Current Affairs 8th April 2017

Current Affairs 8th April 2017 - Important Points

• 40-year-old North Koel Irrigation project revived by - Union government 
• Youngest United Nations Messenger of Peace - Malala
• Study on smoking shows - one in 10 deaths worldwide
• Atmosphere around Earth detected by -Scientists
• Over USD 2 billion defense deals signed between - India and Israel
• 3-day National Children’s Film Festival inaugurated by - Venkaiah Naidu 

Current Affairs 8th April 2017 - Details

40-year-old North Koel Irrigation project revived by - Union government 

 The Union government has decided to restart the North Koel Irrigation project that was planned nearly 40 years ago. The project will address the water requirements in Bihar and Jharkhand. The Union Minister for Water Resources, Uma Bhartiannouned during the launch of management information system (MIS) that will monitor the projects undertaken under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKYS).

Key Highlights

• According to the Union Minister, the project is expected to irrigate almost  1 lakh hectares of land in both the states combined.
• Estimated to cost for the completion of project is around Rs 1600 Cr.
• Jharkhand is the most backward state from irrigation point of view and PM Narendra Modi has initiated the revival of this project to remove poverty and backwardness of the common people in the state.
• The Centre would be financing about Rs 1000 crore, out of the total cost, as stated by K Vohra, one of the main commissioners of the Jharkhand project

Youngest United Nations Messenger of Peace - Malala

The youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner, Malala Yousafzai will be appointed as the youngest United Nations Messenger of Peace on 10th April 2017. The appointment would be carried out by the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Yousafzai’s new role will include helping in the promotion of girl’s education globally.

Interesting Highlights

• At the age of 16, the Pakistani activist was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman, to punish her for defying the group’s ban and advocating for female education. 
• This incident made her fight for human rights and for girls to go to school, grow into an international movement.
• Yousafzai became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2014.
• She was also invited by Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau to address the country’s Parliament on 12th April 2017, which made her the youngest person to get the opportunity. 
• She is also receiving her honorary Canadian citizenship at the occasion, which was bestowed upon her in 2014.

Study on smoking shows - one in 10 deaths worldwide

The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) report was published in medical journal "The Lancet" in April 2017. The report indicates that smoking caused one in ten deaths worldwide in 2015. It also stated that half of these deaths occurred in just four countries - China, India, the United States and Russia.

Key Highlights 

• The 10 countries with the largest number of smokers in 2015 were China, India, Indonesia, U.S., Russia, Bangladesh, Japan, Brazil, Germany and the Philippines.
• In 2015, about 6.4 million deaths were caused by smoking worldwide and 52.2 percent of them took place in China, India, U.S. and Russia.
• China, India, and Indonesia, the three leading countries with male smokers, accounted for 51.4 percent of the world’s male smokers in 2015.
• India has 11.2 per cent of the world’s total smokers.
• Deaths due to smoking increased by 4.7 percent in 2015 from the figures in 1990.
• Smoking was rated as a greater burden on health, moving from the third to the second highest cause of disability.

Atmosphere around Earth detected by -Scientists

Scientists have detected atmosphere around an Earth-like planet beyond our solar system for the first time. The planet, GJ 1132b, which orbits the dwarf star GJ 1132, is reported to be 39 light years away from Earth. The discovery is an important step towards discovering life beyond Earth. The study was published in the Astrophysical Journal on 31st March 2017.

Important Highlights 

• The planet is reported to have a radius of about 1.4 times that of the Earth and mass of about 1.6 times of the Earth mass. 
• Considering its rocky world with a high surface temperature, the researchers initially called the planet a potential Venus twin. 
• The recent discovery shows that the planet also has a thick atmosphere.
• Though Venus has a thick atmosphere as well, but the atmosphere of the two planets may be made up of different compositions. 
• While Earth's atmosphere is mostly made up of nitrogen with a large oxygen component and Venus is a thick veil of carbon dioxide.
• According to the researchers, atmosphere of the new planet is likely to be rich in water vapour or methane.

Over USD 2 billion defense deals signed between - India and Israel

Israel signed about USD two billion deal with India to supply advanced missile defence systems, bolstering bilateral military ties on 7th April 2017.

Interesting Highlights

• In a statement, the CEO of the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Joseph Weiss stated that, it will provide advanced medium-range surface-to-air missile systems (MRSAM) to the Indian Army.
• He also added that it would also supply additional long-range air and missile defense systems (LRSAM) for the first locally produced Indian aircraft carrier.
• The current contracts represent an enormous expression of confidence by the Indian Government in IAI's capabilities and advanced technologies, which are being developed with our local partners as part of the Indian Government’s Make in India’ policy.
• MRSAM's current version is operational with the Indian Air Force, Indian Navy and Israel Defense Forces (IDF). 
• The system includes an advanced phase-array radar, command and control, mobile launchers and missiles with advanced RF seekers.

3-day National Children’s Film Festival inaugurated by - Venkaiah Naidu 

The three-day National Children’s Film Festival (NCFF) was inaugurated by the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Urban Development, M Venkaiah Naidu in Vishakhapatnam on 7th April 2017. The festival, termed as the largest film festival for children in the country, is being jointly organised by the Children’s Film Society, India (CFSI) and the state government of Andhra Pradesh on 7th April 2017.

Important Highlights

• The main objective of the festival is to expose the children to quality cinema and introduce them to novel elements beyond films. 
• It is the biggest film festival for children in the country giving the audience quality and wholesome entertainment. 
• The films screening  will take place at the Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority’s Cinema theatre.
• The state government will be providing 12 screens for the screening and three shows will be held at each screen daily. 
• In total, 24 films will be screened and the event is expected to witness participation of over 40000 students.
• While the screening opened with the film ‘Shanu- The Optimist’ directed by KNT Sastry, produced by CFSI in 2016,  many other popular CFSI films including Akkineni Kutumba Rao’s  ‘Amulyam’, ‘Bandu Boxer’, ‘Bhago Bhoot’, ‘Chota Sipahi’ will also be shown.