year old patriarch.
SBI named in Hall Of Shame list of Banks funding Cluster Bomb Makers
The State Bank of India (SBI) was on 16 June 2016 named in the Hall of Shame list of 158 banking institutions that have invested billions of dollars in companies making cluster bombs. The list was prepared by Dutch campaign group PAX Worldwide Investments in Cluster Munitions report.
State Bank of India (SBI) is the only Indian entity on the list that includes global giants like JP Morgan, Barclays, Bank of America and Credit Suisse.
Highlights of the Report
• The report looks at investments into companies involved in the production of cluster munitions.
• 158 financial institutions invested over 28 billion US dollars in the seven companies researched in the report between June 2012 and April 2016.
• These 7 companies are China Aerospace Science and Industry, China Aerospace Science and Technology, Hanwha (South Korea), Norinco (China), Orbital ATK (US), Poongsan (South Korea) and Textron (US).
• Textron produces the CBU-105 Sensor Fuzed Weapon. Between June 2012 and April 2016, 49 financial institutions invested over 12 billion US dollars in Textron.
• The maximum number of 74 banks are from the US, followed by China (29) and South Korea (26).
• The majority of the financial institutions included in the Hall of Shame are from countries that have not yet joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), the international treaty that bans this weapon.
• However, the report points towards the serious concern that there are still 20 financial institutions from seven countries which have joined the CCM.
What led to the inclusion of SBI in the list?
• SBI has been included in the list because of its exposure to Orbital ATK, a US-based company specialising in the design, manufacture and launch of space and rocket systems for commercial, military and other government customers.
• Orbital ATK is one of the world's largest manufacturers of ammunition and a leading supplier of precision systems and electronic warfare. The company is also active in propulsion systems.
• State Bank of India has made an estimated 87 million US dollars available to the companies on the red flag list since June 2012.
About Convention on Cluster Munitions
The Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) categorically bans use, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions. This convention was signed by 94 countries in 2008 and it came into force from August 2010.
Most financial institutions named in the Pax list are from countries that have not signed this convention. However, there are also banks from the countries that have adopted this treaty over years.
SBI named in Hall Of Shame list of Banks funding Cluster Bomb Makers
The State Bank of India (SBI) was on 16 June 2016 named in the Hall of Shame list of 158 banking institutions that have invested billions of dollars in companies making cluster bombs. The list was prepared by Dutch campaign group PAX Worldwide Investments in Cluster Munitions report.
State Bank of India (SBI) is the only Indian entity on the list that includes global giants like JP Morgan, Barclays, Bank of America and Credit Suisse.
Highlights of the Report
• The report looks at investments into companies involved in the production of cluster munitions.
• 158 financial institutions invested over 28 billion US dollars in the seven companies researched in the report between June 2012 and April 2016.
• These 7 companies are China Aerospace Science and Industry, China Aerospace Science and Technology, Hanwha (South Korea), Norinco (China), Orbital ATK (US), Poongsan (South Korea) and Textron (US).
• Textron produces the CBU-105 Sensor Fuzed Weapon. Between June 2012 and April 2016, 49 financial institutions invested over 12 billion US dollars in Textron.
• The maximum number of 74 banks are from the US, followed by China (29) and South Korea (26).
• The majority of the financial institutions included in the Hall of Shame are from countries that have not yet joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), the international treaty that bans this weapon.
• However, the report points towards the serious concern that there are still 20 financial institutions from seven countries which have joined the CCM.
What led to the inclusion of SBI in the list?
• SBI has been included in the list because of its exposure to Orbital ATK, a US-based company specialising in the design, manufacture and launch of space and rocket systems for commercial, military and other government customers.
• Orbital ATK is one of the world's largest manufacturers of ammunition and a leading supplier of precision systems and electronic warfare. The company is also active in propulsion systems.
• State Bank of India has made an estimated 87 million US dollars available to the companies on the red flag list since June 2012.
About Convention on Cluster Munitions
The Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) categorically bans use, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions. This convention was signed by 94 countries in 2008 and it came into force from August 2010.
Most financial institutions named in the Pax list are from countries that have not signed this convention. However, there are also banks from the countries that have adopted this treaty over years.
Anand Desai Committee on Specific Relief Act, 1963 submitted its report
Anand Desai led Expert committee set up to examine the Specific Relief Act, 1963 on 20 June 2016 submitted its report to Union Law & Justice Minister DV Sadananda Gowda.
In its report the committee has recommended modifications in the Specific Relief Act, 1963, which will help in ensuring the ease of doing business.
