Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 08 December 2016

:: National ::

Remote sensing satellite Resourcesat-2A was launched from Sriharikota. It was the only passenger flown aboard the PSLV-C36 rocket.
The 1,235-kg spacecraft now orbits in a pole-to-pole sun-synchronous path close to the intended position, inclined 98.7 degrees to the equator. The orbit will be adjusted slightly in the coming days by the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network in Bengaluru.
Resourcesat-2A is a follow-on to two predecessor spacecraft for the observation of Earth from space. For at least the next five years, it ensures continuous three-tier remote-sensing data.
Resourcesat-1 was put in space in October 2003 and Resourcesat-2 in April 2011, each with a planned life of five years.

The Supreme Court directed the government to place on record a Parliamentary Standing Committee report suggesting amendments to the Lokpal law.
One of the amendments the Supreme Court has pushed for is to make the leader of the single largest opposition party in the House a part of the high-profile Search Committee to appoint the Lokpal in case there is no recognised Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
Currently, the 16th Lok Sabha has no recognised Leader of the Opposition (LoP).
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur asked the government to detail the changes required to make the Lokpal office functional.

Time magazine named Donald Trump its “Person of the Year” for 2016 for his stunning upset election victory that rewrote the rules of politics, delivering him to the helm of a divided America.
The real estate billionaire, who has never previously held elected office and shocked the U.S. political establishment by defeating his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, is featured on Time ’s cover described as “Donald Trump: President of the Divided States of America.”
The magazine said its person of the year, an annual tradition that dates back 90 years, “had the greatest influence, for better or worse, on the events of the year”.

Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corp signed a pact to build India’s biggest oil refinery at a cost of $30 billion on the west coast.
The three firms signed the pact for the 60-million tonne a year refinery in Maharashtra with IOC as leader of the consortium.
IOC will hold a 50 per cent stake in the project while BPCL and HPCL will have 25 per cent each.
The consortium agreement was signed on the sidelines of the Petrotech conference.