Dear Friends,
Welcome to the Quick Gyan (QG) Section of D2G. QG is just a glimpse of what happened today all over the world.
Only For Serious Candidates : We strongly recommend you to read the Current Affairs in detail. For your convenience, we have provided quick links under the updates. Make use of it.
Always Keep Yourself Updated!!!
AWARDS AND HONORS
Gravitational wave scientists win Special Breakthrough Prize
The scientists and engineers of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, who detected gravitational waves and reported their discovery in February, have been awarded a $3 million Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. The prize will be shared between two groups of laureates: the three founders of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), who will each equally share $1 million; and 1,012 contributors to the experiment, who will each equally share $2 million. The three founders are Rainer Weiss, emeritus professor of physics at MIT; Kip Thorne, Caltech’s Richard P. Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, emeritus; and Ronald Drever, emeritus professor of physics at Caltech.
Founded by a group of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, the Breakthrough Prizes recognize the world’s top scientists in life sciences, fundamental physics, and mathematics. A Special Breakthrough Prize can be awarded by the selection committee any time. The Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics and the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics are funded by a grant from the Milner Global Foundation.
Quick Link – Special Breakthrough Prize
APPOINTMENTS
Dr. Radha Binod Barman Nominated as Chairperson of the National Statistical Commission
Dr. Radha Binod Barman, an eminent statistician, has taken over as the part-time Chairperson in the National Statistical Commission. Prof. S. Mahendra Dev, Prof. Rahul Mukherjee, Dr. Rajiv Mehta and Dr. Manoj Panda are the other part-time Members in the Commission. The Chief Executive Officer, NITI Aayog is the ex-officio Member in the Commission. The Commission is an advisory body on all statistical matters, set up to enhance public trust in official statistics.
National Statistical Commission
- The Government of India ordered setting up National Statistical Commission on 1 June 2005 on the recommendation of C. Rangarajan Commission.
- The National Statistical Commission (NSC) of India is an autonomous body which formed in July 2006.
Quick Link – Dr. Radha Binod Barman as Chairperson
BANKING AND FINANCE
IREDA may be converted into a Green Bank
State-run Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) might be converted into a Green Bank to enable it to access funding from overseas banks. With IREDA conversion into Green Bank, it would be entitled to avail of certain benefits, which the agency is currently deprived of and the proposal is being well supported by the Union Power Ministry. A green bank provides low-cost financing support to clean and low-carbon projects.
Meanwhile, a study by IREDA, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency), and Natural Resources Defense Council said that India’s goal to ramp up solar and wind energy capacity could get a major boost through two fast-growing financing innovations – green banks and green bonds. A green bank could offer lower interest charges than traditional banks and tap into international capital to finance solar and wind projects to help India power its cities and rural communities.
Quick Link – IREDA
India ratifies trade pact of WTO
The Government has ratified the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) of the WTO and the pact aims to expedite the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit. India has ratified the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) of the World Trade Agreement (WTO) and the instrument of Acceptance for Trade Facilitation Agreement was handed over to WTO Director-General by India on April 22. The pact will come into force once two-thirds of WTO members have completed their domestic rectification process.
Quick Link – TFA
INDIAN AFFAIRS
India cigarettes: Court upholds tough rules on packaging
India’s Supreme Court has upheld new federal rules which require tobacco firms to put bigger pictorial health warnings on cigarette packets. The court rejected the tobacco industry’s arguments that the rules were impractical to implement. The government wants tobacco firms to cover 80% of a cigarette pack’s surface with pictorial warnings, up from 20%. India has about 110 million smokers and the government says smoking kills nearly a million people every year.
The government opposed the tobacco industry’s demands that the court should stay the implementation of the new rules, which came into effect from 1 April. The court also ordered that similar petitions from smaller manufacturers of tobacco products would be heard by a court in the southern state of Karnataka.
