Current Affairs: September 20, 2011

New Laser developed by the Scientists to assist in Detecting Roadside Bombs

• A new laser developed by Researchers at Michigan State University
  
• United State Department of Homeland Security funded the research and it was published in the journal Applied Physics Letters
  
• The laser has the sensitivity and selectivity to look into large areas and detect improvised explosive devices, which cause 60% of coalition soldiers’ deaths in Afghanistan
  
• The Laser can precisely identify roadside bombs and aids recognize improvised explosive devices (IEDs)
  
• The laser combines short pulses that cause molecules in the explosive to vibrate
  
• Each type of molecule has special vibration frequency that exclusively find the material
  
• But, the new laser can make differentiation even for amounts as little as a fraction of a billionth of a gram
  

First Overseas Campus set up by IIFT in Kampala, Uganda

• India-Africa Institute of Foreign Trade (IAIFT)
  

• Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), a Government-run Institute to setup its first overseas campus in Kampala, Uganda
  
  

• Objective: To help students of African nations comprehend the subtlety of globalization and capacity-building in the continent
  

• The institute India-Africa Institute of Foreign Trade (IAIFT), being set up as a part of the Indian Government’s plan to assist develop a higher education system in African countries in specialized fields
  

Free Housing for Schedule Caste living in Jhuggis declared by Delhi Government

• Under the Rajiv Ratna Yojana, Delhi Govt declared free housing for Schedule Caste living in jhuggis
  
• 70,000 houses to be built under this scheme
  
  
• Rs 60,000 also to be paid to the people living in jhuggis under the rehabilitation process
  

Rajasthan Public Service Guarantee Act, 2011 approved by the Rajasthan Cabinet

• Rajasthan Public Service Guarantee Act, 2011 was cleared by the Rajasthan Cabinet
  
• Objective: To provide services to the general man in a specific time frame; to make public administration and governance more effective and accountable
  

“Bompu”: A New Frog Species Discovered in Arunachal Pradesh

• A new frog species discovered in Eagle Nest Wildlife sanctuary at Sessa in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh in a survey conducted as part of Eagle Nest Biodiversity Project with support of the state forest department
  
• Bompu was the name given to the frog after the neighborhood in the sanctuary where it was discovered
  
• The frog is inhabitant to the forest streams at an elevation of 2,000 m and lives beneath leaf trash and decaying logs
  
• The frog belongs to the family Megophrydae and the genus Leptobrachium
  
• Only 28 members of this genus are known worldwide and most of them are found in Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, China and Vietnam
  
• This finding is significant because only 2 other members of the genus are identified from India
  

Peter Svidler, Russian Grandmaster won the Chess World Cup held in Russia

• Russian grandmaster Peter Svidler won the Chess World Cup title
  
  
• He defeated fellow citizen Alexander Grischuk in the finale
  
• With the victory Svidler won a $96,000 prize money and a ticket to the 2012 world championship matches
  
• Russia holds the No.1 spot on the World Chess Federation’s top-10 list, followed by Ukraine
  

Lal Sukla, Amar Kant selected for 45^th and Chandrashekhara Kambara, Sri for the 46^th Jnanpith Awards

• Eminent Hindi authors Amar Kant and Shrilal Shukla was chosen for India’s highest literary honour Jnanpith Award for 2009, while renowned Kannada litterateur Chandrasekhar Kambar won it for 2010.
  
• The selection board – chaired by noted writer and Jnanpith award winner Dr Sitakant Mahapatra – made the selections for the 45^th and 46^th Jnanpith awards.
  

C. Achuthan, Former Presiding Officer of the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) passed away

• Former presiding officer of the Securities Appellate Tribunal C Achuthan passed away in Kerela
  
• Mr. Achuthan began with the Indian Legal Services and served as a legal advisor to the Central government
  
• He also served on the Company Law Board, previous to being elevated as the SAT’s solitary presiding officer from 1997 to 2003
  
• Mr. Achuthan was one of the directors appointed by the Government to direct the scam-tainted Satyam Computer Services, now Mahindra Satyam, after the multi-Crore accounting scam was unearthed in January 2009
  
• He also chaired the new Takeover Regulations Advisory Committee of the capital markets watchdog Securities and Exchange Board
  

ONGC, Coal India, NMDC awarded by the Government for Best Performance

• ONGC, Coal India (CIL) and NMDC awarded by the Government for best performance in various categories
  
• Best financial performance award in Maharatna and Navaratna category: ONGC
  
• Best financial performance award in Miniratna category: Goa Shipyard
  
• Good Corporate Governance award in Maharatna and Navaratna category: ONGC
  
• Good Corporate Governance award in Miniratna category: Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd.
  
• The company of the year award in Maharatna category: CIL
  
• The company of the year award in Navaratna category: NMDC and Oil India

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Month: Current Affairs - September, 2011

Category: Government Schemes Current Affairs