Borehole Geophysics Research Laboratory (BGRL) is being set up at Karad, Maharashtra
The
Union Minister for Science, Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr Harsh Vardhan led
the Bhoomi-Pujan ceremony for construction of the Borehole Geophysics Research
Laboratory at Hazarmachi, Karad of Maharashtra.
Key
Points:
ü To
find solutions to possible problems of the people due to natural calamities through scientific researches.
ü To
understand Earthquakes Mechanism in
the Koyna Region of Maharastra.
ü This
Borehole Geophysics Research Laboratory (BGRL) is being established by the Ministry of Earth Sciences,
Government of India.
ü To
address challenging seismological problems of societal relevance through
drilling investigations. BGRL was conceptualized as part of the Ministry’s
programme of Scientific Deep Drilling in the Koyna Intra-plate Seismic Zone.
MGNREGA completes 10 years of implementation
The
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which was initially called National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act 2005, completed ten years of its implementation.
ü Union
Ministry of Rural Development had organised the MGNREGA
SAMMELAN in New Delhi to highlight the achievements of MGNREGA.
ü Union
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was Chief Guest at the Sammelan.
The
basic objective of the Act is to
enhance livelihood security in rural areas.
Major General Jai Shanker Menon appointed as UNDOF head
ü Major
General Jai Shanker Menon has been appointed as the Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations
Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). He was appointed by UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and succeeds Lt Gen Purna Chandra Thapa of Nepal.
ü Prior
to this appointment, Maj. Gen. Menon was serving as Additional Director General
(ADG) Equipment Management in the Indian Army.
Former Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar passed away
ü Balram
Jakhar was the Lok Sabha Speaker for
two consecutive terms from 1980 to 1989.
ü He
was MP ( Lok Sabha ) four times.
ü Served
as the Union Agriculture Minister in
1991 in P. V. Narasimha Rao Ministry.
EU Commission and United States agreed on framework for transatlantic data flows
ü The
European Commission (EC) and the USA agreed for a new framework for transatlantic data flows.
ü Known
as the EU-US Privacy Shield.
ü The
government agencies will be able to transfer data relied on by Facebook and
Google across the Atlantic.
üThis
agreement will replace the 16-year old Safe Harbour arrangement that was ruled illegal by the European Court of Justice in October
2015.
Kerala won 61st National School Athletics championship
ü The
National School Athletics championship
was held at Olympian Rahman Stadium in Kozhikode,
Kerala from 29 January 2016 to 2 February 2016.
ü This
is for the 19th consecutive time Kerala becomes
the champions in the event.
ü Kerala
got 306 points winning 39 gold, 29 silver and 17 bronze medals.
ü Tamil
Nadu stood at second position with 116 points winning 11 gold, 8 silver and 13
bronze medals. Maharashtra with 101 points gained the third position.
Bharat Biotech makes a breakthrough in developing Zika vaccine: Zikavac
ü Bharat Biotech, a Hyderabad-based vaccines and bio-therapeutic
manufacturer, today claimed to have achieved a
breakthrough in developing a vaccine to fight the dreaded mosquito-borne Zika
virus, which causes serious birth defects in children.
ü The
company has two candidate vaccines in development. One of them is an
inactivated vaccine that has reached the stage of pre-clinical testing in
animals.
India and Afghanistan inked pact for visa-free travel by diplomats
ü India
and Afghanistan inked a pact for visa-free
travel by their diplomats.
ü Besides,
both the leaders of the countries discussed the role of international community
to ensure peace and stability in Afghanistan.
India, Brunei ink three MoUs
ü India
and Brunei have signed three Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate in
the fields of defence, health and youth affairs
& sports.
ü These
MoUs were signed the representatives of both the countries in presence of the
visiting Vice President Mohd Hamid Ansari
at capital Bandar Seri Begawan.
Vietnam removed ban on import of Indian Groundnut
ü In
December 2015, during the visit of Vietnam delegation to India, the lifting of
ban has come in the wake.
ü After inspecting the fumigation
facilities, export procedures and export certification system for export of
groundnuts export from India, as per the Standard Operating Procedure developed
by Directorate of plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage, Faridabad, the
delegation was satisfied.
Infosys to build the world’s tallest clock tower taller than Big Ben in Mysuru campus
ü The
proposed clock tower will be built in the Infosys Global Education Center in Mysore.
ü The
proposed 135 meter-tall tower will
stand approximately 19 floors and will also house a boardroom on the 7th level.
ü Taller than Big Ben (96m )in London, Hoover
Tower (87m) in California and the McGraw Tower (53m) in Cornell.
WHO concerned by report of sexual spread of Zika virus
ü World
Health Organisation (WHO) voiced concern over a report that the Zika virus had
been sexually transmitted in the
United States and called for further investigation into the mosquito-borne
virus linked to birth defects.
ü The
first known case of Zika virus transmission in the United States was reported
in Dallas, Texas by local health officials, who said it likely was contracted
through sex and not a mosquito bite.