Daily GK Update 9th March 2015

World’s first solar-powered aircraft to land in Gujarat on Tuesday

(i) Solar Impulse, claimed to be the world’s only solar-powered aircraft, will make a stop over in Ahmedabad on Tuesday as a part of its maiden global journey.

(ii) Solar Impulse is claimed to be the first aircraft to fly day and night without a drop of fuel, propelled solely by the sun’s energy, as per the project’s website.

(iii) The single-seater aircraft made of carbon fibre has a 72 metre wingspan, larger than that of Boeing-747 and weighs just 2,300 kg, equivalent to the weight of a car.

(iv) This round-the-world flight will take-off from Abu Dhabi and make a halt at Muscat (Oman), Ahmedabad and Varanasi in India, Mandalay in Myanmar and Chongqing and Nanjing in China.

Govt mulls subsidy cut for rooftop solar projects

(i) With limited funds at disposal and price of solar panels going down, the government has proposed to reduce the subsidy on rooftop projects by half, Parliament was informed on Monday.

(ii) The Ministry has proposed to reduce the subsidy on rooftop solar power plants to 15 per cent from the present level of 30 per cent due to decline in the price of solar panels and limited availability of funds among other things,” Power Minister Piyush Goyal said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

(iii) Mr. Goyal, who also holds charge of Coal and New and Renewable Energy Ministries said, the government has set a large target for rooftop solar power plants in the country.

Lok Sabha begins discussion on land bill

(i) The Lok Sabha on Monday took up for discussion the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Amendment Bill.

(ii) The land acquisition legislation, promulgated as an ordinance by the present NDA regime, amends the existing law passed by the previous UPA government in 2013.

(iii) In the new version, the NDA government has removed the need for obtaining the consent of land—owners and carrying out Social Economic Assessment (SIA) for acquiring land under certain categories.

(iv) Removal of these two points from the previous act led to nation—wide protests. Both houses of parliament also witnessed protests over the issue.

Global food prices dip to 5-year low in February

(i) Global food prices fell to a nearly five-year low in February this year on increased supply of key food items and strong US dollar, according to the United Nations food agency FAO.

(ii) Food prices averaged at 179.4 points in February, down from 181.2 points in January and 208.6 points in February 2014, the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s price index showed.

(iii) “Food Price Index declined to a 55-month low in February, dropping 1.0 per cent from January and 14 per cent below its level a year earlier,” FAO said in a statement.

(iv) According to FAO, international sugar prices fell by 4.9 per cent, cereal prices were down by 3.2 per cent and meat prices declined by 1.4 per cent in February from the January levels.

Govt allocation to MSME sector highest in 3 years

(i) Government has earmaked over Rs 3,300 crore this fiscal, the highest allocation in the last three financial years, to develop the MSME sector and is implementing a special programme to develop its infrastructure, Lok Sabha was informed on Monday.

(ii) Noting that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) accounted for over 37 per cent of the GDP and over 42 per cent of total exports, MSME Minister Kalraj Mishra said the sector was facing constraints in accessing credit facilities.

(iii) He said the government was implementing a special programme to promote and develop infrastructure to improve productivity and competitiveness of micro, small and medium enterprises in the country.

PM to inaugurate a slew of development projects in Sri Lanka

(i) India is “intent on strengthening ties” with Sri Lanka, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, as he announced a slew of projects to be inaugurated while Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Sri Lanka on March 13th and 14th. 

(ii) Mr. Modi, who is the first Indian Prime Minister to make a bilateral visit to the neighbouring island in 24 years.

(iii) The Prime Minister will reach Colombo on March 13, and will have talks with President Maithripala Sirisena. 

(iv) He will attend a lunch hosted by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremsinghe who has set off a storm with his recent remarks on “shooting Indian fishermen” if they trespass into Sri Lankan waters. 

Lalit Modi ousted as RCA president

(i) Former IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi has been evicted out of the Rajasthan Cricket Association from the position of President. 

(ii) Amin Pathan will replace him and took over as the new chief.

(iii) The RCA comprises 33 districts with five of the units under dispute. 

(iv) The Amin group claimed the support of 18 votes while ten units had pledged their allegiance to Modi.