28 March 2016 Current Affairs
Defence Expo 2016
“India’s biggest ever land, naval and homeland security exhibition Defence Expo 2016 began in Goa. The four-day biennial event was inaugurated by the Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. This for the first time, the Expo is being held outside the national capital New Delhi. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on 28 March unveiled Defence Procurement Policy during the ninth edition of Defence Expo India-2016. The 2016 theme is “Rise of Futurism” and its vision is to make India prosperous by establishing world class science and technology base in defence sector.”
BHEL Commissions 40 MW Hydropower Plant In West Bengal
Power equipment manufacturer Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has commissioned the second 40 MW hydropower generating unit at the Teesta low dam hydro electric project (HEP) stage IV in West Bengal. The hydropower generating unit was successfully installed at the Teesta low dam HEP, a run-of-the-river greenfield project, located in Darjeeling district of the West Bengal.
“First Direct Container Between India and Bangladesh Flagged Off “
The first direct container MV Harbour-1 Vessel between India and Bangladesh carrying cotton was flagged off from Krishnapatnam of Andhra Pradesh to Chittagong on 28 March.The voyage was started as a part of a coastal shipping agreement to facilitate trade between India and Bangladesh. The trade agreements were earlier signed during the reign of the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1974 and they were revived back after a period of four decades during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Dhaka in June 2015.
USAID and ADB Signed ‘Develop Solar Parks’ MoU
“The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on 28 March signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate 848 million US dollars in funding to develop solar parks across India. The agreement was signed by Jonathan Addleton, Mission Director, USAID/India and M. Teresa Kho, Country Director, India Resident Mission, Asian Development Bank. This agreement between USAID and ADB will help finance the development of solar parks in support of the Government of India’s renewable energy targets.”
Union Govt Notifies Aadhaar Act, 2016
The Union Government has notified the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, benefits and services) Act, 2016. The Act will provide statutory backing for transfer of subsidies and benefits to eligible people having Aadhaar (UID) number. Aadhaar Act seeks to provide efficient, transparent and targeted delivery of subsidies, benefits and services to individuals residing in India by assigning them unique identity numbers (UID) or Aadhaar number. It will be used for all benefit that will be linked to consolidated fund of India or the expenditure incurred from it. The Act gives statutory for establishment of the Unique Identification Authority of India consisting of a Chairperson (part time or full time) and two Members (part time). Those individuals not having Aadhaar number shall be offered alternate and viable means of identification for delivery of the subsidies, benefits or service.
AP Govt Inaugurates Country’s First Lift Irrigation Project
Andhra Pradesh government on 28 March inaugurated Pattiseema lift irrigation project, which is described as the first river linking project in country, connecting Godavari River with Krishna River from the ongoing Polavaram Multi-purpose Irrigation Project. The project was awarded to Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) and completed in a record time of one year. The project has been designed to lift 80 tmc (trillion metric cubic feet) of flood water in a span of 110 days during the flooding season between July and October from Godavari as permitted by the Godavari Water Dispute Tribunal (GWDT). From this project, water is pumped up to a nearby point and discharged into Polavaram Right Main Canal, which carry water by gravity to a tributary of River Krishna about 170 km away in the neighbouring Krishna district above the Prakasham barrage.
ISRO set To Launch Record 22 Satellites In Single Mission
“India is all set to script history by launching a record number of 22 satellites, including a number of micro and nano ones from foreign countries, in a single mission in May 2016.These satellites (micro and nano) will be launched using ISRO’s workhorse Polar rocket PSLV C34. It will be carrying India’s Cartosat 2C along with 21 other satellites from other countries, including US, Canada, Indonesia and Germany as co-passengers. This launch would be made from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. Earlier in 2008, ISRO had sent ten satellites into orbit in a single mission. The US space agency NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) holds current world record for sending highest number of satellites in single launch. It had sent 29 satellites to the orbit in a single launch in 2013.”