GK and Current Affairs Updates

GSAT-15 will replace two older spacecraft-INSAT 3A and 4B- that will likely to expire in few  months.It will provide replacement for the Ku-band capacity of INSAT-3A and INSAT-4B satellites to augment and support the existing DTH and VSAT services in the country. 
About GSAT 15:
1. weighing 3,164 kg, will be launched in on November 11 from Kourou in French Guiana (in South America) on the European Arianespace’s Ariane-5 launcher. 
2. It is an Indian geostationary Ku-band communications satellite.
3. The satellite built on the I-3K bus carries 24 Ku-band transponders and a GAGAN (GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation) payload.
4. The GAGAN payload of GSAT-15 will meet the in-orbit redundancy requirement for Safety of Life (SOL) operations benefiting the civil aviation services in the country.
INSAT 3A and 4B: INSAT-3A, launched in April 2003, has completed its 12-year life. INSAT-4B, flown in March 2007, got reduced to half its functions in 2010 after one of its two power-generating solar panels developed a snag.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Tata Trusts, MSD in India, Reliance Foundation and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have collaborated to form a healthcare initiative ,Project Aasman.The initiative is part of the government's agenda of reducing mortality rates and this first-of-a-kind alliance will support the introduction and implementation of high impact interventions at the health facility level. 
Objectives:
1. To create a model for bringing private players together to make significant progress in attaining the goals of providing healthcare for all.
2. To reduce infant, neonatal and maternal mortality in the country and Help India to achieve Sustainable development goals.Project Aasaman will work towards facilitating the availability of quality healthcare under the five pillars of the Centre's reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health programme,  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been ranked as the world's ninth most powerful person by Forbes magazine in a 2015 list.
Top 10 personalities are:
1. Russian President Vladimir Putin.
2. German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
3. US President Barack Obama
4. Pope Francis
5. Chinese President Xi Jinping
6. Microsoft Founder Bill Gates
7. US Federal Reserve Chairperson Janet Yellen
8. UK Prime Minister David Cameron 
9. India's PM Narendra Modi
10. Google's Larry Page.

, NITI Aayog's task force on agriculture has recommended big bang reforms.
These reforms are:
1. Guaranteed prices for at least half the key crops.
2. Setting up of a unified national agriculture market. 
3. Changing land lease laws and creating a mechanism to facilitate easy exit for farmers who want to move out of agriculture. 
Aim of these reforms:
1. To produce enough with lesser land.
2. sparing some land for industrial and infra development.
NITI Aayog (NATIONAL INSTITUTION FOR TRANSFORMING INDIA):
Members- Chairperson (Prime Minister), Vice-Chairperson, 3 Full time members, 4 Ex-officio members, Special invitees and Chief Executive Officer.
Functions:
a. To evolve a shared vision of national development priorities sectors and strategies with the active involvement of States in the light of national objectives
b. To foster cooperative federalism through structured support initiatives and mechanisms with the States on a continuous basis, recognizing that strong States make a strong nation
c. To develop mechanisms to formulate credible plans at the village level and aggregate these progressively at higher levels of government.
New Initiatives:
a. India Energy Security Scenarios (IESS), 2047- an energy scenario building tool developed by Energy Division of NITI Aayog.
b. Consultation Paper on Regulatory Reform Law.
c. Atal Innovation Mission.
d. Self Employement & Talent Utilization.

The show is based on 4 unique concepts. These are:
1. Static Display Exhibitors can exhibit a wide variety of defense and security equipment.
2.  Technical and Special Seminars/Presentations
Each edition of the event allows for 20 seminars and presentations to be given by exhibitors, including the Thai armed forces. All have proved of great interest and are particularly popular.
3. Live Demonstrations
4. Networking Opportunities
These will include the Opening Ceremony, Executive Luncheon, Official Luncheon and Cocktail Party.With rapid economic development in the region, member states are now substantially increasing their defense spending which will make DEFENSE & SECURITY 2015 of even greater significance. Now the leading Tri-Service Asian Defense & Security Exhibition, Conference and Networking Event, the 2015 show will be one of the biggest and most important Defense & Security exhibitions ever held in the region.

