GK and Current Affairs Updates

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope in the first week of October 2016 detected Great Balls of Fire.
●    These super hot blobs of gas, each twice as big as the planet Mars, were being ejected near a dying star.
●    These plasma balls are moving so fast through space that it would take only 30 minutes for them to travel from Earth to the moon. 
●    The observations suggest that these balls of fire have been appearing every 8.5 years for at least the last four centuries.
●    The gas balls were observed near a red giant called V Hydrae that is about 1200 light-years away from Earth.
●    If scientists can discover where these balls come from, it could also explain other weird shapes seen in the cloud of gas around dying stars, some of which have been difficult for scientists to explain.
●    The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990. It remains in operation. It could last until 2030–2040.

Samsung has withdrawn all of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones from sale globally after a spate of fires involving “safe” replacements.
●    Samsung said consumers with original Note 7 devices or replacements they obtained after the recall should turn off the power and seek a refund or exchange them for different phones.
●    South Korean authorities said they had found a new product defect in the Note 7 – Samsung’s most popular smartphone – and also asked consumers to power them down or to exchange them. 
●    The statement did not identify the defect.
●    The company’s shares dropped 7.5% on Tuesday, the biggest daily percentage decline since 2008, wiping more than $18bn off its value.
●    The US Consumer Product Safety Commission said it is continuing to investigate at least five incidents of fire or overheating reported since a formal recall was announced on 15 September.

The revenue department has extended anti-dumping duty on import of certain Chinese products, used in garment, footwear and toy manufacturing, for another five years.
●    The anti-dumping duty on “narrow woven fabrics hook and loop velcro tapes” will be charged at the rate of $1.87 per kilo. 
●    These products are mainly used in garment manufacturing, surgical and orthopaedic apparatus, shoes and footwear, luggage/bags, toys, automobile upholstery and other industrial segments.
●    The Central Board of Excise and Customs imposed the duty, based on recommendations of the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping & Allied Duties (DGAD).
●    The DGAD made the case for continuation of the levy, after its second sunset review of the anti-dumping duty in force on the imports.
 

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on 8 October 2016 inaugurated India’s first centre for international arbitration in Mumbai. 
●    Inaugurating the Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA), Fadnavis said that India will leave its benchmark worldwide in business dispute redressal with the setting up of international arbitration centre in Mumbai.
●    The Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA) is located in Express towers, Nariman Point. 
●    It is being headed by CEO Madhukeshwar Desai.
●    The MCIA will be governed by a 17-member governing council.
●    The Arbitration Centre is in sync with the Prime Minister's Make in India campaign.
●    The Centre would provide a time bound and cost-effective facility and reinforce investor confidence.

Indian pharmaceutical companies have ranked low at 19th position with an overall score of 59 out of 100 among in the Biopharmaceutical Competitiveness & Investment (BCI) Survey. 
●    The survey of 28 countries was commissioned by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and executed by the Pugatch Consilium. 
●    It was third edition of survey. 
●    Five metrics were used to determine rankings of countries. 
●    They are scientific capabilities and infrastructure; clinical research conditions and framework; regulatory system; market access and financing; and effective intellectual property protections.
●    It had looked at biomedical innovation and its influencers, like intellectual property protection for investments in the pharmaceutical sector. 
●    It had categorized countries into two groups viz. mature markets like UK US, and Germany, and newcomers like China, India and Brazil. 
●    Markets provide advanced intellectual property protection, highly streamlined regulatory framework and favourable tax conditions with some exceptions.

Union Finance Ministry on 4 October constituted a Public Debt Management Cell (PDMC). The cell was created to streamline government borrowings and better cash management with the overall objective of deepening bond markets.
●    The Joint Secretary (Budget), Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance would be the overall in-charge of the ODMC.
●    As an interim arrangement, the PDMC will be housed at the RBI's Delhi office. In about two years, the PDMC will be upgraded to a statutory Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA).
●    The interim arrangement will allow separation of debt management functions from RBI to PDMA in a gradual and seamless manner, without causing market disruptions.
●    It will have only advisory functions to avoid any conflict with the statutory functions of RBI.
●    It has been tasked to plan government borrowings, including market borrowings and other borrowings, like Sovereign Gold Bond issuance.

