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  • Current Affairs 13th August 2017

    Updated : 13-Aug-2017

    Current Affairs 13th August 2017 - Important Points

    • NASA's Cassini spacecraft set to embark on its final mission on - 13th August 2017
    •  Real Madrid beats Manchester United to win 2017 UEFA Super Cup on - 8th August 2017
    • Venkaiah Naidu sworn in as 13th Vice President of the country on - 11th August 2017
    • 10 projects worth more than Rs 2000 Crore approved by - National Mission for Clean Ganga
    •  Lok Sabha passes State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill, 2017 on - 10th August 2017
    • Delhi Assembly passes Minimum Wages (Delhi) Amendment Bill 2017, Netaji Subhash varsity bill on - 10th August 2017
    • Ministerial meeting of BIMSTEC sets off on - 10th August 2017
    •  Venezuela’s new Constituent Assembly declares itself superior to all other government bodies on - 8th August 2017

    Current Affairs 13th August 2017 - Details

    NASA's Cassini spacecraft set to embark on its final mission on - 13th August 2017

    NASA's Cassini spacecraft is all set to start off on its final mission-five ultra-close orbits around Saturn on 13th August 2017. This mission would be the spacecraft’s last before it plunges into the saturn atmosphere, bringing an end to its epic 20-year-long journey.
    Important Highlights

    • It will make the first of the five close passes over Saturn at 9:22 p.m on 13th August.
    • The spacecraft is expected to encounter atmosphere dense enough to need the use of its small rocket thrusters in order to maintain stability.
    • The conditions experienced by the spacecraft would be similar to those experienced by it
      during many of its close orbits of Saturn’s moon Titan, which has its own dense atmosphere.Speaking on the mission, Earl Maize, Cassini project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said that the spacecraft’s many passes over Titan helped them prepare for these rapid passes through Saturn’s upper atmosphere. "Thanks to our past experience, the team is confident that we understand how the spacecraft will behave at the atmospheric densities our models predict.” said Maize.
    • He further added that the team will consider 14th August pass nominal if the thrusters operate from 10 percent and 60 percent of their capability.
    • If these thrusters are forced to work harder, that will be an evidence of denser atmosphere than models actually predict, then the engineers will be increasing the altitude of the subsequent orbits.
    • "As it makes these five dips into Saturn, followed by its final plunge, Cassini will going to become the first Saturn atmospheric probe," said Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist at JPL. She also stated that it has long been a goal in planetary exploration to send a dedicated probe into the Saturn atmosphere and with this mission they would be laying the groundwork for future exploration.

     Real Madrid beats Manchester United to win 2017 UEFA Super Cup on - 8th August 2017

    Real Madrid defeated Manchester United, the winners of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League, to grab the 2017 UEFA Super Cup on 8th August 2017.
    Real Madrid won the match 2–1 for their fourth UEFA Super Cup title and it was played at the Philip II Arena in Skopje, Macedonia. Real Madrid’s Isco was declared the Man of the Match and also it was the first UEFA staged in the country.

    More about UEFA Super Cup

    • UEFA organises the UEFA Super Cup which is an annual football match.
    • It is contested by the reigning champions of the two main European club competitions, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League.
    • Barcelona and Italian side Milan are the most successful teams in the competition, who have won the trophy five times each.
    • The winner of the 2016 UEFA Super Cup was Real Madrid.

    Do you know?

    • The Madrid Football Club was founded on 6th March 1902.
    • "Real" is the Spanish word means "Royal" and was bestowed to the club by King Alfonso XIII together with the royal crown in the emblem in 1920.
    • In 2015, the club was estimated to be worth USD 3.65 billion, and in the 2014–15 season it was the world's highest-earning football club.

    Images of clouds on Mars captured by - NASA's Curiosity Rover

    NASA's Curiosity Rover captured stunning shot of Mars in July 2017, this time, Martian clouds images were captured over the southern horizon. Captured on the Curiosity Rover's 1758th Martian day, the 8 images taken by navigation cameras, form a GIF in the early morning.

