GENERAL AWARENESS -- 99th AMENDMENT --NOBEL PRIZE ETC.
source: ramadrama
National
· Which
Constitutional Amendment was struck down by the Supreme Court?
The 99th Constitutional Amendment
The five-judge Constitution Bench chaired by Justice
J. S. Khehar on October 16, 2015 declared the National Judicial Appointments
Commission (NJAC) Act and the 99th Constitutional Amendment as
unconstitutional and void, restoring the collegiums system in which the Chief
Justice of India will have ‘the last word in the appointments of judges in the
Supreme Court and High Courts. The Apex Court and High Courts. The Apex Court
with 4:1 majority verdict said that the NJAC was against the independence of
the judiciary and the basic structure of the Constitution. But despite the
rejection of the 99th Amendment, the Bench also admitted that the
Collegium System for appointments of judges in the higher judiciary needs some
improvements to make it more transparent and fairer.
· Who is the new
Chairman of AEC? Sekhar Basu
Noted nuclear scientists Sekhar Basu assumed charge
as Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) on October 23, succeeding R. K.
Sinha on this post. Mr. Basu will also hold the post of Secretary, Department
of Atomic Energy (DAE). Prior to his new assignments, he was the Director of
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) Trombay. Mr. Basu, a mechanical engineer
from Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute, University of Mumbai, played a
key role in building the reactor for India’s nuclear powered Submarine Arihant.
· Who has been
appointed as first male member of NCW? Alok
Rawat
Former Cabinet Secretary and a 1977 batch IAS
officer of Sikkim Cadre Alok Rawat has been appointed as the fourth member of
the National Commission for Women (NCW), becoming the first man to be part of
the Commission meant only for women related issues and matters. Mr. Rawat has
served in numerous ministries and on various posts including secretary of UPSC,
Director/Joint Secretary in Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Road Transport
and Highways and Secretary in Ministry of Water Resources.
· Who has been
appointed AIFF advisor? Bhaichung Bhutia
Former Indian football team skipper Bhaichung Bhutia
has been appointed the All India Football Federation advisor for ‘overall
issues of the game and the federation’, announced by AIFF President Praful
Patel on twitter on October 18, 2015. Bhutia currently is the Chairman of the
AIFF Technical Committee. Bhutia, the founding member of Football Players
Association in India has been assigned to help prepare the team at a basic
level.
· Who has been
selected for the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration?
Rajagopal P.V.
Eminent Gandhian social worker Rajagopal P.V. has
been selected for the 29th Indira Gandhi Award for National
Integration for the year 2013 and 2014 for his services in promoting and
preserving national integration, mutual trust and harmony in the country. The
award carries a citation and a cash prize worth
10 lakh. Smt. Aruna
Asaf Ali, Mr. P. N. Haksar, Smit. M. S. Subbulakshmi, Paramdham Ashram, Paunar
(Wardha), Shri Syam Bengal, Smt. Mahasweta Devi are some former recipients of
this award which is given on October 31, the martyradom day of Stmt. Indira
Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of India.
· Indian Navy
recently commissioned its first indigenously-built torpedo launch vessel named
INS Astradharini
Vice Admiral, Eastern Naval Command Satish Soni on
October 6 commissioned India’s first indigenously designed and built torpedo
launch and recovery vessel INS Astradharini at an impressive ceremony at the
Naval Base, Vishapatnam. The design of the Astradharini is a collaborative
effort of NSTL, M/s Shoft Shipyard and IIT Kharagpur. Having a length of 50
metres, the vessel can achieve the speed upto 15 knots. It has a unique design
of a catamaran hull form that significantly reduces its power requirement. It
is also capable of operating high sea states.
· Name the winner
of Dutch Open Grand Prix Men’s Singles Crown-2015 Ajay Jayaram
India’s Ajay Jayaram retained his Dutch Open Grand
Prix Men’s Singles Crown on October 11, 2015, beating Estonia’s Raul Must
21-12, 21-18 in the final at Almere, the Netherlands. It is the second title of
Jayaram’s international career and his first also came here at the Dutch Open
last year.
· Who has been
elected the new PM of Canada? Justin
Trudeau
Canada’s Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau was
elected the new Prime Minister of Canada in the general election on October 19,
2015, ending nine-year reign of Stephen Harper of the Conservative Party. The
Liberal Party won 184 seats in the 338-member House of Commons with 39.5 per
cent vote in support followed by the Conservatives who were reduced to 102
seats from 159 in the last government. Harper’s Conservative Party could gain
only 32% votes. Justin is the son of the late Canadian Prime Minister Pierre
Trudeau who swept to office in 1968.
