Assam becomes India’s first state to produce over 500 Million Kg Tea for consecutive 2 years

Assam becomes India’s first state to produce over 500 Million Kg Tea for consecutive 2 years

 current affairs in 2013

February 26th, 2013

With a production of 589 million Kgs in 2011 and 588 million Kgs 2012, Assam has become the first state in India to produce over 500 million kilogram tea for two years in a row.

• The North East Tea Association, a premium body of the tea planters held that over Rs 7500s crore rupee turn over was recorded in Assam tea sector last year.
• Around 7 lakh workers are engaged in the tea sector of which 50% are women.

February 28 – The National Science Day

Fact Box: February 28 – The National Science Day

February 28th, 2013

Every year February 28 is celebrated as the National Science Day Rashtriya Vigyan Diwas (राष्ट्रीय विज्ञान दिवस).
Why National Science Day is celebrated?

• 1928- To mark the discovery of the Raman effect by Indian physicist Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman on February 28, 1928. For this discovery, Sir C.V.Raman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930.
• 1986- The NCSTC (National Council for Science and Technology Communication)  demanded the Government of India to assign February 28 every year as the ‘National Science Day’ for India.
• 2000- The first National Science Day was celebrated on February 28,2000.
• 
  
• 2013- The American Chemical Society designated the ‘Raman Effect’ as an International Historic Chemical Landmark.
• Theme for the National Science Day 2013 – “Genetically Modified Crops and Food Security”

ISRO scientists successfully launch Indo-French satellite PSLV-SARAL

ISRO scientists successfully launch Indo-French satellite PSLV-SARAL

 current affairs in 2013

February 28th, 2013

ISRO launched Indo-French satellite SARAL and six foreign mini and micro spacecraft from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. Thus, PSLV-20 successfully puts seven satellites in orbit.
Some more information:

• PSLV 20
• 23rd mission of PSLV
• PSLV has an impeccable record of 21 consecutive successful flights.
• 9th time ISRO is using the ‘core alone’ variant of the rocket.

Besides SARAL, the other 6 mini and micro spacecrafts were:

1. Micro-satellite UniBRITE from Austria
2. Micro-satellite BRITE from Austria
3. AAUSAT3 from Denmark
4. STRaND from United Kingdom
5. Micro-satellite NEOSSat from Canada
6. Mini-satellite SAPPHIRE from Canada

The ISRO-built SARAL is a 410-kg satellite with payloads – Argos and Altika – from French space agency CNES for study of ocean parameters towards enhancing the understanding of the ocean state conditions which are otherwise not covered by the in-situ measurements.
Objective:
SARAL satellite is aimed for oceanographic studies. SARAL will furnish data products to operational and research user communities, in support of marine meteorology and sea state forecasting; operational oceanography; seasonal forecasting; climate monitoring; ocean, earth system and climate research.
Altimeter (Altika) would assist in studying the sea surface heights while Argos payload is a satellite-based data collection platform.

Russian meteor damage estimated at over $30 million

 

 MOSCOW: Russian authorities estimate that the meteor that entered the Earth's atmosphere and exploded in the sky over the Ural Mountains region caused more than $30 million in damage.


"Around 100,000 homeowners were affected (by Friday's incident). The damage is estimated at more than 1 billion rubles (some $30 million)," the governor of the central Russian region of Chelyabinsk, Mikhail Yurevich, said at a press conference.

He added that 30 percent of the windows shattered by shockwaves that rocked that part of the country, where temperatures on Saturday dipped to -20 C, have already been repaired.

The remaining windows will be repaired over the next week, except for some large ones built in the Soviet era that will require weeks to fix.

Yurevich said the building most seriously damaged by the shockwaves was the Chelyabinsk ice rink.

The meteor streaked across the sky some 80 km from the town of Satka at around 9:20 am Friday and broke up. Shockwaves from the explosion affected several adjacent regions and even parts of the neighbouring Central Asian country of Kazakhstan.

Authorities estimate that 1,000 people were injured, most of them by flying glass.

Authorities on Saturday estimated that 200,000 square meters of glass will need to be replaced in the Chelyabinsk region, where hundreds of homes have been left unprotected amid the frigid conditions.

