TNPSC (APRIL - 2017) -CURRENT AFFAIRS

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IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR UPSC PRELIMINARY EXAM ( AUGUST-PART -3)

OPERATION MUSKANN II:

·         It is a campaign to trace and rescue missing children. It was launched by the union ministry of home affairs.

·         Thousands of childrens have been rescued so far.

ANDHRA PRADESH BECOMES FIRST STATE TO LAUNCH DNA PROFILING OF CRIMINALS:

·         Andhra Pradesh became first state in the country to launch DNA Index system for DNA profiling of criminals.

DNA Profiling Technology:

·         DNA finger printing or DNA profiling is method of isolating and identifying variable elements within the tax - pair sequence of DNA.

·         It is utilised by police all over the world for foot proof identification of criminals who leave their traces at the crime scene while committing crime.

SAARC STAT:

·         Eight meeting of heads of SAARC statistical organisation (SAARC STAT) was recently inaugurated in Delhi.

·         India is hosting the three day meeting on “Trade statistics –Merchandise & Services.

·         It is being attended by delegates from SAARC member states and other international organisations including FAO, PARIS 21 and ADB.

BCIM:

·         Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar Economic corridor is an intiative conceptualised for significant gains through sub-regional economic cooperation within BCIM.

·         The multi modal corridor will be the first expressway between India and China and will pass through Myanmar and Bangladesh.

·         Project will link Kolkata with Kunming the capital of China’s Yunnan province, parring through Myanmar and Bangladesh with Mandalay and Dhaka among the focal points.

·         BCIM will be access to numerous markets in south cast Asia, Improvement of transportation infrastructure and creation of industrial zones.

·         News: Recently Aung San Suu Kyi (Myanmar State Counsellor) visit to China, announced Myanmar support to China backed Silk Road intiative and BCIM economic corridor.

MADHUKAR GUPTA COMMITTEE ON INDIA – PAKISTAN BORDER SUBMITS REPORT:

·         National Security Council headed by Former Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta recently presented report on India – Pakistan border to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

·         This committee is to strengthen border protection and address the issue of gaps and vulnerability in border facing along the India – Pakistan border.

MEGA FOOD PARK SCHEME:

·         It aims at providing a mechanism to link agricultural production to the market by bringing together farmers, processor and retailers and it will maximise value addition,minimise wastages, increases farmer’s income and create employment opportunities particularly in rural sector.

·         Aim of Scheme: it provides modern infrastructure facilities along the value chain from farm gate to the market with strong backward and forward linkages.

·         News: Recently Government planned to set up 100 new cold chain projects. It has also stated the process to invite investors to set up six new mega food parks.

·         This will boost farm sector incomes by establishing farm to fork linkages and more than $ 1 billion FDI has come into sector in past two year, including some very big multinational firms such as kellogg’s, McCain foods and Mass International.

·         Food passes will increase the level of processing of agricultural and horticultural produce with particular focus on perishables, in the country and there by to check the wastage.

DEEN DAYAL ANTYODAYA YOJANA – NRLM:

·         Aajeevika – NRLM was launched by the ministry of Rural Development (MORD) in June 2011.

·         It is part of investment by World Bank, the Mission aims at creating efficient & effective institutional platforms of the rural poor, enabling them to increase household income through sustainable livelihood enhancements and introduced access to financial services.

·         Under the scheme, the poor would be facilitated to achieve increased access to rights, entitlements and public services, diversified risk and better social indicators of empowerment.

·         As per RBI notification banks will lend women SHGs in rural areas at 7% in 250 districts further SHGs will also provide an additional 3% subvention on the prompt repayment of loans.

CHINA LAUNCHES WORLD’S FIRST QUANTUM COMMUNICATION SATELLITE:

·         It is called as Quantum Experiment at space Scaler (QUESS) satellite and it could be the future of wireless communication & set new standards in Internet Security.

·         QUESS satellite is nicknamed as MICIUS after the ancient Chinese Scientist & Philosopher it will try to communicate with earth using the principle of Quantum entanglement.

·         And this satellite will help China to establish hack proof communications system by transmitting uncrackable keys from space to the ground.

NATIONAL GREEN HIGHWAY MISSION:

·         NGHM is launched under Green Highways Policy, 2015 to provide a holilstic vision of developing ecofriendly and Green National Highways.

·         It aims to provide green canopy along highways and creates job to youth.

·         Government has made it mandatory to set aside 1% of the total project cost of any national highways contract to a Green fund for plantation.

NAMAMI GANGA PROGRAMME:

·         Namami Ganga is an ambitious integrated Ganga conservation Mission that was launched by PM Modi in 2015. The programme integrates the efforts to clean and protect the Ganga river in a comprehensive manner.

·         News: Recently IIT Kanpur adopted five Villages in Uttarpradesh under Nammai Ganga Programme.

