Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 20 March 2016

:: NATIONAL ::

Mobile malaria detection unit

A mobile malaria detection unit of the State government of Karnataka providing free services at the doorsteps of people was launched on a pilot basis in Mangaluru
People can get tested and treated at this vehicle launched by the Department of Health and Family Welfare
They will test the blood on a rapid testing kit and if it showed positive for malaria, the patient will be given the entire course of medicines.
If the kit shows a negative result, the health workers will collect the blood smears and get it tested at centres in the Government Wenlock Hospital or the Malaria Testing Centre at the Mangaluru City Corporation.
If this test showed positive, the team will visit the house of the patient and give medicines. Patient need not pay any fee either for testing or treatment.
was the first such mobile unit for preventing malaria in the State.It was launched in Mangaluru as it had highest number of cases.

Shrimps will lose ‘voice’ cause of seawater acidification

Snapping shrimps, the loudest invertebrate in the ocean, may be silenced because of seawater acidification, a new study has warned.
the levels of carbon dioxide predicted to be found in oceans by the end of the century, the sound of snapping shrimps would be reduced substantially.
This is expected to have profound consequences for many species that rely on sound cues for information about the location and quality of resources (food, shelter, partners and potential predators).
Shrimp ‘choruses’ can be heard kilometres offshore and are important because they can aid the navigation of baby fish to their homes. But ocean acidification is jeopardising this process
They can produce sounds of up to 210 decibels (dB) through the formation of bubbles by the rapid closing action of their snapping claw, used as a warning sign to scare off predators and in their own hunting
Researchers measured the sound produced by shrimp in field recordings at natural CO2 volcanic vents at three different ocean locations and under laboratory conditions.
They found substantial reductions in both the levels of sound produced and in the frequency of snaps.

:: INTERNATIONAL ::

British government has lifted the ban on the International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF)

In a move that is likely to cause consternation in New Delhi, the British government has lifted the ban on the International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) after both houses of the British Parliament supported a motion to drop it from the list of proscribed organisations.
The statutory instrument relating to the Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2016 was signed by Minister of State in the Home Office
The ISYF, a separatist group committed to the creation of Khalistan, was established in the 1984 as the global branch of the All India Sikh Students Federation. It was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in 2001 by the British government for its attacks, which included assassinations, bombings and kidnappings against Indian officials.
The Sikh Federation will use the British decision to put pressure on the U.S. and Canada to lift the bans in their countries on the organisation.

Indian delegation in a bid to perk up the country’s sagging tea exports

An Indian delegation will be visiting Egypt in a bid to perk up the country’s sagging tea exports to the African country.
The visit , the first since the Arab Spring turmoil, comes at a time when India’s overall tea exports have registered a 10-million-kg increase in 2015 over 2014. Exports stood at 217.67 million kg against 207.40 million kg a year ago. This is the most significant rise since 2005.
Bulk of the increase came from South India which exported 95.2 million kgs against 87.5 million kgs. Exports from North India stood at 122.4 million kgs against 119 million kgs. However, export prices have been singed by the trend of declining tea prices and lower average realisation at Rs.187.7 per kg against Rs.195 per kg in 2014. Total export value rose marginally to Rs. 4,085 crores against Rs. 4,054 crores.
The countries which helped boost tea exports from India, which faces intense competition from Kenya and Sri Lanka , are Russia, Iran and Pakistan.
The programme called KRUCIAL includes Kazakhstan, Russia, U.S., China, Iran, Arab Republic of Egypt and Latin America.
Egypt is a 80-million-kg market in which India’s share has slipped to about six million kgs from about 15 million kgs a decade ago. South India is the major exporter. The turmoil in Egypt contributed to India slipping in exports. African exporters like Kenya have location advantages and duty preferences which India is aiming to surmount.

:: BUSINESS ::

Govt relaxed FDI norms for insurance sector under automatic route

Seeking to attract more foreign investment, the government has relaxed FDI norms for the insurance sector by permitting overseas companies to buy 49 per cent stake in domestic insurers without prior approval.
Currently, up to 26 per cent FDI is permitted through the automatic approval route. For FDI up to 49 per cent, the approval of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board is required.
The foreign investment proposals up to 49 per cent of the total paid up equity of the Indian insurance company shall be allowed on the automatic route subject to verification by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India

:: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ::

