Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 09 October 2016

:: National ::

The much-awaited northeast monsoon, accounting for about 50 per cent of the annual rainfall of Tamil Nadu, is not likely to set in early. Also, the State is likely to experience around 40 cm rainfall in the next three months.
These aspects have emerged as the authorities, belonging to both the Central and State governments, are making preparations to face any contingency once the monsoon arrives and the State starts feeling the full force of the season.
The normal date of onset of the monsoon is October 20, with a deviation of plus or minus seven days. The withdrawal process of the southwest monsoon is happening only now.
Field officials have been advised to take action against encroachments, which are in the nature of permanent structures, on water courses and bodies.

India is getting ready to deploy an indigenously developed rover on the lunar surface for on-site analysis of various samples and relay them to the earth station.
Chandrayaan-II Mission includes launching of lunar explorations by geosynchronous launch vehicles (GSLV Mk-II) with clinical precision.
The wheeled rover would be useful in using multiple applications by collecting soil and rock sediments for on-site analysis and transmitting the findings to the earth station.
ISRO has also taken up ambitious programme to build vehicles with cryogenic engines with bigger capacity than GSLV, Mr. Ranganathan, who came here to take part along with other scientists in World Space Week celebrations, said.
India was ahead of other countries in space technology by continuously test-firing and deploying satellites of various types and configurations for use for communication and other applications.
LMV3, a full-fledged vehicle will be launched in the first half of 2017. The heavy launch capability launcher would enable ISRO’s self-reliance in launching of satellites. It will send four tonne class geosynchronous satellites into the orbit.

Chief of Pakistan’s powerful spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lt. Gen. Rizwan Akhtar, is likely to be replaced within the next few weeks, a media report said.
Lt. Gen. Akhtar was appointed the Director-General of ISI in September 2014 and took office in November 2014, when he replaced the retiring Lt. Gen.Zaheer-ul-Islam.
The appointment is normally for a three-year period unless the ISI chief retires or is replaced by the Army chief.
The Nation , citing a security official privy to the development, reported of the impending change of command and said preparations were under way for the changes.
The corps commander of Karachi, Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar, is most likely to replace him.

India has strongly rejected Pakistan’s references on Kashmir at the U.N., saying such remarks are a self-serving attempt by Islamabad to bring extraneous issues to the world body for its “territorial aggrandisement.”
India, exercising the Right of Reply after Pakistan’s envoy to the U.N.raised the Kashmir issue at the U.N, said that Pakistan had made references to the Indian State of J&K in a self-serving attempt to bring extraneous issues before the committee.
Such efforts were a flagrant misuse of the body for Pakistan’s own territorial aggrandisement, India said, recalling that the Special Committee on Decolonisation was concerned only with Non-Self-Governing Territories.
It asserted that Jammu and Kashmir was an integral part of India.
Exercising its Right of Reply, Pakistan said India continued to perpetrate misinformation on the Kashmir issue year after year.

In a bid to boost hydro power sector, the government is planning to formulate a policy to push stalled projects and extend the benefits for renewable sources like wind and solar to hydro projects beyond 25 MW capacity.
According to a proposal of the Power ministry, projects with capacities of up to 25 MW have been categorised as small hydro-power projects and would get the benefits as extended to other renewable energy projects.
Hydro power potential in the country has been estimated at about 150 GW, with 50 GW coming from Arunachal Pradesh alone.
The Power ministry had earlier said that the planned hydro power generation capacity addition of 4,371 MW out of the total target of 10,897 MW in the 12th Plan will not be completed.