Current Affairs 14th August 2018

 Current Affairs 14th August 2018 - Important Points

• Parker Solar Probe mission to study Sun’s corona launched by - NASA
• Justice VK Tahilramani sworn-in as Chief Justice of Madras High Court on - 12th August 2018
• Somnath Chatterjee, former Lok Sabha Speaker, passed away on - 13th August 2018
• NITI Aayog launched ‘Pitch to MOVE’ for startups on - 14th August 2018
• Uttarakhand High Court declared itself legal guardian of cows in state on - 14th August 2018

 Current Affairs 14th August 2018 - Details

Parker Solar Probe mission to study Sun’s corona launched by - NASA

US space agency NASA launched Parker Solar Probe, a historic mission to touch the sun on 12th August, 2018. The main aim of this mission is to send a  satellite closer to the Sun than anyone else as on date.

The rocket carrying the solar probe was lifted off from Space Launch Complex 37 based at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in US.  This time launch happened after a failed attempt on the previous day, when a last-minute alarm caused the agency to miss its 65-minute weather window.

Important Highlights

• This solar probe was launched aboard United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket.
• Within an hour after the launch itself, NASA confirmed that the spacecraft had separated and the probe had been released into space successfully.
• The spacecraft is expected to fly past Venus in 6 weeks and make the first contact with the Sun six weeks after that.
• Parker Solar Probe will be making six more Venus flybys and 24 total passes by the Sun, journeying steadily closer to the Sun until it will be making its closest approach at 3.8 million miles during its mission of 7 years.
• The probe will be moving at roughly 430,000 miles per hour, setting the record of being the fastest human-made object ever at this point.
• The probe will be dipping inside the tenuous atmosphere, sampling conditions and getting to just 6.16 million kilometers from the broiling surface of the Sun.
• In december 2018, It is expected to transmit its first science observations.

Justice VK Tahilramani sworn-in as Chief Justice of Madras High Court on - 12th August 2018

Justice Vijaya Kamlesh Tahilramani was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court by Governor Banwarilal Purohit at a  ceremony at the Raj Bhavan, Tamil Nadu on 12th August, 2018.

The swearing-in ceremony also saw the presence of Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Justice Indira Banerjee. Justice Tahilramani will be taking over from Acting Chief Justice Huluvadi G Ramesh, who was tasked to serve the High Court after the elevation of Chief  Justice Indira Banerjee as the Supreme Court judge.

According to the roster of the Madras High Court, Justice Tahilramani along with Justice M. Duraiswamy, would be hearing public interest litigations relating to women’s rights, all criminal appeals and criminal cases and other matters which are to be heard by a Division Bench.
More about Justice Tahilramani

• Justice Tahilramani born in 1958.
• In 1982, She joined the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa.
• She served as a Public Prosecutor and Government Pleader for the State of Maharashtra.
• In June 2001, She was elevated as a Bombay High Court Judge.
• In December 2017, She was appointed as the Acting Chief Justice of Bombay High Court.

Somnath Chatterjee, former Lok Sabha Speaker, passed away on - 13th August 2018

Former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee passed away on 13th August, 2018 morning at the age 89. He died with a heart attack at a hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal.

The 10-time parliamentarian was suffering from a kidney-related ailment; and had been in and out of hospital for the last two months. Somnath Chatterjee had suffered a hemorrhagic stroke in July 2018.

NITI Aayog launched ‘Pitch to MOVE’ for startups on - 14th August 2018

NITI Aayog launched ‘Pitch to MOVE’, a mobility pitch competition on August 14th, 2018 which is aiming to provide budding entrepreneurs of India with a unique opportunity to pitch their business ideas to a distinguished jury.

The competition would be enabling startups working in the various fields of mobility to pitch their ideas to industry leaders and venture capitalists to raise investments.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be felicitating during the valedictory session of the Global Mobility Summit on September 8, 2018.

More about ‘Pitch to MOVE’

• The mobility pitch competition is open primarily to startups from various parts of India who are interested to showcase their business ideas to jury members.
• The startups can be from the domain of public mobility, last mile connectivity,shared transport, electric vehicles,passenger transportation, battery technology, automotive IoT, experiential, travel,freight & logistics, powertrain/drivetrain, mobility infrastructure and automotive electronics.
• NITI Aayog has organised it in collaboration with Invest SIAM (India and Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) as a part of a series to engage featured events in the run up to the main summit.
• The Global Mobility Summit 2018 is scheduled to be held between September 7th-8th, 2018 in New Delhi only at Vigyan Bhawan.

Uttarakhand High Court declared itself legal guardian of cows in state on - 14th August 2018

In a first of its kind ruling, Uttarakhand High Court invoked the 'parens patriae' doctrine and declared
itself as a legal guardian of members of the bovine family across the state on August 14th, 2018.

In Uttarakhad, the court is becoming a legal protector for the welfare of cows and other stray cattle in Uttarakhand. A division bench consists of Acting Chief Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari, issued various directions for the protection of cows in the same state.

The bench cited various references in its order to stress the importance of taking care for animals including Supreme Court rulings, excerpts from the Upanishads and Arthashastra and also teachings of Jainism and Buddhism; along with quotes of the Dalai Lama and Mahatma Gandhi.

The bulls slaughter,calves and cows is already banned in the state under the Uttarakhand Protection of Cow Progeny Act, providing a jail term of up to ten years or Rs 10,000 fine, or both.