Current affair

3 killed in Bangladesh violence

 At least three persons were killed in sporadic clashes in Bangladesh on Monday during a nationwide general strike called by fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) to protest their leaders' ongoing trial for 1971 war crimes.

Meteorite falls in Russian Urals

 

MOSCOW (AP) — With a blinding flash and a booming shock wave, a meteor blazed across the western Siberian sky Friday and exploded with the force of 20 atomic bombs, injuring more than 1,000 people as it blasted out windows and spread panic in a city of 1 million.
While NASA estimated the meteor was only about the size of a bus and weighed an estimated 7,000 tons, the fireball it produced was dramatic. Video shot by startled residents of the city of Chelyabinsk showed its streaming contrails as it arced toward the horizon just after sunrise, looking like something from a world-ending science-fiction movie.
The largest recorded meteor strike in more than a century occurred hours before a 150-foot asteroid passed within about 17,000 miles (28,000 kilometers) of Earth. The European Space Agency said its experts had determined there was no connection between the asteroid and the Russian meteor — just cosmic coincidence.

Pope Benedict XVI to renounce as the head of the Catholic Church

Pope Benedict XVI to renounce as the head of the Catholic Church

February 15th, 2013

Pope Benedict XVI has announced that he would resign at the end of this month after as the head of the Catholic Church citing old age and poor health to continue.
It is the first papal resignation in nearly 600 years. The new pope is expected to be elected before Easter. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope in 2005 after John Paul II’s death.
The last Pope who resigned was Pope Gregory XII, who stepped aside in 1415 amid a schism within the Church.

Operation Three Star - codename for Afzal Guru hanging

 Operation Three Star - codename for Afzal Guru hanging

Fact Box: ‘Operation Three Star’

February 15th, 2013

‘Operation Three Star’ was the code name of the top secret execution plan in which Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was sent to gallows in the high-security Tihar Jail on February 9, 2013.
Afzal Guru was found guilty of conspiring and sheltering the militants who attacked Parliament on December 13, 2001, in which nine persons were killed.

Kalyan Kumar Chakravarty appointed as new chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi

Kalyan Kumar Chakravarty appointed as new chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi

February 16th, 2013

Kalyan Kumar Chakravarty , a 1970 batch retired IAS officer has been appointed as the new chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi. The appointment was cleared by the President Pranab Mukherjee.
Chakravarty had been the member-secretary of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, director general of the National Museum, New Delhi and vice chancellor of the National Museum Institute.

Parle-G is now India’s first homegrown Rs 5K crore FMCG brand

Parle-G is now India’s first homegrown Rs 5K crore FMCG brand

February 16th, 2013

The1939 born Parle-G glucose biscuit brand of Parle Products has become the first Indian FMCG brand to cross the Rs 5,000-crore mark in retail sales in a year.
In 2012, Parle Products sold Rs 5,010 crore worth of its flagship glucose biscuit brand at retail price, besting the entire domestic sales of Dabur or Godrej products and selling three times more than Maggi noodles. It sells more than 100 crore packets across sizes every month.
Parle Products was set up by Mohanlal Dayal Chauhan in 1929 at Vile-Parle, a Mumbai suburb.

India and France Signed Mou for Strengthening Cooperation in Railway Sector

 Ministry of Railways, Government of India and the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français (SNCF), the French National Railways signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 14 February 2013 in order to facilitate technical cooperation in Railways to each other.

Chairman, Railway Board, India and Chairman and CEO SNCF from the French side signed this MoU. The MoU was signed when the President of France, H.E. Francois Hollande was present.