Under the Make-in-India initiative, government is seeking new definition of manufacturing  activities. In this, it seeks to divorce all packaging processes from the conventional  understanding of industrial production. 
Reason: Due to the implementation of Factory Bill of 2014. According to the new Factory Bill  definition is - Any process or activity resulting in any alteration of original character,  such as nature, state, shape, size, usefulness and/ or making value addition to the original  material acted upon when subjected to the process or activity' is manufacturing.
Ministry is going to hold talks with employees and industry soon.
Make-in-India Initiative:
1 The Make in India program includes major new initiatives designed to facilitate investment,  foster innovation, protect intellectual property, and build best-in-class manufacturing  infrastructure.
-New Processes under it:
1. Process of applying for Industrial License & Industrial Entrepreneur Memorandum made online on 24×7 basis through eBiz portal.
2. Validity of Industrial license extended to three years.
3. States asked to introduce self-certification and third party certification under Boilers  Act.
4. Major components of Defence products’ list excluded from industrial licensing.
5. Dual use items having military as well as civilian applications deregulated.
6. Services of all Central Govt. Departments & Ministries will be integrated with the eBiz –  a single window IT platform for services by 31 Dec. 2014.
7. Process of obtaining environmental clearances made online.
8. Impetus on developing Industrial Corridors and Smart Cities.
9. A new ‘National Industrial Corridor Development Authority’ is being created to  coordinate, integrate, monitor and supervise development of all Industrial Corridors.

Denmark has launched a wide-ranging defense cooperation program with Pakistan.
Objectives of this cooperation are:
1. Support to Pakistan's military and civil security forces to counter the threat from Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) 
2. Improve Pakistan's border management control related to drugs, movement of militants and general smuggling.
3. Strengthening the rule of law in Pakistan by improving legislative frameworks and technical capacities.
4. To address the maritime threats to Pakistan's stability and security, which range from drug smuggling through illegal fishing to maritime pollution.
5. Include skill training courses on counter-narcotics, environmental protection and search and rescue operations. 
6. To contribute stability in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.
7. To support the development of more effective and accountable institutions that protect the civilian population and support processes to increase regional reconciliation and confidence building measures.

 India continued to lead the global consumer confidence index in the third quarter.
Top 4 countries:
1. India
2. US
3. Philippines
4. Indonesia
Consumer Confidence Index: The U.S. consumer confidence index (CCI) is an indicator designed  to measure consumer confidence, which is defined as the degree of optimism on the state of  the economy that consumers are expressing through their activities of savings and spending.  Global consumer confidence is not measured. Country by country analysis indicates huge variance around the globe. In an interconnected global economy, tracking international consumer confidence is a lead indicator of economic trends.

The presidents of China and Taiwan will meet this weekend for the first time since civil war divided their lands 66 years ago.This is the step to improve the relationship.
Reason for tension between China and Taiwan:
China and Taiwan, while in practice maintaining a fragile "status quo" relationship, periodically grow impatient with the diplomatic patchwork that has kept the island separate from the Communist mainland since 1949.  After losing the civil war to Communist Chinese and fleeing to Taiwan in 1949, the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) leaders of the Republic of China regarded the Communist Chinese government as illegitimate, claiming the mainland as rightfully their own. Beijing, in turn, regards Taiwan as a renegade province, and has tried repeatedly to persuade the island to negotiate a return to the fold.

Shiva Thapa today became the highest-ranked Indian boxer, zooming to second in the latest international rankings.The 22-year-old Shiva became only the third Indian ever to clinch a medal at the showpiece event after Vijender Singh (2009, bronze) and Vikas Krishan (2011, bronze). 
His achievements:
1. Bronze medal winner in world championship at doha.
2. Won solver medal at the Youth Olympics.
The top spot was occupied by Irishman Michael Conlan (2150 points), who won the gold medal at the World Championships.