Current Affairs Assam – October 2018
( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the month of October 2018 )
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October 3
Ranjan Gogoi sworn in as Chief Justice of India
- Justice Ranjan Gogoi was on 03rdoct sworn in as the 46th Chief Justice of India. President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath to Justice Gogoi, 63, at a brief ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan’s Darbar Hall.
- Justice Gogoi, will have a tenure of a little over 13 months and will retire on November 17, 2019.
- He succeeds Justice Dipak Misra who retired on Tuesday after attaining the age of 65 years.
BIOGRAPHY – Justice Ranjan Gogoi
- Born on November 18, 1954, Justice Gogoi, who belongs to Dibrugarh in Assam, enrolled as an advocate in 1978.
- He practiced in the Gauhati High Court on constitutional, taxation and company matters.
- He was appointed permanent judge of the Gauhati High Court on February 28, 2001. On September 9, 2010, he was transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
- On February 12, 2011, he was appointed chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and then a judge of the Supreme Court on April 23, 2012.
Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar took over as AOC-in-C of Eastern Air Command
Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar, took over as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Air Command (EAC) of Indian Air Force.
BIOGRAPHY – Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar
- Air Marshal is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and was commissioned in the IAF as Fighter Pilot in June 1981.
- He is an Experimental Test Pilot and has flown 42 types of aircraft as Pilot in Command.
- He has the distinction of having the highest number of flying hours on the Mirage-2000 in the IAF with over 2,300 flying hours to his credit, and overall 5,100 hours of flying experience.
- He has served in Shillong as Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) earlier.
FACTFILE – Eastern Air Command
- The Eastern Air Command is one of the five operational commands of the Indian Air Force.
- Headquartered in Shillong in Meghalaya.
- Named No 1 Operational Group at the time of its inception, 27 May 1958, it was based at Ranikutir in Kolkata as a part of the Govt’s increasing emphasis on defence of the eastern borders.
- The Operational Group was upgraded as Command on 1 December 1959 with headquarters at Fort William, Kolkata and Air Vice Marshal KL Sondhi as the first AOC-in-C of the Eastern Command Indian Air Force Rank structure.
- After the 1962 Indo-Chinese War, the decision was made to raise a full-fledged command at Shillong.
- The area of responsibility of the command now covers 11 states, and is bound by the international boundaries of Nepal, Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Bangladesh incorporating 6300 km of common border.
- Eastern Air Command now has permanent airbases at Chabua, Guwahati, Bagdogra, Barrackpore, Hasimara, Jorhat, Kalaikunda and Tezpur with forward airbases at Agartala, Kolkata, Panagarh and Shillong.
- Eastern Air Command consists of Air Defence squadrons consisting of the MiG-21 and Ground attack squadrons consisting of the MiG-27.
Odisha CM launches State’s own food security scheme
- Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on 2ndoct launched the state’s own food security scheme to benefit 25 lakh people who have been left out from the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
- Patnaik launched the food security scheme after interacting with people of four districts through video conferencing from the state Secretariat.
- The scheme will benefit the vulnerable populace who have been excluded from the NFSA.
- The beneficiaries will get five kg of rice per person per month at a rate of Rs 1 per kg.
- The state government will spend Rs 443.5 crore per annum to support the scheme and Rs 221.75 crore in the current financial year.
FACTFILE – National Food Security Act, 2013 (also Right to Food Act)
- Food Secutiry Act is an Act of the Parliament of India which aims to provide subsidized food grains to approximately two thirds of India’s 1.2 billion people.
- It was signed into law on 12 September 2013, retroactive to 5 July 2013.
- The National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA 2013) converts into legal entitlements for existing food security programmes of the Government of India.
- It includes the Midday Meal Scheme, Integrated Child Development Services scheme and the Public Distribution System. Further, the NFSA 2013 recognizes maternity entitlements.
- The Midday Meal Scheme and the Integrated Child Development Services Scheme are universal in nature whereas the PDS will reach about two-thirds of the population (75% in rural areas and 50% in urban areas).
- Under the provisions of the bill, beneficiaries of the Public Distribution System (or, PDS) are entitled to 5 kilograms (11 lb) per person per month of cereals at the rate of Rice at ₹3 per kg, Wheat at ₹2 per kg and Coarse grains (millet) at ₹1 per kg.
- Pregnant women, lactating mothers, and certain categories of children are eligible for daily free cereals.
Indian Coast Guards and Vietnam to conduct joint Naval Exercise
- The Indian Coast Guard and Vietnam Coast Guard ship CSB 8001 will take part in Indo-Vietnam joint exercise `Aahyog-Hop Tac 2018’ which will be held off Chennai coast on Oct 4, 2018.
- Three ships, one helicopter, one Dornier from Indian Coast Guard and visiting ship of Vietnam Coast Guard will participate in the exercise.
- National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) Vessel SagarManjusha will also participate in the event.
- The Vietnam Coast Guard ship CSB 8001 on her maiden visit to India arrived at Chennai Port on October 2.
October 4
Assam Govt launches new pension scheme for elders
- Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on 2nd Oct launched the Swahid Kushal Konwar Sarbajanin Briddha Pension Achoni at a public function.
- The scheme, which seeks to universalise the pension system in the State, has been designed by the government from its own resources with an annual financial involvement of Rs 400 crore.
- All senior citizens above 60 years of age would be entitled to get the benefit of the scheme through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to their bank accounts.