Recommendation of the committee includes
• To change the approach, from damages being the rule and specific performance being the exception, to specific performance being the rule, and damages being the alternate remedy.
• To provide guidelines for reducing the discretion granted to Courts and tribunals while granting performance and injunctive reliefs so that public works projects is not be impeded or stalled.
• To introduce provisions for rights of third parties (other than for Government contracts).
• To consider addressing unconscionable contracts, unfair contracts, reciprocity in contracts etc., and implied terms.
• Need to classify diverse Public utility Contracts as a distinct class recognising the inherent public interest/importance to be addressed in the Act.
About Specific Relief Act 1963
The Act was enacted by the Parliament to replace the earlier Act of 1877 with an aim to assure that whenever there is a wrong there must be a remedy.
The Act does not confer any Rights on itself. Specific relief is only provided for the violation of a legal right.
China’s Sunway TaihuLight declared world’s fastest supercomputer
Chinese supercomputer Sunway TaihuLight with 93 petaflop/second speed was on 20 June 2016 declared as the world’s fastest supercomputer. It was revealed in the TOP500 list of supercomputers released at the International Supercomputing Conference (ISC) in Frankfurt, Germany.
The list further revealed that the USA is not home to the largest number of systems. With a surge in industrial and research installations registered over the last few years, China leads with 167 systems and the USA is second with 165.
Asian share of 218 systems, up from 173 in November 2015, includes 8 supercomputers owned by Indian-based organizations.
Features of Sunway TaihuLight
• This supercomputer can perform 93 petaflop operations per second.
• It was developed by the National Research Center of Parallel Computer Engineering & Technology (NRCPC) and installed at the National Supercomputing Center in Wuxi.
• It displaced the Tianhe-2, an Intel-based Chinese supercomputer that has claimed the top spot on the previous six TOP500 lists.
• With 10649600 computing cores comprising 40960 nodes, is twice as fast and three times as efficient as Tianhe-2.
• Sunway TaihuLight demonstrates the significant progress that China has made in the domain of designing and manufacturing large-scale computation systems as it is completely based on homegrown processors.
List of TOP5 Supercomputers
|
Rank |
System |
Country |
Speed (PFLOP/S) |
|
1 |
Sunway TaihuLight |
China |
93 |
|
2 |
Tianhe-2 |
China |
34 |
|
3 |
Titan |
The USA |
17 |
|
4 |
Sequoia |
The USA |
17 |
|
5 |
K |
Japan |
10 |
Supercomputers in India
|
Rank |
System |
Organisation |
Speed (PFLOP/S) |
|
109 |
SERC |
IISc, Bangalore |
0.90 |
|
185 |
TIFR-Cray XC30 |
ILGTI-TIFR |
0.55 |
|
217 |
HP Apollo 6000 |
IIT-Delhi |
0.52 |
|
337 |
PARAM Yuva-II |
C-DAC |
0.38 |
|
396 |
Cluster Platform |
IIT-Kanpur |
0.34 |
|
413 |
Cluster Platform |
CSIR-4PI |
0.33 |
|
434 |
Cluster Platform |
NCMRWF, Noida |
0.31 |
|
438 |
Cluster Platform |
IT Service provider |
0.31 |
HAL unveils indigenous basic trainer aircraft HTT-40
Public sector aerospace Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on 17 June 2016 unveiled indigenous Basic Trainer Aircraft (BTA) HTT-40 in Bengaluru.
The aircraft made its maiden flight at HAL Airport in Bengaluru and was flown by Group Captain C Subramaniam and Group Captain Venugopal for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Highlights of HTT-40
• Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) is two-seater aircraft designed and developed indigenously by the HAL.
• The aircraft weighs about 2800 kg and has Turbo Prop engine of 950 shp class.
• Almost 50 percent of the components on HTT-40 are manufactured by private players of the Indian aerospace manufacturers.
• The indigenous content on HTT-40 is close to 80 percent.
• HTT-40 will be used for the first-stage training for all flying cadets of the three services. The programme aims to achieve its operational clearance by 2018.
• Moreover, it will be used to meet the current requirement of the Indian Air Force with the provision for role expansion to attach weapons to the trainer aircraft.
Mori village in Andhra Pradesh chosen for development as smart village
Mori village in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh will be developed as a smart village of global standards. Towards this endeavor, the partners in the project on 19 June 2016 announced that prototype will be ready by mid-December 2016.
Under the project, the village will be developed as a self-contained sustainable business model.
