Current Affairs, News & Facts of 24 Jun 2015

• According to the data reported by India’s Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) , Rajasthan  has taken the lead ahead of all other states
• Rajasthan has left behind Guarat , which was undisputed leader in solar energy generation till recently in the country
• India’s solar installed capacity has crossed the 4,000 Mw mark where Rajasthan has  close to 1128 Mw of projects while Gujarat,  has 957 Mw of solar power projects It is hoped that desert state  is likely to retain the honour for quite some time to come 
• Rajasthan now has an installed solar power capacity of 1.16 GW, or 29% of the total solar power capacity installed in the country. Gujarat has a share of 25% with 1 GW installed capacity. These two states have pioneered the development of solar power projects in India.
• Madhya Pradesh, home to India’s largest solar power project developed by a single company, holds the second position in terms of installed capacity under state policy. And with 564 MW installed capacity it contributes 14% to India’s total installed solar power capacity.
• In the last one year, Rajasthan government has inked agreements with private players to develop solar parks with a cumulative capacity of 26,000 MW. Once fully operational, these parks can attract investments worth more than Rs 1.50 lakh crore
• The state has also signed MoUs with power developers like SunEdison, Adani Enterprises, Reliance Power and Azure Power that will require about Rs 85,000 crore for generating 14,000 MW solar power.
• Rajasthan has the highest solar radiation in the country. Solar energy requires lot of land, which the state has in plenty it has all the natural advantages for solar such as abundant barren land and high solar radiation in the country.
• India need to add around 15,000 Mw every year to meet the targetted 100,000 Mw by 2022 

Growth of solar power in different states

• Sister Nirmala Joshi, who succeeded Mother Teresa as the head of the Missionaries of Charity died this morning. She was 81.
• Sister Nirmala was born in Ranchi in 1934 to a soldier who came from Nepal and she  joined the order at the age of 17, after converting from Hinduism.
• Her body is lying at St John's Church in Sealdah and will be shifted to Mother House in Kolkata tomorrow. Prime Minister Narendra Modi  tweeted  his condolences.
• PM Modi posted "Sister Nirmala's life was devoted to service, caring for the poor & underprivileged. Saddened by her demise. May her soul rest in peace," 
• After joining the Missionaries of Charity, Sister Nirmala studied law at the insistence of Mother Teresa, who often took her along during her tours abroad.
• On March 13, 1997, six months before Mother Teresa's death, Nirmala Joshi was selected the Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity. 
• She expanded the organisation's reach to 134 countries by opening centres in nations such as Afghanistan, Israel and Thailand.
• Sister Nirmala was bestowed with the Padma Vibhushan in 2009 for her services to the nation.Her term as the Head of Missionaries of Charity ended the same year.
• Sister Mary Prema was elected to succeed Sister Nirmala during a general chapter held in Calcutta in April 2009.

Sri Lanka and China have begun a joint army exercise "Exercise – Silk Route – 2015" at the Officer Career Development Centre at Buttala  drill that commenced June 22 will continue for 20 days.'Exercise - Silk Route - 2015,' organized by Directorate of Training at the Army Headquarters under three phases:-

1. Phase 1 - (June 22-28) at Commando Regiment (CR) Training School, Uva-Kudaoya, 
2. Phase 2 - (June 28-July 5) at CR Regimental Headquarters, Ganemulla 
3. Phase 3 - (July 5 - July 13) at Special Forces Training School at Maduruoya

Focus areas of the "Exercise – Silk Route – 2015" :-

weapon handling, VVIP protection study, live firing, lane firing, sniper firing, body protection drills, backup vehicle movement and training, body protection formation, ambush drills, reconnaissance techniques, skill firing, special mission planning, combat tracking techniques, situation training exercise, jungle warfare and basic battle skills, vehicle ambush drills, aircraft and building option training, etc.

• The Chinese group of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army comprises 43 army personnel of the PLA and a similar number from the Sri Lanka Army’s commando regiment and special forces are engaged in the exercise. The closing ceremony of the 'Exercise - Silk Route - 2015' is to take place on July 13 at the Special Force Training School
• The first stage of the 'Exercise - Silk Route - 2015' was conducted in China earlier this year between March 29 and April 17 with the participation of 42 Commandos and Special Force soldiers from Sri Lanka, following successful negotiations that got underway between both Sri Lankan and Chinese Armies

• James Horner, the two-time Oscar-winning composer of some of the biggest Hollywood hits like "Titanic", "Braveheart" and 'Avatar", died in a plane crash
• James Horner was piloting the small aircraft when it crashed into a remote area about 60 miles north of Santa Barbara,
• Horner earned 10 Oscar nominations in all, also being recognised for his work on two other Best Picture winners: Braveheart and A Beautiful Mind
• He won one Oscar for the Titanic film score and another for its theme song he shared his second Oscar with lyricist Will Jennings for best original song, the hugely successful My Heart Will Go On, sung by Celine Dion. His score for Titanic sold a whopping 27 million copies worldwide

He has left three upcoming films for his fans :-

1. Southpaw, the boxing drama that stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Rachel McAdams and is due in theaters in July
2. Jean-Jacques Annaud’s Wolf Totem, out in September
3. The 33, a drama based on the 2010 mining disaster in Chile that’s set for November

• McGrath who is director at MRF Pace Foundation and  scalp-hunter supreme have picked the five batsmen he “greatly admired"
• McGrath is the most successful paceman in Test cricket with 563 wickets so his words carry a lot of value.  

