Current Affairs For SSC CGL Exam

06 January, 2014

Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal

• The Centre will soon appoint Justice B.S. Chauhan, a Judge of the Supreme Court, as Chairman of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal to take up pending applications.

• The tribunal has been without Chairman since April 2012, when Justice N.P. Singh resigned on health grounds. Justice Singh was appointed a few days before his superannuation as a Supreme Court judge in December 1996.

• The tribunal gave its final award on February 5, 2007. Thereafter, the Tamil Nadu government filed applications for certain clarification on the award and sought some directions. Petitions filed by the party States and the Centre under Section 5(3) of the Inter State River Water Disputes Act, seeking an explanation or guidance, have been pending before the tribunal since 2007.
• The tribunal was constituted on June 2, 1990. By an interim award issued on June 25, 1991, it directed Karnataka to release 205 tmcft each year to Tamil Nadu. Of this quantum, Tamil Nadu was to release 6 tmcft to Puducherry. The Cauvery River Authority was constituted in 1998 to ensure proper implementation of the interim award.

Launch of GSLV D5

• Leaving behind its past failures, Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) heavy rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Development 5 (GSLV-D5) cruised through the Earth's atmosphere to successfully place GSAT-14 communications satellite into the orbit on 5th Jan , 2014.

• GSLV-D5 with the indigenous cryogenic engine lifted-off successfully as per schedule from the spaceport at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh at 4.18 pm. The 29-hour countdown for the launch began Saturday at 11.18 am.

• With the successful launch of GSLV-D5 flight India has now become the sixth nation to possess the cryogenic engine technology, and has joined the elite club of the United States, Russia, France, Japan and China.

• The Rs 356 crore mission's success comes as a big relief for ISRO after two back-to-back failures of the GSLV flights in 2010 — the first, with an indigenous cryogenic engine, on April 15 and the next, with a Russian cryogenic engine, on December 25. The last GSLV launch on August 19, 2013 was called off minutes before the take-off due to leakage of liquid fuel from the rocket’s second stage, wetting the first stage and the four strap-on boosters around it.

• A cryogenic engine is more efficient as it provides more thrust for every kilogram of propellant burnt. Cryogenic fuels are extremely clean as they give out only water while burning.

• The 1,982 kg satellite carries six extended C-band and Ku-band transponders (receivers and transmitters of signals), and two Ka-band becons. The satellite will be used for telemedicine and tele-education services.

Pre-marital sex immoral according to a Delhi court

• Judge Virender Bhat made the remarks after ruling that sex between two adults on the promise of marriage did not amount to rape.
• Pre-marital sex remains a cultural taboo in India.
• Last year, a court in Delhi said live-in relationships were immoral and an "infamous product of Western culture".
• Judge Bhat presides over a fast-track court set up in the Indian capital to dispose of cases relating to sexual offences against women.
• He made his latest remarks while clearing a man employed with a multinational company accused of rape by a woman.
• The 29-year-old man was arrested after the woman working in a different company lodged a complaint of rape against him in 2011.
• The woman alleged that the man had sex with her after promising marriage.

• In 2010, the Supreme Court dismissed a number of cases against a Tamil actress who spoke in support of the right of women to have pre-marital sex. The court also endorsed the right of unmarried couples to live together.
  Actress Kushboo was accused of "outraging public decency" and 22 cases were filed against her in 2005.

Chennai Open Title

• Stanislas Wawrinka’s has been a well documented struggle with self-confidence. For someone who has fought that as long and as hard as him, it is tough to throw out the demon forever. While the end of 2013 was the first step in banishing that, 2014 will be a year in which he would like to finally believe he is up there.

• The quest for the same has started perfectly. A 7-5, 6-2 win over seventh seed Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the final on Sunday gave him his second Aircel Chennai Open title and his fifth overall.

• One of Wawrinka’s problems in 2013 was that he found it tough to close out matches. After a nervy first set here it was important for the old ghosts not to return.

• Fourth seeds Johan Brunstrom of Sweden and Frederik Nielsen of Denmark clinched the doubles title at the Aircel Chennai Open after defeating the unseeded Croatian pair of Mate Pavic and Marin Draganja 6-2, 4-6, 10-7.

• The Scandinavian pair broke twice, in the sixth and the eight games, to take the first set 6-2 only for the Croats to level it at one set apiece by taking the second 6-4.

Brisbane title

• Australia's Lleyton Hewitt delighted his home fans when he battled to a typically gutsy 6-1 4-6 6-3 victory over Swiss top seed Roger Federer in the Brisbane International final.

• Federer, who led Hewitt 18-8 in meetings between the former world number ones going into the contest, committed 22 unforced errors on his way to being broken three times in the first set after reaching the final without dropping serve once.

• The victory secured Hewitt's first ATP title since Halle in 2010 when he also beat Federer in the final, ending a 15-match losing run against his opponent.

• The match was Federer's last competitive outing before the Australian Open begins on Jan. 13, where the Swiss will be seeking to add to his record 17 grand slam titles with a fifth Melbourne crown.

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