March 14 – Current Affairs Quick Gyan

In Current Affairs 2017
March 14, 2016

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AWARDS AND HONORS

Palestinian refugee camp teacher wins $1m global prize

Hanan Al Hroub grew up in a Palestinian refugee camp and now is a teacher of refugees herself.
She specialises in supporting children who have been traumatised by violence.
The winner was announced at an awards ceremony in Dubai, with a video message of congratulation sent by Prince William.
Pope Francis sent a message saying that teachers were “the builders of peace and unity”.
Growing up in a refugee camp near Bethlehem, Ms Al Hroub now works with refugee pupils, with an approach using play that is aimed at resolving violence and tension.

Quick Link – Global prize

Indian Scholar Appointed VC of Canberra University

Saini, 60, currently the Vice-President of the University of Toronto and Principal of the University of Toronto Mississauga campus in Canada, will succeed Vice Chancellor Stephen Parker in September who steps down from the post in July after over nine years in the service.
Saini, a notable plant physiologist, said he was thrilled to be appointed the University’s Vice-Chancellor at such a fantastic time for the institution.
Saini completed his undergraduate and master’s degrees at the Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana, and doctorate in plant physiology from the University of Adelaide.
Saini has received a number of honours including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Quick Link – VC of Canberra University

INDIAN AFFAIRS

PM Narendra Modi inaugurates three major railway projects in Bihar

PM dedicated a rail-cum-road bridge at Patna, inaugurated another at Munger and laid the foundation of additional bridge at Mokama over the River Ganga.
Modi laid foundation stone of second Mokama double line railway bridge adjacent to existing Rajendra Pul.
PM dedicated Patna Ganga bridge (4.56 km) to the nation and inaugurated the freight operation through Munger rail-cum-road bridge.
There are three bridges over the entire 460 km length of the river Ganga in Bihar – one road bridge at Naugachia, a rail-cum-road bridge at Mokama and the third road bridge Mahatma Gandhi Setu at Patna.

Quick Link – The major railway projects

Tourism Ministry launches four skill initiatives for youths

A SENSITIZATION PROGRAMME FOR THE EXISTING SERVICE PROVIDERS AT VARANASI
A PROGRAMME TO GROOM YOUNG PERSONS INTERESTED IN HOME DELIVERY SERVICE AS AN OCCUPATION
A PROGRAMME OF TRAINING TO BRING UP PARYATAK MITRA
A TRAINING PROGRAMME TO BRING UP TOURIST FACILITATORS IN THE NORTH EAST

Quick Link – Skill initiatives for youths

NITI Aayog launches Women Transforming India campaign

Celebrating women doers, leaders and change makers from across the country, NITI Aayog – Government of India’s premier think-tank – has launched the ‘Women Transforming India’ initiative’ on, March 8, International Women’s Day, in partnership with the UN in India and MyGov.
As a policy think tank, NITI Aayog seeks to engage directly with women leaders from across urban and rural areas of India.
‘Women Transforming India’ is, therefore, our effort at putting our ear to the ground to gather successful stories of change heralded by women at the grassroots level, within communities.
Winning entries will receive a certificate of appreciation from NITI Aayog and the UN in India. Change makers may also have a chance to interact directly with policy makers in the Government of India, to enable affect positive policy action.
‘Women Transforming India’ is consistent with the government’s renewed commitment to advancing gender equality.
This initiative is also a step forward in furthering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which have Gender as a stand-alone goal.

Quick Link – Women Transforming India

ONGC plans to invest $5 bn on KG basin block

The announcement comes within days of the government freeing up natural gas pricing.
This fresh investment in developing the KG DWN 98/2, with reserves of 70 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas and 23 million tonnes of oil will be over and above the capital expenditure of Rs. 30,000 crore for FY17.
KG DWN 98/2 is next to the famous KG D6 block, owned by Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), which reportedly pumped $1.4 billion worth of gas from ONGC’s field.
ONGC has taken the decision to develop the block itself without any foreign partners.
Earlier, ONGC partnered global oil majors of the likes of Norway’s StatOil, Brazil’s Petrobras and Chevron Corp. of U.S. to develop the block but they all walked away due to delays and bureaucratic hurdles.

