2 November 2013 Current Affairs
Mission Accomplished For Europe’s Cargo Freighter
Europe’s heaviest-ever cargo carrier to the International Space Station burned up in Earth’s atmosphere on 2 November in a controlled manoeuvre after a five-month mission.When the cargo was burnt, it carried about six tonnes of garbage and waste produced on the board of the ISS. The Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) was burnt over the uninhabited zone of the southern Pacific Ocean.The ATV-4 set the record for the heaviest Ariane 5 launch and its mission started on 5 June 2013 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The record cargo of 2480 kg included more than 1400 individual items.Albert Einstein performed a series of delicate manoeuvres to reenter below the Station in order for the astronauts to observe the spacecraft’s fragmentation in the upper atmosphere, providing unique information on reentry physics.
New Delhi To Host 12th Edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2014
The 12th edition of Pravasi Bhartiya Divas will be held in New Delhi from 7th to 9th of January 2014.The theme of the convention is -Engaging Diaspora – Connecting across Generations- with a special focus on the younger generation.Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the convention and President Pranab Mukherjee will give his valedictory address. Pravasi Bharatiya Samman will also be bestowed on 15 persons during the convention.Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is celebrated on 9th January every year to mark the contribution of Overseas Indian community in the development of India. January 9 was chosen as the day to celebrate this occasion since it was on this day in 1915 that Mahatma Gandhi the greatest Pravasi, returned to India from South Africa, led India’s freedom struggle and changed the lives of Indians forever.