Latest Articles : Current Affairs

British Formula One racing driver Lewis Hamilton  has won the 2016 British Grand Prix title of Formula One.

It was his third successive victory at Silverstone and the fourth overall after winning it in 2008, 2014 and 2015.

Prior to this he has won Monaco Grand Prix (May 2016), Canadian Grand Prix (June 2016) and Austrian Grand Prix (July 2016).

Latest ranking after 2016 Austrian Grand Prix :

Lewis Hamilton (Britain) of Mercedes : 1st position
Max Verstappen (Netherlands) of Red Bull : 2nd position
Nico Rosberg (Germany) of Mercedes : 3rd position
Daniel Ricardo (Australia) of Red Bull : 4th position
Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) of Ferrari : 5th position
Sergio Perez (Mexico) of Force India : 6th position
Nico Hulkenberg (Germany) of Force India : 7th position

Top Teams: Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari and Force India.

Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy has been sworn in as acting Governor of Arunachal Pradesh.

He has been given the additional charge of Governor of Arunachal Pradesh during the leave of absence of incumbent Governor Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa.

Roy was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court, Justice Ajit Singh as per the provisions of Article 159 of Constitution of India. He is the 18th Governor to be sworn in as Governor of this Himalayan State.

About Tathagata Roy :

Tathagata Roy born on 14 September 1945 in Kolkata, West Bengal is politician, engineer and author. He studied Civil Engineering in Bengal Engineering College Sibpur and joined Indian Railways Service of Engineers.

He took voluntary retirement in 1990 and  Jadavpur University as professor and founder head of the Department of Construction Engineering. He was attracted towards Hindutva and became a Swayamsevak in 1986. After leaving government service he joined the BJP in 1990. 

He has authored two books :

• The Life and Times of Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee. 
• My People, Uprooted: A Saga of the Hindus of Eastern Bengal.

Constitutional provisions of Governor : 

• Article 153:  There shall be a Governor for each State. The 7th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1956 provides that nothing in this article shall prevent the appointment of the same person as Governor for two or more States. 
• Article 156: The Governor shall hold office during the pleasure of the President. The Governor may, by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign his office. Governor is appointed by President and hold office during the pleasure of President. 

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has signed Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with IIT-Bombay and Madras to establish a bi-nodal ‘Centre of Propulsion Technology’ (CoPT) at the two institutions.

The initiative is aimed at achieving synergy between DRDO and Indian Institutes of Technology for channelising the research efforts towards developing products and related critical aerospace technologies.

CoPT will evolve mechanisms to facilitate execution of programs related to propulsion technology and will engage the primary Research Nodes (IIT Bombay and IIT Madras) and other research institutions.

It will facilitate and undertake multidisciplinary directed research in the focused areas of futuristic aero engines, hypersonic propulsion for long duration flight.

Captain Radhika Menon, first woman captain of the Indian Merchant Navy recently became the first woman in the world to receive the Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea for the year 2016 from the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

The award was bestowed upon her for her role in the dramatic rescue of seven fishermen from a sinking fishing boat in tumultuous seas in the Bay of Bengal in June last year. 

She rescued all seven fishermen from the fishing boat Durgamma, which was adrift following engine failure and loss of anchor in severe weather. For this bravery she was nominated for the award by the Government of India.

Facts about Radhika Menon :

• She is the first Indian women captain of a merchant navy ship. She joined the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) as a trainee radio officer in 1991. Her job in navy was to look after the communication system of the ship.
• She continued appearing for exams and kept excelling in her career. She cleared her master's certificate exam in 2010 and sailed in MT Suvarna Swarajya twice before she took charge of the ship as captain.
• It is very difficult to find successful women in merchant navy as despite being good in their jobs women usually have to quit their jobs as they need to take of their families but Radhika Menon is an exception.

The Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) is now critically endangered according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The declaration was based on IUCN assessment which considers past, current and future rates of species loss.

The combined impacts of habitat loss, habitat degradation and illegal hunting equate to an 86 per cent population reduction between 1973 and 2025.

Observing the the current human behaviour toward wildlife it has been predicted that population will further decline to 47,000 animals by 2025.

Facts about Bornean orangutan :

• The Bornean orangutan is a species of orangutan native to the island of Borneo. Together with the Sumatran orangutan, it belongs to the only genus of great apes native to Asia.
• Like the other great apes, orangutans are highly intelligent, displaying advanced tool use and distinct cultural patterns in the wild. Orangutans share approximately 97 per cent of their DNA with humans. 

Cause of decline in Population :

Deforestation: About 40 per cent of Borneo’s forests has been lost due to palm oil plantations and cutting down of trees for furniture. Threats to wild orangutan populations include poaching, habitat destruction, and the illegal pet trade.

Slow Breeding: They are slow breeders as females only reproduce once every six to eight years (the longest birth interval of any land mammal).

Nimi Sunilkumar, cookbook author and food blogger, has won the Gourmand World Cookbook Award for 2015-16. Her book 4 o’clock Temptations of Kerala has been chosen for the award in the ‘Best Indian Cuisine Cookbook’ section. 

The cookbook is enriched with photos and details of 54 recipes from Kerala and each of these recipes are said to be specific to each district. She has won the award for the second time, earlier she had won the award in 2013.

Her Lip-smacking Dishes of Kerala was selected third ‘Best Local Cuisine Book in the World’ in 2013. She is a culinary teacher and dietician at Tata High Range School, Munnar.

Gourmand World Cookbook Award:

The award was founded in 1995 by Edouard Cointreau. It is free competition and open to publishers in all languages and countries. The Gourmand Awards celebrate global cookbook and wine book publishing and feature many world-renowned chefs each year.

India and South Africa have inked four Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) in four areas of co-operation including Information and Communication technology, Tourism, Grass root innovation and 'art, culture' sport.

These MoUs were signed in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Jacob Juma in Pretoria, South Africa.

Agreements signed are : 

MoU on Tourism. 

MoU on Grass root innovation (Science and Technology).

MoU on Information and Communication technology (ICT). 

Programme of Cooperation in Arts and Culture.

The visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi marks  another glorious chapter in India-South Africa relations, which have travelled from the fight against racial prejudice to a resolve to join hands and realize potential in trade and commerce ties.  India also thanked the South African President for support to India’s NSG membership. 

A Bench of Supreme Court led by Justices Madan B. Lokur and U.U. Lalit  said in an 85-page judgment that "every death caused by the armed forces in a disturbed area, whether the victim is a dreaded criminal or a militant or a terrorist or an insurgent, should be thoroughly enquired into." This is to address any allegation of use of excessive or retaliatory force beyond the call of duty.

The judgment came on a plea by hundreds of families in the north-eastern State of Manipur for a probe by a Special Investigation Team into 1,528 cases of alleged fake encounters involving the Army and the police.

This judgment of Supreme Court is a blow to the immunity enjoyed by security personnel under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act of 1958 (AFSPA) against criminal action for acts committed in disturbed areas.