· Bidhya Devi
Bhandari has been elected the first woman President of Nepal
Former Defence Minister and veteran leader of the
Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) Bidhya Devi Bhandari was
elected the new President of Nepal, becoming the first woman to hold this top,
but ceremonial post of Nepal on October 28, 2015. She succeeds Ram Baran Yadav
on this post. She secured 327 votes to beat her opponent Kul Bahadur Gurung who
secured only 214 votes in the election. She served as the Defence Minister of
Nepal from 2009 to 2011. After becoming the President of Nepal, she is now the
Supreme Commander of the Nepal Army.
· Which countries
have recently been elected to serve on the UNSC?
Egypt, Japan, Senegal, Ukraine and Uruguay
The 193-member United Nations General Assembly on
October 15, 2015 elected Egypt, Japan, Senegal, Ukraine and Uruguay as
non-permanent members on the UN Security Council for a two-year term starting
on January 1, 2016. The five overall seats available for election in 2015,
distributed regionally were : two seats for the African group (currently held
by Chad and Nigeria); one seat for the Asia-Pacific group (presently held by
Jordan); one seat for the Latin America and Caribbean States group (currently
held by Chile) and one seat for the Eastern European Group (held by Lithuania).
The other five non-permanent members that will remain on the council until the
end of 2016 are Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain and Venezuela.
· Hand-in-Hand-2015
was a joint military exercise between India
and China
The fifth joint military exercise between India and
China was organized at Kumming Military Academy in Yunnan province of China
from October 12 to 23, 2015 with emphasis on joint tackling of terror attacks
and ‘Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief’. The Hand-in-Hand 2015 was
aimed at boosting military ties and mutual trust between the two Asian giants.
· What was the
name of Indo-Japan-USA trilateral naval exercise? Malabar-2015
The Indo-Japan-US trilateral naval exercise—Malabar
2015 was organized from October 14 to 19, 2015 at the Eastern Coast of India in
the Bay of Bengal. Originally, India and USA started a bilateral naval exercise
in 1992 under the name of Malabar to boost naval cooperation and strategic ties
between the two countries. Japan joined the Malabar as its third permanent
participant only in its 19th edition this year. Japan has taken part
in Malabar in some previous exercises as non-permanent participant which drew
strong opposition from China. Malabar is the name of coastline of Kerala and
some other parts of western coast of India.
· Who emerged the
2015 Formula One Champion in the US Grand Prix?
Mercedes’ Lewis
Hamilton
Reigning Formula One Champion Lewis Hamilton
retained his crown on October 6, 2015 by winning the US Grand Prix – 2015 in
Austin (Texas). Hamilton took the chequered flag in 1 hour, 50 minutes and
52.703 second, 2.850 seconds clear of his teammate and pole position holder
Nico Rosberg who finished second. Winning his third F1 Championship, Hamilton
became the first Briton to win back-to-back championships and second Briton
after Jackie Stewart to win it three times. The win at US Grand Prix extended
his points lead to unbeatable 327 points total and he was declared winner
despite a few races remaining this season.
· Who has been
elected the new Chief of IPCC? Hoesung
Lee
South Korean climate change expert, Hoesung Lee was
on October 6, 2015 elected the new chief of the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC), succeeding India’s R. K. Pachauri who resigned from this
UN body in February 2015 amid allegations of sexual harassment. Lee is a
professor of the economics of climate change, energy and sustainable
development at Korea University, Seoul. Lee secured 78 votes while his nearest
rival Jean Pascal of Belgium obtained only 56 votes.
· Name the winner
of Nobel Peace Prize – 2015 Tunisian
National Dialogue Quartet
The Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet won the Nobel
Peace Prize 2015 on October 9 for its decisive contribution to the building of
a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution in
2011. The Quartet comprises four organizations : The Tunisian General Labour
Union; The Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts; The
Tunisian Human Rights League; and the Tunisian order of Lawyers. Due to the
National Dialogue Quartet’s efforts, Tunisia which faced a huge political and
social turmoil and instability in January 2011, now has a new Constitution,
free elections and a coalition with secular and Islamist parties.
NOBEL PRIZE –
2015
Nobel
Prizes one of the most prestigious honours of the world were announced for the
year 2015 in six traditional categories – Physiology or Medicine, Physics,
Chemistry, Literature, Peace and Economics in October 2015. The list of the
Nobel prize winners this year is as follows-
Physiology or Medicine – Irish-born
William Campbell, Satoshi Omura of Japan and Tu Youyou of China were declared
the joint winners of the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology for discovering
drugs against malaria and other parasitic diseases. The Karolinska Institute in
Stockholm, Sweden announced the Nobel winners in medicine on October 5, 2015.
