Daily GK Update 13th March 2015

NASA launches 4 spacecraft to solve magnetic mystery

(i) NASA has launched four identical spacecraft on a billion-dollar mission to study the explosive give-and-take of the Earth and sun’s magnetic fields.

(ii) The unmanned Atlas rocket, and NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft, soared into a clear late-night sky, right on time.

(iii) Within two hours, all four observatories were flying free.

(iv) They will fly in pyramid formation, between 6 miles (10 kilometres) and 250 miles (402 kilometres) apart, to provide 3-D views of magnetic reconnection on the smallest of scales.

(v) Magnetic reconnection is what happens when magnetic fields like those around Earth and the sun come together, break apart, then come together again, releasing vast energy.

(vi) Each observatory resembles a giant octagonal wheel, stretching more than 11 feet (3.35 meters) across and 4 feet (1.22 meters) high, and weighing 3,000 pounds (1,360.79 kilogrammes) apiece.

(vii) Numbered and stacked like tires on top of the rocket for launch, No 4 popped free first more than an hour after liftoff, followed every five minutes by another.

Britain applies to join Chinese-led Asian bank

(i) Britain has applied to join a proposed Chinese-led Asian regional bank that Washington worries will undercut institutions such as the World Bank.

(ii) The British Treasury said on Thursday it will join talks this month on the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s structure and governance arrangements.

(iii) China proposed the bank in 2013 and has pledged to put up most of its initial $50 billion in capital. Twenty-one other governments including the Philippines, Thailand, New Zealand and Vietnam have said they want to join.

(iv) The United States has expressed concern the bank will allow looser lending standards for the environment, labour rights and financial transparency, undercutting the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

IMF chief to visit India, China next week

(i) International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde would travel to India and China next week to hold talks with the two important global economic powers.

(ii) “The visit (to India) presents an opportunity to exchange views on recent economic developments, India’s prospects and its role in the global economy,” the IMF said in a statement.

(iii) In India for two days -- March 16 and 17 – Ms. Lagarde will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior officials including Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan.

(vi) Ms. Lagarde would then proceed to China where she will meet with the top Chinese leadership and senior officials, including People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan and Finance Minister Lou Jiwei from March 19 to 23.

(v) The IMF managing director will discuss the latest developments in the global economy, China’s ongoing reform efforts and collaboration between the IMF and China, a media release said.

3,361 MW to be added in 2015-16

(i) The State budget presented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday has envisaged addition of 3,361 MW of power to the state grid in 2015-16. This has created hopes of a substantial improvement in the power supply situation in the course of the year.

(ii) Of this, 2,300 MW would come from Units 1 & 2 of Yeramarus Thermal Power Station and Unit-3 of Bellary Thermal Power Station while 221 MW would be from the Central Generating Stations and 815 MW from the hydel plants.

(iii) It has also been proposed to set up a solar park with a capacity of 1,000 MW on 5,000 acres of land. The long-pending proposal of setting up 350 MW gas-based power station in Yelahanka has now been included in the budget.

(iv) The subsidy allocation for supplying free power to farmers and Bhagya/Kutir Jyothi consumers has been increased to Rs. 7,498 crore from the previous year’s level of Rs. 6,308 crore.

State sees 7% GDP growth; fiscal deficit at 2.75%

(i) The State Budget of Karnataka presented by Chief Minister and Finance Minister Siddaramaiah has claimed that the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) saw a growth of 7 per cent for 2014-15, as against 5 per cent in 2013-14. 

(ii) The budget claims that the industrial sector in the state has registered a growth of 4.4 per cent, while the service sector has seen a growth of 8.9 per cent.

(iii) Despite the drought in many taluks of the state, the agriculture sector is estimated to grow by 4.5 % during this year,” he said.

Pashu Bhagya scheme announced

(i) Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday announced Pashu Bhagya scheme that provides subsidies to farmers to set up cattle, sheep, goat, pig and poultry units.

(ii) The new scheme, which was announced in the State budget-2015 presented by the chief minister, seeks to provide subsidy to the tune of 33 per cent to farmers from the Scheduled Castes/Tribes and 25 per cent to other small and marginal farmers on the loans to a maximum extent of Rs. 1.20 lakh availed from commercial banks.

(iii) The Chief Minister also announced setting up of a Centralised Helpline facility to provide veterinary services at the farmers’ doorsteps by levying service charges.

Process on to Implement One Rank One Pension Scheme

(i) The modalities for implementing 'One Rank One Pension' scheme for armed forces are under consideration and the financial implication could be calculated once the details are finalised and approved by the government, Lok Sabha was informed today.

(ii) Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh said in a written reply that the principle of OROP for the armed forces has been accepted by the government.

(iii) The scheme, which seeks to ensure that a uniform pension is paid to defence personnel who retire at the same rank with the same length of service, irrespective of their date of retirement, has been a long-standing demand of the over two million ex-servicemen in the country.