Quick Link – KG basin block

India test-fires nuclear-capable Agni-I ballistic missile

The surface-to-surface, single-stage missile, powered by solid propellants, was test-fired from a mobile launcher at 9.15 AM from launch pad-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Abdul Kalam Island (Wheeler Island), a defence official said.
The sophisticated missile covered 700 km distance within 9 minutes and 36 seconds.
The trajectory of the trial was tracked by a battery of sophisticated radars, telemetry observation stations, electro-optic instruments and naval ships from its launch till the missile hit the target area with accuracy.
Agni-I missile is equipped with sophisticated navigation system which ensures it reaches the target with a high degree of accuracy and precision.

Quick Link – Agni-I ballistic missile

EON Electric wins Rs. 40-crore LED streetlight project in Rajasthan

Under this project, Eon will install over 1 lac LED streetlights across various cities in the state, including Jaisalmer, Gangapur, Sri Ganga Nagar, etc.
In this phase, Eon Electric will install high lumen (minimum 95 lumen/watts) streetlights to improve road lighting and enhance visibility on the streets.
The project is a part of the Rajasthan Government’s initiative to conserve energy through replacement of conventional lights with LED Street Lights.
Earlier this year, Eon Electric had secured over Rs.51 crore contract to install LED streetlights in Jodhpur and Aligarh through competitive bids involving other leading players.
The Company is in the process of installing over 60,000 LED streetlights in Jodhpur.

Quick Link – LED streetlight project

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

13th meeting of Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development held in Dubai

Sustainable Development was held on 14 March 2016 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The meeting was held to promote the power of broadband networks and services for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
It brought the leaders from the public, private and social sectors together to seek the solutions to achieving education, equity and employment for all.
The full meeting of the Commission revisited the issue of new broadband targets to help achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The meeting set the ground for new concrete, measurable broadband targets to be agreed for the next full meeting of the Commission in September 2016 at the New York meeting.
The Dubai meeting of the Commission was held at the invitation of Broadband Commissioner Sunny Varkey, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, in the context of the Global Education and Skills Forum, and right after the joint ITU/UNESCO Policy Forum during UNESCO Mobile Learning Week.

Quick Link – Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development

March 14 is celebrated annually as Pi Day

Pi Day is observed on March 14 (3/14 in the month/day date format) since 3, 1, and 4 are the first three significant digits of π.
In 2009, the United States House of Representatives supported the designation of Pi Day.
Archimedes of Syracuse (about 287–212 B.C.) is credited with doing the first calculation of Pi, while British mathematician William Jones came up with the Greek letter and symbol for the figure in 1706 — which was later popularized by Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler, beginning in 1737.
This year, some math lovers have already started calling 3.14.16 “Rounded Pi Day,” rounding up those four digits.
Pi Approximation Day is observed on July 22 (22/7 in the day/month date format), since the fraction 22⁄7 is a common approximation of π, which is accurate to two decimal places and dates from Archimedes.
Pi Day has been observed in many ways, including eating pie, throwing pies and discussing the significance of the number π.

Quick Link – Pi Day

FOREIGN RELATIONS

46 countries to participate in 9th Defence Expo in Goa

Defexpo India 2016, the ninth in the series of biennial Land, Naval and Internal Homeland Security Systems Exhibition, will be held at Naqueri Quitol in Quepem taluka of South Goa from March 28-31, 2016.
Defexpo India is clearly steering the path of steady growth and has been receiving overwhelming and unprecedented international response with each edition.
This is for the first time that the Expo will travel to Goa from Delhi.
For this edition, countries like USA, Russia, Sweden, Republic of Korea, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates and Portugal amongst others have confirmed their participation.
An impressive 232 foreign companies from 32 countries participated in the show in 2014 along with 15 country pavilions with a growth of 12.64 per cent in terms of space booking.

