Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 06 December 2015

:: National ::

Two more US satellite launch contracts have come the way of ISRO’s PSLV rocket, this time from commercial weather satellite company PlanetiQ.
PlanetiQ, the Maryland based commercial weather satellites operator, recently signed a deal with Antrix Corporation, ISRO’s marketing arm, for launching its first two weather satellites. Its final fleet totally will have 12 to 18 satellites.
The two spacecraft, just 10 kg each and carrying a special sensor to glean weather data globally, are planned to be put in space in the last quarter of 2016 as secondary passengers of a PSLV
Until about a year ago, US satellite operators could not conceive of launching from India because of a longstanding US policy bar. In recent years, established US launch companies have moved on to lifting far heavier satellites [ten tonnes and beyond], leaving a demand for launchers that can put smaller satellites in space.
In September, US operator Spire Global became the PSLV’s first US customer by getting four 4-kg-each Lemur satellites from Sriharikota. Antrix, which has won around 55 foreign launch orders to date, a bulk of them small ones

Seventy-two years after it was first produced, the 1943 Ford GPA Amphibious Seep, which helped put thousands of Allied troops on the Normandy beach during World War II, came to the rescue of Chennai residents when a businessman used the vehicle for extensive relief work.
The landing is considered the most decisive military operation that quickened the destruction of the Nazi regime.

The final draft of the Paris Climate agreement, was released by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
French President Francois Hollande said instituting a review mechanism to monitor compliance on carbon emissions by countries, and transfer of climate friendly technologies to developing nations continue to be hurdles, but they could be resolved by “pushing ahead”.
The overall goal of the Paris agreement, to keep global temperature rise to a specified quantum compared to pre-industrial levels, is pegged at either “below 1.5 degrees C”, or, as “well below 2 degrees C.”

President Xi Jinping of China described his vision for a new multinational, multibillion-dollar bank to finance roads, rails and power grids across Asia. Under Chinese stewardship, the bank would tackle the slow development in poor countries that was holding the region back from becoming the wealth centre of the world.
The enthusiasm didn’t last long, as the Obama administration began a rear-guard battle to minimise the bank’s influence.
The Chinese-led institution, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, is picking its first projects. The choices, which are expected to be announced in the coming months, will provide critical insight into how China plans to wield its power.
China is taking direct aim at the current development regime, the Bretton Woods system established under U.S. leadership after World War II to help stabilise currencies and promote growth.
As a complement to the new bank, China is rolling out the “One Belt, One Road” program for the construction of a network of roads, rails and pipelines along the old Silk Road route that runs through Central Asia to Europe. A maritime equivalent calls for building ports from Southeast Asia to East Africa to the Mediterranean.

India is planning to ban imports of 24-carat gold jewellery in an attempt to curb the misuse of free trade agreements (FTAs) with Asian countries
The world's second biggest gold consumer raised the import duty on the metal to 10 percent in 2013 to curb demand but that has boosted smuggling and prompted some importers to use India's FTAs with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to import 24-carat gold jewellery at just two percent import duty.
The government is now planning to change existing rules to allow imports of only lower-quality 18 and 22-carat jewellery

Members of OPEC failed to agree an oil production ceiling on Friday at a meeting that ended in acrimony, after Iran said it would not consider any production curbs until it restores output scaled back for years under Western sanctions.
Oil prices have more than halved over the past 18 months to a fraction of what most OPEC members need to balance their budgets. Brent oil futures fell by 1 per cent on Friday to trade around $43, only a few dollars off a six year low.
Banks such as Goldman Sachs predict they could fall further to as low as $20 per barrel as the world produces more oil than it consumes and runs out of capacity to store the excess.
OPEC's secretary general Abdullah al-Badri said OPEC could not agree on any figures because it could not predict how much oil Iran would add to the market next year, as sanctions are withdrawn under a deal reached six months ago with world powers over its nuclear programme.
Iran has made its position clear ahead of the meeting with Zangeneh saying Tehran would raise supply by at least one million barrels a day — or one per cent of global supply — after sanctions are lifted.
The world is already producing up to 2 million bpd more than it consumes.

India’s total installed capacity of solar power has crossed the 5-GW-mark. The total commissioned utility solar capacity in the country stands at about 4.7 GW, while rooftop capacity is 525 MW, according to Bridge to India, a solar energy consulting firm
While the central government has laid down the ambitious target of 100 GW by 2022, states have taken the lead over central government schemes in the last year. Encouraged by falling costs and growing need for green energy, states like Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have all announced substantial policy initiatives
As of today, the country has a solar project pipeline of 15.7 GW.
Solar Energy Corporation of India is engaged in implementing a number of renewable energy projects including setting up of 2,750 MW solar power projects under VGF (viability gap funding) schemes, solar Park schemes, roof-top projects and projects in association with other organisations.

Shahzar Rizvi of the Indian Air Force (IAF) beat Olympic silver medallist Vijay Kumar to the gold in men’s air pistol in the 59th National shooting championship at the Dr. Karni Singh Range, Tughlakabad