Features of Mori smart village project
• Mori is a small cashew-exporting village in Andhra Pradesh’s East Godavari district.
• The project involves using digital tools, real time information and uninterrupted internet connectivity.
• Under the project, the village will be equipped with fibre optic connectivity. Around 1900 households will be connected with 15 Mbps link.
• In order to strengthen brand image, e-commerce will be introduced to local villagers.
• For developing sustainable business environment, organic farming for shrimp hatcheries will be encouraged. Besides, direct marketing facilities will be offered to cashew farmers.
• To provide 24*7 power supply, uninterrupted power supply (USP) will be put in place.
• The Innovation Society of the Andhra Pradesh Government, the University of California at Berkeley, and several leading technology organizations including Google, Cisco, IBM, Ericsson are involved in the project.
22 June
Andhra Postal circle releases stamps on Yoga booklet
To commemorate the 2nd International Day of Yoga, Andhra Pradesh Postal circle on 21 June 2016 released “Information booklet, Stamps on Yoga” and “12 stamps on Suryanamaskarams”.
The booklet contains illustrations and description of 24 yoga asana (postures). It also provides a brief description on the various Yoga postures depicted in the original Stamps.
The booklet contains four Commemorative stamps released in 1991 on various yoga postures-- Bhujangasana, Dhanurasana, Ushtrasana and Utthita Trikonasana.
The booklet and stamps were released to encourage customers and employees to take to yoga. He said the special stamps are limited edition collection which will interest philatelists.
ISRO launches record 20 satellites from Sriharikota
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on 22 June 2016 launched a record 20 satellites in a single mission from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
With this launch of 20 satellites, ISRO also managed to break its previous record of placing 10 satellites into orbit in a single mission in 2008.
The 20 satellites including India’s latest earth observation satellite Cartosat-2 was launched on-board Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV C-34. The other 19 satellites were from the US, Germany, Canada and Indonesia as well as two satellites from Sathyabama University, Chennai, and the College of Engineering, Pune.
Cartosat-2 Series Satellite
The Cartosat-2 series satellite is the primary satellite carried by PSLV-C34. This satellite is similar to the earlier Cartosat-2, 2A and 2B. After its injection into a 505 km polar Sun Synchronous Orbit by PSLV-C34, the satellite will be brought to operational configuration following which it will begin providing regular remote sensing services using Panchromatic and Multispectral cameras.The imagery sent by the satellite will be useful cartographic applications, urban and rural applications, coastal land use and regulation, utility management like road network monitoring, water distribution, creation of land use maps, precision study, change detection to bring out geographical and manmade features and various other Land Information System (LIS) and Geographical Information System (GIS) applications.
Other satellites included
• LAPAN A3 of Indonesia:The micro-satellite will be used for earth surveillance and magnetic field monitoring.
• BIROS from Germany:This is meant for remote sensing of high temperature events.
• SKYSAT GEN 2-1 from US: It will be used for earth imaging. The micro-satellite was developed by Google Company Terra Bella's SkySat Gen2-1.
• Dove Satellites from US:it comprises of a total of 12 Flock-2P Earth imaging satellites.
• Maritime Monitoring and Messaging Microsatellite (M3MSAT) from Canada: This micro-satellite of Canada will be used for collection and study of automatic identification system signals from low earth orbit.
• GHGSat-D from Canada: It is an Earth observation satellite and is meant for measuring the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases (Carbon Dioxide and Methane).
• Sathyabamasat (Sathyabama University, Chennai):The satellite aims to collect data on green house gases.
• Swayam (College of Engineering, Pune): The satellite aims to provide point to point messaging services to the HAM (amateur radio) community.
Cartosat-2 along with its 19 co-passenger satellites together weighing about 560 kg at lift-off was injected into a 505-km polar Sun Synchronous Orbit.
According to ISRO, the total weight of all the 20 satellites was about 1288 kg.
Noted Telangana poet and lyricist Guda Anjaiah dies
Noted Telangana poet and lyricist Guda Anjaiah died on 21 June 2016 at his house at Ragannagudem, Telangana following a brief illness. He was 61. He is survived by three daughters.
His songs both regaled and incensed supporters of statehood movement.
About Guda Anjaiah
• Anjanna was famous for his song Ooru manadi ra, ee vada manadi ra which was translated into multiple languages.
• He played a key role in Telangana movement, penning several songs that also found their way into films.
• His songs Rajiga ori Rajiga and Ayyoniva nuvvu avvoniva were played in Poru Telangana film based on Telangana movement during 2009-11.
• His novel Polimera described the dark days of 1975 Emergency.
