Current Affairs from The Hindu DATE: 17-10-14
S.NO. / NEWS ITEM / SYLLUBUS / BACKGROUND / IMPORTANT POINTS1. / Gotabaya Rajapaksa to meet NSA in New Delhi / a) I.R / a) Indo – Lanka relations
b) National Security Adviser (NSA)
c) Maritime Security cooperation
d) Defence cooperation / a) Sri Lankas Defence Secretary will visit New Delhi early next week for high-level talks with Indias NSA.
b) The agenda for the meeting is unclear.
c) This is his first meeting with Indias NSA after the NDA formed the government.
d) He was in India in Nov 2013 and more recently in March 2014 to attend the NSA-level Trilateral Meeting on Maritime Security Cooperation among India, Sri Lanka and Maldives.
e) Last week, India and Sri Lanka decided to explore newer path of defence cooperation including exchange programmes for academics from defence academies in the two countries.
f) The announcement came following the second Annual Defence Dialogue between the Defence Secretaries of India and Sri Lanka held in Colombo.
2. / PM rolls out labour reforms / a) National / a) Ease of Doing Business index
b) Universal Account Number (UAN) Scheme
c) Deendayal Upadhyaya Shramev Jayate Karyakram / a) PM Modi revealed new measures for the youth, workers and employers to improve ease of doing business for enterprises while expanding govt support for training workers.
b) He said the Ease of business is the greatest requirement for Indias success. It will be a priority under Make in India.
c) He also launched the Universal Account Number scheme (UAN) for all Provident Fund contributors which will allow portability and online tracking of PF benefits.
d) Launching the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Shramev Jayate Karyakram, He said the aim of the programme was to highlight the dignity of labour especially that performed by blue-collar workers, referring to them as shram yogi.
3. / New team to steer economy / a) National
b) Economy / a) GDP
b) Goods and Services Tax (GST)
c) Subsidy reforms
d) Fiscal policy
e) Fiscal deficit / a) With the appointment of new Chief Economic Adviser, the Modi govt has brought in a new team to steer the economy.
b) The new CEA has in the past argued for quicker subsidy reforms, fast introduction of GST and faster deficit reduction than the temporal target set by the govt.
c) The medium term fiscal policy expects a progressive reduction of the deficit to 3 percent of the GDP by 2016-17.
d) He said for any economy like India, the two big things are macro economic stability and creating conditions for rapid investment and growth.
4. / ISRO notches another success with PSLV-C26 / a) S&T / a) PSLV-C26
b) PSLV-D2
c) Indian Remote-sensing Satellite
d) Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS-1C) / a) On Oct 15 1994, Indias PSLV-D2 for the first time successfully placed an Indian Remote-sensing Satellite into orbit.
b) Now on Oct 16 2014, the PSLV-C26 thrower the 1425 kg IRNSS-1C satellite into its specific orbit.
c) This mission was ISROs 27th consecutively successful PSLV flight.
d) After a flight of 20 minutes and 18 seconds, the satellite was injected into an elliptical orbit.
e) The IRNSS-1C is the third among seven navigation satellites with a wide range of applications from helping truck drivers to submarines, missiles and battle tanks locate their positions.
5. / GSLV-Mark III launch in 45 days, says ISRO chief / a) S&T / a) Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)
b) GSLV Mark III
c) INSAT-4
d) Geo Transfer Orbit (GTO)
e) Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
f) Polar and intermediate circular orbits / a) ISRO would launch its most progressive suborbital (less than the usual orbit- test flight) GSLV Mark III.
b) It will be an unmanned crew module.
c) This will result Indias dream of sending its astronauts into space come true.
d) ISRO chief said the GSLV Mark III will be one of the heaviest indigenous launch vehicles.
e) The GSLV Mark III will help ISRO put heavier communication satellites of INSAT-4 class into orbit.
f) These satellites weigh anywhere between 4500-5000 kg.
g) The vehicle is 42.4 metre tall compared to the other GSLV which is 49 metre. It will be a three-stage vehicle.
h) The launch of GSLV Mark III will increase Indias capability to be a competitive player in the multimillion dollar commercial launch market.
i) The vehicle forecasts multi-mission launch capability for GTO, LEO, Polar and intermediate circular orbits.
6. / BrahMos missile to do near vertical dive in a year / a) S&T / a) BrahMos
b) Su-30 MKI
c) BrahMos-II
d) DRDO / a) The Indo-Russian BrahMos supersonic cruise missile is set to further expand its target engagement envelope by attaining a near vertical dive capability to shock the enemy hidden behind mountains.
b) Official said while radars do not have 360 degree coverage in the mountains, we would like to show the missile taking a turn in the horizontal axis and destroying the target around the hill.
c) He said a dummy BrahMos would be test-dropped from a modified Su-30 MKI fighter early next year. By March, the actual missile would be test-fired from the aircraft.
d) BrahMos-II (planned hypersonic version of the missile) was at a very initial stage of design due to the technological challenges involved in its development.
e) He said the DRDO and the BrahMos Aerospace had together invested some $50 million for the development.
7. / Indian scientist presented World Food Prize / a) Awards / a) World Food Prize
b) Global wheat production
c) Wheat crop regions in India
d) Green Revolution / a) Sanjaya Rajaram (an eminent Indian scientist) has been awarded the World Food Prize in recognition of his important contributions to global wheat production.
b) He has developed some 480 wheat varieties that have been released in 51 countries across six continents and an estimated 58 million hectares.
c) His wheat improvement research has helped secure a 1.3 percent rise in global wheat production per annum in the last four decades.
d) The World Food Prize is the foremost international award recognising individuals whose achievements have advanced human development by increasing the quality, quantity or availability of food.
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