GK and Current Affairs Updates

Chinese weightlifter Long Qingquan set a world record in the 56-kilogram category at the Rio Olympics, lifting a total of 307 kilograms to win the Gold.
•    Qingquan broke Halil Mutlu's world record of 305 kilograms, set at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. 
•    Long joined defending champion Om Yun Chol as one of seven men to have lifted thrice their bodyweight.
•    The 25-year-old – who previously won gold at the Beijing Games in 2008 – took first prize from reigning Olympic champion Om Yun-Chol of North Korea, who lifted 303 kg.
•    The Chinese weightlifter has broken a record that had previously stood for 16 years.
•    Long Qingquan is a Chinese weightlifter. He is a twice Olympic champion in the 56 kg weight division.
•    Long qualified for the 56 kg class at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where he won a gold medal in the 56 kg weightlifting. 
•    He achieved two junior world records on his way to winning the gold in the men's weightlifting 56 kg category
 

The financial year 2015-16 saw record tea production at 1,233 million kg (mn kg) and exports crossing 230 mn kg after 35 years. 
•    India exported 232.9 mn kg, valued at Rs 4,493 crore. In 1980-81, export was 231.7 mn kg; it had since not crossed that level.
•    Of the production, that of crush-tear-curl (CTC) was 91 per cent of the total, at 1,121 mn kg, up 23.2 mn kg.
•    Tea Board data shows total domestic production grew by three per cent or nearly 36 mn kg from the year before. 
•    South Indian gardens saw 224.6 mn kg, a decline by 16.8 mn kg  or nearly seven per cent, due to adverse climatic conditions and labour issues in Kerala.
•    Among major growing states, the share of small growers was the highest in Tamil Nadu at 53 per cent, followed by West Bengal at 40 per cent and Assam at 27.6 per cent.
 

Union Health Minister J P Nadda on 5 August 2016 launched a nation-wide programme MAA - Mothers’ Absolute Affection for promoting breastfeeding.
The goal of the programme is to enhance optimal breastfeeding practices.
•    MAA is an intensified programme of the Health Ministry for creating an enabling environment to ensure that mothers, husbands and families receive adequate information and support for promotion of breastfeeding.
•    The Ministry has allocated 30 crore rupees for the Programme and 4.3 lakh rupees for each district will be allotted for implementing the various activities under MAA programme.
•    The chief components of the MAA Programme are Community awareness generation, Strengthening inter personal communication through ASHA, Skilled support for breastfeeding at Delivery points in Public health facilities, and Monitoring and Award/recognition.
•    The practice of breastfeeding enhances immunity level in the child which will help reduce the child mortality rate.Breastfeeding is one of the important interventions for child survival.
 

China on 6 August 2016 successfully launched its first satellite for mobile telecommunication, Tiantong-01.
•    Tiantong-01 satellite was launched from southwestern China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center, with the Long March-3B carrier rocket. 
•    More geostationary satellites will be sent into orbit for the system.
•    It is the first satellite of China's homemade satellite mobile telecom system, and a key part of the country's space information infrastructure.
•    It was designed by China Academy of Space Technology
•    Its ground service will be operated by China Telecom
•    It will operate in a geosynchronous orbit (GEO)
•    It will establish a mobile network with ground facilities, providing services for China, the Middle East, Africa and other areas. 
•    It was the 232nd flight of the Long March series carrier rockets, and the 36th launch of the Long March-3B. 
•    The three-stage Long March 3B rocket is currently the most powerful Chinese booster in service.
 

The Union Government has set an inflation target of four percent for the next five years. 
•    In this regard, Union Government will soon set-up Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to adhere to the target till March 31, 2021. 
•    This target was fixed after the Union Government and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had reached an agreement on a monetary policy framework. 
•    The framework had set the inflation target at four percent, plus or minus two percent. 
•    However, there was no legal backing to it. 
•    The Union Government in June 2016 also had notified rules for setting up the MPC giving effect to amendments in the RBI Act. 
•    The key advantage of a target is that it allows to recognise the short run trade-offs between inflation and growth. 
•    It also enables Central Bank to pursue the inflation target in the long run over the course of a business cycle.
 

