GK and Current Affairs Updates

The Union Cabinet under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for the signing of MoU between India and European Union in the field of water resources.
●    The MoU envisages strengthening the technological, scientific and management capabilities of India and the European Union in the field of water management on the basis of equality, reciprocity and mutual benefit. It provides technical exchange on water issues, including on integrated water resource management plans within river basins and through study visits.
●    The MoU aims to identify key environmental issues and approaches to sustainable development where exchange of experiences and cooperation could be mutually beneficial to strengthen and further develop cooperation between India and the European Union in the field of water management. It envisions a more sustainable management of water resources in India with an objective of tackling the challenges posed by water management in the context of growing population, competing water demands and a changing climate. A Joint Working Group shall be formed to monitor the activities to be carried out in fulfillment of the MoU.
●    The Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has been envisaging bilateral cooperation with other countries in water resources development and management through sharing of policy and technical expertise, conducting of training courses, workshops, scientific and technical symposia, exchange of experts and study tours. 
●    Keeping in view the success of the European Union in distribution of water resources, water pricing, water use efficiency by encouraging the changes in agricultural practices necessary to protect water resources and quality, such as switching to less water-demanding crops, etc., it has been decided to have an agreement with Israel to benefit from their experience and expertise. The EU States have adopted water pricing policies to provide adequate incentives for users to use water resources efficiently thereby contributing to environmental objectives.

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and the African Asian Rural Development Organization (AARDO) for capacity building programmes in the field of rural development.
●    The MoU for the triennium 2015 - 2017 is being signed under which capacity building programmes for AARDO member countries will be organized every year during the triennium at various Institutions of Excellence in India such as National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (NIRD & PR), institutions governed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Indian Institute of Management (IIM) and others. The duration of each training programme shall be of two to three weeks. The Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Development Management Course at NIRD & PR under this scheme is for one year.
●    The AARDO, which has its headquarters in New Delhi, is an autonomous, inter-Governmental organization established in 1962 with the objective of promoting cooperation among the countries of the African - Asian Region in the direction of eradicating thirst, hunger, illiteracy, disease and poverty in the region. India is one of the Founder Members of the Organization and is the largest contributor in terms of membership contribution of US$ 141,100 apart from contributing by way of providing 70 fully paid training scholarships for Human Resource Development Programme under the Indian Technical & Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) to the Organization. India has also provided a building for housing the AARDO Secretariat in Delhi and considerable financial assistance is given to AARDO for maintenance of the building. AARDO currently has 31 countries of the African - Asian Region under its fold.
●    Since the year 2009, India is continuing to provide an Additional Contribution of US$ 600,000 to AARDO for each triennium 2009-2011 to expand its scale and scope of the Capacity Building Programmes of AARDO for the benefit of Member Countries.

In order to help Indian space scientists overcome the challenges of landing on Moon and Mars, researchers will fly a small aircraft breaching the ‘no fly zone’ rules over Bengaluru. 
●    What’s striking is that the aircraft will carry a special payload of country’s second lunar mission — Chandrayaan-II. 
●    The aircraft will drop the payload over a scooped out area in order to mimic lunar surface with large craters and check whether the scientists can successfully touch down the surface.
●    Moon contains over 1.8 lakh craters and each of them has a diameter of over 1km which makes it difficult for scientists to land the rover on a plane surface. 
●    Scientists at ISRO will conduct several critical tests to ensure landing takes place on even surface before the commencement of second lunar mission.
●    During the same time when ISRO tests the landing of aircraft, DRDO will test Rustom-II which is an advanced Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR). 

Former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman Udupi Ramachandra Rao, popularly known as U. R. Rao, was inducted into the 2016 IAF Hall of Fame on 30 September 2016 by the International Aeronautical Federation (IAF).
●    With this, Rao became the first Indian to be inducted into IAF Hall of Fame.
●    U. R. Rao is the former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation.
●    At present, he is the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Physical Research Laboratory at Ahmedabad.
●    He is also the chancellor of Indian Institute for Space Science and Technology (IIST) at Thiruvananthapuram.
●    He was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 1976.
●    On 19 March 2013, he was inducted into the Satellite Hall of Fame, Washington at a ceremony organised by the Society of Satellite Professionals International. He was the first Indian to be inducted.