Quick Link – India cigarettes
DRDO and Ayush Join Hands to Impart Yoga Training to Defence Wing Staff
Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS) a Delhi based premier laboratory of DRDO in collaboration with Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) organised a training program on Yoga for the Defence Wing Staff during 25th to 30th April 2016. The training programme was in collaboration with HQ of Integrated Defence Services, DCIDS (Medical), Ministry of Defence and Central Council for Research in Yoga & Naturopathy (CCRYN) under AYUSH.
Thirty-three participants from IHQ MoD (Army), Defence Wing Staff, IHQ MoD (Navy) and Air Headquarters participated in the training program. They were trained by professional yoga trainers on various aspects of asanas, breathing exercise and meditation for improving physical, physiological and mental well-being. DIPAS has already imparted training to about 8000 Army and Paramilitary personnel deployed at various locations.
Quick Link – DRDO & AYUSH
BHEL commissioned 600 MW thermal power plant in Madhya Pradesh
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has successfully commissioned a 600 MW coal-based thermal power plant in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The unit has been commissioned at the 1 x 600 MW Jhabua Thermal Power Project (TPP) located in Seoni district in Madhya Pradesh. The project is being developed by Jhabua Power Limited (JPL), a subsidiary of Avantha Power & Infrastructure Limited (APIL). This is the second project of APIL commissioned by BHEL, having earlier commissioned the 1 x 600 MW Avantha Bhandar TPP at Raigarh in Chhattisgarh.
In Madhya Pradesh, BHEL is presently executing two supercritical units of 800 MW for NTPC at Gadarwara. BHEL’s contribution of nearly two-thirds of the total power generated in the country bears testimony to the superlative performance of BHEL’s equipment. BHEL has established its engineering prowess by successfully delivering higher-rated units such as 600 MW, 660 MW, 700 MW and 800 MW thermal sets, having a high degree of indigenization.
Quick Link – BHEL commissioned 600 MW in MP
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Pentagon Tests Out ‘Sea Hunter,’ 132-Foot Robot Ship
The military is starting tests on the world’s largest unmanned surface vessel — a self-driving, 132-foot ship designed to travel thousands of miles out at sea without a single crew member on board. The so-called “Sea Hunter” has the potential to revolutionize not only the military’s maritime operations but commercial shipping. If successful, it could usher in the arrival of unmanned cargo vessels moving between countries.
The military’s research arm, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, in conjunction with the Navy will be testing the ship off the San Diego coast over the next two years to observe how it interacts with other vessels and avoids collisions. “Sea Hunter” relies on radar, sonar, cameras and a global positioning system.Unmanned ships will supplement missions to help keep service members out of harm’s way.
Quick Link – Sea Hunter
Scientists developed World’s Smallest Engine
The world’s smallest engine has been created in a lab at Cambridge University. It is fuelled by lasers and gold and is so tiny it could power the nanobots scientists hope to inject into our bodies in future to keep us healthy. The engine, which is powered by laser light, is aptly named the ANT (standing for actuating nano-transducer) and takes cues from its insect counterpart in the sense that it is small and mighty. The microscopic ANT engine, which cannot be seen by the human eye, is believed to be up to a hundred times more powerful than any other engine known to man if you take its force to weight ratio into account.
The prototype device, known as an actuating nano-transducer or Ant, combines microscopic gold balls with a special polymer gel. It generates a propulsive force on a microscopic scale that is a hundred times greater per unit weight than any known motor or muscle.
Quick Link – World’s Smallest Engine
OBITUARY
Nihal Bitla: India progeria campaigner dies aged 15
Nihal Bitla (15), a Mumbai teenager who had been suffering from a rare genetic disease that causes the body to age eight times faster than normal has died. He was the face of India’s awareness campaign against progeria. Bitla made headlines while trying to locate 60 other Indian progeria sufferers to participate in a clinical trial in Boston with him. He ran an active social media campaign to raise awareness about the disease. Most recently he fronted an awareness campaign called #HatsOnForProgeria, where he appeared with a group of supporters at Mumbai’s iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji railway station. He had also appeared at a #RunForProgeria event in the southern city of Bangalore.
Quick Link – Nihal Bitla Passes away
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