Current Affairs February 10, 2010
DG of National Investigation Agency: SC Sinha
New NIA head is CBI special director S.C. Sinha from February 2010, a 1975 Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, he became the second chief of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), succeeding Radha Vinod Raju who retired. Sinha’s tenure is expected to be till Oct 31,2013.
Events & Happenings:
Pangsau Pass winter festival
Pangsau Pass winter festival is a 4 day cultural extravaganza held in Nampong of Arunachal Pradesh. More than 26 tribes and sub-tribes with different cultures and unique festivals of their own exist in Arunachal Pradesh. The festival brings them all together.
Awards:
Polio Champion – Ghulam Nabi Azad
The Union Minister of Health and Family welfare Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad has been honored by Rotary International as Polio Champion for his untiring efforts to eradicate the disease from the country.
The Polio Champion Award is given by Rotary International since 1995 to recognize governments and world leaders who have made outstanding contributions toward the goal of eradicating polio.
National Updates:
On India’s Tribal Universities:
The Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) which offers unique opportunity for formal and vocational education to thousands of neglected and deprived tribal children from aborigine society live in inaccessible remote corners of Orissa is India’s First Tribal University. established 1993 It is a sister concern of KIIT.
A seminar on ‘We and our Tribes’ was organized here and India’s Union Tribal Affairs Minister Kantilal Bhuria says that this kind of institutes will be established in each state of the country on the pattern of KISS.
Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI)
An MOU has been signed for a world-class institute of Public Health at Bhubneshwar Read here
India has now Anti satellite system:
On February 10, 2010, DRDO Director-General and Scientific Advisor to the Defense Minister, Dr VK Saraswat announced India’s entry into the elite club of nations with capability to launch anti-satellite missiles. He stated that India had “all the building blocks necessary” to integrate an anti-satellite weapon to neutralize hostile satellites in low earth and polar orbits. He said that the propulsion module and kill vehicle already existed in principle on the Agni (missile) series of ballistic missiles, but that India did not have a formal anti-satellite weapon project as yet. He indicated, however, that the anti-satellite weapons could be developed as part of the Indian Ballistic Missile Defense Program, which will complete the development stage in totality by 2014
On Agni V:
Dr. Saraswat also stated that India’s first 5,000-km plus range Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Agni-V will take its maiden test flight next year as 60% of the 5500 kms missile is already done. Work on the second stage of the three-stage, solid fuel propelled missile is on. This is the first time that a three-stage model will be tested.
Business & Economy:
Wipro, CSIR sign MoU
IT Major of India Wipro had entered water business in March 2008 through the acquisition of Aquatech Industries (India) Pvt Ltd. A MOU is signed between CSIR and Wipro water for partner in the area of water and waste water treatment, desalination and other related solutions. Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI), Bhavnagar has partnered with Wipro Water for this purpose.
Committee on “Paid News”
Converting advertisements in news and delivering them in that form is called paid news. Many political parties have used this during the elections and recently such an issue was raised in “The Hindu” on election promotion of Ashok Chavan in some Marathi newspapers.
On 8th February 2010, PCI (Press council of India) constitutes a committee consisting of senior journalists K Srinivasa Reddy and Paranjoy Guha Thakurta to probe into this isse. PCI has already raised this issue with election commission.
About Press Council of India:
The Press Council Of India is a statutory body in India that governs the conduct of the print and broadcast media. It was first set up in the year 1966 by the Parliament on the recommendations of the First Press Commission with the object of preserving the freedom of the press and of maintaining and improving the standards of press in India.
Reserve Bank of India’s Financial Literacy Tram:
The Reserve Bank of India will launch a ”Financial Literacy Tram” in Kolkata on February 12 to create awareness about various financial education themes of the central bank.
Mission Seven Summits
‘Mission Seven Summits’ is an adventure-laced expedition to conquer the highest summits in seven different continents of the world. It has been launched by Indian Air Force.
Having scaled the highest and most difficult mountain of the Asian continent, Mt. Everest (8848 M) in 2005, five ace IAF mountaineers led by Wg Cdr RC Tripathi, an Everest climber, will attempt Mt. Aconcagua 6,962 meters (22,841 ft), the highest mountain in the South Americas and the highest mountain outside Asia, from February 11 to March 2, 2010.
Internationalized domain name Research at CDAC
An awareness raising national workshop on IDNs for Indian languages was organized on February 10, 2010 at New Delhi
Read Here
Obituary
Padma Vibhushan Kakkadan Nandanath Raj popularly known as K. N. Raj was an eminent Indian economist whose role played in India’s planned development can never be forgotten. He was instrumental in drafting some sections of India’s first Five Year Plan. (At a young age of 27, Prof Raj was invited by the then Prime Minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru to help draft India’s First Five Year Plan) He is also known for the following:
1. As a veteran economist of India’s Planning Commission.
2. Computing India’s Balance of Payments for the first time for Reserve Bank of India.
3. As an economic advisor to several prime ministers from Jawahar lal Nehru to PV Narsimharao.
4. As an eminent teacher, a researcher and an institution builder
5. As a moving force behind the setting up of the Delhi School of Economics and the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram.
6. To work out & popularise Kerala model of development: Prof Raj and his colleagues did for the United Nations in the early days of the Centre for Development Studies helped shape the contours of what later came to be called the “Kerala model” of development.
6. As a former Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University.
7. As an awardee of Padma Vibhushan in 2000.
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Month: Current Affairs - February, 2010