Current Affairs: 3 January 2017

Air Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa Takes Charge As IAF Chief

  • Air Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa took over as the Chief of the Indian Air Force after Former Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha retired from post.
  •  The present Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa developed the country's aerial targeting philosophy against potential adversaries and transformed the concepts of air operations of the Indian Air Force to contemporary war fighting practices. 
  • Dhanoa, who is the 25th chief of the IAF since Independence, was commissioned in the IAF in June 1978 as a fighter pilot 

Mobile app for Indian Merchant Navy officers launched 

  • The Maritime Union of India (MUI), country’s oldest union representing Indian Merchant Navy Officers since 1939, has launched android based mobile app named MUI. 
  • The app was launched in the presence of MPs Kirit Somaiya (Mumbai North-East constituency) and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (Jodhpur) recently, said a senior member of the Union. 
  • The app is aimed at connecting the maritime fraternity across the country to facilitate and enable Indian merchant navy officers to share comments, knowledge and other things related to their profession. 

David R Syiemlieh appointed new UPSC chairman

  • David R Syiemlieh has been appointed today as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) by President Pranab Mukherjee. 
  • Syiemlieh, a UPSC member, has been asked to take over charge on January 4 and will remain the head of the organisation till his retirement on January 21, 2018 or till further orders. 
  • He will take over from Alka Sirohi, a former IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre. 


PSPCL AWARDED BY CBIP

  • Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has been awarded as “Best Performing Power Distribution Utility in Power Sector” by Central Board of Irrigation & Power (CBIP). 
  • The award was presented to Karan Deep Chaudhri, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, PSPSCL by Union Minister Sanjeev Kumar Balyan Minister in Ministry of Water Resources River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, in New Delhi. 
  • PSPCL has been awarded on the basis of outstanding contribution to Punjab by providing reliable 24x7 cost effective electricity to all categories of consumers and over all development through optimization of available resources, bringing transparency and ensuring ease of doing business through information Technology initiatives specially in distribution sector. 

Bank of Baroda ties up with CNX Corporation

  • Public sector lender Bank of BarodaBSE 0.60 % has entered into a partnership with CNX Corporation (CNX) with an objective to provide collateral management services towards the loans against warehouse receipt sanctioned to the farmers through the network of the bank's branches across the country. 
  • CNX is engaged in providing warehouse management services relating to commodities and inventories which include collateral management services, field warehousing arrangements, inventory audit services, storage and preservation services, procurement services, testing and certification services, inspection services, monitoring services. 

Purse seine fishing nets banned across Maharashtra

  • In a bid to safeguard fingerlings, fish species and increase their population, all purse seine nets — large fishing nets used to catch fish in bulk — were banned across Maharashtra from January 1 
  • Purse seine nets can stretch from 500 metres up to 1 kilometres and sometimes fishermen attach two or three such nets and cover an area of 3 kilometres, pulling out a large proportion of fish population. The nets have mesh spanning from 25 mm to 35mm that blocks small fish, fishlings and fish eggs from falling back into the ocean, thereby stopping them from multiplying. 

World famous 11-day gala festival Bargarh Dhanua Jatra begins

  • Odisha’s World famous 11-day gala festival Bargarh Dhanua Jatra is all set to begin on 2 January 2017. All rituals were performed before Goddess Samaleswari, the presiding deity of the event. 
  • Dhanu Jatra is an annual drama-based open air theatrical performance celebrated in a 6 km radius in and around Bargarh municipality.
  •  It is considered to be the world’s largest open air theatrical festival. 

Naidu launches Arogya Raksha for a healthy AP

  • Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu launched a new health scheme christened Arogya Raksha offering medical insurance to those who were not covered under any of the existing health schemes of the state government.
  •  It was the first file signed by the Chief Minister in the new year. 
  • To avail of the benefits of Arogya Raksha, all one needs to do is pay `100 per month per head. The health insurance cover is offered up to `2 lakh and free treatment can be had for 1,044 listed health ailments in any of the 432 corporate hospitals and 80 government hospitals in the state. 
  • One can register for the scheme at any of the Mee Seva centres till February 28.