Current affairs - June 6, 2016
Indian Institute of Petroleum Engineering (IIPE) @ Visakhapatnam
Indian Institute of Petroleum Engineering (IIPE) – the fourth university in the country specialising in courses in petroleum engineering— will launch classes for its maiden batch here from 2016-17.
Details:
- The location was finalised on the recommendation of two-member committee set up by the Centre comprising Prof. G.J. Gupta, Director, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, and Advisor S.P.M. Mathur.
- The city-based university will be mentored by Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur.
The Indian Institute of Management-Vizag, which also is functioning temporarily on the campus of Andhra University, is mentored by IIM-Bangalore.
Other 3 Universities are: Rae Bareli, Dehradun and Gandhinagar
India, Qatar Sign 7 Agreements To Boost Cooperation And Investment
India
and Qatar have signed seven agreements to boost cooperation and bilateral
investments. These agreements were signed during the recent visit of PM Modi to
Qatar.
MoUs signed:
- According to one memorandum of understanding (MoU), Qatar will invest in India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). The government had set up the Rs 40,000-crore NIIF last year for enhancing infrastructure financing in India.
- Another MoU was signed between India’s Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Qatar’s National Qualifications Authority/Supreme Educational Council, on cooperation in skill development and recognition of qualifications.
- A third MoU calls for Cooperation in tourism between the two countries.
- Another MoU was signed on cooperation between India and Qatar in the field of health.
- A fifth MoU was signed between Finance Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) and the Qatar Financial Information Unit (QFIU).
- An agreement was signed on cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matters.
- A first executive programme for MoU in the field of youth and sports between the two countries was also signed.
RBI, govt. make peace over appointment panel
In
a departure from the past, government has asked the Cabinet Secretary to head
the search-cum-selection
panel for the appointment of its Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank. However, RBI has opposed the government’s move to have Cabinet
Secretary P.K. Sinha as the head and has communicated its reservations.
Following this a compromise has been worked out.
What’s the compromise?
Under
the compromise, the RBI Governor will have a greater say in the short-listing
of the names. However, technically, the Cabinet Secretary remains the head of
the panel.
Practice so far:
As
per the established practice, the interview panel for the appointment of deputy
governors had always been headed by the RBI Governor.
Background:
The
government had set up a Financial Sector Search and Recruitment Committee —
headed by Mr. Sinha — to decide on the members and heads of financial sector
regulators like the RBI, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and
the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). The committee would
have a permanent member from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), while
representatives from the Finance Ministry, an economist, and the head of the
regulatory body whose members are to be selected will be special invitees.
About Deputy Governors of RBI:
- The RBI has four deputy governors and typically two are from the outside, of which traditionally one is a commercial banker and the other an economist. The two others are promoted from within the central bank’s ranks.
- A central bank Deputy Governor can be appointed for a term with a maximum of five years or till the age of 62, whichever is earlier.
Odisha wages a literary struggle to claim rosogulla as its own
The
bitter contest over the Intellectual Property Rights to an iconic sweet, the
‘rasagulla’ has moved into a new phase with Odisha citing ‘literary evidence’
to buttress its claim over West Bengal.
Odisha’s
Department of Science and Technology has been poring over literary evidence and
has decided to study it in depth, to reinforce the State’s demand for a
Geographical Indication for the famous cottage cheese balls in sugary gravy. Odia
litterateurs say the sweet is found in many works well before 1868.
Background:
- A bitter-war broke out last year over the origins of the Rasgulla. The fight is between Odisha and West Bengal, with each one claiming ownership of rasagolla.
- Odisha has staked claim to have ‘invented’ years ago, the sweet associating it with a centuries old ritual of Lord Jagannath. West Bengal always thought of rasagolla as its own.
GI tag:
The
GI tag is an indication which is definite to a geographical territory. It is
used for agricultural, natural and manufactured goods. For a product to get GI
tag, the goods need to be produced or processed or prepared in that region. It
is also essential that the product has special quality or reputation.
IIT Madras researchers dissolve silver using glucose water
IIT
Madras researchers have found that silver can slowly dissolve in water if heated to
about 70 degree C in the presence of glucose.
- Like gold, silver is a noble metal. So far, it was supposed to be inert (resistant to chemical corrosion, especially to chemical reagents used in daily life).
Highlights of the study:
- The researchers observed that as much as 0.5 weight per cent of a silver plate can get dissolved in glucose water within a week.
- The study shows that silver atoms gets released from a plate in a simple, two-step mechanism — silver ions are first formed at the metal surface, which later form specific metal complexes with sugar. Atoms are highly reactive on the surface of the metal as they less connected and less bound and this allows the atoms to be released.
- Metal dissolution leads to corrosion of the plate and nanoscale pits get formed on the plate. Further dissolution occurs at the pits and as a result the pits get bigger, making a polished silvery metal appear black. Under favourable conditions, up to 10% of the metal can get dissolved in 90 days.
- Dissolution of silver by glucose directly from the metallic state gets enhanced in the presence of ions such as carbonate and phosphates. The study found that enhancement of silver dissolution in glucose was about 10 and 7 times in the presence of 50 ppm of phosphate and carbonate respectively. But in the absence of glucose, phosphate and carbonate were found to have no significant effect on silver dissolution.
