Current Affairs : August 13, 2011

Austerity measures approved by ITALY to improve public finance

• The Italian cabinet approved austerity measures to improve public finances and reduce the nation’s budget deficit
  
• € 20 bn to be cut from government’s spending next year and another € 25 billion by 2013
  
• 50,000 Jobs in local Governments will go as Rome cuts central funding
  
• Italy’s borrowing costs rose sharply before the move as investors lost confidence in the Government’s ability to diminish its deficit
  

Madhya Pradesh Government launches “Atal Bal Mitra Yojna”

• MP State Government launched “Atal Bal Mitra Yojna “ for the effective functioning of Anganwadi centers
  
• Under the scheme, the existing infrastructure facilities of Anganwadi Centres will be developed via public participation
  
• Financial assistance from public will help in bringing very low birth weight children to a normal level of nutrition
  
• Any person or institution may help improve the management of Anganwadi Centres and bring the severely malnourished children to normal level; they can contribute in cash or in kind
  
• Mission Director at the State and District Collectors in the ability of the Director of the Mission for District will be authorized to receive money for cooperation
  
• Online facility to be made available for the depositing funds
  
• Things or material provided through the public participation can be received at the Village and the Anganwadi level as well
  

Hyderabad: ‘No free zone for employment’

• President Pratibha Devi Singh Patil gave her consent for the deletion of Clause 14 (f) of the 1975 Presidential Order, which had made Hyderabad a free zone for employment
  

Reason for doing so:

• Demand from Telangana leaders to make Hyderabad a ‘No free zone for employment’, where candidates from all over the state can compete for recruitment for Government posts, predominately in the police force
  
• Telangana Leaders desired omission of the clause so that candidates from Telanana get preference
  

• The Ministry of Home Affairs has also issued a notification that the President has given her approval for deleting the sub-paragraph (f) of Clause 14 of the 1975 Presidential Order
  
• Thus, now Hyderabad discontinues to be a free zone for employment, and would become a part of other Telanaga districts
  
• Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy had taken up the matter with Union Home Minister P Chidambaram as well as Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh
  
• The issue was taken up by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, which decided to recommend to the President that deletion of 14 (f) be approved
  

AIIMS to launch cash cards to make payments

• The All India Institute of Medical Sciences will soon launch cash card facility
  

Objective: This will considerably reduce the time patients waste in queues while making payment for various tests

• Patient can buy a pre-paid card at a cost of Rs 10 from the Hospital’s registration counter
  
• Patients can recharge their cards with a minimum amount of Rs 100 to a maximum of Rs 1,00,000 from the branches of the State Bank of India
  

LS passes Transplantation of Human Organs Bill

The Lok Sabha passed the Transplantation of Human Organs (Amendment) Bill, 2009

Objective:
To regulate the removal, storage and transplantation of human organs and check their illegal trade

• The legislation eases transplantation of tissues which was banned earlier
  
• A national registry of organ donors and recipients to be maintained
  
• Only registered medical practitioners will be allowed to perform transplant-related surgeries
  
• The bill establishes a strict supervision over all organ transplantations in the country
  
• The poor will largely profit from the step
  

Army successfully conducts user trial of BrahMos missile

• Army successfully conducted the user trial of BrahMos Block-III supersonic cruise missiles • The Block III version has the capability of scaling mountainous terrain and can take a steep dive to engage targets located inside hillocks which are otherwise inaccessible.
• This was the 25^th test of the cruise missile which has already been inducted in the Army and Navy • Suitable for mountain warfare, the missile has the capability to attack ground targets from very low altitude with minimal radar signature and is considered best for surgical strikes
• Considered one of the fastest cruise missile in the world, BrahMos can win a speed of Mach 2.8.
• It has a propulsion system of two stages, with a solid-fuel rocket for initial acceleration and a liquid-fueled ramjet responsible for sustained supersonic cruise.
• Developed jointly by India and Russia, BrahMos is a stealth supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land.
• The release version of submarine-air missiles are in various stages of development and is scheduled to test-firing in the next couple of years.
• Fire and forget missiles are stored, transported and launched from mobile platforms and can be launched in both horizontal and vertical modes

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Month: Current Affairs - August, 2011

Category: Government Schemes Current Affairs