ENGLISH NEWS - 09.09.2016

DAILY G.A UPDATE : 09-09-2016

1. Sikkim cleanest state, Gujarat ranks 14th: NSSO sanitation survey

Sikkim has been adjudged the cleanest state while Jharkhand comes last in the list on the condition of sanitation in rural areas of 26 states in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state Gujarat is ranked 14th. 

The results of survey carried out last year by National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) was released by Union Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar here, 

It has listed Kerala, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Meghalaya among the top 10 states. 

The states which fared poorly in the NSSO study include Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Jammu and Kashmir. NDA major BJP is ruling or sharing power in five of the states that have been placed at the bottom of the list. 

Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, where BJP is sharing power with other parties, have been placed at 15th and 16th positions respectively. 

2. UP police adopts Twitter service to address public issues

Uttar Pradesh Police adopted Twitter service for "better redressal" of issues of the people.

Uttar Pradesh Police, the world’s largest police organisation serving almost 200 million people in India’s most populous state, deployed Twitters live customer service resolution solution Twitter Seva in the whole police department, an official release issued here said.

Twitter Seva will enable the states police to, among other things, strengthen its primary relationship with the citizens by providing fast, efficient and real-time public service, it said.

This is one of the most comprehensive rollouts of the Twitter Seva customer service solution in the country by a public service department and will enable large scale police response to citizens tweets in real-time, the release said.

Twitter Seva was launched by Uttar Pradesh DGP S Javeed Ahmad (@javeeddgpup) to provide real-time service delivery and citizen interaction and improve overall civil safety and enhance law and order in the state.

Through this collaboration, Uttar Pradesh police (@Uppolice) is aiming to drive efficient and effective customer service for millions of Indian citizens through Twitters platform for live public conversations, the statement said.

With this adoption, more than 120 verified accounts of the Uttar Pradesh police across districts and zones will be accessible to the public on Twitter, it said.

Citizens can simply tweet with their query to the police account (@Uppolice) and the request will activate offices of the police department across the state, it added.

3. ISRO launches advanced weather satellite INSAT-3DR in textbook style

India successfully launched its INSAT-3DR advanced weather satellite in copy-book style using its heavy geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV-F05) rocket.

Around 17 minutes after lift-off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 4.50 pm, the GSLV rocket slung the 2,211 kg satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO), from where it would be guided to its final geostationary orbit. The launch was delayed by 40 minutes as the fuelling of the third stage of the rocket took longer than expected.

With the launch of INSAT-3DR, the Indian space agency has successfully launched three satellites weighing over two tonnes of the six satellites weighing over two tonnes it had flown in a GSLV rocket.

The successful flight of the GSLV rocket on Thursday gives the Indian space programme a much-needed boost as getting the third stage cryogenic engine right is important for its future space programmes as well as for commercial launches.

Indian space scientists have spent around two decades and around Rs 500 crore ($75 million) in conceiving and developing the cryogenic technology.

According to ISRO, the satellite incorporates technological improvements like: (a) imaging in middle infrared band to provide nighttime pictures of low clouds and fog, (b) imaging in two thermal infrared bands for better estimating sea surface temperature and (c) higher spatial resolution in the visible and thermal infrared bands.

Also on board the INSAT-3DR is a satellite-aided search and rescue transponder that operates at 406.05 MHz to pick up and relay signals from distress beacons of maritime, aviation and land based users to the Indian Mission Control Centre located at Bengaluru.

According to ISRO, the major users of this technology in India are the defence services, the Coast Guard, the Airports Authority of India, the Directorate General of Shipping and fishermen.

The Indian alert service region includes a large part of the Indian Ocean region covering India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Tanzania.

The INSAT-3DR also carries a data relay transponder (DRT) for receiving meteorological, hydrological and oceanographic data from remote uninhabited locations in the coverage area from platforms like automatic weather stations, automatic rain gauges and agro met stations.

The satellite’s life expectancy is 10 years.

The GSLV is a three stage rocket. The first stage is fired by solid fuel and its four strap-on motors by liquid fuel. The second powered by liquid fuel and the third is the ISRO-developed cryogenic engine that is more efficient as it provides more thrust for every kilogram of propellant burnt.

ISRO is perfecting the crucial cryogenic engine technology to save precious foreign exchange by launching heavier satellites on its own.

ISRO currently relies on the European Space Agency’s Ariane rocket to launch its heavy communication satellites.

India pays around Rs 500 crore ($75 million) as the launch fee for sending up a 3.5 tonne communication satellite. The satellite cost is separate.

ISRO can now launch satellites weighing around 2-2.5 tonnes till such time it readies an advanced GSLV variant — GSLV-Mark III — that can lug satellites weighing around four tonnes.

The year-end is expected to see the launch from here of the GSLV-Mk-III with the GSAT-19 communication satellite weighing around 3.2 tonnes — the heaviest to be lifted by an Indian rocket.

4. PepsiCo's Nooyi 2nd most powerful woman in Fortune list

PepsiCo CEO and Chairman Indra Nooyi is the only Indian origin woman in Fortunes 51 Most Powerful Women list that is topped by Mary Barra, CEO and Chairman of General Motors.

Nooyi was ranked second on the list, same as 2015. In 2014, she was ranked third.

The list comprises 22 CEOs of major companies and many more corner office contenders across industries. The 2016 list has nine newcomers and one return candidate.

On Nooyi, who is now in her 10th year as CEO, Fortune said she "shows no signs of slowing down".

Over the past 12 months, PepsiCo’s market capitalisation has increased 18 per cent to USD 155 billion, even as international volatility hit 2015 earnings. PepsiCo’s 2015 sales dropped 5 per cent, while its profits declined 13 per cent.

"Investors seem to have faith that Nooyi’s push towards healthier food and drink offerings will pay off, and they like the USD 63 billion company’s USD 3 billion cost cut over the past three years too," Fortune said adding that some think more acquisitions in the health space may come soon, as Nooyi further diversifies out of the declining soda category.

Mary Barra retained the Fortunes Most Powerful Woman tag after a year of "dramatic improvement" at the USD 152.4 billion in revenues of the auto giant.

The top 10 most powerful women in the list also include, Marillyn Hewson of Lockheed Martin at the third place; Ginni Rometty of IBM (4th); Abigail Johnson of Fidelity Investments (5th); Facebooks COO Sheryl Sandberg (6th); Meg Whitman of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (7th); General Dynamics Phebe Novakovic (8th); Irene Rosenfeld of Mondelez International (9th) and Safra Catz Co-CEO, Oracle at the 10th place.

Singing diva Beyonce was ranked at the 51st place on the coveted list.

5. Assam’s Majuli becomes first island district of India

Assam’s Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated Majuli as the 35th district of Assam. With this, Majuli became India's first island district.

The inauguration of Majuli as a district coincides with the 90th birth anniversary of music maestro Bhupen Hazarika.

Recently on 1 September 2016, Majuli replaced Brazil's Marajo to become the world's largest river island in the Guinness Book of World Records.

6. Sushil Kumar nominated for Padma Bhushan

Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) nominated the two-time Olympic-medallist wrestler Sushil Kumar for the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civillian honour.