Quick Link – Defence Expo in Goa

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Union Government fixed uniform price for sale of Bt cotton seeds in the country

The Union Government has for the first time fixed a uniform price for Bt cotton seed. In a notification the Union Agriculture Ministry has fixed the maximum sale price of each Bt cotton seed packet at Rs. 800 for bollgard (BG)-II version of hybrid seed.
It includes Rs. 49 as royalty fee to technology providers as well.
Farmers had bought Bt cotton seeds in the price range of Rs. 830 to 1,000 per packet of 450 grams across the country in last sowing season.
The price has now been reduced by over 70 per cent for the next season starting in April 2016.
For the BG-I version, the maximum sale price has been fixed at 635 rupees per packet with no trait value, the notification added.

Quick Link – Bt cotton seeds

ENVIRONMENT

4th World Congress of Biosphere Reserves inaugurated at Lima

The event will be held from 14 March to 17 March 2016 to address different issues related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Post 2015 Development Agenda.
Event is organized by the Secretariat of the Man and Biosphere Programme (MAB), the Ministry of Environment of Peru (MINAM) and its National Service of Natural Areas Protected by the State (SERNANP)
The MAB National Committee of Peru, the 4th World Congress of Biosphere Reserves will take place in the city of Lima, Peru, on 14-17 March 2016.
It is a world meeting of the Committees of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Program (MAB) and experts directly involved in the practical implementation of biosphere reserves including representatives of governments, biosphere reserves, local communities, UN agencies, NGOs, academic institutions, and organizations and institutions from all over the world working with the MAB Programme.

Quick Link – World Congress of Biosphere Reserves

SPORTS

Lin Dan Wins His Sixth All England Badminton Championships Title

The sixth championship by badminton’s greatest player came 12 years after his first, and four years after his last, when he went into semi-retirement for two years.
Lin Dan is a professional badminton player from China.
He is a two-time Olympic champion, five-time world champion, and six-time All England champion.
Considered by many to be the greatest singles player of all time, by the age of 28 Lin had completed the “Super Grand Slam”, having won all nine major titles in the badminton world: Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cup, Thomas Cup, Sudirman Cup, Super Series Masters Finals, All England Open, Asian Games, and Asian Championships, becoming the first and only player to achieve this feat.
He also became the first men’s singles player to retain the Olympic gold medal by winning in 2008 and defending his title in 2012

Quick Link – Badminton Championships Title

Services beat Maharashtra to retain Santosh Trophy

This was the fifth triumph for Services.
The runners-up received a prize of Rs. 3 lakhs.
Santosh Trophy is an annual Indian football tournament which is contested by states and government institutions.
The first winners were Bengal, who also lead the all-time winners list with 31 titles to date.
The tournament first began in 1941, and was the premier football competition in the country before the National Football League started in the year 1996.
The trophy as named after the late Maharaja Sir Manmatha Nath Roy Chowdhary of Santosh, which is now in Bangladesh, who had been the President of the Indian Football Association, the football organisation of Bengal and the donators of the trophy.
The runners-up trophy, Kamla Gupta Trophy, was also donated by the IFA.

Quick Link – Santosh Trophy

OBITUARY

Ernestine Anderson, Grammy-Nominated Jazz Singer, Dies at 87

Jazz vocalist Ernestine Anderson, who was nominated for four Grammys over her career, died Thursday.
Over her six-decade career, Anderson performed at events around the world, including at the first Monterey Jazz Festival in 1958, as well as at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall, according to the Seattle Times.
Her voice was once described as “honey at desk” by friend and producer Quincy Jones.
The singer performed at Dwight D. Eisenhower’s presidential inauguration, and often played with bands led by Lionel Hampton and Johnny Otis.
Anderson was born in Houston and won a talent contest when she was 12. She moved with her family to Seattle in 1944, where she attended the Garfield High School. There, she sang with the Bumps Blackwell Junior Band, which featured Jones.

Quick Link – Ernestine Anderson Passes away

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