Current Affairs Today – March 25 2016

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INDIAN AFFAIRS

Mehbooba Mufti set to become first woman CM of J & K

Mehbooba Mufti was elected Chief Minister of J & K, after clearing the decks for government formation in the state. This decision is taken in the legislature party meet Chaired by Mahbooba at her official residence in Gupka.

• PDP legislature party leader set to become the first woman chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. PDP has 28 MLAs in the 87-member House while its alliance partner BJP has 25 MLAs. Plus the coalition has support of two and Independent MLA Aga Baqar Rezvi has also extended support to the candidature of Mehbooba.

Andhra Pradesh inaugurates India’s first lift irrigation project

Andhra government which is known for its innovations and use of technologies in various sectors has also become the first Indian state to implement lift irrigation.

• Pattiseema lift irrigation project is known as the first river linking project in India
• It connects river Godavari with Krishna and the first pump of the project is completed in 1 year

Cabinet approves Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana

As announced by the president during his Presidential address in 2014 Independence Day speech, the Housing for all scheme has been approved by the cabinet.

• This scheme intends to provide houses for all people in the rural area
• Under this scheme, incentive will be given by the government to build Pucca house
• Financial assistance of 1,20,000 in plain areas and 1,30,000 in hill areas will be given to all houseless and people those who live in dilapidated houses

Mizoram, JICA sign pact for promoting sustainable agriculture

North-eastern state Mizoram and Japanese International Cooperative Agency signed pact on Capacity Enhancement for Sustainable Agriculture and Irrigation Development.

• JICA had conducted development study during 2013 and 2015 and had formulated a master plan covering 20 years and the technical cooperation project would commence from October this year and continue till September 2021.
• Training programmes would be conducted in Japan both for officials and farmers from Mizoram for three times during the period and the expenses would be borne by the Japanese government.

Mizoram:

• It became the 23rd state of India on 1987 carved out from.
• Assam Mizoram stands for Country of the people of Hilly regions, Mizo is the official language of the state.

BHEL commissions 600 MW unit of Singareni project in Adilabad

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd has commissioned 600 MW for the State-owned Singareni Collieries, the second largest coal mining company. The first 600 MW unit of the 2×600 MW (1,200 MW) thermal power project.

• The second unit of the same project is in acutting-edge stage of construction and is expected to be commissioned soon.
• BHEL has built 600-MW rating sets that comprise a four cylinder turbine. This has been designed in-house, amply demonstrating the engineering expertise of the company.
• BHEL has a major contribution in Telangana with 85 per cent of the coal based power plants, together amounting to 5,180 MW of power have been commissioned by it.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Arvind Kejriwal placed in Fortune 50 leaders

The man who brought change in the Indian politics heading the Capital of the nation, Arvind Kejriwal has been placed in the Fortune 50 leaders listed by Fortune magazine.

• The 47 year old Aam Aadmi founder is placed in the top 50 leaders of the world released by Fortune
• He is the only Indian leader to occupy the list placed at 42^nd position
• The list is headed by Amazon chief Jeff Bezos

US Congress passes bill to allow India to join APEC

In a move to strengthen the ties between India and US, the US congress has passed the bill in senate which will allow India to be a member of APEC.

• Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific Matt Salmon, introduced the legislation in the US Congress
• He was joined by Ami Bera, the only Indian- American lawmaker in the current Congress, Co-Chair Congressional Caucus on India

RTI bill presented in Lanka parliament

The long-awaited Sri Lankan Right to Information bill was presented to parliament on March 24, 2016 the day on which Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe turned 67.

• The Cabinet had approved it in December and thereafter was referred to the nine provincial councils for approval.
• The five-member Right to Information Commission will be appointed by the President on the advice of the Constitutional Council and will comprise nominees of the Bar Association and organizations of publishers, editors and civil society.

Radovan Karadzic imprisoned for 40 years

Bosnian Serb convicted of genocide and war crimes in Bosnian war 1992-95 have been sentenced to 40 years of imprisonment.

• Karadzic, 70, is the most senior political figure to face judgment over the violent collapse of Yugoslavia
• His case is being seen as one of the most important war crimes trials since second World War
• UN judges in The Hague found him guilty of 10 of 11 charges, including genocide over the 1995 Srebrenica massacre
• Karadzic was also found guilty of crimes against humanity relating to the siege and shelling of the city of Sarajevo over several years which left nearly 12,000 people dead

Iran signs Oil contract with France

Iran has signed a confidential oil agreement with France total company to develop the Azadegan oil field.

