Current Affairs Today – April 6 2016

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INDIAN AFFAIRS

3 mega projects started off in Nagaland

Union Minister of State for Ministry of Textiles and also minister of state for Parliamentary affairs, water resources, River Development and Ganga rejuvenation, Shri Santosh Gangwarinitiated three mega textile projects in Nagaland as a part of North East Textile Promotion Scheme (NERTPS).

The projects include:

• Eri Silk Development Project
• Apparel and Garment Making Centre in Dimapur
• Muga P3 Basic Seed Station Kobulong in Mokokchung district

Odisha Adarsh Vidyalaya (OAV) project instigated by Odisha

In a bid to provide modern schools in the underdeveloped rural areas and to fill up vacant teacher posts, Odisha Adarsh Vidyalaya (OAV) project has been initiated covering 14 districts of the state.

• In this regard, 100 Adarsha Vidyalayas has been launched by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik during an event held in the Ambagaon village of Ganjam district, Odisha.
• These schools will be administered by the Odisha Adarsh Vidyalaya Sangathan of the state.

Anandiben Patel launches ‘Maa Annapurna Yojna’

Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel launched the state-wide implementation of Centre’s National Food Security Act, which has been renamed as Maa Annapurna Yojna by the state government.

• Under the scheme, a beneficiary holding the Annapurna card will receive wheat at Rs 2 per kilo and rice at Rs 3 per kilo. Currently, Above Poverty Line (APL) card holding families are entitled to a monthly stock of 2.5 kg wheat per member of the family at Rs 7.70 per kg.
• Though the implementation of the Act started in Gujarat from April 1, it was officially launched by the CM on the foundation on 6^th April.

Permanent memorial to Kalam at DilliHaat in INA

AAP government has decided to build a permanent memorial to APJ Abdul Kalam at a famous market here where belongings of the former President including his books and musical instruments would be on display.

• Kalams possessions from his residence will be brought at 10, Rajaji Marg in the national Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu by the Centre, after his demise.
• They will be kept inside the Delhi Assembly till July 27 and thereafter, they will be permanently placed at DilliHaat.
• The Delhi government will also have a permanent exhibition on Kalam at Delhi Haat.

Abdul Kalam:

• Kalam was elected as the 11th President of India in 2002.
• He received honorary doctorates from 40 universities.

Mumbai gets its first-ever AC local train

The first ever air-conditioned local train for Mumbai flagged off into the city, the blue-grey train rake with a stainless steel body has 12 coaches with a capacity to seat 5,964 passengers.

New Features in the Train:

• The rake will have 2 ACs of 15 tonnne per coach and electrically operated automatic sliding doors.
• The coaches are linked by vestibules in two parts of six each while the seats are similar to the previous Bombardier rake.
• The new train will consume 25% lesser energy as opposed to normal rakes.
• The train has been in the making since July 2014 in the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai, under an Rs 54-crore project.

Bihar Government imposes complete ban on alcohol

With the ban on country liquor Bihar would become the fourth state in India to impose a total prohibition of alcohol.

• After the ban on country liquor, the state government said it would continue selling IMFL at 655 liquor shops in towns and cities.

The Bihar Excise (Amendment) Act, 2016 – This act provisioned with various stringent provisions including awarding capital punishment for those who manufacture and sell illicit liquor that causes death.

Bihar:

• It is the Third largest State by population.
• Bihar has 40 lok Shaba and 16 Rajya Shaba seats.

Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy Launches Transnational Skill Standards in India

Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Ministry led by Rajiv Pratap Rudy launched Transnational Skill Standards in India.

• These initiatives will make boost for the Government Make in India and Skill India will be benchmarked to United Kingdom across 82 identified job roles and to align to skill standards.

Skill Development:

• The Multinational Standards will best bit the gaps in Indian Standards against the UK standards.
• To cover the gaps, those intending to migrate, will undergo bridge training. The Further Education Colleges (FE) of the United Kingdom will partner with Indian Training Providers to impart training on bridge courses.

Uma Bharti inaugurates Water Films Festival

Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Uma Bharti inaugurated Water Film Festival at Water Expo-2016 in New Delhi.