    Important Highlights

    • The clouds are typically made up of ice water resemble Earth's cirrus clouds.
    • It is assumed that the clouds might be an early part of a weather pattern that originates from the Mar's elliptical orbit called as the aphelion cloud belt.
    • Ice-crystal clouds images moving along the southern horizon, also show pair of hills visible in the foreground.
    • Near the planet's equator clouds in the Martian sky would appear when it was farthest from the sun in the previous observances by NASA.

    Venkaiah Naidu sworn in as 13th Vice President of the country on - 11th August 2017

    Former Union Minister Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu has sworn in as the 13th Vice President of India on 11th August 2017. He has been administered the oath of office and secrecy at a special function at Rashtrapati Bhavan by President Ram Nath Kovind.
    Naidu took charge as the Chairman of Rajya Sabha at Parliament House and presided over the proceedings in the Upper House after the ceremony.
    Naidu paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat, Deen Dayal Upadhyay at DDU Park and Sardar Patel at Patel Chowk before proceeding to the Parliament House.

    Naidu was elected as the Vice President on 5th August 2017 by defeating opposition candidate Gopal Krishna Gandhi.

    10 projects worth more than Rs 2000 Crore approved by - National Mission for Clean Ganga

    The National Mission for Clean Ganga approved 10 projects worth more than Rs 2000 Crore on 10th August 2017. The projects would be carried out in the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
    Out of ten projects, eight are related to sewage infrastructure and treatment, one to river front development and one to Ganga Knowledge Center.
    The projects were approved during the 5th meeting of the Executive Committee of National Mission for Clean Ganga.

    Overview of projects in Bihar

    • The projects that were approved in Bihar include three major sewage infrastructure projects in Kankarbagh, Barh and Digha, total costing of which is estimated to be Rs 1461 crore.
    • The projects aiming to create additional sewage treatment capacity of 161 MLD (50 MLD in Kankarbagh, 100 MLD in Digha, and 11 MLD in Barh).
    • At present, there is no sewage treatment plant in the sewerage zones of Kankarbagh and Digha.
      The sanctioning for the creation of 200 MLD sewage treatment capacities is also done in the remaining four sewerage zones in Karmalichak,Patna –Saidpur, Beur and Pahari, in the Namami Gange program.

    Overview of West Bengal Projects

    • Three projects have been approved with an estimated cost of Rs 495.47 Crore in the West Bengal.
    • Among these projects, two are related to sewage infrastructure and the third one is pertaining to river front development.
    • Pollution decline and rehabilitation works for river Ganga in Howrah and Tolly’s Nullah, a tributary of Ganga in Kolkata have been approved with total estimated cost of Rs 492.34 Crore.
    • The two sewage projects will help create additional sewage treatment capacity of 91 MLD in Kolkata
    • Besides this, a detailed project report (DPR) for renovation of Boral ferry and Boral bathing ghats in Nabadwip town of West Bengal has also been approved at an estimated cost of Rs 3.13 crore that would include river bank protection work, construction of waiting rooms, stairs and seating arrangements.
      Overview of Projects in Uttar Pradesh
    • A project involving sewage infrastructure work in Chunar, located in Mirzapur district of UP, has also been approved with an estimated cost of Rs 27.98 Crore.
    • In this project a sewage treatment plant of 2 MLD capacity will be created apart from interception and diversion of drains.

     Lok Sabha passes State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill, 2017 on - 10th August 2017

    The Lok Sabha passed the State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill, 2017 on 10th August 2017.
    The Bill was passed in order to repeal the SBI (Subsidiary Banks) Act 1959, State Bank of Hyderabad Act 1956 and to further make changes in the State Bank of India Act, 1955, following the merger of five associates with the parent SBI.
    The SBI has come in the list of top 50 banks globally and is ranked at the 45th position after this merging.
    Important highlights of the State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill, 2017 Repeal: It seeks to repeal the two Acts: (i) State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959,(ii) State Bank of Hyderabad Act, 1956.
    These Acts established State Bank of Mysore, the State Bank of Bikaner, State Bank of Travancore,State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Hyderabad.
    These banks were subsidiaries of the State Bank of India (SBI) previously. This is as a result to the Union Cabinet granting its approval in February 2017, which allowed the SBI to gain these subsidiaries.