• Iran reached an agreement with the Japanese Inpex a decade ago to develop the oil field
• However the deal was dropped following the sanctions by USA
• In July 2015, nuclear deal was signed between Iran and other nations thereby lifting the ban on Iran
• Hence the deal with France total is seen as an important deal
• The Azadegan oil field has 2 billion barrels oil reserve

Points to note

• Iran oil minister- Bijan Namdar Zangeneh
• Capital– Tehran

BANKING & FINANCE

BMI projects India’s growth at 7.2%

The Indian economy which is a fast growing economy in the world has been projected at 7.2% by the BMI research. The growth has been speculated by various rated agencies across the world.

• Central Statistics Office had projected 6 per cent GDP growth rate in February
• According to Japanese financial services major Nomura, India’s GDP growth is likely to pick up to 8 per cent in fiscal 2016-17
• But the BMI research has projected the GDP growth at 2% compared to 7.3% last year
• Indian economy is likely to face challenges in various sectors owing to the weak economy of the world
• It also told that schemes under Modi’s governance have contributed to the incremental growth of economy
• The Indian government aims to reduce subsidies through the JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) initiative that will avoid leakages will help reduce expenditures and aid long-term fiscal deficit consolidation plans

DIPP nods 49% FDI in Insurance and Pension Sector

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) board have approved the liberalization in Insurance and pension sector. It has given its nod to 49% of FDI in the sector

• The Commerce and Industry Ministry on Wednesday notified 49% foreign direct investment (FDI) under automatic route in insurance and pension sector as announced by FM Arun Jaitley
• Earlier, only up to 26% FDI was permitted through the automatic approval route
• FDI into the country grew by 40% to $29.44 billion in 2015

Points to note

• Commerce and Industries minister– Nirmala Sitharaman
• DIPP secretary– Ramesh Abhishek

BUSINESS

India overtakes China in investment by US

Though India’s exposure within the emerging market basket has gradually declined, India has overtaken China in terms of direct equity allocation by US investors.

• The report was revealed by US treasury showed that 1.8% of direct equity holdings of US is with India
• It is 6% equity holdings for China
• The direct investment has risen from $7 billion in September 2013 to $12 billion in December 2015.

Microsoft shuts Artificial Intelligence Robot – Tay

Microsoft had shut its artificial intelligence robot Chat program which launched artificial intelligence powered bot on Twitter for a playful chat with people, closed within 24 hours.

• Tay is designed to engage and entertain people where they connect with each other online through casual and playful conversation.

Tay:

• Tayis an artificial intelligence chatterbot released  by Microsoft Corporation on the Twitter platform
• Tay is essentially one central program that anyone can chat with using Twitter, Kik or GroupMe. As people chat with it online, Tay picks up new language and learns to interact with people in new ways.

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

Inox Wind acquires Sarayu Wind Power

Wind energy solutions providerInox Wind Infrastructure Services Limited, has acquired Sarayu Wind Power (Kondapuram in Andra Pradesh) Private Limited, with effect from March 25, 2016.

• Noida based Inox Wind Limited conveyed to the Bombay Stock Exchange in a regulatory filing that it has acquired Sarayu Wind Power with effect from March 25.

Inox Wind:

• Inox Wind Limited headquartered in Noida, manufactures, Wind turbine generators, and provides turnkey solutions by supplying WTGs and offering services including infrastructure development, erection and commissioning, and long term operations and maintenance.
• The company was ranked at 167th position in Business Today’s list of 500 most valuable companies in India in 2015.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

ISRO establishes GIRI radar system in Tirupathi

The Space pioneer of India ISRO has established the Gadanki Ionospheric Radar Interferometer (GIRI) near Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh.

• Located at: National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL) which is an autonomous research institute of the Department of Space
• Construction:  It consists of a rectangular antenna array of 160 two-element Yagi-antenna, arranged in a 20×8 matrix, 20 transmitter units, 6 digital receivers including data processing systems, a radar controller, and a host computer

South Korea tops the world with high Internet speed

In an era of Internet, where the world’s functions greatly rely upon the connectivity. A report revealed by Akamei technologies places South Korea at the topmost position in terms of internet speed.

