Current Affairs: October 8, 2011

October 8, 2011

Deployment of GLONASS network, completed by Russia

Russia finished the deployment of its global positioning satellite group “Glonass”. GLONASS is the Russian comparable of the U.S. GPS (Global Positioning System). It is intended for military and civilian use. At present, there are 28 Glonass satellites in orbit.

GLONASS (Globalnaya Navigazionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema or Global Navigation Satellite System) is a radio-based satellite navigation system operated for the Russian Government by the Russian Space Forces. It is an alternative and complement to the United States’ Global Positioning System (GPS), the Chinese Compass navigation system and the planned Galileo positioning system of the European Union.
Development of the GLONASS began in the Soviet Union in 1976. Beginning on 12 October 1982, numerous rocket launches added satellites to the system until the “constellation” was completed in 1995. Following completion, the system fell into disrepair with the collapse of the Russian economy. In the early 2000s, under Vladimir Putin’s presidency, the restoration of the system was made a top government priority and funding was substantially increased. GLONASS is currently the most expensive program of the Russian Federal Space Agency, consuming a third of its budget in 2010.
By 2010, GLONASS had achieved 100% coverage of Russia’s territory and in October 2011, the full orbital constellation of 24 satellites was restored, enabling full global coverage. The GLONASS satellites designs have undergone several upgrades, with the latest version being GLONASS-K.
GLONASS is a global satellite navigation system, providing real time position and velocity determination for military and civilian users.
GLONASS’ orbit makes it especially suited for usage in northern latitudes, where getting a GPS signal can be problematic

Consciousness drive on Iron Folic Acid Tablets in Assam

Health department of Assam has started a consciousness campaign to enhance the utilization of Iron Folic Acid (IFA) tablets amongst women. Only 14% women in Assam at present eat IFA tablets.
NRHM of the State in partnership with UNICEF has by now begun Adolescent Anaemia Control Programme in 7 districts to get better the health condition of girls’ b/w 10-19 years. A chief cause of death during pregnancy is Anaemia.

In order to create Indian skill pool, Vocational Education Framework established

The National Vocational Education Qualification Framework, NVEQF was launched by Mr. Kapil Sibal with a vision to impart skill training to the youngsters in different industrial spheres. The course to commence from the Academic Session 2012 in Polytechnics and Engineering Colleges of the country.
The Course address the need for a skill talent pool in different industrial spheres.

Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai passed away

Africa’s 1^st woman Nobel Peace laureate Wangari Maathai (71) passed away. Ms Maathai bagged the Nobel Peace Prize, 2004 for her position on rights of women and protection of Kenya’s environment.
Maathai earlier established the Green Belt Movement, which was deep-rooted in protecting the dangerous, counting the poor, in particular women. The movement also required shield of Kenya’s environment prior to increasing to embrace political and economic matters.

‘Micro Finance Project for Women’ launched by Delhi Govt

A micro-finance project for women was launched by the Delhi Govt. The objective of the project os to offer monetary support to over 1 Lakh susceptible women in Delhi.
Samajik Suvidha Sangam(SSS) will execute the project by the alliance with Delhi chapter of SEWA. Under the scheme, loans to be provided to women at a nominal interest rate of 1.5%.

Parrikar replaced as PAC chief

The arguements over the draft report of the PAC (Public Accounts Committee) on illegitimate mining in Goa took up a twist with Speaker of Goa Assembly Mr. Pratapsinh Rane substituting Mr. Manohar Parrikar (Leader of the Opposition and senior BJP leader) by Mr. Vijay Pai-Khot (another party MLA,) as PAC head.
The PAC report accused the Goa Govt for illegitimate mining, citing loss of income, and enormous scathe to the forests and the environment.

Father of “C” Language Dennis Ritchie passes away

Dennis MacAlistair Ritchie(70) passed away on October 8, 2011. He was a US Computer Scientist distinguished for developing the “C” Language and bearing an tempt on other programming Languages and OS (Operating System) such as “Multics” and “UNIX”. Dennis bestowed with the Turing Award in 1983 and the National Medal of Technology 1998.
Dennis Ritchie was the chief of Lucent Technologies System Software Research Department, he retired from it in the year 2007.
Ritchie was prominent as the originator of “C” Language and he was also a Main Developer of the UNIX OS. He was co-author of the ultimate book on C, The C Programming Language, commonly referred to as K&R (in reference to the authors Kernighan and Ritchie). He was also known for his works in ALTRAN, B, and BCPL.
Ritchie’s development of C and his role in the creation of Unix together with Ken Thompson has placed him as an significant trailblazer of contemporary computing. The “C” Programming Language is still extensively utilized even at present in application and OS development, and its impact is seen in most contemporary programming languages. Unix has also been significant, laying concepts and principles that are now unshakable commandments of computing.

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