• It was organized by Water and Power Consultancy Services (WAPCOS) Limited, as part of the ongoing India Water Week 2016
• The Water Resources are the prime input to the growth and prosperity of a nation and Films can prove to be an effective tool of communication to spread the message of water conservation the minister said in the function.
• She also emphasized such films should be shown in every nook and corner of the country for the benefit of the masses.

India Water Week:

• The 4^th edition of India Water Week will be observed from 04 to 08 April, 2016.
• The theme for this year’s India Water week is “Water for all: Striving together”

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Stamps issued to mark Shakespeare’s 400th death anniversary

Britain’s Royal Mail has issued a set of special postage stamps to mark the 400th death anniversary of playwright William Shakespeare.

• Ten First Class stamps pay tribute to the genius of Shakespeare through his immortal words and poetry. They will be sold at 8,000 post offices across Britain.

About Shakespeare:

• Shakespeare who was born in 1564 to become an actor, poet and playwright as well as a businessman.
• He introduced around 1,700 words and phrases into the English language, including “assassination” and “all’s well that ends well”. He died on April 23, 1616.

BANKING & FINANCE

Government widens export funding to Iran to Rs 3,000 crore

Union Government has tripled the funding for exports to Iran to Rs 3,000 crore through the Export Development Fund (EDF) of the Exim Bank. The move likely to improve bilateral trade and strategic ties.

• The agreement between Exim Bank of India and a consortium of Iranian banks led by Central Bank of Iran for financing the purchase of goods and services from India to Rs 3,000 crore, from Rs 900
• This will facilitate an opportunity to Indian companies to penetrate andenhance their footprint in Iran.

Iran:

• Capital: Tehran
• Currency: Iranian rial
• The word Iran means the land of Aryans in Persian.
• Persia in olden times.

BUSINESS

Power Grid commissions record Rs 30,300-crore projects in FY16

Navratna Company  has commissioned a record Rs 30,300 crore projects in the last fiscal and also achieved a planned capex of Rs 22,500 crore.

• State run Electric power Transmission Company PowerGrid, runs under the Ministry of Power, commissioned transmission projects worth Rs 30,300 crore during 2015-16.
• This is the highest-ever commissioning achieved by the company in its history. The company also achieved the planned capex of Rs 22,500 crore.

ECoR becomes largest freight loading railway zone

Bhubaneswar based The East Coast Railway (ECoR) has become the largest freight loading railway zone of Indian Railways, the board with 49 milliontonnes of freight compared to 161.91 during the last year, registering a 7.1 per cent growth in 2015-16.

• ECoR earned about Rs 15,978.28 crore which is 14.13 per cent more than the previous financial year. It showed an increase of Rs 1961.27 crore in earning.
• In coal loading, the railway zone has carried 79.4 rakes per day from its jurisdiction against 72.7 rakes per day in previous financial year.
• The Railway carried 131.2 rakes loading per day from its jurisdiction against 122.4 rakes per day in 2014-15. These include coal, iron ore, cement, food grains, POL and other commodities.

East Coast Railway:

• The East Coast Railway is one of the sixteen railway zones of Indian Railways.
• Indian Railways earns about 70% of its revenues from freight traffic about Rs.686.2 billion from freight

EMC opens advanced R&D Centre in Pune

EMC Corporation has opened its second R&D centre in India at Pune. The company already has a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.

• The second CoE of EMC will improve their business by creating their digital future and modernize, automate and transform IT through cloud computing.
• The first CoE of EMC in Bengaluru was opened in 2003 to advance the company’s globalization goals, accelerate R&D efforts and expand services by leveraging India’s vast pool of highly skilled engineering talent.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

Iceland PM Sigmundur Davio Gunnlaugsson Resigns

The first major casualty of the Panama Papers revelations the Iceland’s Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson stepping down.It was announced by the ruling Progressive Party’s deputy leader Sigurdur Ingi Johansson, who holds the fisheries and agriculture portfolio

Impacts of Panama Papers in other countries

• China and Russia are suppressing the news and rejecting any allegations of impropriety by government officials named in the leak of more than 11 million financial documents from a Panamanian law firm.
• Officials in Ukraine, Argentina and other countries are also facing questions about possibly dubious offshore tax-avoidance schemes.

