GK and Current Affairs Updates

Sarbananda Sonowal was sworn in as the 14th chief minister of Assam.
•    Sonowal was sworn in by Governor Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya. He took his oath in Assamese.
•    Along with Sonowal, 10 ministers including from alliance partners Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bodo Peoples Front (BPF) also took their oath of office at the function which was also attended by BJP President Amit Shah.
•    The two from AGP to be sworn-in were Atul Bora (Jr) and Kesab Mahanta, while the two from BPF were Pramila Rani Brahma and Rihan Daimary.
•    From AASU he predictably went on to join the Asom Gana Parishad in 2001, founded by his erstwhile seniors in the students' organisation, and was elected the party's MLA from Upper Assam's Moran constituency in 2001.
•    In 2004, he went on to successfully contest the Lok Sabha polls wresting the seat for the first time from the Congress by defeating former Union Minister Paban Singh Ghatowar.
•    He went on to become the BJP state unit President in 2012 and was credited with raising the party's tally to seven from the earlier four and reducing the Congress' margin to three from seven in the 2014 Parliamentary polls.

On 23 May 2016 India, Iran and Afghanistan signed the agreement on Trilateral Transit and Transport Corridor.
•    The agreement was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Hassan Rouhani of Iran and the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Tehran.
•    The purpose of the agreement is to facilitate seamless transport of goods between India and Afghanistan via the Chabahar port that is strategically located in the South East of Iran.
•    This agreement is expected to bring down cargo tariffs and boost regional economic development.
•    Besides, India and Iran also signed an agreement for the development of the Chabahar port. This agreement is complementary to the agreement on Trilateral Transit and Transport Corridor.
•    Under the agreement, India will develop the Chabahar port in Iran at an estimated cost of 150 million US dollars.

Frances Arnold, the Dick and Barbara Dickinson Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry, has been awarded the Millennium Technology Prize for her "directed evolution" method, which creates new and better proteins in the laboratory using principles of evolution. 
•    The Millennium Technology Prize, worth one million euros (approximately $1.1 million), is the world's most prominent award for technological innovations that enhance the quality of people's lives.
•    Arnold received her undergraduate degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton University in 1979. 
•    She earned her graduate degree in chemical engineering from UC Berkeley in 1985. 
•    She arrived at Caltech as a visiting associate in 1986 and became an assistant professor in 1987, associate professor in 1992, professor in 1996, and Dickinson Professor in 2000.
•    She is the recipient o the Charles Stark Draper Prize, the engineering profession's highest honor, and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. 
•    She got elected to all three branches of the National Academies—the National Academy of Engineering (2000), the Institute of Medicine (2004), and the National Academy of Sciences (2008)
•    She is the first woman elected to all three branches.
•    The Millennium Technology Prize is awarded every two years by Technology Academy Finland (TAF) to "groundbreaking technological innovations that enhance the quality of people's lives in a sustainable manner," according to the prize website. 
•    Arnold is the first woman to win the prize

Karnataka Government on 24 May 2016 signed 100 million US dollar loan and project agreement with World Bank.
It was to support ‘Karnataka Urban Water Supply Modernization project’.
•    The project will be implemented over a period of six years, initially in the twin cities of Hubballi-Dharwad, with provision for other eligible cities to join the project at a later date.
•    The Hubballi Dharwad Municipal Corporation has hired a professional water supply operating company for improving the water supply system, as also to manage the refurbished system through a 12-year contract in accordance with strict performance criteria.
•    The municipality will retain ownership of the water supply assets and control of the service delivery set up.
•    The project will help the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation set up a city-level water utility that will take over water supply operations from the professional operating company at the end of its contract period.
•    The project will benefit about one million residents of the Hubballi-Dharwad, including estimated 160000 slum dwellers.
Hubballi-Dharwad, the second largest urban center in Karnataka, will become one of the first Indian cities to provide citywide, continuous, piped water supply to its residents.

The Union government announced the names of 13 more cities that will be developed under the Centre’s “Smart City Mission.” 
•    Lucknow in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh tops the list, followed by Warangal in Telangana and Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh.
•    These cities were chosen from the 23 that failed to get representation in the first round of a competition held in January, and participated in the “fast-track competition.” 
•    The results were announced by Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on 24th May 2016.
•    Other cities on the list are Chandigarh, Raipur (Chhattisgarh), New Town Kolkata, Bhagalpur (Bihar), Panaji (Goa), Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar Islands), Imphal (Manipur), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Agartala (Tripura) and Faridabad (Haryana). 
•    The 13 cities selected in the competition have proposed a total investment of Rs. 30,229 crore. 
•    The  investment proposed by 33 cities under the smart city plans is now Rs. 80,789 crore
•    Of the 13 cities that qualified for the project, four are from BJP-ruled States while two are from Congress-governed States.
•    Lucknow is in Samajwadi Party-ruled Uttar Pradesh
•    Warangal is in Telangana, which is ruled by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi.
•    Chandigarh and Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar Islands were also among the winners of this round.
•    Assured water and power supply, sanitation and solid waste management systems, efficient urban mobility and public transportation, IT connectivity, e-governance and citizen participation are some of the highlights of the smart city project.
•    It aims to transform 100 cities by 2019-20, with the Union government providing financial support of Rs. 48,000 crore over five years.

