Current Affairs: September 20, 2011

New Laser developed by the Scientists to assist in Detecting Roadside Bombs

  • A new laser developed by Researchers at Michigan State University
  • United State Department of Homeland Security funded the research and it was published in the journal Applied Physics Letters
  • The laser has the sensitivity and selectivity to look into large areas and detect improvised explosive devices, which cause 60% of coalition soldiers’ deaths in Afghanistan
  • The Laser can precisely identify roadside bombs and aids recognize improvised explosive devices (IEDs)
  • The laser combines short pulses that cause molecules in the explosive to vibrate
  • Each type of molecule has special vibration frequency that exclusively find the material
  • But, the new laser can make differentiation even for amounts as little as a fraction of a billionth of a gram

First Overseas Campus set up by IIFT in Kampala, Uganda

  • India-Africa Institute of Foreign Trade (IAIFT)

  • Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), a Government-run Institute to setup its first overseas campus in Kampala, Uganda

  • Objective: To help students of African nations comprehend the subtlety of globalization and capacity-building in the continent

  • The institute India-Africa Institute of Foreign Trade (IAIFT), being set up as a part of the Indian Government’s plan to assist develop a higher education system in African countries in specialized fields

Free Housing for Schedule Caste living in Jhuggis declared by Delhi Government

  • Under the Rajiv Ratna Yojana, Delhi Govt declared free housing for Schedule Caste living in jhuggis
  • 70,000 houses to be built under this scheme

  • Rs 60,000 also to be paid to the people living in jhuggis under the rehabilitation process

Rajasthan Public Service Guarantee Act, 2011 approved by the Rajasthan Cabinet

  • Rajasthan Public Service Guarantee Act, 2011 was cleared by the Rajasthan Cabinet
  • Objective: To provide services to the general man in a specific time frame; to make public administration and governance more effective and accountable

“Bompu”: A New Frog Species Discovered in Arunachal Pradesh

  • A new frog species discovered in Eagle Nest Wildlife sanctuary at Sessa in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh in a survey conducted as part of Eagle Nest Biodiversity Project with support of the state forest department
  • Bompu was the name given to the frog after the neighborhood in the sanctuary where it was discovered
  • The frog is inhabitant to the forest streams at an elevation of 2,000 m and lives beneath leaf trash and decaying logs
  • The frog belongs to the family Megophrydae and the genus Leptobrachium
  • Only 28 members of this genus are known worldwide and most of them are found in Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, China and Vietnam
  • This finding is significant because only 2 other members of the genus are identified from India

Peter Svidler, Russian Grandmaster won the Chess World Cup held in Russia

  • Russian grandmaster Peter Svidler won the Chess World Cup title

  • He defeated fellow citizen Alexander Grischuk in the finale
  • With the victory Svidler won a $96,000 prize money and a ticket to the 2012 world championship matches
  • Russia holds the No.1 spot on the World Chess Federation’s top-10 list, followed by Ukraine

Lal Sukla, Amar Kant selected for 45th and Chandrashekhara Kambara, Sri for the 46th Jnanpith Awards

  • Eminent Hindi authors Amar Kant and Shrilal Shukla was chosen for India’s highest literary honour Jnanpith Award for 2009, while renowned Kannada litterateur Chandrasekhar Kambar won it for 2010.
  • The selection board – chaired by noted writer and Jnanpith award winner Dr Sitakant Mahapatra – made the selections for the 45th and 46th Jnanpith awards.


C. Achuthan, Former Presiding Officer of the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) passed away

  • Former presiding officer of the Securities Appellate Tribunal C Achuthan passed away in Kerela
  • Mr. Achuthan began with the Indian Legal Services and served as a legal advisor to the Central government
  • He also served on the Company Law Board, previous to being elevated as the SAT’s solitary presiding officer from 1997 to 2003
  • Mr. Achuthan was one of the directors appointed by the Government to direct the scam-tainted Satyam Computer Services, now Mahindra Satyam, after the multi-Crore accounting scam was unearthed in January 2009
  • He also chaired the new Takeover Regulations Advisory Committee of the capital markets watchdog Securities and Exchange Board

 

ONGC, Coal India, NMDC awarded by the Government for Best Performance

  • ONGC, Coal India (CIL) and NMDC awarded by the Government for best performance in various categories
  • Best financial performance award in Maharatna and Navaratna category: ONGC
  • Best financial performance award in Miniratna category: Goa Shipyard
  • Good Corporate Governance award in Maharatna and Navaratna category: ONGC
  • Good Corporate Governance award in Miniratna category: Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd.
  • The company of the year award in Maharatna category: CIL
  • The company of the year award in Navaratna category: NMDC and Oil India
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