Iceland 

• Capital: Reykjavik
• Currency: Icelandic króna

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

Orahi acquires Odd-Even.com

Gurgaon-based carpooling app Orahi has acquired Odd-Even.com to find partners to commute during the odd-even rule, for an undisclosed amount.

• With this acquisition, Mittal will be inducted to the company’s advisory board as a technical and domain expert and Orahi will provide him mentorship on running a carpool business.

About Odd-Even.com:

• Odd-Even.com was started by Akshat Mittal, a 13- year-old.
• The first phase of the odd-even plan implemented by the Delhi government.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

China dispatched Retrievable Satellite to study Micro-gravity

With an aim to succor scientists to study micro-gravity and space life science, China has successfully launched a retrievable scientific research satellite “SJ-10″.

• The bullet-shaped probe was put into space by Long March 2-D rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China’s Gobi desert.
• It is the second of four scientific satellites under a CAS space program and is returnable.

Researchers made the smallest diode using a DNA molecule

Researchers made one of the fundamental components of modern electronics, creating the world’s smallest diode out of a single molecule of DNA. 

• University of Georgia (UGA) and Israel’s Ben-Gurion University has created the world’s smallest diode using a single DNA molecule. The Diode as small as that it cannot be seen with conventional microscope.
• This findings help to search for silicon chip replacements and could lead to the creation of electronic devices that are smaller and more powerful.

Diodes:

• Diodes are electronic devices that make it easy for current to flow in one direction.
• Diodes are one of the simplest, but most useful of all semiconductor

SPORTS

Chitra, Varshaa won Gold at WLBS World snooker championship

India’s duo Chitra Magimairaj and Varshaa Sanjeev won the seniors and under-21 gold medals respectively at the WLBS World snooker championship in Leeds.

• Veteran Chitra defeated Sandra Bryan, Dannie Findlay and Michelle Brown before advancing over Sharon Kaur 3-0 in the final.
• While Varshaa on the other hand overcame Claire Edgington and Yan Shut beforeputting it across Jeong Min Park 3-0 in the final.

Mother Dairy partners Delhi Daredevils as principal sponsor

Mother Dairy has partnered with IPL cricket team Delhi Daredevils as its principal sponsor.

• With this association the brand Mother Dairy will be seen on Delhi Daredevils team jersey, along with the visibility at key spots in the stadium on match days.

About Mother Diary:

Mother Dairy was commissioned in 1974 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). It was established under the initiative of Operation Flood, the world’s biggest dairy development programme launched to make India a milk sufficient nation.

Keys

• Delhi Daredevils franchise owners are backed by the GMR Group. The team is mentored by Rahul Dravid, the former Indian captain.
• Delhi Daredevils Captain: Zaheer Khan

OBITUARY

Father of Madras Atomic Power Station “M.H.P.Rao” passes away

The architect of Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS), “Myneni Hari Prasad Rao” aka MHP Rao passed away due to old age ailments. He was 88.

• He was specially appointed by the then Nuclear Power Board to administer the construction and commissioning of the MAP.
• He had also served as a member of Southern, Western and Northern Indian Regional electricity boards.

Screenwriter Barbara Turner passed away

Barbara Turner, the Emmy–nominated screenwriter and producer has died in Los Angeles.

• The 79 year old screenwriter earned two Emmy norms for “The War Between the Tates” and “Hemingway & Gellhorn” and worked on numerous films such as “Petulia”, “Georgia” and “Pollock”.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day of Sport for Development and Peace – April 6

UN celebrates April 6 as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace.

• United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace (UNOSDP) launched a campaign “Let’s play for Sustainable Development Goals”.

Main Objective:     

• The UN General Assembly aims at the advancement of human rights and social and economic development. The organization believes that sport is the sole agent that can help mankind achieve global harmony and brotherhood