NATIONAL AFFAIRS
National Biodiversity Congress 2017 held in Kerala:
Third National Biodiversity Congress (NBC) 2017 held Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. This year event is comprises of programmes including conference, exhibition, capacity building workshops and Children’s Biodiversity Congress.
Theme: “Mainstreaming Biodiversity for Sustainable Development” with four sub-themes.
Cabinet approves ₹8,100-cr investment to set up solar parks:
The Cabinet has approved an investment of ₹8,100 crore for setting up at least 50 solar parks and ultra mega solar power projects. The investment would double the solar power production target to 40,000 MW. Notably, the government has laid down a plan to achieve 100 GW solar power capacity by 2022.
Govt doubles maternity leave for women workers in industries:
The government doubled the maternity leave for women working in industries from the existing three months to six months. However, the benefit will be restricted to women who make a monthly contribution to the employees’ state insurance corpus from their salaries. About 29 lakh women working across various industries will be benefitted by the move.
Punjab bans gutkha, pan masala, food products having tobacco:
The Punjab government has prohibited the manufacture, storage, sale or distribution of food products containing tobacco or nicotine like gutkha and pan masala in the state for one year. The ban also applies on processed, flavoured, scented, and chewing tobacco, whether they are packaged or unpackaged or sold as one or separate products.
Kashmir government turns public libraries to E-learning centers:
Jammu and Kashmir government launched an e-learning program by installing computers in the state’s public libraries, thus assisting students to prepare for competitive exams like JEE and CET. The students can avail the facility by filling a form in the nearest libraries where resources like tabs, computers, and the expert-designed study materials are also available.
Goa to host See Sharp Fest:
The See Sharp Fest, a green living and learning festival, will be hosted by Goa for the first time at Ashwem beach. The festival will hold classes on composting, connecting solar panels, rain water harvesting, generating cooking gas from waste food, converting waste oil into detergent, and even starting one’s own organic farm.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Openly gay minister of Indian origin could be Ireland’s next PM:
Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s openly gay social protection minister, is being seen as a frontrunner in the race to replace Prime Minister Enda Kenny. Leo Varadkar, an openly gay Irish minister of Indian-origin, to become Ireland’s next prime minister.
Mexico will not accept Trump’s immigration plans, says foreign minister:
Luis Videgaray, Mexico’s foreign minister, was responding to Donald Trump’s plans to enforce immigration rules more vigorously against undocumented migrants, which could lead to mass deportations to Mexico, not just of Mexicans but also citizens of other Latin American countries.
Uganda to stop car imports:
Vice-President Hamid Ansari held bilateral talks with Ugandan President Y.K. Museveni on the first official day of his visit to the country, agreeing broadly on cooperation in the fields of vocational training, space technology and peaceful uses of atomic energy. Museveni asks Indian automobile manufacturers to “make in Uganda”. He wants manufacturers to set up assembly units in that country and create jobs.
BANKING & BUSINESS
IMF sees India growth rebounding to 7.2%:
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) foresees India’s economic growth rebounding to 7.2 per cent next fiscal, up from the projected 6.6 per cent in 2016-17 after demonetisation.
Microsoft’s Nadella launches Sangam, LinkedIn Lite and Skype Lite with Aadhaar:
Redmond-based Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella launched light versions of LinkedIn and Skype with Aadhaar Praman services along with two new products called Placements and Project Sangam at the Future Decoded 2017 event in Mumbai. He also announced that cloud computing was gathering pace in India and all sectors including auto, finance and the public sector was adopting the new platform.
Bharti Airtel to acquire Telenor’s India operations:
Sunil Bharti Mittal-led India’s largest telecom operator, Bharti Airtel announced it is buying Norwegian telecom company Telenor’s India operations. In a transaction expected to close in a year, Telenor India’s spectrum, licenses, operations, including its employees, will become a part of Airtel. The announcement comes amid a potential Vodafone-Idea merger and competition from Reliance Jio.
Bharat Financial begins Aadhaar-based cashless loan disbursal:
Microfinance institution Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd launched an initiative for instant loan approval and disbursed them to three women in a village near Bassi in Jaipur district. The initiative is expected to help rural areas embrace cashless transactions. The loans are cashless since they are deposited directly to the loanee’s bank account.
Reap Chemist gets backing from FreeCharge founders:
Reap Chemist, which is running a Business-to-Business (B2B) supply chain management mobile application for pharmacies, has received an undisclosed amount of funding in its seed round. The funding comes from a clutch of angel investors including FreeCharge founders Kunal Shah and Sandeep Tandon, Thinklabs founder Gagan Goyal and Chayos co-founder Nitin Saluja.
