29 June 2016 Current Affairs
“Union Cabinet Approves 7th Pay Commission Recommendations”
“Union Cabinet on 29 June approved the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission. The salaries and arrears, effective from 1 January 2016, will be made applicable now. The commission recommended 23.55 percent hike in pay and allowances of government employees. The minimum pay for government employees is recommended to be set at 18000 rupees per month. The maximum pay is recommended to be 225000 rupees per month for Apex Scale and 250000 per month for Cabinet Secretary and others presently at the same pay level. The increase in pay will be 16 percent, increase in allowances will be 63 percent and increase in pension will be 24 percent.”
Anti-submarine Torpedo Varunastra Inducted In Indian Navy
Indigenously developed heavyweight torpedo Varunastra was inducted in the Indian Navy on 29 June. It was handed to the Indian Navy by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. With this India joined a select group of eight countries having the capability to design and develop heavyweight torpedoes. The Varunastra torpedo has been developed by Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), a premier laboratory of DRDO. It weighs around 1.25 tonnes and carries about 250 kg of explosives at a speed of around 40 nautical miles an hour. It has almost 95% indigenous content. It is capable of targeting quiet and stealthy submarines both in deep and littoral waters even in intense countermeasure atmosphere.
China Launches 2nd Shijian-16 Satellite
China on 29 June launched its second Shijian-16 series satellite. The satellite was carried by a Long March-4B rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. The Shijian-16 satellite will be used for space environment measurements, radiation and its effect as well as technology testing. The first Shijian-16 satellite was launched in October 2013. The satellite was launched on board of Long March-4B rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in Jiuquan, northwest China’s Gansu Province. It was the 231st by a Long March rocket. Long March-4B rocket is s a Chinese orbital carrier rocket used to launch sun-synchronous orbiting meteorological satellites.
“National Statistics Day Celebrated with theme ‘Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare”
The National Statistics Day was celebrated on 29 June 2016 across the country with the theme ‘Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. 2016 is the tenth edition of National Statistics Day. The main function for the celebration was organised by the Ministry of Statistics Programme Implementation at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The National Statistics Day is celebrated annually on the occasion of birth anniversary of Late Prof PC Mahalanobis, India’s eminent statistician. Its objective is to create public awareness among people, especially the younger generation about the importance of statistics in daily life as well as in the process of planning and development. PC Mahalanobis was born on 29 June 1893. He was an Indian Bengali scientist and applied statistician. He is best remembered for the Mahalanobis distance, a statistical measure. He made pioneering studies in anthropometry in India. World Statistics Day is celebrated on 20 October 2010 worldwide. As a member of Planning Commission, he gave the Two-sector Input-output model for the Second Five Year Plan (1956-61) which became famous as Nehru-Mahalanobis model or Basic Industry strategy of economic growth. He founded the Indian Statistical Institute, and contributed to the design of large-scale sample surveys.