A Hindu son can divorce his wife for the cruelty of trying to pry him away from his “pious obligation” to live with his aged parents and provide shelter to them, the Supreme Court has held.
●    A woman becomes a part of the husband’s family and cannot seek to separate him from his parents for the sole reason that she wants to entirely enjoy his income, a Bench of Justices Anil R. Dave and L. Nageshwara Rao observed in a judgment.
●    Insisting her husband to live separately from his parents is a western thought alien to our culture and ethos, Justice Dave, who wrote the judgment, said.
●    In India, generally people do not subscribe to the western thought, where, upon getting married or attaining majority, the son gets separated from the family, the court said. 
●    In normal circumstances, a wife is expected to be with the family of the husband after the marriage.

India and Singapore on 4 October 2016 signed three Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs) agreements during the visit of Singapore Premier Lee Hsien Loong to India.

●    MoU on collaboration in the field of Technical and Vocational Education and Training. - Between National Skill Development Corporation and ITEES Singapore.
●    MoU on collaboration in the field of Technical and Vocational Education and Training. - Between Government of Assam and ITEES Singapore.
●    MoU in the field of Industrial Property Cooperation. - Between DIPP and Intellectual Property Office Singapore.
●    The close ties between India and Singapore have a history rooted in strong commercial, cultural and people-to-people links.
●    Singapore is not only an important trading partner in ASEAN but also a major source of FDI inflows in India.

To make sure that the bridges across India remains safe, the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari on 4 October 2016 launched the Indian Bridge Management System (IBMS) in New Delhi.
●    IBMS is being developed to create an inventory of all bridges in the country and rate their structural condition so that timely repair and rehabilitation work can be carried out based on the criticality of the structure.
●    IBMS is the largest platform in the world owned by a single owner, with database that could exceed one lakh fifty thousand bridge structures.
●    So far one lakh and fifteen thousand bridges have been inventoried, of which eighty five thousands are culverts and the rest are bridges.
●    At the time of creation, each bridge was assigned with a unique identification number or National Identity Number based on the state, RTO zone and whether it is situated on a National Highway, State Highway or is a district road.

Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres on 5 October 2016 was unanimously selected by the UN Security Council as the next UN Secretary-General.
●    Guterres will succeed Ban Ki-moon on 1 January 2017.
●    The 15-nation Security Council's decision will be sent, following the formal approval, to the 193-member General Assembly for final formal approval.
●    Antonio Manuel de Oliveira Guterres is a Portuguese politician.
●    He served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002.
●    He also served for a time as President of the Socialist International.
●    He served as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015.
●    The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the United Nations Secretariat.
●    The Secretary-General also acts as the de facto spokesperson and leader of the United Nations.
●    Their role is laid out by Chapter XV (Articles 97 to 101) of the United Nations Charter.
●    The Secretary-General was envisioned by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a world moderator.

The 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry on 5 October 2016 was awarded to Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir James Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L Feringa.
The second step was taken by Fraser Stoddart in 1991, when he developed a rotaxane. He threaded a molecular ring onto a thin molecular axle and demonstrated that the ring was able to move along the axle.
Bernard Feringa was the first person to develop a molecular motor. In 1999, he got a molecular rotor blade to spin continually in the same direction. Using molecular motors, he has rotated a glass cylinder that is 10000 times bigger than the motor and also designed a nanocar.
●    The trio were bestowed with the prestigious award for the design and synthesis of molecular machines.
●    Jean-Pierre Sauvage is a French coordination chemist. 
●    Sir James Fraser Stoddart is a Scottish chemist. He works in the area of supramolecular chemistry and nanotechnology. 
●    Bernard L Feringa is a synthetic organic chemist, specializing in molecular nanotechnology and homogenous catalysis.
●    Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir James Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L Feringa have developed molecules with controllable movements, which can perform a task when energy is added.

India on 6 October 2016 successfully launched the communication satellite GSAT-18. The satellite was launched by a heavy duty rocket of Arianespace from the spaceport of Kourou in French Guiana.
●    The European launcher Ariane-5 VA-231 injected GSAT-18 into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) shortly after orbiting co-passenger Sky Muster II satellite for Australian operator, National Broadband Network.
●    After its injection into GTO, ISRO's Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan took control of GSAT-18 and performed the initial orbit raising maneuvers using the Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) of the satellite, placing it in circular Geostationary Orbit.
●    GSAT-18 is designed to provide continuity of services on operational satellites in C-band, Extended C-band and Ku-bands.
●    Weighing 3404 kilograms at lift-off and having a mission life of about 15 years, GSAT-18 will strengthen ISRO's current fleet of 14 operational telecommunication satellites.