After successfully testing a reusable launch vehicle, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to test an air-breathing propulsion system, which aims to capitalise on the oxygen in the atmosphere instead of liquefied oxygen while in flight.
•    Generally, vehicles that are used to launch satellites use combustion of propellants with oxidizer and fuel. 
•    The air-breathing propulsion system aims at using oxygen present in the atmosphere up to 50 km from the earth’s surface to burn the fuel stored in the rocket.
•    The new propulsion system, once mastered, would complement ISRO’s aim to develop a reusable launch vehicle that would have longer flight duration. 
•    The Dual Mode Ramjet (DMRJ), the ramjet-scramjet combination, is currently under development, which will operate during the crucial Mach 3 to Mach 9 ascend flight of the launch vehicle.
•    ISRO is now evolving and testing various technologies to bring down the cost of launch vehicles. 
•    The national space agency has earlier developed rockets that can send multiple satellites in a single mission.

On 25 May 2016 The Union Cabinet approved the National Capital Goods Policy 2016. 
•    This is first ever policy for Capital Goods sector with a clear objective of increasing production of capital goods from 2.3 lakh crore rupees in 2014-15 to 7.5 lakh crore rupees in 2025.
•    Objective is to increase the share of capital goods contribution from present 12 to 20 percent of total manufacturing activity by 2025
•    To become one of the top capital goods producing nations of the world by raising the total production to over twice the current level
•    To improve skill availability by training 50 lakhs people by 2025
•    New initiatives and policy actions and they are:
•    Devising a long term, stable and rationalized tax and duty structure to ensure cost competitiveness of the sector
•    Drafting a comprehensive public procurement policy with amended qualifying criteria and introducing special provisions in contracts for domestic value addition
•    Promoting development of new technology through indigenous sources
•    Providing Technology Upgrade Fund Support across all capital goods sub-sectors
•    Developing manufacturing clusters with shared facilities especially for SMEs
•    The capital goods sector operates in a dynamic local and global environment and it is imperative for the policy to undergo a periodic review and revision to maintain its relevance.
•    The National Capital Goods Policy 2016 will be reviewed every five years and revised appropriately to take account of progress in implementation and emerging trends in the national and international environment.

Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel on 22 May 2014 launched the Smart Village programme to improve public facilities in villages.
•    It was conceptualized on the lines of Smart Cities initiative of the Union Government under which 100 cities were chosen for infrastructure development.
•    Under the Smart Village programme, 300 villages will be selected.
•    Villages will be shortlisted by the state-level committee consisting of experts on the basis of Gram Panchayat’s performance through a transparent process.
•    The objective of the programme is to make villages self-reliant, clean and hygienic.
•    Toilets, cleanliness, drop-out rate in primary schools, malnutrition ratio, Anganwadi facilities, vaccination of children, ATVT services are some of the parameters on which a village will be adjudged as a Smart Village.
•    These villages will get 80 lakh to 2 crore rupees cash assistance from the State government to implement the programme.

•    Myanmar Vice President U Nyan Tun, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak and Chairman of the Kayin National Union General Saw Mutu Sae Po attended an inaugural ceremony of the service on 22nd May 2016, Xinhua reported.
•    With the 25.6-km-long section becoming operational, travel time between Thinggan Nyenaung and Kawkareik will be reduced from three hours to 45 minutes.
•    The construction of the Asian highway section started in 2012 with the assistance of Thailand.
•    The Asian highway runs from Moreh in India to Thailand's Maesot via Myanmar's Tamu, Mandalay and Myawaddy.
•    The section, also part of the East-West economic corridor of the Greater Mekong Subregion, will not only enhance trade between Myanmar and Thailand, but also contribute to better links among people in the region.
•    A cornerstone laying ceremony was also held at Myawaddy on Sunday for the building of Myanmar-Thailand Friendship Bridge No.2 to link Thailand's Maesot with Myanmar's Myawaddy.

Lt General S K Saini has taken over as the new commandant of prestigious Indian Military Academy (IMA) .
•    Lt General Saini assumed the office of commandant on May 21. Earlier, he was a senior directing staff in National Defence College (NDC), New Delhi, according to press release issued by IMA.
•    Lt General Saini is an alumni of National Defence Academy (NDA) and IMA. In 1981, he was commissioned to seventh battalion of Jat regiment.
•    In his career of 36 years, he has held many important posts.
•    The Indian Military Academy, Dehradun is the officer training Academy of the Indian Army. IMA was established in the year 1932.
•    During the Indian independence struggle, Indian leaders recognized the need for a local military institution to meet the needs of an armed force loyal to sovereign India. 
•    The British Raj was reluctant to commission Indian officers or to permit local officer training. 
•    Until World War I Indians were not eligible for commission as officers in the Indian Army.