Eminent Assamese litterateur Mahim Bora passed away on 5 August 2016 following old age problems at Nagaon district, Assam. 
•    He was 92. 
•    He is survived by a son and two daughters-in-law.
•    Bora was a Padma Shri and Sahitya Akademi winner.
•    Bora's literary works include Kathanibari Ghat, Bohubhuji Tribhuj, Rati Phula Phul, Barayatri, Chakravat, Tinir Tini Gol, Putala Ghaiz, and so on.
•    He was born at a tea estate of Sonitpur district. 
•    He was an MA in Assamese literature from Gauhati University
•    He had received the Sahitya Akademi award for his most popular work Edhani Mahir Hanhi in 2001.
•    He also received Padma Shri in 2011 and the Assam Valley Literary award in 1998.
 

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today launched Mission Bhagiratha at Komatibanda Village, Gajwel, in Medak District of Telangana. The scheme has been launched by the State Government with an objective to provide safe drinking water to all. 
•    The Prime Minister unveiled plaques to lay Foundation Stones for important development projects. These included the 1600 MW Thermal Power station of NTPC at Ramagundam; revival of a Fertilizer Plant at Ramagundam; Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences, Warangal; and Manoharabad-Kothapalli Railway line. He also dedicated to the nation the 1200 MW Thermal Power Station of Singareni Collieries at Jaipur, in Adilabad district. 
•    Addressing a large public meeting, the Prime Minister appreciated the State Government for the steps taken over the last two years to fulfil the aspirations of the people. Noting the importance of cooperative federalism for the country’s development, the Prime Minister said the Centre and States are now working together for this objective. 
•    Complimenting the State Government for the launch of Mission Bhagiratha to provide drinking water to the people of the State, the Prime Minister said that whenever the State Chief Minister Shri K. Chandrasekar Rao has met him, he has spoken about the State's development and water related issues. The Prime Minister spoke of the importance of water and the need for all citizens to conserve it. 
•    In the context of the foundation stone for the new railway line, the Prime Minister said a long pending demand of the people would now be fulfilled. He said the fertilizer plant would help the farmers of the State. He spoke of power sector reforms, irrigation, and how economic progress is being linked to rail connectivity. 
•    The Prime Minister asked people to beware of fake cow vigilantes, and urged State Governments to take action against them.
 

Telangana State Government on 6 August 2016 launched a unique Water Resources Information System to assess accurate reserves of water in thousands of Tanks and reservoirs across the state.
•    For this purpose, the Telangana Irrigation Department signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian Space Research Organization over sharing satellite data.
•    The new system will be set up by ISRO's National Remote Sensing Centre.
•    The unique system will help the government authorities to plan for new irrigation projects as well as maintaining transparency in governance. 
•    The Water Resources Information will also pave way for other states to explore possibilities to utilize technology.
•    The Indian Space Research Organization is the space agency of the Indian government headquartered in the city of Bengaluru. 
 

Quantum computers promise speedy solutions to some difficult problems, but building large-scale, general-purpose quantum devices is a problem fraught with technical challenges.
•    To date, many research groups have created small but functional quantum computers. 
•    By combining a handful of atoms, electrons or superconducting junctions, researchers now regularly demonstrate quantum effects and run simple quantum algorithms—small programs dedicated to solving particular problems.
•    But these laboratory devices are often hard-wired to run one program or limited to fixed patterns of interactions between the quantum constituents. 
•    Making a quantum computer that can run arbitrary algorithms requires the right kind of physical system and a suite of programming tools. 
•    Atomic ions, confined by fields from nearby electrodes, are among the most promising platforms for meeting these needs.
•    The new module builds on decades of research into trapping and controlling ions. It uses standard techniques but also introduces novel methods for control and measurement.
 

NASA has announced five research projects that may help make planes more efficient and green. 
•    The projects are aimed at shrinking fuel use, reducing aviation’s impact on the environment and quieting noise around airports. 
•    One of these studies will be based on Lithium-Air "breathing batteries” which expel oxygen as the battery is being charged.
•    Those challenges include shrinking fuel use, reducing aviation’s impact on the environment and quieting noise around airports, all at a time when the skies are being filled with an increasing amount of traffic all across the globe.
•    The five study teams selected this year represent researchers from a variety of technical disciplines who work across NASA's aeronautics centers in Virginia, California and Ohio.
•    As NASA considers all options for achieving its research goals related to green aviation during the next decade and beyond, all-electric and hybrid electric aircraft offer promising solutions.