BRO LAUNCHES AMBITIONS TREE PLANTATION DRIVE:

·         Border Roads Organisation (BRO) under Ministry of Defence, has launched a massive tree plantation drive in the Northern & Eastern states in India. The main aim is to project the ecology and increase the green cover along the border areas of the country.

·         Bro develops and maintains road networks in India’s border areas and friendly neighbouring countries.

·         Currently the organisation maintains operation in 21 states. One UT (Andaman and Nicobar Islands) and neighbouring countries such as Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar and Srilanka.

PROJECT ALLOY:

·         It is virtual reality headset unveiled by intel recently. The head mounted display consist of a set of goggles that contain computing power needed to run the headset.

·         Headset is completely stand alone device, with no need to hook up to a computer or external sensors, so wearers can move around and explore virtual environment with total freedom.

·         It uses the Real sense technology to enable people to use their hands to interact with elements of the virtual world without using cables to connect computer.

UDAIPUR DECLARATION:

·         It was adopted during the two-day meeting of Ministers of Disaster Management of BRICS countries in Udaipur.

·         It has been decided to set up a dedicated joint task force for Disaster Risk management for regular Dialogue, exchange, mutual support and collaboration among BRICS countries.

SOUTH INDIA’S FIRST CHILDREN’S COURT IN HYDERABAD:

·         After Delhi & Goa, Telangana has become third state to have child friendly court and sixth in the country with features like separate waiting rooms for children and a video camera trial for the accused, mandated under protection of children from serval officers (POSCO) Act 2012.

UJALA SCHEME – GUJARAT BECOME THE FIRST STATE TO DISTRIBUTE LED BULBS UNDER UJALA:

·         The main objective of the scheme is to promote efficient lighting, enhance awareness on using efficient equipment which reduce electricity bills and help preserve environment.

·         Scheme is implemented by energy efficiency services Ltd, a joint venture of PSUs under the union Ministry of power.

·         Scheme will not only help reduce consumers their electricity bills but also contribute to energy security of India.

·         Scheme is being monitored in a transparent manner through national dash board.

·         Distribution of LED bulbs will happen through Discom offices, Discom bill connections centres, designated EESL KIOSKS, weekly haat markets etc.

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IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR UPSC PRELIMINARY EXAM ( AUGUST-PART -2)

AKASHVANI MAITREE INAUGRATED BY PRESIDENT PRANAB MUKHERJEE:

·         The channel is a unique venture of All India Radio and is aimed at strengthening ties between the two neighbours, India and Bangladesh.

·         Channel's uniqueness lies in sharing of content between Bangladesh Betar & Akashvani Maitree.

·         Duration of the channel will be 16 Hrs per day.

SCRAMJET ENGINE:

·         India is the fourth country to demonstrate the flight testing of Supersonic Combustion Ramjet Engine(SCRAMJET).

·         Scramet engine designed by ISRO uses Hydrogen as fuel and Oxygen from the atmospheric air as the oxidizer.

·         Scramjet engines will help bringing down launch cost by reducing the amount of oxidiser to be carried along with the fuel.

CYBATHLON:

·         The Cybathlon is an international competition organised by ETH Zurich for disabled competitors allowed to use bionic assistive technology.

·         Other international competitions for disabled athletes, such as the Paralympics, only permit competitors to use unpowered assistive technology.

·         The Cybathlon encourages the use of performance-enhancing technology such as powered exoskeletons and is dubbed as Bionic Olympics.

·         The Cybathlon will feature six disciplines – a Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) bicycle race, a Powered Leg Prosthesis Race, a Powered Wheelchair Race, a Powered Exoskeleton Race, a Powered Arm Prosthesis Race, and a computerised race for competitors with paralysis using brain-computer interfaces.

INDIGENOUS LEPROSY VACCINE:

·         A vaccine, called Mycobacterium indicus pranii (MIP), developed by the National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi will be launched on a trial basis.

·         Leprosy, the disease, caused by the bacteria, Mycobacterium leprae , affects around 1.25 lakh people every year in India.

·         MIP can bring down leprosy cases by 60 percent in three years.

CASPOL:

·         CASPOL, is a water-based ready-to-coat and easy-to-use flame-proof coating, developed by ISRO(vikram sarabhai space centre).

·         It contains no toxic material, is eco friendly, keeps buildings around 5-6ºc cooler in summers and is even water seepage resistant.

·         It has excellent flame retardant, water proofing, and thermal-control properties.

·         It can be applied on walls, clothes, paper, thatched roofs, and wood.

·         It has multiple applications ranging from use in launch vehicles, household, autombiles and public transport.

EINSTEIN RING:

·         An Einstein ring is a distorted image of a very distant galaxy, which is termed “the source”.

·         In observational astronomy an Einstein ring, also known as an Einstein-Chwolson ring or Chwolson ring.

·         The distortion is produced by the bending of the light rays from the source due to a massive galaxy, termed “the lens”, lying between it and the observer.

