Current Affairs 7th March 2014

Current Affairs 7th March 2014 - Important Points

• China to extend Tibet rail to town near Nepal border

• Crimea Voted to become a part of the Russian Federation

• China to increase its Military Budget by 12.2%

• Priyadarshi Mohapatra appointed as Managing Director for India and SAARC by Avaya

• Indian-American Scientist Anil Jain developed First 3D model of human fingerprint known as Phantom

Current Affairs 7th March 2014 - Details

China to extend Tibet rail to town near Nepal border

China announced on 6 March 2014 to extend the Qinghai-Tibet railway line to Xigaze in Tibet. Xigaze is hometown of Panchen Lama. The proposed extension is the world’s highest railway line. The 253-km Lhasa-Xigaze railway line will be open before October 2014. It will run at 120 km per hour through valleys and over three bridges that run across the Brahmaputra River or Yarlung Zangbo as it is known in China. China has also proposed extending the line from Shigatse to the border with Nepal. Through this extension China aimed to meet both political and military goals.

Important to note : The Xigaze region borders India's Sikkim, Nepal and Bhutan. The new extension line will make it easier for the China to carry men and machinery to the Indian border at short notice.

Crimea Voted to become a part of the Russian Federation

Authorities in Crimea voted to accelerate secession from Ukraine and unanimously backed a law that declared the territory to be part of the Russian Federation on 6 March 2014. The cabinet had decided to take the decision by referendum in 10 days. MPs of Crimea had voted by 78 votes to nil for the territory to leave Ukraine. A referendum on more autonomy for the region due on 30 March 2014 was brought forward to 16 March 2014. Now the residents had the option to unify the Black Sea peninsula with Russia.

Important to note : The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is an autonomous parliamentary republic within Ukraine and is governed by the Constitution of Crimea in accordance with the laws of Ukraine.

China to increase its Military Budget by 12.2%

China announced on 5th March 2014, its biggest hike of 12.2 percent in defence budget. The hike of 12.2 percent will make the Chinese government spend 808.2 billion Yuan or 130 billion US dollar in 2014-15 on defence. This is the biggest increase in three years.

Important to note : India in its Interim Union Budget 2014-15 allocated 224000 crore rupees or 37.15 billion dollar for the national defence. The allocation represents 9.98 percent increase over the 2013-14 defence budget.

Priyadarshi Mohapatra appointed as Managing Director for India and SAARC by Avaya

Avaya has appointed Priyadarshi Mohapatra as its Managing Director (MD) for India and SAARC operations. He will be responsible for providing strategic direction to the India operations, managing India business priorities, and enhancing Avaya's position as a leading business communications company.

About Priyadarshi Mohapatra : Mohapatra had join Avaya from SAP. He had joined SAP in 2008 and had held various leadership positions. Before SAP, Priyadarshi had worked for retail practice for Sun Microsystems in India and previously co-founded, Oyzterbay, a venture capital funded jewellery chain.

Indian-American Scientist Anil Jain developed First 3D model of human fingerprint known as Phantom

On 6th March 2014, Indian-American scientist Anil Jain developed the first 3D model of a human fingerprint called Phantom. The development could boost the accuracy of fingerprint-matching systems and improve security technology.

About Anil Jain : Anil Jain is an alumnus of IIT Kanpur and at present is the lead computer scientist & Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University. He has six US patents on fingerprint matching and has written a number of books on biometrics and fingerprint/facial recognition.