November 10′ 2015 – Current Affairs Quick Gyan

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Current Affairs – November 10/2015

1.Bengaluru is top destination for real estate investments

Bengaluru, the IT capital has surpassed both the commercial and political capitals of India as the top investment destination in the property market. Nearly 13 per cent of over $6.7 billion (Rs 44,450 crore) that PEs have invested in India’s property market from 2013 through the first half of 2015 has gone to Bengaluru. Global property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle’s (JLL) latest Asia-Pacific City Investment Intensity Index ranks the southern city among the top-20 destinations globally. At the 20th position, it is well above New Delhi (34th) and Mumbai (42nd). JLL had earlier this year listed Bengaluru among the top-20 technology-rich cities globally.

2.India’s Communication Satellite GSAT-15 set for launch on November 11

India’s latest Communication Satellite GSAT-15 is scheduled for launch on board Ariane space rocket from the space port of Kourou in French Guiana, on November 11. The launch of GSAT-15 with its co-passenger Arabsat-6B for Arabsat, Saudi Arabia, is planned at 0304 Hrs IST, by Ariane-5 VA-227 launch vehicle.

Weighing 3,164 kg at lift-off, GSAT-15 is a high power satellite being inducted into the INSAT/GSAT system. It carries a total of 24 communication transponders in Ku-band as well as a GPS-Aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) payload operating in L1 and L5 bands.

3.Iran appoints first Woman Ambassador since Revolution

Iran has appointed its first woman ambassador since the 1979 Islamic revolution, naming foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham to head its embassy in Malaysia. Iranian media first said back in April that Afkham was lined up for promotion to the rank of ambassador, but the reports were unconfirmed. After his 2013 election, Iran’s moderate President Hassan Rowhani called on ministers to appoint women to high posts and said his government would stand up against discrimination, naming three women to the country’s 11 vice presidential positions.

4.Centre approves Rs 2100 crore for Karnataka, Gujarat under NDRF

The GOI has approved Rs. 2,100 crore funds under the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) for Karnataka and Gujarat, which recently faced drought and floods respectively. The Committee examined the proposals based on the report of the central team that visited the affected states hit by severe natural disasters.

A high-level meeting for Central assistance to states affected by natural disasters was held in in the national capital under the chairmanship of Home Minister Rajnath Singh and attended by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya, Agriculture Minister Sanjeev Balyan and other senior officials.

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5.Choudhry Harpal Singh – Former BKU general secretary passes away

Former general secretary of Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), Choudhry Harpal Singh, passed away at his native village of Sadruddin Nagar in the district. He was 80 and suffering from cancer. Singh was close to farmers’ leader the late Mahendra Singh Tikait and participated in the BKU-led agitations at Meerut in 1988 and in Bhopa in 1989.

6.Indian-American Ashok Mago appointed to Key University Position in Texas

Padma Shri awardee Indian-American Ashok Mago has been appointed as a member of Board of Regents of the University of North Texas in the US. Dallas-based Mr Mago was appointed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott for a six-year term ending on May 22, 2021, said a statement issued by the Governor’s office. Mr Mago is the founding chairman of the Greater Dallas Indo American Chamber, now known as the US-INDIA Chamber, and board member of the Primary Care Clinic of North Texas, advisory board member of BBVA Compass Bank in Dallas.

7.Highly encrypted Cloud system of the Indian Army launched

A highly encrypted Cloud system of the Indian Army, similar to that of Google, has been inaugurated by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in line with the force’s plan to be a “digital army”. The cloud system will store personnel as well operational data. The ‘Army Cloud’ includes a central date centre, a near line data centre, both in Delhi and a disaster recovery site for a replication of its critical data along with virtualised servers and storage in an environmentally controlled complex.

8.INDRA – Indo-Russian joint training begins in Bikaner

The seventh Indo-Russian joint training exercise INDRA-2015 has commenced at Mahajan field firing range. The two contingents presented a parade before the senior officers in the ceremony with unfurling of the National Flags of both the countries. The Russian contingent from an Independent Motorised Brigade comprising 250 Military personnel along with supporting staff landed at Bikaner directly from Russia. The 14-day training schedule is focused on training on ‘Counter Terrorism Operations in the backdrop of Desert terrain under a United Nations Mandate’.

9.Former Air Chief Marshal Om Prakash Mehra dies

Former chief of Air Staff Om Prakash Mehra has died in New Delhi. He was 96 years old. The Retd marshal also served the nation as the Governor of Maharashtra (1980-82) and Rajasthan (1985-87). He is survived by four children, three sons and one daughter. Air Chief Marshal Mehra (retd) was also honoured with a Padma Vibhushan in 1977 for his service to the Indian Air Force. He was the chief of Indian Air force from 1973 to 1976.

10.India inks $273 million loan pact with ADB for funding rural roads

GOI has signed a $273 million loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to improve rural roads in Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal. The loan constitutes the third tranche, which is also the last tranche of the $800 million financing facility under the Rural Connectivity Investment Programme. The loan will help in constructing over 6,000 kilometers of all-weather rural roads in the aforesaid five states, benefiting over 4,200 rural habitations.

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