Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 9 July 2015

Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 9 July 2015

:: National ::

PSLV ready to launch tomorrow

India’s workhorse satellite launcher, the PSLV, will make its fifth fully commercial launch on Friday. The customer is from the U.K., and the rocket will carry no Indian satellite.
The PSLV-28 will be lifting five satellites totally weighing 1,440 kg into orbit, making them its heaviest commercial payloads to date.
In its 29 flights since 1993, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle has had a lone partial failure. The rocket launched the Chandrayaan-1 lunar mission of 2008 and the Mars Orbiter Mission of 2013 and has been putting into orbit the regular national remote sensing satellites (IRS).
However, a consistently good space ride and a price tag 30 per cent lower than competition do not seem to have fetched it matching business, especially as a single big spacecraft.
The PSLV made its last commercial launch almost a year ago with France’s SPOT-7 and before that, in 2013. Going commercial in its fifth flight in 1999, the rocket has so far launched mostly small, experimental university spacecraft or Earth observation spacecraft weighing from 1 kg to 712 kg (SPOT 6 & 7). But it has double that capacity, as it showed by lifting the 1,400-kg communication satellite GSAT-12 in 2011.

Entire Nagaland declared as ‘disturbed area’

The Centre has declared entire Nagaland as a “disturbed area” as it finds that a “dangerous condition” prevails in the State and armed forces should assist the civil administration in maintaining law and order.
In a gazette notification, the Home Ministry said it was of the opinion that the whole of Nagaland is in such a disturbed or dangerous condition that the use of armed forces in aid of civil power is necessary.
“Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958, the Central government hereby declares that whole of the said State to be a disturbed area for a period of one year with effect from June 30, 2015 for the purpose of the Act,”.
The decision came almost a month after NSCN-K, the dominant Naga rebel group, attacked an army convoy in Manipur’s Chandel district and killed 18 soldiers.

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:: Business ::

NHAI, six other PSUs to raise Rs.40,000 cr through tax-free bonds

Union Government on Wednesday allowed seven state-owned entities, including NHAI, IRFC and NTPC, to raise Rs.40,000 crore in the current fiscal through tax-free bonds.
The National Highways Authority of India has been permitted to raise Rs.24,000 crore and Indian Railways Finance Corporation Rs.6,000 crore, said a notification issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
Housing and Urban Development Corporation has been allowed to raise Rs.5,000 crore and Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Rs.2,000 crore. NTPC, Power Finance Corporation and Rural Electrification Corporation can issue tax-free bonds of Rs.1,000 crore each.
Retail investors, which include HUFs and NRIs investing on repatriation basis, can invest up to Rs.10 lakh in such bonds.
Those investing higher amount would be classified as HNIs. The bonds will have a tenure of 10, 15 or 20 years and the interest rates is to be decided with reference to the rates of Government Securities.
The coupon rate for below ‘AAA’ rated bonds could go up to 20 basis points above the rates offered for the bonds with highest rating.
Besides, retail individual investors (RIIs), qualified institutional buyers, corporates, trusts, partnership firms, limited liability partnerships, co-operative banks, regional rural banks and other legal entities and high networth individuals (HNIs) would be eligible to subscribe the bonds.
The circular said that companies will have to raise 70 per cent of the issue size through public offer, of which 40 per cent has to be reserved for retail investors.
The remaining portion of the issue size can be offered through private placement route. Interest earned through tax-free bonds, which are usually issued by PSUs to raise long-term funds, do not attract tax.

:: Science & Technology ::

Vitamin C cuts the risk of early death

A diet rich in fruits and vegetables packed with vitamin C will substantially cut the rick of heart attacks and early death, says a study.
Researchers examined 100,000 Danish people’s intake of fruit and vegetables as well as their DNA.
Vitamin C helps build connective tissue and is also a potent antioxidant that protects cells and biological molecules from the damage which causes many diseases, including cardiovascular disease.
The human body is not able to produce vitamin C, which means that we must get the vitamin from our diet, said the study that appeared in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

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:: India & world ::

Modi, Putin discuss India’s accession to Shanghai block

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday resolved to take strategic bilateral ties forward and discussed India’s accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
Mr. Modi, who is here primarily for BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summits, thanked Mr. Putin for the welcome he got on his arrival earlier in the day.
He also thanked the Russian President with regard to India getting the membership of SCO with the process set to be complete by next year. Mr. Modi mentioned that Mr. Putin himself called him to inform about the decision of the six-nation grouping.
The Prime Minister, while talking about the close relationship between India and Russia, said he would be visiting this country again later this year for the annual bilateral summit meeting.

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:: Sports ::

Inderjeet Singh make history

Star athlete Inderjeet Singh scripted history as he became the first Indian to clinch a gold in athletics in the World University Games by winning the men's shot put event in Gwangju, Korea on Wednesday.
Indian men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol team also bagged a bronze to take India's medal count to four (one gold, one silver, two bronze) on the fifth day of competition. ph
It was not an easy outing for the Asian champion Inderjeet as he won the event with his final throw of 20.27m at the Gwangju Universiade Main Stadium to open India's gold medal account in the Games.
The 27-year-old Inderjeet was at second spot after the fifth and penultimate throw as he had a 19.80m best throw till then before he came up with 20.27m in his final attempt to run away with the gold and better the colour of the medal from silver he won in the last edition in 2013 in Russia to yellow this time.
He had won Asian Championships in China with 20.41m before bagging a gold in each of the three legs of the Asian Grand Prix in Thailand last month. He won a bronze in the Asian Games last year with 19.63m.