Google launches ‘Mapathon 2013’ competition to “map” India

Google launches ‘Mapathon 2013’ competition to “map” India

February 9th, 2013

Google has unveiled its first ever mapping competition in India – Mapathon 2013. It is a nationwide mapping contest open to anyone who lives in India. Google will give prizes to top 1000 mappers who will win Android tablets, smartphones, gift vouchers and Google merchandise.
Those who wish to participate in the map making competition can log on to http://g.co/mapindia2013

current affair

Afzal Guru hanged: Curfew imposed in Kashmir valley, NH closed to avert trouble

  Parliament attack convict Mohammed Afzal Guru was hanged on Saturday at the Tihar Jail

South Africa tops ICC Rankings for Test Cricket

South Africa tops ICC Rankings for Test Cricket

February 7th, 2013

South Africa was declared as the world number one team in the ICC Test Cricket Rankings. It is followed by England, Australia, Pakistan and India. India was at 5^th spot.  
South African batsman Hashim Amla has emerged as the best batsman in the category and with this he became the first batsman to hold the number one position in both Test and One-day format of the game since 2007, before this Ricky Pointing was the cricketer to achieve this feat.
In the bowling rankings, Dale Steyn, the South African bowler held the top spot followed by his teammate, Vernan Philander. 
Pragyan Ojha is the only one from Indian side to figure in the top ten bowlers in the test rankings.

Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev (Russian:)

 

•  born in 8 February 1834 – 2 February 1907 .
• He  was a Russian chemist and inventor.
•  He created the first version of the periodic table of elements, and used it to predict the properties of elements yet to be discovered.

January 2013 Current Affair

NASA launched a New Communication Satellite called TDRS

NASA on 31 January 2013 launched a new communication satellite TDRS to stay in touch with its space station astronauts

India and USA inaugurated the First Triangular India-US-Africa Partnership at Hyderabad

India and the United States inaugurated the first triangular India-US-Africa partnership in agricultural training at Hyderabad

World Anti-Leprosy Day Observed to focus Attention on Disease

World anti Leprosy Day was observed on 30 January 2013 to focus attention and create awareness about the air-borne disease.

India Pledged Humanitarian Assistance of 2.5 Million US Dollars to Syria

India announced an assistance of 2.5 million US dollars to Syria on 30 January 2013 at the High-level International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria

RIM Changed to Blackberry; Launched New Blackberry 10 Operating System

Research In Motion on 30 January 2013 announced that it will formally be called Blackberry now. It launched its own new operating system called Blackberry 10.

Milos Zeman became Czech Republic’s First Directly Elected President

Milos Zeman became Czech Republic’s first directly elected President as per the Czech Republic Presidential election results declared on 25 January 2013.

Controversy over Kamal Haasan’s Tamil film Vishwaroopam

Vishwaroopam which was originally slated to be released on 25 January 2013 was once again banned by the Madras High Court on 30 January 2013.

Madras High Court Upheld Ban on Vishwaroopam in Tamil Nadu

Madras High Court on 30 January 2013, in the evening upheld the ban on Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam in Tamil Nadu till 6 February 2013.

US Drillers Reached Lake Whillans Hidden Beneath Antarctic Ice

Scientists from the US in the last week of January 2013 successfully drilled into Lake Whillans, which was buried 1 kilometre beneath the Antarctic Ice.

SpiceJet to Launch Flights to Guangzhou in South China

SpiceJet decided to launch its flights to Guangzhou in the first week of February 2013. SpiceJet became the only Indian private airline to fly China.

India and Australia agreed to Concentrate on Energy and Food Security

India and Australia on 28 January 2013 agreed to concentrate on priority areas like energy and food security for mutual benefit of the two countries.

Tiger Woods won his 75th PGA Tour Title in the Farmers Insurance Open

Tiger Woods on 29 January 2013 won his 75th PGA Tour title in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.

Expert committee under Sam Pitroda Constituted to review Working of Prasar Bharti

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry on 29 January 2013 constituted a seven-member expert committee to review the institutional framework of Prasar Bharti.

India won the ODI series against England 3-2; England won the Fifth ODI

England defeated India by seven wickets in the fifth and the last ODI played at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamshala on 27 January 2013

Aircel launched Free Roaming Service for Voice, SMS and Data

Aircel on 28 January 2013 launched Free Roaming Service for Voice, SMS and Data

Mumbai won its 40th Ranji Trophy after defeating Saurashtra in Final

Mumbai won its 40th Ranji trophy at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on 28 Jan 2013 defeating Saurashtra

Philips Electronics Sold Audio and Video Business to Funai Electric

Philips Electronics sold the audio and video business to Funai Electric of Japan in the deal which would lead to its exit from consumer electronics completely.