• South Korea has the fastest average connection speed in the world at 26.7 Mbps.
• Sweden occupies the second spot with an average speed of 19.1 Mbps
• Norway followed at 18.8 Mbps.
• India stands at 114th position with an average internet speed of 2.8 Mbps

US Navy ship discovered after 95 years

The US Navy ship which went missing was discovered after 95 years at the San Francisco coast.

• The USS Conestoga tug boat, which disappeared on March 25, 1921 after departing San Francisco on its way to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii has been found in 2016
• The wreckage was initially detected in 2009 at a depth of 189 feet (58 meters) by a NOAA survey team
• The Conestoga wreckage, located three miles off Southeast Farallon Island in the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, was positively identified in October 2015

Indian Coast Guard to re-base ICGS Rajkamal, six interceptor boats

The Indian Coast Guard re-based one ship and six boats from Chennai to Andaman and NicobarRegion to rebase the assets was taken to strengthen the maritime border operations in the region.

• The rebasing plan is mainly intended towards enhancing the coastal security of the newly ICG stations that have been set up to for the effective optimization of the assets.
• Among the assets that would find a new base are ICGS Rajkamal and six Interceptor Boats (C-407, C-412, C-414, C-416, C-417 and C-428).
• These platforms are rebased to Andaman and Nicobar Region as part of the Coast Guard Headquarter rebasing plan, the newlycommissioned ICGS Arnvesh has already joined the Eastern CG fleet as part of replacement.

ENVIRONMENT

Mint plant can help fight cancer: CIMAP Researchers

Scientists at CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in Lucknow have discovered that a compound called ‘L-Menthol’ derived from Mentha plant, popularly known as mint, can also be used in anti-cancer drugs.​ ​

• It has been proved scientifically that L-Menthol can kill the colon cancer cell line without affecting the normal cell line.
• The research also claims that production of L-menthol is cost-effective, non-destructive and easily available in comparison to anti-cancer compound used at present, derived from the bark of European Yew tree.

Mentha:

• It is also known as Mint is a genus of plants in thefamily of Lamiaceae, In Spain and Central and South America, mint is known as

SPORTS

Quick enough wins Dr. GnaniLaksumanan Memorial Cup

Quick Enough Clinched the Dr.Gnani Laksumanan Memorial Cup trained by R Foley and ridden by jockey N. Rupa, the main event of the races in Chennai.

• The winner is owned by MAM RamaswamyChettiar of ChettinadChartiable Trust, Three favourites obliged in a card of seven events.
• Trainer B Suresh saddled three winners, while jockeys C. Umesh and Md. Hesnain rode two winners each.

OBITUARY

Football legend Johan Cruyff passed away

The Holland football legend Johan Cruyff has died peacefully in Barcelona, in the presence of his family of lung cancer at the age of 68.

• The Dutchman, was named as the world player of the year on three occasions. He guided Holland to the World Cup final in 1974 and as a manager he spent eight years in charge of Barcelona.

Comedian Garry Shandling Diesat 66

American actor and comedian Garry Shandling has died. He was 66. His office did not yet have any details about Shandling’s death.

• His brand of comedy, which ceaselessly mocked the non-natural nature of show business, is credited with influencing other hit shows like Tina Fey’s 30 Rock and Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm.
• He was best known for his work inits Garry Shandling’s Show and The Larry Sanders Show.

Garry Shandling:

• Garry was born on 1949 in Chicago US, Shandling graduated from Palo Verde High School. After his graduation, he attended theUniversity of Arizona, at first majoring in electrical engineering.
• His three-decade career, Shandling was nominated for 19 Primetime Emmy Awards and twoGolden Globe Awards, along with many other awards and nominations.
• He attended as host of the Grammy Awards four times and as host of the Emmy Awards three times.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and Transatlantic Slave Trade

Every year on March 25 the United Nations International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade is observed.

• It honours the lives of those who died as a result of slavery, it is also an occasion to raise awareness about the dangers of racism and prejudice.
• The theme for the year 2016 is Remember Slavery: Celebrating the Heritage and Culture of the African Diaspora and its Roots.
• More than 15 million men, women and children were the victims over 400 years of the tragic transatlantic slave trade, one of the darkest chapters in human history.

Resolution by UN:

• The UN General Assembly through a resolution on 17 December 2007 declared 25 March as the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade to commemorate the memory of the victims.
• The day was first observed in 2008 with the theme Breaking the Silence, Lest We Forget.