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to M/s. HLL Lifecare Ltd., a Mini Ratna PSU under Ministry of Health & Family Welfare to sub- lease 330.10 acres of land at. Chengalpattu, located in the outskirts of Chennai, to setup a medical devices manufacturing park (Medipark) through a special purpose Vehicle. The shareholding of HLL in the project would be above 50%.
●    The Medipark project will be the first manufacturing cluster in the medical technology sector in the country, envisaged to boost the local manufacturing of hi-end products at a significantly lower cost, resulting in affordable healthcare delivery, particular in diagnostic services to a large section of people. The proposed Medipark would contribute to the development of medical devices and technology sector and allied disciplines in the country, which is still at a nascent stage besides generating employment and give a boost to the government's "Make in India" Campaign.
●    Medipark will be developed in phases, spread over seven years for completion. In the first phase, physical infrastructure will be developed and plots will be leased from third year onwards. Knowledge management center will be developed in the second phase, with grants and assistance from departments, which funds similar initiatives. HLL will sublease the land to investors, through a transparent bidding process to investors desirous to set up manufacturing units for Medical equipment and devices. In the initial phase, the land cost to the qualifying entrepreneurs from Medical Device and Equipment, Manufacturing Industry will be at a subsidized rate so as to attract others and the rate will go up gradually as the demand picks up. Thus the Medipark project will play an important role in enhancing quality health care delivery in India.
●    The project will reduce the dependence on imports and create a strong base for the growth of indigenous and domestic industry by providing access to state of art infrastructure and technology. The domestic manufacturing of medical devices and equipment shall not only usher in a regime of assured and affordable health care delivery but also deepen and strengthen the penetration of quality health care services.

Ethiopia has declared a state of emergency following months of often violent anti-government protests, especially in the restive Oromia region.
●    Protests reignited this week in the Oromia region - the main focus of a recent wave of demonstrations - after dozens of people were killed in a stampede on October 2, which was sparked by police firing tear gas and warning shots at a huge crowd of protesters attending a religious festival.
●    The official death toll given by the government was 55, though opposition activists and rights groups said they believe more than 100 people died as they fled security forces, falling into ditches that dotted the area.
●    The anti-government demonstrations started in November among the Oromo, Ethiopia's biggest ethnic group, and later spread to the Amhara, the second most populous group.
●    Though they initially began over land rights, they later broadened into calls for more political, economic and cultural rights.

The Supreme Court in its landmark judgment has widened the scope of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 by making it gender-neutral. 
●    The Supreme Court ordered deletion of the words “adult male” before the word ‘person’ in Section 2(q) of the Act making it gender-neutral. 
●    The remaining part of the legislation would remain operative and was kept untouched. 
●    The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 protects women from physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic abuse at home. 
●    The Supreme Court order paves way for prosecution of women and even non-adults for subjecting a woman relative to violence and harassment.
●    It strikes down two words from Section 2(q) of Act which deals with respondents who can be sued and prosecuted under it for harassing a married woman in her matrimonial home. 
●    It also allows a woman to seek legal action against her daughter-in-law and even her minor grandchildren for domestic violence.
 

Nico Rosberg romped to victory at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday to extend his lead over world champion Lewis Hamilton in the Formula One title race.
●    The German claimed his first Suzuka win from pole as Hamilton took third after a dreadful start, Rosberg stretching his lead over his Mercedes rival to 33 points with just four races left this season.
●    The Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen finished fourth and fifth after both turned the air blue over radio, complaining about back markers.
●    Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, who inherited victory in Malaysia after Hamilton's engine caught fire, took sixth ahead of the Force Indias of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg.