Saturday, 3 August 2013

Current Affairs

Parliament to approve “1974 Indira-Mujib pact”July 31st, 2013

The government will bring a constitutional amendment Bill in Parliament during the forthcoming session for implementation of the Indo-Bangla land boundary agreement. India intends to ratify the 1974 Indira-Mujib pact for demarcation of boundaries and for exchange of 161 adversely held enclaves with a population of about 50,000 people.
Both the countries have discussed the modalities for implementation of the extradition treaty signed that will give the way for deportation of ULFA general secretary Anup Chetia, currently lodged in a Bangladeshi jail.
India has also conveyed Bangladesh to ensure the release the remaining six Indians who were abducted by different Indian insurgent groups like NSCN, PLA and NDFB to that country. The six are part of 13 people whom the insurgents had kidnapped and taken to Bangladesh.



RBI decreases realization period for exporters from 12 to 9 monthsJuly 30th, 2013

Responding further to the increasing pressure on Current Account Deficit (CAD) due reduced exports and depreciation of rupee against dollar, the Reserve Bank of India has brought down the period of realization and repatriation for exporters of goods and software from 12 to 9 months with a view to increase foreign exchange inflows.
The period of realization and repatriation to India of the full export value of goods or software exported by a unit situated in a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) as well as exports made to warehouses established outside India remains unaltered.
India’s exports reduced by 4.6% for the 2nd consecutive month to USD 23.79 billion in June 2013 compared to year ago interval.
The rupee has depreciated by over 12% against the dollar since the beginning of the fiscal. Central bank and capital markets regulator SEBI had to take unconventional measures to control the market.


Poverty in India decreases to 21.9% in 2011-12: Planning CommissionJuly 28th, 2013

As per Planning Commission, poverty ratio in the country has dropped to 21.9% in 2011-12 from 37.2% in 2004-05 on account of increase in per capita consumption.
Planning Commission on Poverty:

  • Using the Tendulkar methodology for determining the poverty line, the national poverty line in rural areas has been estimated at Rs 816 per capita per month in villages and Rs 1,000 per capita per month in urban areas in 2011-12.
  • It implies that persons whose consumption of goods and services exceed Rs 33.33 in cities and Rs 27.20 per capita per day in villages are not poor.
  • For a family of five, the all India poverty line in terms of consumption expenditure would amount of Rs 4,080 per month in rural areas and Rs 5,000 per month in urban areas. The poverty line however will vary from state to state.
  • In 2011-12, the percentage of BPL (Below Poverty Line) people is estimated at 25.7% in rural areas, 13.7% in urban areas and 21.9% for the country as a whole.
  • It shows an improvement in poverty figures if compared to those in 2004-05 when it was 41.8% in rural areas, 25.7% in cities and 37.2% in the country as a whole.
  • In terms of numbers, there were 26.93 crore people below poverty line in 2011-12 as compared to 40.71 crore in 2004-05.

How the estimates of poverty level in India have been made?

This ratio for 2011-12 is based on the methodology suggested by Suresh Tendulkar Committee which takes into consideration the money spent on health and education besides calorie intake to fix a poverty line. As per the Commission, the decrease in poverty is mainly on account of rising real per capita consumption figures which made the 68th round of National Sample Survey on Household Consumer Expenditure in India in 2011-12 the basis for tabulating poverty.

Note: A separate committee under Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) chairman C. Rangarajan will revisit the Tendulkar Committee methodology for estimating poverty. The Committee is expected to submit its report by mid 2014.

Tuesday, 30 July 2013

Current Affairs

Huawei Technologies working on Fifth Generation (5G) Technology
July 24th, 2013

Chinese equipment maker Huawei Technologies is working on the Fifth Generation (5G) which will be probably available for use by 2020. Samsung has also promulgated that it has tested 5G technology and it will be ready for commercial use by 2020.

Advantages of 5G Technology :
 §  Expansion of connectivity by providing possibilities for billions of connections.
§  Offer people to have a fibre network like they experience on a wireless connection.
§  It can provide speed of 10 GBps, which is 100 times faster than the mobile technology used these days.

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World’s first ever mission to Moon’s South Pole Planned for 2016
July 24th, 2013

The International Lunar Observatory Association and Moon Express announced first mission to the south pole of the moon in 2016 at NASA Lunar Science Institute conference at NASA ‘s Ames Research Center.

 Objective of the Mission:
  §  It will be a scientific as well as commercial mission.
§  To install a permanent telescope on the lunar surface to assist professional research.
§  To deliver the International Lunar Observatory (ILO) aboard a Moon Express Robotic Lander.
§  Moon Express is aiming to discover the moon’s South Polefor mineral resources and water. Lunar probes have provided substantial indication of mineral and volatile deposits in the Moon’s southern polar region where energy and resources may be plentiful.

 International Lunar Observatory Instrument and its use:
  §  ILOA and Space Age Publishing Company have been founded by Steve     Durst.
§ ILO which is a 2 meter dish antenna will help in carrying outInternational astrophysical observations and communications from the lunar surface thus providing commercial broadcasting, scientific research and enabling Galaxy 21st Century education and “citizen science” on the Moon.
§  ILO will display the scientific study of the galaxy, moon, earth, sun and stars  The ILO and its originator will have an internet based access and control system.

Current Affairs

INSAT-3D and Alphasat satellites launched successfully July 28th, 2013

European space consortium Arianespace’s Ariane 5 rocket launched INSAT-3D  and Alphasat satellites from the spaceport of Kourou in French Guiana, giving a boost to weather forecasting and disaster warning services.


About INSAT-3D:


  • Designed to provide meteorological observation and monitoring of land and ocean surfaces.
  • INSAT-3D also carried the newly developed 19 ‘Channel Sounder’, the first such payload to be flown on an ISRO satellite mission. It will perform weather monitoring through its atmospheric sounding system, which provides vertical profiles of temperature, humidity and integrated ozone from surface to top of the atmosphere.
  • It will provide continuity to earlier missions and further augment the capability to provide various meteorological as well as search and rescue services.
  • The Data Relay Transponder (DRT) will be used to receive meteorological, hydrological and oceanographic data from remote, uninhabited locations over the coverage area from Data Collection Platforms (DCPs) like automatic weather station, automatic rain gauge and agro met stations.
  • It is equipped with a Search and Rescue payload that picks up and relays the alert signals originating from the distress beacons of maritime, aviation and land based users to the Indian Mission Control Centre located at Isro Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network here.

Who will be the major users of Satellite Aided Search and Rescue service in India?

  • The major users of Satellite Aided Search and Rescue service in India are Indian Coast Guard, Airports Authority of India, directorate general of shipping, defence services and fishermen.

What will be the expanse of service region of INSAT-3D?

  • The Indian service region includes a large part of the Indian Ocean region covering India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Tanzania for rendering distress alert services.

What are Alphasat satellites?

  • Alphasat is Europe’s largest telecommunication satellite-ever manufactured and results from a large-scale public-private partnership between the European Space Agency and Inmarsat.