Daily Current Affairs for Competitive Exams: September 22, 2016

Union Cabinet approves Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Bill, 2016

The Union Cabinet has given its approval to enact the Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Bill 2016. The proposal to enact this bill was forwarded by the Union Ministry of Shipping in order to repeal five archaic admiralty statutes. Admiralty jurisdiction is related to the powers of the High Courts with respect to the claims associated with transport by sea and navigable waterways. 

• The Bill consolidates the existing laws relating to admiralty proceedings on maritime claims, admiralty jurisdiction of courts, arrest of vessels and related issues. This legislative proposal will also fulfil a long-standing demand of the maritime legal fraternity. It also repeals five obsolete British statues on admiralty jurisdiction in civil matters.
• They are (i) Admiralty Court Act, 1840 (ii) Admiralty Court Act, 1861, (iii) Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act, 1890, (iv) Colonial Courts of Admiralty (India) Act, 1891, and (v) Provisions of the Letters Patent, 1865, Salient Features of Admirability Bill, 2016 Confers admiralty jurisdiction on High Courts located in coastal states of India, thus extending it upto territorial waters. 
• It applies to every vessel irrespective of place of domicile or residence of owner. It does not apply to naval auxiliary, warships and vessels used for non-commercial purposes.
• Inland vessels and vessels under construction are excluded from its application. But it empowers the Union Government to make it applicable to these vessels also by a notification.
• It lists the jurisdiction for adjudicating on a set of maritime claims. A vessel can be arrested in certain circumstances in order to ensure security against a maritime claim.

MS Dhoni named captain of India's all time Test XI by Wisden

Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the third week of September 2016 was named the captain of the all-time India Test XI chosen by cricket magazine Wisden. The other prominent players in the team are Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag as the openers, followed by Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, all rounder Kapil Dev and Dhoni.

Veteran Indian all-rounder Kapil Dev along with Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan have been named as pacers, while legendary Bishen Singh Bedi, Harbhajan Singh and Team India coach Anil Kumble are the spinners. Azharuddin has been named as the 12th man.

• Wisden is one of the most reputed cricket magazines in the world, announced the team to mark India's 500th Test match starting on 22 September 2016 against New Zealand at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur.
• Wisden Test XI: Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Kapil Dev, MS Dhoni (captain, wicketkeeper), Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan, Bishan Singh Bedi, Mohammad Azharuddin (12th man).

Union Cabinet approves submarine optical fibre cable connectivity with Andaman & Nicobar Islands

The Union Cabinet on September  21, 2016 approved the provision of a direct communication link through a dedicated submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) between Mainland (Chennai) and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The project to be completed by December 2018 will connect the mainland Chennai with Port Blair & five other islands viz. Little Andaman, Car Nicobar, Havelock, Kamorta and Great Nicobar.

• The estimated cost for development of the project is 1102.38 crore rupees including operational expenses for 5 years.
• It will equip Andaman & Nicobar Islands with appropriate bandwidth and telecom connectivity for implementation of e-Governance initiatives and establishment of enterprises & e-commerce facilities.
• It will also enable the provision of adequate support to educational institutes for knowledge sharing, availability of job opportunities and fulfill the vision of Digital India.

MIT develops a spectroscopic technique to detect Martian life

Scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) US, have developed a spectroscopic technique that would help the 2020 Mars Rover to non-invasively identify sediments that are relatively unaltered, and maintain much of their original composition.

Such pristine samples will allow scientists to identify the signs of former life, if they existed, on the red planet.

The new technique is based on an improved way of interpreting the results of Raman spectroscopy, a common, non-destructive process used by geologists to identify the chemical composition of ancient rocks.

• 2020 Mars Rover

NASA has plans to launch a new Mars rover that will be tasked to probe the region on the planet believed to hold remnants of ancient microbial life. The rover will collect samples of rocks and soil, and store them on the Martian surface.

The collected samples would be returned to Earth sometime in the distant future so that scientists can meticulously analyze the samples for signs of present or former extraterrestrial life.