Significance of this study:
- This is helpful in studying the effect of metals in food and how toxic metals get into our food chain from soil, water and fertilizers. Silver foils are used to decorate sweets and often such foils are eaten along with the sweets. Silver vessels are also used for cooking.
- An offshoot of the study is that the method can be used for developing novel and green extraction processes for noble metals. In general, toxic chemicals such as cyanide are used for extracting silver. The newly developed method can extract silver effectively by a simple and green method. It does not require any harmful chemicals or high temperature or expensive set-up.
J&K militants use app to evade Army snooping
Indian
intelligence agencies have found a new app called “Calculator” which is used by
terrorists.
- This application is found on the smartphones of terrorists. It helps them remain in touch with their handlers in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) without being detected by the Army’s technical surveillance.
Details:
The
technology is based on the concept of ‘cognitive digital radio’ that enables users to turn their smartphones into peer-to-peer,
off-grid communication tools.
- The technology was first used by a U.S.-based company during Hurricane Katrina so that the affected residents could remain in touch with each other. Terror outfits have modified this technology and created the application “Calculator”, which can be downloaded on smartphones attached to the off-air network created specifically for them.
- The network generates its own signal through proprietary ad hoc networking protocols and automatically coordinates with other units within range which enables users to send and get text messages, share their GPS locations on offline maps regardless of access to WiFi or cellular service.
What is Cognitive radio (CR)?
It
is a form of wireless communication in which a transceiver can intelligently
detect which communication channels are in use and which are not, and instantly
move into vacant channels while avoiding occupied ones. This optimizes the use
of available radio-frequency (RF) spectrum while minimizing interference to
other users.
Govt to come out with updated IIP, WPI indices by year-end
Government
is all set to come out with revised IIP and WPI indices by the end of this year
with a new base year of 2011-12 in order to make them more representative of
the changing economic scenario. Both IIP and WPI are due for revision.
- The National Statistical Commission has recommended to revise the base year of all economic indices every five years.
Key facts:
As part of the revision, the basket of items
and weightage assigned to different entries on the basis of which indices is
computed will be updated. The present indices of IIP and WPI have base year of
2004-05.
With the new series in place, both the Index
of Industrial Production (IIP) and Wholesale Price Index (WPI) will become more
comparable with the GDP numbers than it is currently.
Government had last revised these indices in
2011 with the base year of 2004-05.
The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi
has been conferred with Amir Amanullah Khan Award, Afghanistan’s
highest civilian honour.
About Award:
- The Amir Amanullah Khan medal is highest civilian honor of Afghanistan. The award is named after the Afghan national hero, Amanullah Khan (Ghazi), who championed the cause of Afghanistan’s freedom.
- He was the ruler of the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1919-1929 who led Afghanistan to independence.
- This award was instituted by the Afghanistan government in 2006. Previous recipients include: US President George Bush, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, NATO General James Jones, former Afghan President spiritual leader Sibghatullah Mujaddedi, and Afghan Chief Justice (CJ) Abdul Salam Azimi.
Samjhauta
Express
- Twice weekly Train service connecting Delhi, India and Lahore, Pakistan.
- Launched in 1976
Banking – Important Fact
Rupee devaluation in 1956:
- On June 6, 1956 Rupee devalued by 36.5%.
- The devaluation announced by then Finance Miniser – Mr. Sachindra Chaudari.
- According to that, 1 US dollar cost Rs. 7.50 as against Rs. 4.76.
- This was the 1st time India devalued its currency.
Tiger Express
Railway
Minister Suresh Prabhu flagged off Tiger Express, a semi-luxury tourist train
to spread awareness of tiger conservation, from the Safdarjung station here on
World Environment Day.
Details:
- This is the first semi-luxury train on a tourist circuit having a dining car. Tariffs start from Rs. 38,500, said a statement by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, which runs the service.
- The five night, six day package offers accommodation in air-conditioned rooms of three-star or equivalent-ranked hotels for three nights, sightseeing, food, inter-city transfers and travel insurance, it said.
Train Route:
The
train would first take passengers to Katni from where they would go to
Bandhavgarh by road for a safari. Kanha is the next stop, where they would go
on another safari. The tourists would then be taken to the Dhuadhar Falls in
Bhedaghat, Jabalpur, before heading back to Delhi.
Sports
Ronald Garros (French Open)
Men’s Singles:
Winner
– Novak Djokovic
Runner
up- Andy Murray.
Women’s Double:
Winner
– Caroline Garcia & Kristina Mladenovic
Runner
up – Ekaterina Makarova & Elena Vesnina.
Person in the News
1. Novak Djokovic:
Novak Djokovic joined
the tennis greats by claim his maiden Ronald Garros (French Open) title and
hold all four Grand the same time called “Career Grand Slam”
Career Grand Slam:
Winning the four
majors in consecutive tournaments but not in the same year is known as a
Non-Calendar Year Grand Slam, while winning all four majors at any point
during the course of a career is
known as a Career Grand Slam.
2. Manohar Aich
- Celebrated body-builder and former Mr. Universe Manohar Aich passed away
- Manohar Aich won the Mr. Universe title in 1952, and was nicknamed ‘Pocket Hercules’ due to his 4-feet, 11-inch frame.
- Two years before winning the Mr. Universe title, he won Mr. Hercules contest at the age of 36.
- Born in Bangladesh, Manohar Aich joined the Royal Indian Air Force in 1942. Encouraged by British officers, he took up body building.
