Current Affairs 6th March 2017

Current Affairs 6th March 2017 - Important Points

• Famous surgeon , Thomas E Starzl pioneering liver surgeon, passed away on - 4th March 2017
• The largest tricolour on tallest flag post at Attari Border inaugerated by - Punjab Minister
• World’s oldest serving aircraft carrier INS Viraat retired on - 6th March 2017

Current Affairs 6th March 2017 - Details

Famous surgeon , Thomas E Starzl pioneering liver surgeon, passed away on - 4th March 2017

Dr Thomas E Starzl, a surgeon who performed the first successful liver transplant on a human patient, passed away on 4th March 2017 in Pittsburgh. He was 90 at the time of his death.

Interesting Highlights

• Thomas Earl Starzl was born on 11th March 1926. He was an American physician and researcher and an expert on organ transplants. 
• He was named as "the father of modern transplantation."
• He obtained a PhD in neurophysiology and an MD with distinction in 1952. 
• He performed the first human liver transplant in 1963.
•  He performed the first simultaneous heart and liver transplant on six-year-old Stormie Jones in 1984.

The largest tricolour on tallest flag post at Attari Border inaugerated by - Punjab Minister, Anil Joshi

Anil Joshi, the Cabinet Minister of Punjab inaugurated tricolour on the tallest flag post at Indo-Pakistan Attari border on 5th March 2017. The flag was hoisted just 150 meters distance from border.

The flag post was built at an approximate cost of Rs 3.50 crore was a project of the Amritsar Improvement Trust Authority of Punjab Government. 

Measurements of the flag post

• Length - 110 meters

• Width - 24 metres

• Height - 360-foot

• Weight - 55 tonnes

Important points-

• India’s largest flag with tallest flagpole is hoisted at Ranchi
• The flag post became attraction for thousands of tourists who were present at Wagha border to watch the Beating Retreat Ceremony during the sunset. 
• Even visitors from Pakistan’s gallery were also watching the Indian flag with keen interest touching the sky.

Did you know?

Due to its size, it is visible from all sides even from Pakistan’s Lahore city too.

World’s oldest serving aircraft carrier INS Viraat retired on - 6th March 2017

The world’s oldest aircraft carrier in active service, INS Viraat will be decommissioned on 6th March 2017. INS Viraat’s send off would also be an emotional moment for the navy officer who were deployed on the ship.

Key Highlights

•   It was built in 1943, during the Second World War.
• INS Viraat was the longest serving aircraft carrier in the Indian naval fleet, commissioned into the Indian Navy on 12 May 1987.
•  It retired after serving the country for nearly three decades.
•  The decommissioning ceremony was attended by Manohar Parrikar, the defence minister along with several other dignitaries.
• It was commissioned as the Royal British Navy’s HMS Hermes in 1959 and decommissioned in 1984.
• It was sold to India in 1987 and served the navy for 27 years.
•  The Ministry of Defence is planning to convert the carrier into a museum  and would require an investment of about ?1000 Cr besides the daily running cost.