·         The strong gravitational field produced by the lens galaxy distorts the structure of space-time in its neighbourhood, and this does not only attract objects which have a mass, but also bends the paths of light.

·         These phenomena, predicted by Einstein’s theory of General Relativity, are quite rare but scientifically interesting.

SUNWAY TAIHULIGHT:

·         A Chinese supercomputer named Sunway Taihu Light built using domestic chip technology has been declared the world’s fastest supercomputer.

·         The new number one is capable of performing some 93 quadrillion calculations per second or petaflops.

·         Previous record holder ,Tianhe-2 is also from china but was made from Intel processor chips.

PACESetter Fund:

·         India and the United States of America recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation to Establish the PACESetter Fund.

About the PACESetter Fund:

·         The fund will be set up with a corpus of about Rs.500 Million on 50:50 sharing basis.

·         This fund is the principal funding arm of the Promoting Energy Access through Clean Energy (PEACE), an initiative of the US and Indian governments to harness commercial enterprise and bring clean energy access to unserved and underserved individuals and communities.

·         The PACEsetter Fund will provide grants to companies that sell small-scale clean energy systems to individuals and communities without access to grid-connected power or with limited or intermittent access to power.

RBI LAUNCHES PORTAL TO CURB ILLEGAL MONEY:

·         RBI has launched a website (Sachet-rbi-Org) to curb illegal and unauthorised pooling of funds by unscrupulous firms.

·         Provides information regarding particular entity whether it is registered with any regulator/permitted to accept deposits.

·         Enhances coordination among regulators and state government agencies to curb unauthorised acceptance of deposits by unscrupulous entities.

·         Incorporates regulations prescribed by all financed regulators that different entities have to follow.

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FINANCIAL ACTION TASK FORCE:

·         It is an inter-governmental policy making body with ministerial mandate to establish international standards for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

·         It comprises 36 countries including India.

·         FATF secretariat is housed at the headquarters of the OECD in the Paris.

·         It was expanded to act against terrorism financing on 2001.

·         Objectives: It will promote legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering and terrorist financing and other related threats.

·         News: Recently India approached US and European Countries part of the financial action task force to crack terror fund trial details from Pakistan.

SCAT-SAT-1 TO HELP IN PREDICTING CYCLONES:

·         India is set to acquire the capability for more accurate prediction and tracking of cyclones with the launch of scat - sat - 1 satellite.

Salient features:

·         Indigenously developed weather fore casting satellite to monitor sea winds and help predict the genesis of cyclones.

·         The primary payload of Scatsat-1 is a scatter meter - to observe speed and direction of Ocean winds that indicates formation and strengthening of cyclones.

·         Scat Sat - 1 will replace Ocean Sat-2 and data will be used by NASA, European Organisation for the exploration of meteorological satellites, and National Oceanic and atmospheric administration.

INDIA’S ECOLOGICAL FOOT PRINT:

Ecological foot print:

·         The measure of impact humans have on the environment.

·         A country’s ecological foot is sum of all cropland, grazing land, forest and fishing grounds required to produce the food, fibre and timber it consumes, to absorb the wastes emitted when it uses energy and to provide space for infrastructure.

·India ranked 3rd in its ecological foot print due to its high population levels despite a law per capita consumption of natural resources.

·         Top 2 : China and USA.

UNION GOVERNMENT CONSTITUTES DISHA FOR TIMELY IMPLEMENTATION OF CENTRAL SCHEMES:

·         Union Government has constituted the District Development coordination and monitoring committee (DDMC) for effective development of and coordination of Central Government Programmes. It will be known as DISHA.

·         It will monitor implementation of 28 schemes and programmes of union Ministry of Rural.

·         Development and other Ministries to promote synergy and convergence for greater Impact.

Key Facts

·         The main purpose of DISHA is to coordinate centre and State and local Panchayat Governments.

·         It resulted in effective coordination and development of Central Government’s programme for infrastructure development / social and human resource development.

·         The chairperson of the committee will be senior most Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) elected from district, nominated by the Union Ministry of Rural development.

·         It will ensure the participation of people’s representative at all levels and successful implementation of flagship programme of Central Government.

MISSION BHAGIRATHA IN TELANGANA:

·         Mission Bhagiratha is a water grid project that aims to provide safe drinking water to all even to remotest place in Telangana.

·         Under this project it provides drinking water to 2500 rural habitations & 67 urban habitations.

·         Apart from providing a sustainable and permanent solution for drinking water it also aims to rejuvenate more than 45000 water tanks.

YAAD KARO KURBANI:

·         It is a 15 day programme aimed to commemorate 75th anniversary of the Quit India movement (QIM) and 70 years of Independence.

·         It was recently launched by Prime Minister Modi at birth place of freedom fighter Chandra Shekhar Azad at Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh.

·         The campaign aimed at developing a feeling in every person that nation is first and individual is secondary.

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