21 January 2016 – Daily Current Affairs

MoU on governance reforms between UK & India approved by Union Cabinet

The Union Cabinet of India gave its approval to the MoU between United Kingdom and India. The MoU is based on creating a cooperation in governance reforms. Some of the key highlights of this MoU are cooperation in sharing practices in the sector of public administration, minimizing bureaucracy in delivery in service, consolidating social security, etc. The event took place on January 20 2016.

NOAA claims that 2015 was the warmest year for Earth after 1880

NASA and NOAA has jointly declared that 2015 was the warmest year for the Earth after 1880. The analysis was made after taking into consideration the average global temperature and average temperature of the ocean surfaces, which was recorded at 0.90°C (1.62°F). This record has made it to the fourth time global temperature record in this century. The year also witnessed the largest Antartic sea ice extent (annual) at 4.92 million square miles. The area of coverage leaves behind the stats presented in 2013 and 2014.

North-Eastern India reveal a new tree frog genes

The frogman of India, Prof. Sathyabhaman Das Biju, has discovered a new genes of tree frogs in the forests of North-East India. Prof. Biju with his team of PhD students published a paper on January 20 2016, where he mentioned about his discovery. The news genes is known by the name of Frankixalus. These frogs live and breed in water which are found in tree trunks and the last known presence of these frogs was seen in 1870s. After almost 150 years, these frogs were once again found to be a part of the biodiversity.

Kuwait Institute and ISRO sign a MoU on space exploration

On January 20 2016, the Kuwait Institute and ISRO signed a Memorandum of Understanding to extend cooperation for the purpose of space research and operations. Under this MoU, the data generated by IRS (Indian Remote Sensing) satellites would be available for use of KISR. The MoU also allows the provision for training and development of remote sensing communication devices for space research and commercial terms.

The Z Factor launched by PM Narendra Modi

The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, released a book named as the Z Factor, written by Subhas Chandra on January 20 2016. The book is an autobiography of Subhash Chandra, the promoter of Zee Group. The book tells a story of a person who came to Delhi at the age of 20 years with just INR 17 in his pocket. At present, the net worth of Subhash Chandra is USD 6.3 billion with an annual group revenue of USD 3 billion.

Second largest black hole discovered by Japanese Astronomers

A group of Japanese Astronomers have recently discovered the second largest black hole in the Milky Way. The new discovered black hole is situated about 200 light years away. The publication was made by team headed by Tomoharu Oka and was released on December 28 2016.