• Anjaiah was born in Lingapuram village of Dandepalli mandal in Adilabad district in 1955.
A Life in Diplomacy authored by MK Rasgotra
A Life in Diplomacy: Maharajakrishna Rasgotra
The book titled A Life in Diplomacy was in news in the third week of June 2016. The book was written by former Indian diplomat Maharajakrishna Rasgotra.
It is an insider's account of the personalities and policies that shaped Indian diplomacy.
The book provides a ringside view of the beginnings of ethnic violence in Sri Lanka, the last years of the Cold War, the negotiations on the formation of SAARC, Indira Gandhi's assassination and the Bhopal gas disaster.
Who is Maharajakrishna Rasgotra?
• He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1949 and rose up to the rank of Foreign Secretary.
• In a long and distinguished career, he held several important posts in Indian diplomatic missions abroad and in the Ministry of External Affairs.
• For over three decades Rasgotra's assignments took him to Nepal, Britain and France, among other countries, as well as twice to the United States.
• He also worked as the Chairman of the National Security Advisory Board between 2005 and 2007.
• His other books include – America in the Asian Century, The New Asian Power Dynamic and Science and Technology in China: Implications and Lessons for India.
Nikesh Arora resigns as President and COO of SoftBank Group
Nikesh Arora on 21 June 2016 resigned as the Representative Director, President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of SoftBank Group (SBG), a Japanese company.
Simultaneously, he will also step down from the Chairmanship at Yahoo Japan, a company in which SoftBank has a 36.4 percent stake, as well as the Director of Sprint, an acquisition of SBG.
However, Arora will assume an Advisory Role effective 1 July 2016.
About Nikesh Arora
• Arora joined SoftBank Group from Google where he was the Chief Business Officer in September 2014.
• He took the position of Vice Chairman of SBG and CEO of SB Group US, Inc in September 2014.
• In June 2015, he assumed the position of Representative Director and Director of SBG.
• During his tenure, SoftBank invested in a set of growth-stage companies in India such as Snapdeal, Ola, Oyo, Grofers and Housing.com.
• Arora is one of the highest paid corporate executives who took home a pay packet of 135 million US dollars in 2014-15.
• Arora is an alumni of IIT-BHU, Varanasi and Northeastern University (MBA).
Reason behind Nikesh Arora's Resignation
His resignation came a day after Softbank announced that an independent committee has found that the investors’ allegations against Nikesh Arora were without merit. Following this, the CEO of SBG Masayoshi Son, who was expected to step down, announced that he will remain at the helm.
Satellites and Missions launched by ISRO in 2015-16
As usual the year 2015-16 had been a very busy year for Indian space organisation ISRO. But as said "hard work is always paid", the same goes for ISRO and its scientists working day and night to make India a self-reliant country in space science.
ISRO on 22 June 2016 launched a record 20 satellites in a single mission. With this launch of 20 satellites, ISRO managed to break its previous record of placing 10 satellites into orbit in a single mission in 2008.
ISRO's continuing success in launching satellites, both domestic and foreign, in past one year propelled us to provide a list of satellites/missions launched by ISRO in past one year.
List of Satellites/Mission launched by ISRO
|
Satellites/Mission Launched |
Key Features |
|
Reusable space shuttle RLV-TD (launched on 23 May 2016) |
|
|
Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) |
|
|
GIRI Radar System (established on 21 March 2016) |
|
|
High-thrust Cryogenic Engine CE-20 (Successfully tested on 19 February 2016) |
|
|
6 Singapore satellites (launched on 16 December 2015) |
|
|
GSAT-15 communication satellite (launched on 11 November 2015) |
|
|
ASTROSAT (launched on 28 September 2015) |
|
|
NISAR Mission |
|
|
GSAT-6 communication satellite (launched on 27 August 2015) |
|
|
GAGAN System (launched on 13 July 2015) |
|
|
Five British satellites (launched on 10 July 2015) |
|
Aadhaar to be linked with caste, domicile certificates
Union Government in June 2016 asked all state governments to link Aadhaar with caste and domicile certificates of school students.
Under first-of-its-kind initiative, the states have been asked to ensure that such certificates are issued within 60 days time to the students when they are studying either in Class V or VIII.
Why the direction was given?
To make sure that the scholarships will be granted on time to students belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes and without causing any harassment to SC/STs students. There have been complaints of delay in grant of scholarships and harassment.
Objective behind issuance of caste or tribe certificate
• To facilitate access of bona fide candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to the reserved posts and services under the State or Central governments.