    Delhi Assembly passes Minimum Wages (Delhi) Amendment Bill 2017, Netaji Subhash varsity bill on - 10th August 2017

    The Delhi Assembly passed two amended Bills- Minimum Wages (Delhi) Amendment Bill 2017 and Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology (NSIT) Bill, 2017 on 10th August 2017.

    More on Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology (NSIT) Bill, 2017

    • It is aiming to give the Netaji Subhash Institute of Technology the status of a university.
    • Once the Bill becomes Act, the NSIT will be becoming facilitator, a center for integrated learning, a research center and support for incubation.
    • The bill carries an additional change regarding the appointment of authority in the university.
    • The Minimum Wages (Delhi) Amendment Bill, 2017 is aiming to increase minimum wages of the workers in the state.
    • The Bill includes strict penalties on employers who did not pay minimum wages to their workers.
    • It increases the penalty for non-payment of minimum wages between Rs 500 and Rs 50 thousand.
    • It enhances the jail term of non payer from the current six months to up to three years.

    Ministerial meeting of BIMSTEC sets off on - 10th August 2017

    The 15th Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) ministerial meeting was held at Soaltee Crowne Plaza in Kathmandu, Nepal on 10th August 2017.
    Nepal’s Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba inaugurated this meeting and it was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Krishna Bahadur Mahara.

    Important Highlights

    • The main agenda of the meeting was to finalise a free trade agreement among the BIMSTEC members including negotiations on market access for professionals and to reduce the duty on trading goods.
    • It also meant to finalise the date of the fourth BIMSTEC Summit that will be hosted by the Nepal, the current chair of the sub-regional forum.
    • Issues concerning trade in services and goods, investments and connectivity were also discussed at the meet.
    • The inaugural procession was attended by the Foreign and External Affairs Ministers from the member nations including Bhutan, Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka and the Deputy Foreign Ministers from Myanmar and Thailand.
    • India was represented by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who arrived at Kathmandu on the morning of 10th August.
    • Swaraj held brief talkings and meetings with President Bidhya Devi Bhandari and Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.
    • Furthermore, after the inauguration ceremony, all the delegates had a brief bilateral meeting, following which they were invited for dinner gathering hosted by Nepal Foreign Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara.
    • The two-day meet was concluded on 11th August 2017, by the end of the day.

     Venezuela’s new Constituent Assembly declares itself superior to all other government bodies on - 8th August 2017

    The newly-established Constitutional Assembly of Venezuela has announced itself superior to all other governmental institutions, including the opposition-controlled congress.

    On 8th August 2017 the assembly approved a decree obliging government bodies to recognize its wide ranging powers and to follow the decisions. In addition to that the order prohibits the opposition-held National Assembly and other government bodies from taking any action that would interfere with the laws of constituent assembly.

     The decree was passed amidst fears that the all-powerful constituent assembly will be undermined the judiciary and legislature. On the other hand,international bodies and foreign governments have refused to recognize the pro-government body.
    Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro stated that a new constitution would help resolve the nation's political standoff. The opposition leaders describe the situation as a power grab.
    Political Crisis in Venezuela

    • A series of protests, political demonstrations and civil insurrection began in Venezuela due to the country's high levels of urban violence, inflation and chronic shortages of basic goods in 2014.
    • Initially protests were occurred in January 2014, after the murder of actress and former Miss Venezuela Monica Spear, mass protesting was started in February 2014 following the attempted rape of a student in the university campus in San Cristobal and the incidents surrounding the 2016 recall referendum by 2016.
    • The largest demonstration of the protests with more than one million Venezuelans were gathered with a demand to recall election against then president Maduro on 1st September 2016
      Venezuelans were summoned to the polls to vote for a new lawmaking body, known as the Constituent Assembly in July 2017.