Daily Current Affairs for Competitive Exams; December 13, 2016

Union Government to launch ‘Vanjeevan’ for tribal livelihood

The Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs is going to launch “Vanjeevan”, the National Resource Centre (NRC) for Tribal Livelihood in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. It will be launched in collaboration with UNDP and National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSTFDC).

• In the first phase, the programme will identify problems in livelihood in select districts with low Human Development Index (HDI), and the local resources, keeping in view the existing skill level.
• It will be implemented in Assam, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha and Telangana in the first phase.
• In the second phase the programme will be implemented in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya and Tripura. 

Pankaj Advani won World Billiards title in Bengaluru

• India’s ace cueist Pankaj Advani on December 12, 2016, won the World Billiards title. To win the title, he defeated Peter Gilchrist of Singapore 6-3 in the summit clash held in Bengaluru. 
• In early 2016, Advani won the Asian 6-Red snooker title in May and a bronze medal at the IBSF World snooker championship in December. Pankaj Advani is the only player in the world to win world titles in all formats of snooker and billiards. So far, he won 16 titles in both the formats.

Avail 0.75% discount for Cashless Refuelling: IOCL

• The Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) on December 12, 2016,  announced that the consumers can now avail a discount of 0.75 percent on petrol and diesel fuel purchases, if the payment is made using digital means.
• The 0.75 percent discount on payments made using credit/debit cards, e-wallets or mobile wallets will be converted into a rebate of 49 paisa per litre on petrol and 41 paisa per litre on diesel. The discount will be credited to customer's account by way of cash back within maximum three working days of the transaction.
• Nearly 4.5 crore consumers buy petrol or diesel every day and collectively contribute around Rs 1800 crore in transactions. Usually, only 20 percent of these transactions are digital, but in November, these cashless transactions rose to 40 percent due to the cash crunch.

ISRO signs deal with consortium of six companies to build satellite privately

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in December 2016 signed an agreement with a consortium of six companies to deliver India's first industry-built satellite by late 2017.

Highlights of the agreement

• It includes assembly, integration and testing (AIT) of two spare navigation satellites in a row in around 18 months.
• The consortium is led by Alpha Design Technologies P Ltd, a defence manufacturing contractor.
• The others in the consortium are Newtech Solutions, Aidin Technologies and DCX Cables of Bengaluru, Vinyas Technologies of Mysuru and Avantel Systems of Hyderabad.
• The development work will start around January 2017 and the first satellite will be out in around nine months.

Scientists create Nanoceramic material for safer nuclear reactors

• A team of scientists from the United States have created a Nanoceramic material that can be used to produce safer and economical nuclear reactors. The team included Fabio Di Fonzo and Kumar Sridharan and others.
• The research was published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports in September 2016 with the title Radiation endurance in Al2O3 nanoceramics.

Highlights of the Nanoceramic material

This new material is made of aluminium oxide nanoceramic coating.  It can withstand high temperatures and the harsh effects of radiation. Moreover, it also becomes tougher under radiation. It can be used in next-generation nuclear reactors that will operate at higher temperatures and radiation fields to produce more energy efficiently and economically.