• To secure admission in educational institutions and get other facilities.
School head or the principle will be responsible to collect the documents of the students. The issued certificate will be provided to students in cellophane cover, as far as practicable, through the school authorities. It would be kept with the students for safe custody for availing the benefits or concessions and facilities available to the category of students concerned.
Aadhaar
Aadhaar is a 12-digit number which acts as a proof of identity and address, anywhere in the country. It is issued by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to every resident of the country.
It was developed with an objective of collecting the biometric and demographic data of the residents of the country, which is stored in a central database.
It is considered the world's largest national identification number project.
The Maharashtra Cabinet on 21 June 2016 approved the minority status to Jew community. This decision will benefit the students from these communities to avail scholarships from the state government.
How will Minority Status Benefit Jew community?
• After getting the minority status, the Jews in the state will be entitled to use benefits of government schemes meant for minorities and can also apply in educational institutions under the minority status.
• The people of this community will now be able to easily get their marriage registrations done in Maharashtra.
• The Jewish people living in the state would now also be able to set up their own educational institutions and practice and promote their culture.
Background
According to 2001 Census, the number of Jews living in India was 4650 with 2466 of them living in Maharashtra. The Jews have been a part of the Indian society for over 2300 years now.
The Jews of Manipur and Mizoram identify themselves as Beni Menashe. There are also some in Andhra Pradesh who call themselves Bene Ephraim Jews.
India is one of the few countries in the world where Jews have never faced any harassment or persecution. At present, there are six notified minority communities in India - Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Parsis and Jains.
Maharashtra Cabinet approves Minority Status to Jew community
The Maharashtra Cabinet on 21 June 2016 approved the minority status to Jew community. This decision will benefit the students from these communities to avail scholarships from the state government.
How will Minority Status Benefit Jew community?
• After getting the minority status, the Jews in the state will be entitled to use benefits of government schemes meant for minorities and can also apply in educational institutions under the minority status.
• The people of this community will now be able to easily get their marriage registrations done in Maharashtra.
• The Jewish people living in the state would now also be able to set up their own educational institutions and practice and promote their culture.
Background
According to 2001 Census, the number of Jews living in India was 4650 with 2466 of them living in Maharashtra. The Jews have been a part of the Indian society for over 2300 years now.
The Jews of Manipur and Mizoram identify themselves as Beni Menashe. There are also some in Andhra Pradesh who call themselves Bene Ephraim Jews.
India is one of the few countries in the world where Jews have never faced any harassment or persecution. At present, there are six notified minority communities in India - Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Parsis and Jains.
Six Indian WW1 warriors gets place in Digital Archive of United Kingdom
Six Indian World War I (WW-I) heroes on 20 June 2016 became part of Britain’s new digital archive. The archive was launched as part of UK government’s centenary celebrations of WW-I and aims to tell the inspiring stories of war heroes.
The new Digital Archive was launched by Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to chronicle individual biographies of the war heroes. The new digital archive can be accessed through the UK government’s official gov.uk portal.
The Indians to be archived digitally for their important role during the War are:
• Risaldar Badlu Singh from Punjab
• Sepoy Chatta Singh from Uttar Pradesh
• Naik Darwan Singh Negi from Uttar Pradesh (modern day Uttarakhand)
• Lance Naik Lala from Himachal Pradesh
• Rifleman Gabar Sing Negi from modern day Uttarakhand
• Lance-Daffadar Gobind Singh from Rajasthan
These six Indian soldiers were part of some 175 men from 11 overseas countries who were awarded Britain’s award for valour, the Victoria Cross (VC), during the war. They were all awarded for their prominent bravery on the battlefield.
Earlier in 2014, these six soldiers were honoured in a commemorative plaque which was presented to India.
Besides India, the other 10 countries covered in the archive include Canada (70), Australia – (66), New Zealand (16), South Africa (14), the US (5), Pakistan (3), Nepal (2), Denmark (2), Belgium (1) and Ukraine (1).
Background
August 2014 marked 100 years of First World War, the time when Britain entered into the war. The ongoing commemoration programme was announced in October 2012 by Prime Minister David Cameron.
UNCTAD released World Investment Report 2016
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on 21 June 2016 released a report entitled World Investment Report 2016 – Investor Nationality: Policy Challenges.
The report examines international production by multinational enterprises (including sales, exports, employment and value added), as well as their ownership structures and control of affiliates.
In a novel analysis, the report focuses on how policymakers can distinguish between "domestic" and "foreign" companies in a globalized economy and provides with a new framework for handling ownership issues in 21st century investment policymaking.