Tu Youyou, the first Chinese woman to win a Nobel and also the first Chinese to
win it in the field of Medicine was honoured with the award for discovering ‘Artemisinin’, a drug that has
effectively reduced the mortality rates from Malaria. Born in 1930, Tu was
associated with China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine as the Chief
Professor of the Pharmacy department.
William C.
Campbell, currently a Research fellow Emeritus at Drew University, Madison, New
Jersey and Satoshi Omura, currently Professor Emeritus at Kitasato University
won the coveted honour for discovering a new drug ‘Avermectin’. A derivative of
that drug ‘Ivermectin’ has nearly eradicated river blindness and lymphatic
filariasis, two diseases caused by parasitic worms.
Physics – Takaaki Kajita of Japan and
Arthur McDonald of Canada were declared the joint winners of the Nobel Prize in
Physics by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm on October 6 for
discovering that elusive subatomic particles called neutrinos have mass,
opening a new window onto the fundamental nature of the universe. Neutrinos,
the second most bountiful particles after photons are capable of carrying light
with trillions of them streaming through our bodies every second. Kajita and
Arthur’s work was the discovery of a phenomenon called neutrino oscillation
which forced scientists of the world to think in a new direction about the
nature of universe.
Kajita,
Director of the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research and Professor at University
of Tokyo, successfully showed that neutrinos captured at the detector underwent
a Metamorphosis in the atmosphere. McDonald, the Professor Emeritus at Queen’s
University in Canada later proved that neutrinos coming from the Sun to the
Earth did not disappear, but changed their identities. Their discovery has
helped cosmologists understand how the universe has evolved.
Chemistry – Swedish Scientist Tomas
Lindahl, Paul Modrich of USA and US-Turkish national Aziz Sancar shared the
Nobel Prize in Chemistry announced by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on
October 7 for their pioneering “mechanistic studies of DNA repair”, a work
which may be very useful to develop new cancer treatments.
Tomas
Lindahl is a Professor of Medical and Physiological Chemistry at University of
Gothenburg and Emeritus Group Leader at Francis Crick Institute, U. K. Paul
Modrich is associated with Duke University School of Medicine, U. K. Aziz
Sancar, the second Turk to win a Nobel after novelist Orhan Pamuk in 2006, is a
Professor of Bio-chemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina, USA.
The three scientists got the honour for successfully mapping how cells
safeguard genetic information after repairing damaged DNA-a constant phenomenon
inside the human body.
Literature-Svetlana Alexievich, a
Belarussian journalist and novelist was declared the winner of the 2015 Nobel
Prize in Literature for documenting and mapping over three decades of the world
post the collapse of the Soviet Union. She is the 14th woman to win
the Nobel Prize in Literature. Alexievch’s work is a unique blend of literature
and journalism in which she gae a nice portrayal of the lives of men and women
after the World War II, the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and the Chernobyl
nuclear disaster in 1986. War’s
Unwomanly Face (1985) her first book, Zinky
Boys : Soviet Voices from the Afghanistan War (1989), Enchanted with Death
(1993) and Voices from Chernobyl are
her notable literary works.
Peace-The Tunisian National Dialogue
Quartet a coalition of labour unions, businesses, lawyers and human rights
activists won the Nobel Peace Prize, this year announced by the Norwegian Nobel
Committee, Oslo on October 9 “for its decisive contribution to the building of
a pluralistic democracy I Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of
2011”. The Tunisian Dialogue Quartet consists of four organizations-the Tunisia
General Labour Union, The Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and
Handicrafts, the Tunisian Human Rights League; and he Tunisian Orders of
Lawyers. It was the effort of the Quartet that Peace and order came back in
Tunisian Human Rights League; and the Tunisian Orders of Lawyers. It was the
effort of the Quartet that Peace and order came back in Tunisia with a new
Constitution, free elections and a coalition of secular and Islamist Parties
after the tumultuous days of January, 2011.
Economics-British
economist Angus Deaton was declared the winner of the Nobel Prize in Economic
Science “for his analysis, of Consumption, Poverty and Welfare.” Deaton holds
both US and British Citizenships. Professor Deaton is associated with the
Princeton University, USA. He is best known for his insight that economic
averages such as national income may be incorrect in some way because they
don’t point out important variations among individuals.
The Nobel
Prizes will be conferred on December 10, the anniversary of prize founder
Alfred Nobel’s death in 1896 at the traditional award ceremonies in Stockholm
(Sweden) and Oslo (Norway). Each category of the Award will carry 8 million
Swedish Kronor (about $ 975,000) as prize money.
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