Kamal Haasan’s Film Vishwaroopam Cleared by Madras High Court

The Madras High Court on 29 January 2013 lifted ban on actor-director-co-producer Kamal Haasan’s film Vishwaroopam.

Shah Rukh Khan Attempted to End Controversy over His Article on Being a Muslim in India

SRK attempted to end controversy over his article on Being a Khan to the Outlook Turning Points 2013 . A controversy sparked over article where he talked about being Muslim in India.

UK Government put a Ban on the Sale of Five Aquatic Plants

The UK government announced a ban on the sale of five species of invasive non-native aquatic plants.

The Centre resolved the Issue of CST Compensation with the States

The Centre on 29 January 2013 resolved the issue of CST compensation with the states

India and Bangladesh signed Agreements on Extradition and Visa Regime

India and Bangladesh on 28 January 2013 signed two landmark agreements on extradition of criminals and terrorists and liberalising the visa regime.

Deutsche Bank Appointed As the Depository Bank for GDR of IIPL

Deutsche Bank was appointed as the depository bank for Global Depository Receipt (GDR) of Indiabulls Infrastructure and Power Limited (IIPL).

Union Ministry for Commerce launched eBiz Portal to Provide one Stop Shop for all Investment

The Union Minister for Commerce on 28 January 2013 launched an eBiz portal at the CII Partnership Summit in Agra

Iran Announced Sending a Monkey Successfully Into Space

Iran on 28 January 2013 announced that it had successfully sent into space a monkey. The first country to launch the primate into space was US in 1948.

Rajasthan HC stayed State’s Decision for Giving 4% Additional Reservation to Gurjar

The Rajasthan High Court on 29 January 2013 stayed the state government's decision for giving 4 per cent additional reservation to Gurjar

Toyota Regained the Title of Top Selling Automaker of the World

Toyota Motor acclaimed the title of top selling automaker of the world in 2012, recording the highest sales and beating its rivals Volkswagen and GM.

Heat in the Cities Affect Faraway Places: New Modeling Research

According to the new modeling research, the excess amount of heat produced by the cities could heat up rural areas as far as 1000 miles or 1600 km away.

Reserve Bank of India slashed Repo Rate to 7.75 Percent and CRR to 4 Percent

The Reserve Bank of India on 29 January 2013 slashed its key interest rates by 0.25 per cent and released 18000 crore rupees

Mohamed Morsi Announced Emergency in Three Major Cities of Egypt

President Mohamed Morsi announced a month-long emergency in three cities of Egypt on 27 January 2013. These cities are Suez, Ismailia and Port Said.

Latest Current Affairs

Latest Current Affairs

• King of Bhutan visited India to be the Chief Guest during Republic Day function
• I&B Ministry Constituted Expert Committee to Review Functioning of Prasar Bharti
• Rajkeswur Purryag, President of Mauritius Visited India
• Marussia F1 Team Unveiled Their New Formula 1 Car, MR02
• India and Austria signed a Social Security Pact
• Flightsafety International Entered India through Agreement with Aviators India
• Rebecca Adlington, Olympic Gold Medalist Announced Retirement from Competitive Swimming
• Nepal Started Census of Endangered Species Tigers in Five Conservation Areas

current affair

By 2024, India to become second largest coal consumer

February 7th, 2013

As per BP World Energy Outlook 2030, India will overtake US as second largest coal consumer in 2024. Currently, China is the largest consumer of coal in the world.

February 7th, 2013

Nayudamma award to VC of BHU

February 7th, 2013

Distinguished scientist and vice-chancellor of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) Lalji Singh, has been selected for the prestigious Dr Y Nayudamma memorial award for the year 2012.
Why this award?

• The award is being given to him in recognition to his extraordinary contribution to life sciences and in honor of his untiring efforts for establishing DNA fingerprinting as a tool for both fundamental research and crime detection. He is also being rewarded for trying to unravel the puzzle of human evolution, in relation to the genetically diverse population especially the Andaman-Nicobar tribes.