While the USA surpassed Hong Kong and China in terms of FDI inflows in 2015 with 380 billion US dollars, India continues to be at the 10th position with 44 billion US dollars.
Highlights of World Investment Report 2016
• FDI inflows:Top 10 countries in terms of FDI inflows in decreasing order - The USA, China, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands, Switzerland, Singapore, Brazil, Canada and India.
• Ireland and Switzerland registered considerable progress in 2015. While Ireland attracted additional 71 billion US dollars in 2015 compared to 2014, in the case of Switzerland it was 62 billion US dollars
• Global investment trends: The flows jumped by 38 per cent to 1.76 trillion US dollars, their highest level since the global economic and financial crisis of 2008–2009.
• Inward FDI flows to developed economies almost doubled to 962 billion US dollars. As a result, developed economies tipped the balance back in their favour with 55 per cent of global FDI, up from 41 per cent in 2014.
• FDI flows are expected to decline by 10-15 per cent in 2016, reflecting the fragility of the global economy and persistent weakness of aggregate demand, sluggish growth in some commodity exporting countries.
• Regional investment trends: Developing Asia saw FDI inflows increase by 16 per cent to 541 billion US dollars – a new record. The significant growth was driven by the strong performance of East and South Asian economies.
Investor Nationality-Policy Challenges
• More than 40 per cent of foreign affiliates worldwide have multiple “passports”. These affiliates are part of complex ownership chains with multiple cross-border links involving on average three jurisdictions.
• “Multiple passport affiliates” are the result of indirect foreign ownership, transit investment through third countries, and round-tripping.
• These types of affiliates are much more common in the largest Multi National Enterprises (MNEs). 60 per cent of their foreign affiliates have multiple cross-border ownership links to the parent company.
• The larger the MNEs, the greater is the complexity of their internal ownership structures. The top 100 MNEs in UNCTAD’s Transnationality Index have on average more than 500 affiliates each, across more than 50 countries.
• The blurring of investor nationality has made the application of rules and regulations on foreign ownership more challenging.
• Policymakers in some countries have developed a range of mechanisms to safeguard the effectiveness of foreign ownership rules, including anti-dummy laws, general anti-abuse rules to prevent foreign control, and disclosure requirements.
• The report advised the policy makers to find a balance between liberalization and regulation in pursuing the ultimate objective of promoting investment for sustainable development.
Report with respect to India
• Globally, India was at the top tenth position in terms of FDI inflows in 2015. Compared to 35 billion US dollars in 2014, it received 44 billion US dollars of investments in 2015.
• India’s and Bangladesh’s FDI performance pushed inflows to South Asia to 50 billion US dollars, an increase of 22 per cent from 2014.
• India became the fourth largest recipient of investment in developing Asia.
• Outward FDI from India, South Asia’s dominant investor, dropped by more than one third which resulted in an overall 36 per cent decline of outflows from the region to 8 billion US dollars in 2015.
Kuumbi Cave: Bone artefacts used by Early Humans discovered in the Cave
Kuumbi Cave: Group of caves that underlie a flight of marine terraces in eastern Zanzibar (Indian Ocean)
The research, published in the journalAzania: Archaeological Research in Africain May 2016, highlighted that the bone tools were used for hunting, and even as poison arrow tips in eastern Africa over 13000 years ago.
These bone artefacts were discovered in the Kuumbi Cave in Zanzibar.
About Kuumbi Cave
• Kuumbi Cave is one of a group of caves that underlie a flight of marine terraces in Pleistocene limestone in eastern Zanzibar.
• These caves are archaeological sites that include bones, stone tools, ceramics and many other cultural materials.
• The caves are extensively decorated with lime stone formations.
• The animal life of the cave includes a large population of bats, fresh water birds and tropical birds.
• These caves were used by slave traders as hiding places after the trade was made illegal.
• These caves are still used today for religious purposes but also for water supply to the village.
K2-33b, a newborn Exoplanet around a young star, discovered by NASA
NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope and its extended K2 mission allowed astronomers to discover the youngest fully formed exoplanet, K2-33b. The WM Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea, Hawaii also helped in discovery of this new found planet. Exoplanets are planets that orbit stars beyond our sun.
The finding was published online on 20 June 2016 in journal Nature.
Characteristic features of K2-33b
• The planet K2-33b is nearly 10 times closer to its star than Mercury is to our sun, making it hot.
• K2-33b is a bit larger than Neptune and whips tightly around its star every five days.