Solar energy can power air conditioner, refrigerator

Making a marked departure from the conventional system, a Chennai-based company provides a comprehensive system that ensures that a 2 kW solar panel can power a 1.5 tonne air conditioner, one 300 litre refrigerator, five fans, five LED tube lights (4 feet in length and 16 watts each) and eight LED bulbs (6 watts each) during the day.
In lieu of silicon crystalline panels that are routinely used, Basil Energetics Pvt Ltd uses thin film solar panels. Though efficiency of thin film panel is the same as silicon panel at 25 degree C, the energy yield of thin film is higher than silicon panel.
And for every 1 degree C increase in temperature, the loss in power rating is 0.5 per cent in the case of silicon panels; it is only 0.25 per cent with thin films.
Another advantage with the thin film panel is that unlike silicon panels where power production gets completely cut off even if a small part of the panel is covered by shade, only that part of the thin film panel that is not exposed to sunlight stops producing power.
the brain of the whole system is a smart grid (iGrid) that manages the load by monitoring the power availability in the panel on one hand and load demand on the other to ensure smooth functioning in four different scenarios.

Ideonella sakaiensis bacteria can degrade plastic

It is hardly a hundred years since chemists learnt to make long molecules called polymers and plastics in the lab. Polymers have since been hailed on one hand as the greatest boon to mankind for their manifold uses, and the greatest bane - thanks to the way that they have cluttered the environment.
The most common synthetic polymer or plastic used in everyday life is polyethylene terephthalate or PET (also known as Terylene or Dacron). An estimated 311 million tonnes of plastics are produced every year (and 50 million tons of PET alone)
Unfortunately many of them, such as PET, are not degraded, digested or broken down like naturally occurring polymers (such as proteins, carbohydrates and fats).
the best agents to degrade would be biological life forms such as bacteria which multiply by the millions in days and are themselves completely biodegradable.
On looking for and identifying bacteria from the PET bottle recycling sites, and found one such microbe that they have named Ideonella sakaiensis (the first name identifies the family and the second honours the geographic location where they found the bacterium).
I. sakaiensis sticks to the surface of the PET bottle, secretes one molecule named which they named PET-ase (the suffix “– ase” denotes an enzyme molecule), which breaks down PET into a smaller building block abbreviated as MHET. MHET is now taken up and broken down by another enzyme in the microbe’s cell (called MHET hydrolase) and hydrolysed to produce ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid - the two small molecules (called monomers) using which the polymer PET is made in the first place
Even more changeling is the issue of how to clear the millions of tons of plastics fouling the oceans beds. Even if bugs are founds that can biodegrade them, will they be safe for the oceans and their life forms?

New shark and ray species found

From the Indian waters, a unique and pleasant challenge has suddenly surfaced — 13 new species of sharks and rays.
The DNA bar coding was successfully used for accurate identification of chondrichthyans which included the chimaeras, sharks, rays, and skates in the Indian waters
The chondrichthyans are exploited in commercial, artisanal, and recreational fishing activities but the major catch occurs incommercial fishery. They are highly vulnerable to over exploitation and habitat degradation due to their life history.
With an estimated landing of 46,471 tonnes, India is one of the leading chondrichthyan fishing nations for the past several years. Despite the rich diversity and long history of the elasmobranch fishery, only a few detailed studies have been undertaken on the taxonomy and diversity of this group in India, pointed out the paper.
Recently, the government had imposed a ban on the export of shark fins. Five species of sharks and two manta ray species found in Indian waters have been included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora for monitoring its international trade.
The protected species have to be accurately identified in the field or at the export/trade levels to ensure their effective protection and prevention of illegal trade.

:: SPORTS ::

India wins match against Pakistan in World T20s

India wins by six wickets on a difficult surface to make it 5-0 against Pakistan in WT20s
With India under immense pressure at the Eden Gardens on Saturday, Kohli’s equanimity complemented his stroke-making ability. On a surface that tested a batsman’s technique and footwork, Kohli’s classical batting in a slam-bang format nailed the chase for India.
After the disastrous outing against New Zealand at Nagpur, India’s campaign in the ICC World Twenty20 is now back on track.

Indian team for Rio finalised

The selection committee of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), opted for an additional entry in men’s trap in place of the quota won by rifle shooter Sanjeev Rajput for the Rio Olympics.
The Indian shooters had won 12 quota places for the Olympics, one more than the last edition in London. With Olympic and World Championship medallist Gagan Narang being among the top two places in all the three rifle events, it was apparently easy for the NRAI to have an added entry in shotgun
The team: Abhinav Bindra, Gagan Narang, Chain Singh, Jitu Rai, Gurpreet Singh, Prakash Nanjappa, Manavjit Singh Sandhu, Kynan Chenai, Mairaj Ahmad Khan, Apurvi Chandela, Ayonika Paul and Heena Sidhu.