Current Affairs 21st February 2017

Current Affairs 21st February 2017 - Important Points

• ISRO successfully tests its Cryogenic Stage for – GSLV MkIII for the Flight Duration
• Who is ranked as best President in Presidential Historians Survey conducted in 2017 - Abraham Lincoln
• Scientists discovered drowned Pacific Ocean continent - Zealandia
• Bill to reimburse revenue loss to States has been approved by – GST Council
• Raj Kumar Rao's 'Newton' wins – Art Cinema honor at Berlinale

Current Affairs 21st February 2017 - Details

ISRO successfully tests its Cryogenic Stage for – GSLV MkIII for the Flight Duration

After creating a history of launching 104 satellites in a single mission, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) tested its indigenously developed Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS) for GSLV MkIII rocketsuccessfully on 17 February 2017.

Vital Information -

• The cryogenic most powerful upper stage, designated as C25, was tested at ISRO Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu.

• It was tested for flight duration of 640 seconds.

• In this stage rocket is capable of carrying 27.8 tons of propellants that are loaded in two independent tanks.

• This rocket is a successor of GSLV Mark II, which was first launched in 2001.

Who is ranked as best President in Presidential Historians Survey conducted in 2017 - Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln retained the top spot as the United States of America’s best leader out of 91 residential presidents polled. Former president Barak Obama ranked 12th in the list.

This survey was conducted in the third week of February.

Scientists discovered drowned Pacific Ocean continent - Zealandia

Lately scientists have discovered the hidden continent of earth “Zealandia” with the two-third size of Australia beneath the south-west Pacific Ocean.

Important Points -

• This hidden continent also known as Tasmantis is nearly submerged after breaking away from Australia around 60-85 million of years ago.

• The continent had separated from Antarctica and supports substantial inshore fisheries and contains New Zealand’s largest gas field near Taranaki.

Bill to reimburse revenue loss to States has been approved by – GST Council

GST Council has approved the bill to reimburse revenue loss to States on 18th February 2017. 

Interesting Facts on GST

• GST is a single indirect tax. It includes Central and State taxes such as the Value Added Tax (VAT), Excise duty, Service tax and Central sales tax.

• It aims to bring the uniformity in the tax structure across the Country.

• The Union Finance Minister is the chairperson of the GST Council.

Raj Kumar Rao's 'Newton' wins – Art Cinema honor at Berlinale

The movie based on political satire “Newton” starring Raj Kumar Rao and Anjali Patil has won International Federation of Art Cinemas (CICAE) award in its forum segment at the 67th Berlin Film Festivalon 19th February 2017.

Interesting Highlights

• "Newton" bagged this award out of 43 other films which were screened in the festival.

• The film was labelled as a wonderful and exceptional film by the jury and received a standing ovation at the festival.