• It is only 5 to 10 million years old, making it one of a very few newborn planets found to date.
Two theories surrounding the discovery of K2-33b
The discovery of exoplanet K2-33b so close to its star has given the theorists new data point to ponder. They argue that the closeness of K2-33b could be explained either through the ‘theory of disk migration or the ‘theory of in-situ formation’.
As per the former theory, the exoplanet might have migrated so close in a process called disk migration that takes hundreds of thousands of years. On the other hand, later theory puts that planet might have formed in-situ – right where it is.
How it was found?
• The first signals of the planet's existence were measured by K2.
• The telescope's camera detected a periodic dimming of the light emitted by the planet's host star, a sign that an orbiting planet could be regularly passing in front of the star and blocking the light.
• Data from the Keck Observatory validated that the dimming was indeed caused by a planet, and also helped confirm its youthful age.
• Infrared measurements from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope showed that the system's star is surrounded by a thin disk of planetary debris, indicating that its planet-formation phase is wrapping up.
Astronomers have discovered and confirmed roughly 3000 exoplanets since the discovery of first massive exoplant 20 years ago. However, nearly all of them are hosted by middle-aged stars, with ages of a billion years or more.
World Bank releases India Development Update 2016
The World Bank Group on 20 June 2016 released the mid-year edition of India Development Update 2016: Financing Double-Digit Growth. The report finds that India’s economy expanded at a faster pace in FY 2016.
It says that the economy was lifted to a higher growth path by demand from urban households and public investments, despite the fact that other key growth engines had stalled.
Highlights of the Update
• It reviews the current challenges in India’s financial sector and analyzes some of the impacts of the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission on Indian states.
• Agriculture, rural household consumption, private investments, and exports have not performed to potential.
• The oil bonanza most directly benefited the government, which for the first time in five years exceeded its revenue collection targets and used the resources to contain the fiscal deficit.
• Capital spending by the central government was ramped up.
• Urban households were the main drivers of growth in FY 2016.
• The manufacturing and services sectors, which expanded 7.4 and 8.9 percent, respectively, also created urban jobs.
• Inflation abated primarily because of lower food prices.
• Lower inflation raised real incomes and allowed RBI to cut interest rates, which favored the financially-connected urban households.
• To remain on this growth path and sustain growth at 7.6 percent into FY17, the challenge for the Indian economy is to activate the stalled engines that are agricultural growth, rural demand and trade.
• The dissipation of the large boost from historically low oil prices in the past year will make this a challenging task, but prospects of a normal monsoon will help, the Update suggests.
• It expects India’s economic growth to be at 7.6 percent in 2016-2017, followed by a modest acceleration to 7.7 percent in 2017-2018 and 7.8 percent in 2018-2019.
• In less than three decades, India’s financial sector has evolved from an essentially state-controlled system toward one with greater participation of private banks and generally more competition.
• Banks currently have capital levels in excess of regulatory requirements, regulations have been strengthened, and overall credit growth in real terms has been resilient.
• On the other hand, concerns have arisen about growing non-performing assets (NPAs) and declining credit growth, particularly in public sector banks (PSBs).
• States are now responsible for 57 percent of the spending, which accounts for 16 percent of GDP. Of this, nearly 74 percent of the funds are untied, allowing more flexibility to states.
• Tax devolution increased everywhere, even for states that saw a reduction in their inter-state share, such as Bihar and Rajasthan.
• Overall, transfer of grants to states increased by 0.7 percent of GDP in FY16 compared to the budget estimate of a net increase of 0.5 percent.
• Health and education expenditures increased in almost every state in FY16.
• Combined health and education expenditures increased in 13 of the 14 states for which data was available.
• Uttar Pradesh spent over one-third of its additional resources on health and education. Rajasthan and Kerala stood out by spending the equivalent of over 70 percent of additional resources on health, education and infrastructure.
Two Key Reform Fronts for the Financial Sector
The Update suggests two key reform fronts for the financial sector. These are:
• First, accelerate the ongoing structural transformation of the sector toward one that is more market-oriented and competitive, for example relaxing government mandates on banks.
• Second, address the NPA challenge, both by its branches and its roots.
Union Cabinet approved establishment of Fund of Funds for Startups
The Union Cabinet on 22 June 2016 approved the establishment of Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS). The establishment of the fund is in tune with the Start up India Action Plan that was unveiled in January 2016 to boost start up ecosystem in the country.
Features of Fund of Funds for Startups
• Beneficiaries: It will be utilised for contribution to various Alternative Investment Funds (AIF), registered with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) which would extend funding support to Startups.