Google’s new tech turns VR headsets invisible:
Google’s Research arm and Daydream Labs have developed technology to let spectators see VR headset users full faces. The aim is to allow for less awkward demonstrations of VR technology and experiences on video. The technology first constructs a 3D model of the user’s face, which lines up with the visible portion of the face to replace the headset’s view.
Queensland varsity, IIT Madras to undertake joint applied research:
A top Australian university Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has signed an agreement with IIT Madras to undertake joint applied research in information security, combustion and health technologies.
Both institutions recognise that, globally, there is a paradigm shift in research focus and this initiative is a significant step towards meeting the new research challenges.
AWARDS
Sahitya Akademi awards presented to 24 authors at Festival of Letters:
Twenty-four authors writing in as many Indian languages were conferred the Sahitya Akademi awards at the annual “Festival of Letters” . The recipients were awarded a cash prize of ₹1 lakh each for their “outstanding books of literary merit.”
Leonardo DiCaprio won his 1st Oscar on sixth nomination:
Leonardo DiCaprio won his first Oscar award in 2016 for Best Actor in a Leading Role for the film ‘The Revenant’, after receiving six Oscar nominations in his career. He received his first Oscar nomination in the Best Supporting Actor category for 1993 film ‘What’s Eating Gilbert Grape’. Notably, DiCaprio has been nominated four times in the Best Actor category.
APPOINMENTS
Shurhozelie Liezitsu sworn in as Nagaland Chief Minister:
Shurhozelie Liezietsu was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Nagaland by Governor PB Acharya. The 81-year-old scholar had begun his political career as a member of Nagaland Legislative Assembly in 1969 from northern Angami-I under Kohima district. He has served the office eight times, holding different portfolios, including education and planning.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Astronomers discover 7 Earth-sized planets orbiting nearby star:
NASA announced the discovery of solar system ‘TRAPPIST-1’, 40 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius, with seven Earth-like planets that could possibly support life, NASA has announced. Three of these are in the ‘habitable zone’, where liquid water and possibly life might exist, researchers added. This is the first time that so many Earth-sized planets have been found orbiting the same star.
Mars is forming PLANETARY RINGS just like Saturn as its moons are CRUMBLING:
An analysis of data from a Mars-orbiting satellite suggests that Mars is building Saturn-like rings from interplanetary dust and fragments from its disfigured moons, Phobos and Deimos. Researchers claim that the ring formation could take around 2-7 crore years owing to the two moons being gradually chipped away as they are drawn closer to the red planet by its gravity.
New low cost robotic arm for minimally invasive surgery developed:
Shorya Awtar, associate professor at University of Michigan (UM) in the US, have developed a new type of robotic arm that could perform complex, minimally invasive surgery at a lower cost. The cost of instrument is reduced from USD 2 million to Just USD 500.
FlexDex, a simple, ergonomic and intuitive needle driver for stitching inside the body is an all-mechanical platform that mounts to the surgeon’s arm, mimicking the direction of movement of the surgeon’s hand.
SPORTS
India win ‘Handball-on-skates’ World Championship:
India won the men’s Roll Ball World Cup Championship as they beat Iran 8-7 in the final. India also won the tournament in the women’s category, defeating Iran 6-4 in the final. Roll Ball is a combination of roller-skating, handball, and basketball, and it was invented by an Indian sports teacher Raju Dabhade in 2003.
Roger Federer extends playing career to 2019 with Swiss indoor deal:
Roger Federer has signed a three-year deal to play at his hometown event in Basel until the age of 38.The 35-year-old, who missed the second half of last season with a knee injury, has committed to Swiss Indoors until 2019.
Messi dons role of health ambassador:
Lionel Messi was in Egypt as the face of an initiative to promote the North African country as a medical tourism destination for hepatitis C patients. “Medication against hepatitis C saves lives, let’s put an end to the waiting lists”.Messi has signed to become the ambassador for Tour n’ Cure.
Blind World Cup winning Indian players to get ₹5 lakh each:
India’s Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Vijay Goel announced Rs.5 lakh each will be given to the members of India’s T20 World Cup for the Blind winning team as a cash reward. Goel was there in person to present the World Cup trophy to the Indian blind cricket team.
OBITUARY
Veteran trainer Darashah retires:
Veteran trainer Zareer Darashah has announced his retirement from racing. He first got the licence in Bangalore in 1969. In his career, he has won more than 2200 races and around 25 championship winners in both (Bangalore and Mysore) centres.
Nobel Prize-winner Kenneth Arrow dies:
Nobel Prize-winning economist Kenneth Arrow was a leading figure in the field of economic theory. He inspired generations of students through his decades-long teaching at Stanford. The Nobel Prize, he was awarded the National Medal of Science in 2004, among numerous other awards.
