17 January 2013 Current Affairs
Indian researcher bags Alzheimer’s drug discovery award
London-based Indian researcher Mahaveer Golechha was selected for a prestigious award for his work on a drug to cure Alzheimer’s.The 27-year-old will be travelling to San Francisco to receive the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation’s ‘Young Investigator Scholarship Award’ at the 7th Annual Drug Discovery for Neurodegeneration Conference in February 2013.
28th Congress of the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) conference was inagurated by president Pranab Mukherjee
The Inaguration of 28th Congress of the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) conference in Hyderabad on 17 January 2013, President Pranab Mukherjee, called for greater participation from the private sector as well as the medical community in the drive against poverty-linked visual impairment.
Saina Nehwal rises to 2nd, Parupalli Kashyap in top-10 of BWF rankings
Olympic bronze-medallist Saina Nehwalgot the career-best second rank in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings released on 17 January 2013.Saina gained a rung to be second with 80091.7444 points.The Indian, who is currently competing in the Malaysia Open Super Series, is a distant second to top-placed Olympic champion Li Xuerui of China who has 94626.7153 points.In the men`s list, Olympic quarter-finalist Parupalli Kashyap got a career-high 10th rank.
Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2012
On 17 January According to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2012 report has found that learning levels have dipped to an all-time low. So, almost half the 6-7 year-olds (Class I) in India cannot read even one letter in any language, over 57% cannot read any English while almost 40% cannot recognize numbers between 1 and 9.The 12.8% children between Class I and V could not read a single letter while 10.7% could not recognize numbers 1 to 9. The number of children in Class V who could read Class II text fell from 53.7% in 2010 to 46.8% in 2012. In 2010, seven out of 10 children could solve a two-digit subtraction problem with borrowing. This has come down to five out of 10 in 2012.
Ancient River Found on Mars
On 17 January The European Space Agency scientists have revealed a 1500 km long and 7 kilometre wide river that once ran across Mars.The images which were captured by the ESA’s Mars Express showed Reull Vallis, the river-like structure, which is believed to have formed when water ran from the surface of Mars in distant past. The structure which surprised the astronomers stretches for around 900 miles or 1500 km across the Martian surface and also shows various tributaries. These structures, it is believed, were formed somewhere around 3.5 billion years ago.
India Increased Rafale Fighter Jets’ Order
India could buy up to 189 of the Rafale fighter jets currently being used by France to bomb Islamist militants in Mali, sources close to negotiations on the multi-billion dollar deal .The possibility of an additional 63 jets being added to an expected order for 126 was raised by India .The Indian press has estimated the value of the deal for 126 Rafales at $12 billion (nine billion euros).A 50 per cent increase in the number of planes ordered would take it to around $18 billion, in a huge boost for the French defence industry.
Vice President Hamid Ansari Visited Vietnam
Vice President Hamid Ansari visited Vietnam from 14 to 17 January.During the visit Ansari met Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh and discussed the both countries bilateral issues , signed several agreements .Ansari attended the closing ceremony of the celebrations to mark the 40th anniversary of the India-Vietnam diplomatic ties.