Daily Current Affairs for Competitive Exams: January 5, 2017

ISRO to launch a record 103 satellites in one go

The Indian Space and Research Organisation ( ISRO) will launch a record 103 satellites in one go using its workhorse PSLV-C37 in the first week of February, while Prime Minister's pet project South Asian satellite project will take off in March. As many as 100 of the satellites set for launch in February belong to foreign nations, including the US and Germany.

Highlights:

• The space agency had earlier planned a launch of 83 satellites in the last week of January, of which 80 were foreign ones. But with the addition of 20 more foreign satellites, the launch was delayed by a week and will now take place in first week of February.
• The launch will be a major feat in the country's space history as no exercise on this scale has ever been attempted before.
• Last year, ISRO launched 22 satellites at a go and this launch will have almost five times the number of crafts.
• The South Asian satellite will be a part of GSAT-9, which will be launched in March this year, said M Nageshwara Rao, Associate Director of ISRO.
• The communication satellite was to be launched in December 2016, but was slightly delayed as some other satellites are to be launched before that.
• Envisaged as a gift to its neighbours, the project, earlier known as SAARC satellite, faced stiff resistance from Pakistan.
• The neighbouring country wanted it to be launched under the aegis of the South Asian regional forum.
• Apart from India, the satellite will benefit also Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.

Justice J S. Khehar appointed as the new CJI

Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar was sworn in as the Chief Justice of India (CJI) on January 4, 2017. Khehar was administered the oath of office by President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. He succeeded Justice Tirath Singh Thakur. Khehar is the 44th CJI and also the first Sikh to hold the apex office. He would have a tenure of little over seven months. 

Hikghlights:

• He was the author of the judgment by a five-judge constitution bench that held “unconstitutional” the Constitution’s 99th amendment paving way for the National Judicial Appointment Commission and the National Judicial Appointment Commission Act, 2014.
• He is known for his unflinching stand that had many rough brushes within the Judicial establishment itself, even if it meant impeachment of a colleague. In 2010, as the Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court, Justice Khehar was appointed a member of the three jurists committee, set up to examine corruption charges against Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court, P D Dinakaran, who was facing impeachment proceedings. Before the proceedings could get over, Justice Dinakaran had resigned from his post.
• Later, as Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court, Justice Khehar confronted a sitting HC judge accused of sexual harassment by a lady civil judge, resulting in his resignation as well.

Scientists discover mesentery, a new human organ in digestive system

Scientists from Ireland have claimed discovery of a new human organ named as mesentery, which exists in the digestive system. It will be human body’s 79th organ. Mesentery connects the intestine to the abdomen. The organ was previously thought to consist of fragmented and disparate structures.

• Mesentery is a fold of the peritoneum which attaches the stomach, small intestine, pancreas, spleen,and other organs to the posterior wall of the abdomen.
• Its discovery will help in better understanding and further scientific study of the organ which could lead to less invasive surgeries, fewer complications, faster patient recovery and lower overall costs.