ASSAM

 

• Assam to provide textbooks to blind students

 

• The state government will provide free textbooks to visually impaired students of the state.

 

• The chief minister made the announcement while releasing a guidebook for visually challenged students for competitive examinations.

 

• He said his government had taken up various programmes aimed at uplifting the lives of the 4.4 lakh ‘divyangs’ (differently abled) in the state.

 

• Titled ‘An Approach to Competitive Examinations in Braille’, the guidebook is prepared by the State-level Advisory Committee for Students and Youth Welfare

 

 

INTERNATIONAL

 

• NASA tests Supersonic Parachute for Mars 2020 mission

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully tested supersonic landing parachute that will be deployed in its Mars rover mission set to launch in 2020.
• The mission will rely on a special parachute to slow spacecraft down as it enters Martian atmosphere at over 5.4 kilometers per second.
• It was first of several tests in support of NASA’s Mars 2020 Mission.

 

·         India and Russia join hands to provide visa free entry for flight crew members

• India and Russia have joined their hands and signed a pact for giving visa-free entry to the crew members of chartered and scheduled flights in both the nations.
• The agreement will facilitate visa-free entry, stay and exit of the crew of aircraft of the designated airlines as well as other aircraft companies operating chartered and scheduled flights in the respective territories on a reciprocal basis. This ease has made the relationship between the two nations more concrete.
• The Visa requirements for crew members are administrative entry restrictions imposed by the countries for the pilot or a member of the crew during a transit.
• The crew visas are associated with the request for permission to enter a country for a short duration and perform the predefined duties in the given areas, distinct from actual formal permission for an alien to enter and remain in the country.

 

NATIONAL 

 

• India becomes second largest fish producing country in the world
• 21st November is celebrated as a World of Fisheries Day worldwide every year.

 

• In India, which is the second largest fish producing country, the World Fisheries Day is being celebrated from 21st November, 2014 and it is being celebrated for the fourth consecutive year.

 

• The theme of this year is “2022 ka hai sapnaa…… kisaan ki aay ho duguna – Sankalp se siddhi”. 

 

·        India ranks 51 on IMD Talent Rankings

 

• India ranked 51st among 63 countries on theIMD Talent Rankings in terms of ability to attract, develop and retain talent.
• The annual IMD World Talent Ranking covers 63 countries and assessed methods countries adopted to attract and retain talent.
• Switzerland topped list followed by Denmark, Belgium, Austria, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Germany, Sweden and Luxembourg in top 10.
• Globally, Europe continues to dominate rankings being most competitive countries. Leading Asian economies in rankings are Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

 

• President inaugurated the 8th Manipur Sangai Festival
• The Honourable President of India, Ram Nath Kovind has inaugurated the 8th Manipur Sangai Festival 2017.

 

• The goal of the festival is to double the number of attendees compared to previous festivals held since inception.

 

• The President also inaugurated the North East Development Summit to develop the North East Region.

 

·        India’s first mission to the Sun to be launched in 2019

 

• India’s mission to the Sun will be launched in 2019from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
• The main aim of the solar mission is to improve our understanding of dynamical processes of the sun and help resolve some outstanding questions in solar physics.
• The satellite carrying six payloads will be launched from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on the PSLV- XL launch vehicle. 
• It will be launched into the halo orbit around the Lagrangian point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system.
• The second edition of India’s moon mission, Chandrayaan IIis scheduled for launch in March 2018.
• The space agency is aiming to double its satellite launches next year from the current eight to nine annually to 20 every year.

 

·        Brahmos Flight test from IAFs Su-30MKI Fighter Aircraft

 

• Brahmos, the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile created history after it was successfully flight-tested first time from the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) frontline fighter aircraft Sukhoi-30MKI against a sea-based target in the Bay of Bengal.
• The successful maiden test firing of BrahmosAir Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) from Su-30MKI will significantly bolster the IAF’s air combat operations capability from stand-off ranges.