• Resource allocation: It has a corpus of 10000 crore rupees which shall be built up over the 14th (2015-20) and 15th Finance Commission (2020-25) cycles subject to progress of the scheme and availability of funds.
• An amount of 500 crore rupees has already been provided to the corpus of FFS in 2015-16 and 600 crore earmarked in the 2016-17.
• Further provisions will be made as grant assistance through Gross Budgetary Support by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
• The 10000 crore rupees corpus could potentially be the nucleus for catalyzing 60000 crore rupees of equity investment and twice as much debt investment.
• This would provide a stable and predictable source of funding for Startup enterprises and thereby facilitate large scale job creation.
• Employment:On full deployment, the Fund is expected to generate employment for 18 lakh persons on full deployment.
• Execution: The expertise of the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) would be utilized to manage the day to day operations of the FFS.
• Monitoring:The DIPP will monitor and review performance of the fund in line with the Start up India Action Plan.
• The monitoring and review of performance would be linked to the implementation of the Start Up Action Plan to enable execution as per timelines and milestones.
Why the Fund of Funds for Startups was established?
• For India, accelerating innovation driven entrepreneurship and business creation through Start-ups is crucial for large-scale employment generation.
• The NITI Aayog-appointed Tarun Khanna Committee on Innovation and Entrepreneurshipopined that India has the potential to build about 2500 highly scalable businesses in the next 10 years.
• Given the probability of entrepreneurial success that means 10000 Start ups will need to be spawned to get 2500 large scale businesses.
• However, start-ups face several challenges - limited availability of domestic risk capital, constraints of conventional bank finance, information asymmetry and lack of hand holding support from credible agencies.
• A large majority of the successful Start-ups have been funded by foreign venture funds and many of them are locating outside the country to receive such funding.
• A dedicated fund for carrying out Fund of Funds operations would address these issues and enable flow of assistance to innovative Start ups through their journey to become full fledged business entities.
• This would encompass support at seed stage, early stage and growth stage.
• Government contribution to the target corpus of the individual Fund as an investor would encourage greater participation of private capital and thus help leverage mobilization of larger resources.
Special package for employment generation and promotion of exports in Textile and Apparel sector approved
The Union Cabinet on 22 June 2016 approved a Special Package for employment generation and promotion of exports in Textile and Apparel sector.
The package includes a slew of measures which are labour friendly and would promote employment generation, economies of scale and boost exports.
The following are the expected benefits to the textile and apparel sector in 3 years–
• Cumulative increase of 30 billion US dollars in exports
• Investment of 74000 crore rupees
• Creation of 1 crore jobs
Salient features of the package
•Employee Provident Fund Scheme Reforms:The Union Government shall bear the entire 12 percent of the employers’ contribution of the EPF Scheme for new employees of garment industry for first 3 years who are earning less than 15000 rupees per month.
• At present, 8.33 percent of employer’s contribution is already being provided by the Government under Pradhan Mantri Rozgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY).
• Ministry of Textiles shall provide additional 3.67 percent of the employer’s contribution amounting to 1170 crore rupees over next 3 years.
• EPF shall be made optional for employees earning less than 15000 rupees per month so that workers will be left with more money in hands.
• Increasing overtime caps: Overtime hours for workers will not be exceeded 8 hours per week in line with International Labour Organisation (ILO) norms. This measure will lead to increased earnings for the workers
• Introduction of fixed term employment: Since the industry of seasonal nature, fixed term employment shall be introduced for the garment sector. A fixed term workman will be considered at par with permanent workman in terms of working hours, wages, allowanced and other statutory dues.
• Additional incentives under ATUFS: The package breaks new ground in moving from input to outcome based incentives by increasing subsidy under Amended-Technology Up gradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) from 15 percent to 25 percent for the garment sector as a boost to employment generation.
• A unique feature of the scheme will be to disburse the subsidy only after the expected jobs are created.
• Enhancing scope of Section 80JJAA of Income Tax Act, 1961: Looking at the seasonal nature of garment industry, the provision of 240 days under Section 80JJAA of Income Tax Act would be relaxed to 150 days for garment industry.
Importance of the Textile and Apparel sector
• Indian textiles industry contributes about 14 percent to the industrial production, 4 per cent to the gross domestic production (GDP) and 11 percent to the country’s export earnings.
• The textile sector is the second largest provider of employment after agriculture.
• The growth in this sector is of significance to achieve the objective of inclusive growth as nearly 70 percent employed are women.