About Nayudamma Memorial Award:

• This award was established in 1986 in memory of distinguished chemical scientist and internationally renowned leather technologist Yelavarthy Nayudamma, and is conferred annually on persons who have made important contributions to the development of science and technology in the country.

current affair

Agni-VI all set to take shape

• Agni-VI with multiple nuclear warheads, which can reach targets 6,000 km away, is all set to be developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). 

•  Only in April last, it carried out the maiden launch of Agni-V, which has a range of more than 5,000 km. 

•  So far, all the strategic missiles developed by the DRDO — Agni-I, II, III, IV and V, and the submarine-launched K-15 and its land-based version Shourya — can carry only single nuclear warhead. The DRDO’s tactical missiles and supersonic cruise missile BrahMos can carry one conventional warhead each.

 

 Current affair question and answer

1 Name the world famous museum in St Petersburg,Russia

The Hermitage

2.Who recently created history by becoming the first male to win three Australian open Singles title in the Open Era?

Novak Djokovic

3.Name the most expensive footballer in history celebrating his 28^th birthday today(5^th feb)

Cristiano Ronaldo

4.Name the eminent playback singer who has created a ripple by ejecting the Padma Bhushan awarded to her

S Janaki

5.What was the film version of Vikas Swarup’s book Q&A titled?

Slumdog Millionarie

6.India recently test fired the K-5 (code named B05)missile to move a step closer to completing its nuclear triad.From which location was it fired

Underwater off the Visakapatanam coast

7.Which popular film star’s philanthropic initiative is called ‘Being Human”

Salman khan

8.Who was the state guest at this year(2013)’s Republic day parade in New Delhi?

Jigme Khesar Wangchuck ,The King of bhutan

9.In Carnatic music ,if the base raga is called Melakarta,What is the derived raga called?

Janya

10.Name the Pakistani American terrorist sentenced to 35 years in prison by an US court for his role in the 26/11 attack on Mumbai?

David Headley

11Alanine,Glycine and Tyrosine are all type of ?

Amino Acids

12.In which ball sport /game is Bobby Jones a legend

Golf

13.Which great Asian ruler’s posthumous name is Emperor shengde shengong wenwu?

Kublai Khan

14.which character in the Bing Bang theory is a particle astrophysicist at caltech?

Rajesh ramayan Raj Koothrapalli

15.Which chemical element is named after the city of paris

Lutetium

01 February 2013 Current Affairs

Malala Yousafzai nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Malala Yousafzai, the shot Pakistani schoolgirl-turned-icon of Taliban resistance, and ex-Eastern bloc activists are among those known to be nominated for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, as the deadline expired on 01 February 2013.

French, Canadian and Norwegian MPs have all separately nominated Malala.

This year’s award will be announced in early October, but speculation was already underway as the deadline for nominations ran out on February 1.

K-15 missile ready to be integrated with Arihant

January 1st, 2013

The underwater missile K-15 (K-15 Sagarika missile) developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was successfully launched off the Visakhapatnam coast. After one more flight, the two-stage missile will be integrated with Arihant, India’s nuclear-powered submarine.
India has joined the club of nations who possess an underwater launch system. The other countries are the U.S., Russia, France and China.
K-15 missile


It is also called “K-15 Sagarika missile” which is a nuclear-capable submarine launched ballistic missile with a range of 700 kilometres. It belongs to the K Missile family. It is being developed for use with Indian Navy nucleur-powered Arihant class submarime.
India has been developing the K-4 missile, to be launched from submarines. It will be more powerful than K-15, with a range of 3,000 km.

first underwater missile developed by india

India successfully test fires K-5 ballistic missile from underwater

February 2nd, 2013

India has advanced towards completing its nuclear triad capability by successfully test firing a nuclear-capable medium range K-5 ballistic missile from an underwater platform in Bay of Bengal.

Once complete, the nuclear triad will render India the ability to fire nuclear-loaded missiles from land, air and sea.
 It is the first underwater missile to have been fully developed by India and can be launched from a submarine.