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May 2, 2016

[CA] Important Points @ Glance: Part 3

Important Points @ Glance: Part 3

v Scientists have confirmed the presence of Himalayan wolf — the most ancient wolf lineage known — in Nepal’s largest protected area- the Annapurna Conservation Area. It has been listed as Critically Endangered in the National Red List.

v Colombia’s top court has legalised same-sex marriage, making the country the fourth in Latin America to do so. Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay have previously legalised same-sex marriage.

v Reliance Defence has signed an agreement with three Ukrainian state-owned firms — Ukroboronprom, Spetstechno Exports and Antonov — to collaborate on a range of military products including transport aircraft, armoured vehicles, maritime gas turbines and unmanned aerial vehicles.

v India has resumed publishing its income tax data, which was suspended in 2000 owing to staffing and technical issues. India had first started publishing its income tax statistics in 1961.

v Sri Lanka, in the midst of a crisis over deterioration of the balance of payments (BOP) position, has got the much-needed reprieve with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreeing to provide $ 1.5 billion through a three-year-long Extended Fund Facility (EFF). The EFF was established to provide assistance to countries: (i) experiencing serious payments imbalances because of structural impediments; or (ii) characterized by slow growth and an inherently weak balance of payments position. The EFF provides assistance in support of comprehensive programs that include policies of the scope and character required to correct structural imbalances over an extended period.



v Rahuri Municipal Council of Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra has become the first Municipal Council to attain the status of integrated with digital locker for the issuance of all essential Documents. This service was recently launched as part of Digital India Programme.

v Based on a proposal from the National Monuments Authority (NMA), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has developed an app named “Smarac Citizen”. The app is aimed at granting construction permits within few minutes to architects and real estate developers who plan to construct buildings close to national monuments. The app contains the maps of 3,686 Centrally-protected monuments across the country. Apart from easing the process of obtaining construction permits, the app will help the NMA keep a tab on encroachments around monuments. The app will also give the elevation details— the height of the site with respect to mean sea level. It will help architects not only for the NMA approval, but also for the approval of the Airports Authority of India.

v Japan has decided to abandon a quarter-of-a-billion-dollar satellite it sent to study black holes. The ultra-high-tech “Hitomi” – or eye – was launched in February to find X-rays emanating from black holes and galaxy clusters. But shortly after it reached orbit, researchers admitted they had lost control of it and said it was no longer communicating. The satellite, developed in collaboration with NASA and other groups, was intended to help unlock the mystery of black holes, phenomena that have never been directly observed.

v Laser walls have been made operational along the India-Pakistan international border in Punjab to plug the porous riverine and treacherous terrain and keep an effective vigil against intruders and terrorists exploiting the frontier areas to cross over.
  

v Nasa’s Cassini spacecraft, orbiting Saturn and its moons since 2004, has confirmed that a huge sea on Saturn’s moon Titan is composed mostly of pure liquid methane. The sea, called Ligeia Mare, has a surface area of about 126,000 sq. kms. Cassini also found that the seabed may be covered in a sludge of carbon- and nitrogen-rich material, and its shores may be surrounded by wetlands. Methane, a compound made of one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms, exists as a gas on Earth. It becomes liquid only at -161.5 degrees Celsius. Saturn’s great distance from the Sun ensures that gases like methane exist as liquids there.



Important Points @ Glance: Part 1

Important Points @ Glance: Part 2


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