Current Affairs 10th March 2016

Important Points : 

• Which bill has been passed by Rajya Sabha - National Waterways Bill, 2015
• Who has been appointed as head of UN Political Mission in Columbia - Jean Arnault
• First-ever NCC Girls Everest Expedition flagged off
• Which bill has been passed by the Lok Sabha - Enemy Property Amendment Bill 2016
• Tata Power arm inked agreement with - IRRL 
• Who has been elected President of Aluminium Association of India - Tapan Kumar Chand
• Which satellite has been launched by ISRO - Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System-1F

Details : 

Which bill has been passed by Rajya Sabha - National Waterways Bill, 2015

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 9th March 2016, National Waterways Bill, 2015 was passed by Rajya Sabha to release the navigation potential of India’s larger river ways resources.

The bill enables the Union government under entry 24 of the Union List of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, to make laws on shipping and navigation on inland waterways that are classified as national waterways.

Additional 101 waterways are identified as national waterways under the bill. 

Who has been appointed as head of UN Political Mission in Columbia - Jean Arnault

Among the important appointments, On 9th March 2016, Jean Arnault was appointed as the head of United National Political Mission in Columbia. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced this in New York, the USA.

Under this appointment, Arnault will also serve as the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Colombia.

Prior to this appointment, he had been serving as the Delegate of the Secretary-General to the Sub-Commission on End of Conflict Issues within the Colombia peace process.

Previously, he has moderated the peace process in Guatemala.

He was also the the UN Special Adviser to the Group of Friends of Democratic Pakistan and worked in senior positions with the UN in Georgia, Burundi and Afghanistan.

First-ever NCC Girls Everest Expedition flagged off

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 9th March 2016, the first-ever all girls National Cadet Corps (NCC) Mount Everest expedition was flagged off by the Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh.

The motive of the mountaineering expeditions in NCC is to intensify the character and instill qualities of leadership, comradeship, courage and discipline in the cadets. 

The team comprise of 15 service personnel and 10 girl cadets that will be led by Colonel Gaurav Karki.

In the year 2014, Director General NCC Lt. Gen. A. Chakravarty proposed to plan the first-ever NCC Girls Expedition to Mt Everest.

Which bill has been passed by the Lok Sabha - Enemy Property Amendment Bill 2016

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 9th March 2016, the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016 was passed by the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament. 

Main highlights of the Bill

• The bill guards against claims of succession or transfer of properties left by people who migrated to Pakistan after the 1965 and 1971 wars.
• The bill also includes the properties of those persons who migrated to China after the Indo-China War of 1962.
• Once an enemy property is vested in the Custodian, it shall continue to be vested in him as enemy property irrespective of whether the enemy, enemy subject or enemy firm has ceased to be an enemy due to reasons such as death and others.

Tata Power arm inked agreement with - IRRL 

Among the important Business Current Affairs, On 9th March 2016, a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Indo Rama Renewables Limited (IRRL) to acquire its 100% subsidiary Indo Rama Renewables Jath Limited (IRRJL) was inked by Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited (TPREL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Power. IRRJL owns a 30 MW wind farm in Sangli District of Maharashtra.

Since July 2013, IRRJL’s wind farm is fully operational and has executed a long-term power purchase agreement with Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Limited. 

After this acquisition, the total generation capacity of Tata Power will increase to 9130 MW and its operational Wind power generation capacity to 570 MW with wind turbines located across five states. 

About Indo Rama

• Indo Rama Renewables Jath Limited (IRRJL) is one of India’s largest players in the business of manufacturing polyester.
• IRRJL is a full step down subsidiary of Indo Rama Synthetics India Limited (IRSL).

About Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited

• It is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Tata Power Company Ltd.
• Its operating capacity is 244 MW, which ccomprise of 54 MW solar and 190 MW wind.

Who has been elected President of Aluminium Association of India - Tapan Kumar Chand

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 29th February 2016, Tapan Kumar Chand was elected as the President of the Aluminium Association of India (AAI). 

He has replaced SK Roongta, former Chairman of Vedanta Group and Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).

Currently, Tapan Chand is the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco).

About Aluminium Association of India

• Founded in the year 1981, registered under the Karnataka Societies Registration Act, it operates from Bengaluru.
• It represents entire spectrum of Indian Aluminium Industry - equipment & product manufacturers, development organisations, end users, technologist, primary producers, metallurgists, research and downstream manufacturersetc.

Which satellite has been launched by ISRO - Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System-1F

Among the important Science Current Affairs, On 10th March 2016, the country’s sixth Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS)-1F was launched by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on board the trusted launch vehicle PSLV C-32. 

The satellite was launched by the Satish Dhawan Space Centre(SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikotta, India’s spaceport. 

Characterstics of Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS)-1F

• The dry mass of IRNSS is 598 kg and lift off mass is 1425 kg.
• It  has a similar configuration to that of IRNSS-1E, 1D, 1C, 1B AND 1A.
• It has a mission life of 12 years
• It has two types of payloads – ranging payload and navigation payload. 
• The ranging payload of the satellite consists of C-band transponder which facilitates accurate determination of the range of the satellite. 
• Highly accurate Rubidium atomic clock is the part of the navigation payload of the satellite. 
• IRNSS-1F also carries Corner Cube Retro Reflectors for laser ranging. 

The other four IRNSS satellites which were launched

• IRNSS-1D Mission launched by PSLV C-27 in March 2015
• IRNSS-1C Mission launched by PSLV C-26 in October 2014
• IRNSS-1B Mission launched by PSLV C-24 in April 2014
• IRNSS-1A Mission launched by PSLV C-22 in July 2013