Current Affairs 25th February 2019

Current Affairs 25th February 2019 - Important Points

• Chennai Spartans wins the opening Pro Volleyball League Title
• Israeli company sends world’s 1st Privately Funded Mission to Moon
• JSPL wins FICCI CSR Award for Women Empowerment
• India South Korea sign 7 Contracts to step-up cooperation
• Minister of Textiles inaugurates two Silk Projects in Assam

Current Affairs 25th February 2019 - Details

Chennai Spartans wins the opening Pro Volleyball League Title

The Chennai Spartans have secured the opening Pro Volleyball League Title. Chennai Spartans beaten Calicut Heroes 15-11, 15-12, 16-14 in the summit clash. As a result of the winning, the Pro Volleyball League Title, Chennai Spartans have also qualified for present year’s FIVB Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship.

Pro Volleyball League

Pro Volleyball League is a professional men’s indoor volleyball league in India & the opening session was organised in February 2019. The league has been initiated by the Volleyball Federation of India in collaboration with Baseline Ventures. The opening session saw 6 teams competing for the title. The teams are:

• Ahmedabad Defenders
• Calicut Heroes
• Chennai Spartans
• Black Hawks Hyderabad
• U Mumba Volley
• Kochi Blue Spikers

Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship

Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship is an International volleyball competition in Asia & Oceania challenged by the men’s clubs of the associates of Asian Volleyball Confederation. The championship competition is organised every year.

Israeli company sends world’s 1st Privately Funded Mission to Moon

SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket carrying Israeli company SpaceIL’s lunar lander blasted-off from Florida. If successful, then Israel would have joined the club of nations which includes Russia, the United States & China who have made successful skilful landing on the surface of moon.

Israel’s Mission to Moon

It is sponsored almost completely by donation; the project is the 1st privately backed lunar lander mission that costed $100 million.

Named Beresheet the spacecraft weights 585 kilograms. Beresheet will make a 7-week journey to the moon, from where it will send pictures of the rocky surface & conduct experiments on the lunar magnetic field.

The spacecraft is named Beresheet as a reference to the 1st words of the Bible in Hebrew: ‘In the beginning’.

Landings on Moon

The 1st landing on the moon was completed Soviet Union with Luna 2 in 1959.

3 years later, the USA landed Ranger 4 on the moon. Both Luna 2 as well as Ranger-4 were hard landings where the craft crashed into the moon.

The 1st ‘soft landings’ wherein the spacecraft made skilful descents to the lunar surface for both United States & Russia came in 1966.

The 3rd nation to do a soft landing on the moon was China in the year 2013 with its Chang’e 3.

JSPL wins FICCI CSR Award for Women Empowerment

The Jindal Steel & Power Ltd- JSPL has been bestowed with the prestigious “FICCI CSR Award” for Women Empowerment. Jindal Steel & Power Ltd was presented for its innovative & high impact women empowerment programmes, implemented by the firm’s CSR Arm– Jindal Steel & Power Ltd Foundation, across its operational areas in the nation.

FICCI CSR Award

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry Corporate Social Responsibility Awards were India’s 1st Corporate Social Responsibility awards & was instituted in 1999 by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The award aims to identify & recognize the efforts of firms in integrating & internalizing CSR.

Categories of the FICCI CSR Award

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry- Corporate Social Responsibility Award for Women Empowerment.

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry- Corporate Social Responsibility Award for Education, Skill Development & Livelihood.

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry- Corporate Social Responsibility Award for Environment Sustainability.

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry- Corporate Social Responsibility Award for Health, Water & Sanitation.

Any other (for domains other than the above 4 categories).

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry- Corporate Social Responsibility Award for Exemplary Innovation (irrespective of the turnover of the company).

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry- Corporate Social Responsibility Award for Small & Medium Enterprises– firms having turnover equal to INR 200 Crores per year.

India South Korea sign 7 Contracts to step-up cooperation

During the visit of PM Narendra Modi to South Korea 7 contracts were inked to boost up the co-operation. The contracts inked include:

Contract was inked between the Korean National Police Agency & the Ministry of Home Affairs to enhance co-operation between the law enforcement agencies of the both nation & combat trans-border & international criminalities.

A joint contract was inked for releasing a joint stamp, honouring Princess Suriratna, a legendary Princess of Ayodhya, who went to Korea in AD 48 & married King Kim-Suro.

A pact was inked to continue processes of Korea Plus organisation that facilitates investments by Korean firms in India. Korea Plus operationalised in June 2016 includes representatives from the Ministry of Industry, Trade & Energy of South Korea, Korea Trade-Investment & Promotion Agency & Invest India.

A pact to promote association among start-ups & set up a Korea Start-up Centre in India to commercialise ideas, technologies & designs of start-up firms.

A pact between the Korean Broadcasting System & Prasar Bharti to facilitate the telecast of DD India Channel in South Korea & Korean Broadcasting System World Channel in India.

A pact on fisheries & aquaculture for solidification cooperation by encouraging exchanges, organising training workshops & development as well as use of marine science & technology in the fields of fisheries & aquaculture.

An agreement between the Indian NHAI & Korea Expressway Corporation to encourage bilateral co-operation in road & transport infrastructure development projects of India, & simplify technical & institutional knowledge exchange in the field of road & transport.

Minister of Textiles inaugurates two Silk Projects in Assam

The Minister of Textiles, Smriti Irani initiated 2 silk projects Soil to Silk Project & Eri Spun Silk Mill in Assam.

Soil to Silk Project

The project predicts new Eri plantation on 100 hectares & will ease post cocoon activities for an on-farm sector including plantation, spinning & reeling.

It would produce direct employment for 15600 people during the project period & 7000 people/year when the project attains full capacity.

Under the project, the Central Silk board will also effort towards rejuvenation of 600 hectares of current Eri farms & provide handlooms & work huts to 2500 weavers which in turn will provide significant linkages for self-sustenance of the production activities.

Eri Spun Silk Mill

The Eri Spun Silk Mill project will be executed directly by the state government in co-ordination with the Central Silk Board.

The predictable turnover from this project during the 1st year is approximately Rupees 10 crore with a net profit of Rupees 3 crore.

The project would produce direct employment for 107 peoples throughout the year & will provide indirect employment to about another 1500 Eri farmers via backward linkage & to about 730 weavers through the forward linkage.

On the occasion, the Minister also highlighted the Eri Silk Development Project, which has been devoted for sustainable livelihood for women of Bodoland Territorial Council through tapioca plantation at Kokrajhar.