(FREE) UPSC Current Affairs 2024 PDF

Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 20 March 2016

:: NATIONAL ::

Mobile malaria detection unit

A mobile malaria detection unit of the State government of Karnataka providing free services at the doorsteps of people was launched on a pilot basis in Mangaluru
People can get tested and treated at this vehicle launched by the Department of Health and Family Welfare
They will test the blood on a rapid testing kit and if it showed positive for malaria, the patient will be given the entire course of medicines.
If the kit shows a negative result, the health workers will collect the blood smears and get it tested at centres in the Government Wenlock Hospital or the Malaria Testing Centre at the Mangaluru City Corporation.
If this test showed positive, the team will visit the house of the patient and give medicines. Patient need not pay any fee either for testing or treatment.
was the first such mobile unit for preventing malaria in the State.It was launched in Mangaluru as it had highest number of cases.

10 Soldiers qualified slots for Rio Olympics

Under the Army’s Mission Olympics, 10 soldiers have till now qualified for the Rio Olympics to be held in August
The Army has laid out a roadmap for maximum qualifications for the Rio Olympics with the aim of ‘finishing strong’ at the podium with medals for the country
The training of the qualified sportspersons is being carried out through a scientific approach at the Army Sports Institute, Pune, and the Army Marksmanship Unit, Mhow, among other institutions
Naib Subedar Jitu Rai has won the quota for shooting in the 50m Air Pistol category. During the 51st ISSF World Championship in Granada, Spain, he qualified for Rio by winning the silver medal. The Gorkha Regiment soldier is now training at Mhow. Besides Rai, two more Army soldiers have booked the berth for various shooting events.
Hav Sandeep Singh from the Jat Regiment has been selected for the 50-km walk. Hav Nitender Singh Rawat from the Kumaon Regiment, Hav Kheta Ram from the Jat Regiment and Hav Gopi T. from the Regiment of Artillery have been selected for Athletics full marathon category. They are training at the Army Sports Institute in Pune.

Shrimps will lose ‘voice’ cause of seawater acidification (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: INTERNATIONAL ::

British government has lifted the ban on the International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF)

In a move that is likely to cause consternation in New Delhi, the British government has lifted the ban on the International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) after both houses of the British Parliament supported a motion to drop it from the list of proscribed organisations.
The statutory instrument relating to the Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2016 was signed by Minister of State in the Home Office
The ISYF, a separatist group committed to the creation of Khalistan, was established in the 1984 as the global branch of the All India Sikh Students Federation. It was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in 2001 by the British government for its attacks, which included assassinations, bombings and kidnappings against Indian officials.
The Sikh Federation will use the British decision to put pressure on the U.S. and Canada to lift the bans in their countries on the organisation.

Indian delegation in a bid to perk up the country’s sagging tea exports (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: BUSINESS ::

Govt relaxed FDI norms for insurance sector under automatic route

Seeking to attract more foreign investment, the government has relaxed FDI norms for the insurance sector by permitting overseas companies to buy 49 per cent stake in domestic insurers without prior approval.
Currently, up to 26 per cent FDI is permitted through the automatic approval route. For FDI up to 49 per cent, the approval of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board is required.
The foreign investment proposals up to 49 per cent of the total paid up equity of the Indian insurance company shall be allowed on the automatic route subject to verification by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India

:: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ::

Solar energy can power air conditioner, refrigerator

Making a marked departure from the conventional system, a Chennai-based company provides a comprehensive system that ensures that a 2 kW solar panel can power a 1.5 tonne air conditioner, one 300 litre refrigerator, five fans, five LED tube lights (4 feet in length and 16 watts each) and eight LED bulbs (6 watts each) during the day.
In lieu of silicon crystalline panels that are routinely used, Basil Energetics Pvt Ltd uses thin film solar panels. Though efficiency of thin film panel is the same as silicon panel at 25 degree C, the energy yield of thin film is higher than silicon panel.
And for every 1 degree C increase in temperature, the loss in power rating is 0.5 per cent in the case of silicon panels; it is only 0.25 per cent with thin films.
Another advantage with the thin film panel is that unlike silicon panels where power production gets completely cut off even if a small part of the panel is covered by shade, only that part of the thin film panel that is not exposed to sunlight stops producing power.
the brain of the whole system is a smart grid (iGrid) that manages the load by monitoring the power availability in the panel on one hand and load demand on the other to ensure smooth functioning in four different scenarios.

Ideonella sakaiensis bacteria can degrade plastic

It is hardly a hundred years since chemists learnt to make long molecules called polymers and plastics in the lab. Polymers have since been hailed on one hand as the greatest boon to mankind for their manifold uses, and the greatest bane - thanks to the way that they have cluttered the environment.
The most common synthetic polymer or plastic used in everyday life is polyethylene terephthalate or PET (also known as Terylene or Dacron). An estimated 311 million tonnes of plastics are produced every year (and 50 million tons of PET alone)
Unfortunately many of them, such as PET, are not degraded, digested or broken down like naturally occurring polymers (such as proteins, carbohydrates and fats).
the best agents to degrade would be biological life forms such as bacteria which multiply by the millions in days and are themselves completely biodegradable.
On looking for and identifying bacteria from the PET bottle recycling sites, and found one such microbe that they have named Ideonella sakaiensis (the first name identifies the family and the second honours the geographic location where they found the bacterium).
I. sakaiensis sticks to the surface of the PET bottle, secretes one molecule named which they named PET-ase (the suffix “– ase” denotes an enzyme molecule), which breaks down PET into a smaller building block abbreviated as MHET. MHET is now taken up and broken down by another enzyme in the microbe’s cell (called MHET hydrolase) and hydrolysed to produce ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid - the two small molecules (called monomers) using which the polymer PET is made in the first place
Even more changeling is the issue of how to clear the millions of tons of plastics fouling the oceans beds. Even if bugs are founds that can biodegrade them, will they be safe for the oceans and their life forms?

New shark and ray species found (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: SPORTS ::

India wins match against Pakistan in World T20s

India wins by six wickets on a difficult surface to make it 5-0 against Pakistan in WT20s
With India under immense pressure at the Eden Gardens on Saturday, Kohli’s equanimity complemented his stroke-making ability. On a surface that tested a batsman’s technique and footwork, Kohli’s classical batting in a slam-bang format nailed the chase for India.
After the disastrous outing against New Zealand at Nagpur, India’s campaign in the ICC World Twenty20 is now back on track.