1. Sachin Tendulkar:- Quality Batsman, Technically and Mentally so good. Playing for 24 years with passion is incredible. He is a complete batsman.
2. Brain Lara:- Flamboyant and Dominating. Has got high back-lift and not scared of playing his shots any day. He is someone I failed to get him change his game even on the day when I bowled well. 
3. Rahul Dravid:- Quality Batsman and Solid Defence. He can score big hundreds and double hundreds once set. Technically and Mentally so good.
4. Ricky Ponting:-Aggressive Batsman, Good Footwork, Plays short ball very well. He makes the job difficult for bowlers.
5. Steve Waugh:- Courageous, Determined and Mentally Strong. He willn't throw away his wicket even if its a pressure situation.

What is MRF Pace Foundation?

• MRF Pace Foundation is a coaching clinic for training fast bowlers from all over the world. Based in Chennai, India, it was created by MRF Limited with the help of former Australian pace spearhead Dennis Lillee.
• Through this program, young aspiring fast bowlers are trained in a facility located at the campus of Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School, Chetpet, Chennai.
• Fast bowlers who trained with the MRF Pace Foundation and went on to represent the Indian Cricket Team include Javagal Srinath, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Venkatesh Prasad, Rudra Pratap Singh, Zaheer Khan and Shanthakumaran Sreesanth.
• Besides Indian players, foreign players like Chaminda Vaas, Henry Olonga, Heath Streak and Australian fast bowlers Glenn McGrath, Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee have also trained at the Foundation.
• Sachin Tendulkar in his School days trained in the MRF Pace Foundation to become a fast bowler. Glenn McGrath was appointed director of the Foundation on September 2, 2012, replacing Dennis Lillee, who has held the post since its inception in 1987

• Maharashtra has emerged as leader in filing patents as between 2006 and 2009, Maharashtra had filed 5, 533 patents while Delhi which is it's nearest competitor filed 2,815. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu had filed 2,282 and 1,493 patents, respectively
• Delhi that recorded the best leverage ratio (percentage of patents being filed against the percentage of GDP of the state) at 4.81%, followed by Karnataka (2.24) and Maharashtra (1.95).
• Andhra Pradesh had filed 1,210 patents, but recorded a leverage rate of 0.87. While, Gujarat had filed 918 patents, but recorded a leverage rate of 0.71.
• Eastern India which was once known as India's research hub, has fallen far behind in the patent race. West Bengal had filed 905 patents during the same period. When compared against its GDP ($76.9 billion), its leverage rate stood at 0.73. Odisha had filed much lesser patents (53) than Bengal, but recorded a leverage rate of 0.10.
• Patents are a reflection of the technological capability and depict the scientific and industrial strength of a nation

• The National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) has bagged the 'Best Welfare Organisation of the Year Award-2015' instituted by the International Seafarers Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN) in Britain
• The award was presented to NUSI General Secretary Abdulgani Y. Serang by International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu, in London 
• The ISWAN award symbolizes a host of best practices in the welfare of seafarers in the Indian maritime industry and recognizes excellence in providing welfare services and facilities for the community
•  NUSI safeguards the rights and provides welfare services to merchant shipping industry seafarers and their families with the motto of  From Womb to Tomb - And Beyond'
• NUSI has got around 80,000 seafarers as members working aboard Indian as well as foreign cargo ships

• South Africa and India have renewed an agreement to extend cooperation in the field of social innovation, astronomy, agriculture, biotechnology and indigenous knowledge systems for the next three years.
• Relations between the two sides in science and technology dates back to 1995, when they signed a bilateral agreement. The instrument to implement this agreement is a programme of cooperation, which is renewed every three years.
• South Africa values India's support for science, technology and innovation capacity building in Africa. Through our bilateral cooperation, South Africa and India are joining forces to put science, technology and innovation to work to advance global sustainable development, 
• This year marks 20 years of successful science and technology cooperation between South Africa and India, during which 74 joint research projects have been undertaken in areas such as biotechnology, information science, astronomy, food science, technologies for rural applications, indigenous knowledge systems, nanotechnology, and renewable energy 
• More than 220 South African researchers have received funding totalling 36 million Rand under the project 

Thiruvanchur Radhakrishnan the State minister for forest   formally made the announcement at a function organised by the Snake Bird Foundation, a city-based outfit of journalists. He assured for  preservation and conservation of snake birds in the state. 

About the Snake Bird :-

• It is known as darter-Anhinga melanogaster in scientific parlance, snake bird is a large slender long-necked water bird and is mostly black with silver wing markings. 
• The species, which usually nests atop tall trees near wetlands, is largely found in Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, Wayanad and Thiruvananthapuram districts. 
• As per a recent survey, there are over 1500 snake birds in the country in which majority are in Kerala. 

There are four living species of darters recognized:-

1. Anhinga or American darter, Anhinga anhinga
2. Oriental darter or Indian darter, Anhinga melanogaster
3. African darter, Anhinga rufa
4. Australasian darter or Australian darter, Anhinga novaehollandiae