- In every constituency 15,000-20,000 people would benefit from the pension scheme as the payment will be made on the first day of the month to the beneficiaries’ accounts from the State treasury.
India’s 3rd highest Tricolour hoisted at Guwahati’s Gandhi Mandap
- Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal formally hoisted India’s tallest National Flag (from the average city elevation) at Gandhi Mandap in Guwahati.
- The flag is a part of the ‘Refurbishment of Gandhi Mandap’ project under Guwahati Smart City Limited and funded by the State Department of Industries and Commerce.
- Guwahati Smart City Limited was entrusted with the task of preparing the project document and supervising the implementation of the project to install a 319.5-foot-high monumental flag pole in Gandhi Mandap.
- The total project cost is Rs 2.92 crore, which includes operations and maintenance for a period of one year.
- The 319.5-foot flag pole is the tallest in the country with respect to the average elevation of the city.
- In respect of only the pole height, it is ranked third highest in the country after Attari border, which is 360 feet in height, and Pimpri Chinchwad Bhakti Shakti Chawk in Pune that has a height of 351 feet.
PM Modi receives UN’s Champions of the Earth award
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 3rd Oct received the Champions of the Earth award from UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in Delhi.
- The Award was for PM Modi’s extensive efforts to ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’- including an ambitious pledge to eliminate all single-use plastic in the country by 2022.
- PM Modi was also recognised for his International Solar Alliance initiative, a global partnership that aims to scale up solar energy in ‘solar-resource-rich countries’ and reduce humanity’s dependence on fossil fuels.
- PM Narendra Modi was awarded the UN honour along with French President Emmanuel Macron. The two leaders were recognised in the Policy Leadership category “for their pioneering work in championing the International Solar Alliance and promoting new areas of levels of cooperation on environmental action”.
FACTFILE – UN’s Champions of the Earth Award
- It is the United Nations’ highest environmental honour, bestowed on the world’s greatest change agents – individuals and organisations meriting international recognition for their environmental achievements.
- It was established Champions of the Earth in 2005 as an annual awards. No financial awards are conferred.
- This awards programme is a successor to UNEP’s Global 500 Roll of Honour.
Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad win Nobel Peace Prize for fight against sexual violence
- The 2018 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad for their fight against sexual violence.
- Denis Mukwege, a gynecologist and surgeon, worked to treat thousands of women and girls affected by rape and sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- Nadia Murad, from ISIS sex slave to global human rights campaigner, she is a Yazidi woman from the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar, who was held as a sex slave by ISIS.
- In 2016, at age 23, she was made a UN goodwill ambassador for the dignity of survivors of human trafficking.
- Mukwege, who has earned the moniker “The man who mends women” for the work.
- Nadia Murad becomes the 17th woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize and is its second-youngest recipient after Malala Yousafzai.
- Last year, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and in 2016 it was awarded to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.
The 2018 Nobel Prize Winners
- The 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded jointly to Frances H. Arnold and George P. Smith and Sir Gregory P. Winter for their work harnessing the power of evolution to develop new proteins used in drugs and medical treatments.
- The 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded jointly to Donna Strickland and Gérard Mourou their work on generating high-intensity, ultra-short optical pulses and Arthur Ashkin for developing “optical tweezers.”
- James Allison and Japan’s Tasuku Honjo won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Medicine for a pioneering approach to cancer treatment, by harnesses the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells.
Point2Remember – Arthur Ashkin who awarded at the age of 96, becomes the oldest Nobel laureate.
World’s First full-scale Hyperloop Passenger Capsule unveiled
- Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HyperloopTT/HTT) provided the first look of their full-scale passenger Hyperloop capsule at an unveiling ceremony in Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain.
- The capsule, “Quintero One” is constructed almost completely out of HyperloopTT’sVibranium — a specially made dual-layer smart composite material.
- It was built at the Southern Spain aerospace facilities of HyperloopTT’s partner Airtificial, a new company formed by the merger of composite expert Carbures and engineering company Inypsa that manufactures for many leading companies including Airbus and Boeing.
- The design for the capsule was created in collaboration with PriestmanGoode and won the Gold award at the 2017 London Design Awards.
- The capsule will be delivered to HyperloopTT’s research and development centre in Toulouse, France for additional assembly and integration into the system, before it is used on one of the first commercial tracks.
FACTFILE – Hyperloop
- The Hyperloop concept operates by sending specially designed “capsules” or “pods” through a steel tube maintained at a partial vacuum.
- In Musk’s original concept, each capsule floats on a 0.02–0.05 in (0.5–1.3 mm) layer of air provided under pressure to air-caster “skis”, similar to how pucks are levitated above an air hockey table, while still allowing faster speeds than wheels can sustain.
- Hyperloop One’s technology uses passive maglev for the same purpose. Linear induction motors located along the tube would accelerate and decelerate the capsule to the appropriate speed for each section of the tube route.
- With rolling resistance eliminated and air resistance greatly reduced, the capsules can glide for the bulk of the journey.
- An electrically driven inlet fan and axial compressor would be placed at the nose of the capsule to “actively transfer high-pressure air from the front to the rear of the vessel”, resolving the problem of air pressure building in front of the vehicle, slowing it down.
- A fraction of the air is shunted to the skis for additional pressure, augmenting that gain passively from lift due to their shape. Hyperloop One’s system does away with the compressor.
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