Weekly Current Affairs (27th May to 2nd June, 2013) NATIONAL 1.

Tiger reserve status for Rajaji Park The Union government has given the nod to a proposal to grant the Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand the status of a tiger reserve. It will be the second tiger reserve in the State after the Corbett National Park. Avinash Chander, new DRDO chief Avinash Chander, the man behind Agni series of missiles, was on Friday appointed as the new Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister and Director-General of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). He will also hold the post of Secretary, Department of Defence Research and Development. He succeeds V. K. Saraswat.

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INTERNATIONAL 1. India retains chairmanship of IRSG India has retained the chairmanship of the Singapore-based intergovernmental organisation, International Rubber Study Group (IRSG). According to a press note from the Rubber Board, board chairman and head of the Indian delegation to the IRSG Sheela Thomas would officiate as the chairman of the IRSG representing India for the next two years. India had been holding the chairmanship since 2011. 46th assembly India was elected at the 46th assembly of nations of the IRSG held from May 20 to 24. The EU was elected the vice-chairman for the next two years. China imposes anti-dumping duties on pyridine from India Pyridine is an organic compound used as an important raw material and solvant in the production of pesticides,drugsand other chemicals India is said to be pyridine's largest exporter. India, Japan to speed up efforts on civil n-deal According to this deal Japan exports nuclear reactor to India and to bolser maritime security coorperation. further strengthen strategic ties and deepen economic corporation. Establish a joint working group to explore the modality for the cooperation on the US-2 amphibian aircraft. China to give $448 million for Neelum-Jhelum project in PoK China gave moneny for neelum-jhelum hydropower project, which had slowed work due to a financial crunch. International bodies had refused to fund the 969-MW project, being built on Neelum river in PoK, as it is located on disputed region of Kashmir.

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Weekly Current Affairs (27th May to 2nd June, 2013) ECONOMY 1. CSO:Economic Growth declined to a low of 5 Percent for the 2012-13 Fiscal According to data released by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) on 31 May 2013, economic growth slowed to 4.8 per cent in the January-March quarter and fell to a decade's low of 5 per cent for the entire 2012-13 fiscal due to poor performance of farm, manufacturing and mining sectors. The economic growth or gross domestic product (GDP) had expanded by 5.1 per cent in January-March quarter of 2012-13.The Indian economy had grown by 5.4 per cent, 5.2 per cent and 4.7 per cent in the first, second and third quarters, respectively, of 2012-13. The country had clocked 6.2 per cent growth in 2011-12 fiscal. In January-March quarter of 2012-13, manufacturing sector grew marginally by 2.6 per cent, against 0.1 per cent growth in the same period of the earlier fiscal. During 2012-13, the sector grew by a meagre one per cent compared to 2.7 per cent in the previous fiscal. GDP growth slides to 4.8 % in Q4 On expected lines for the government, though disappointing for India Inc., the countrys GDP (gross domestic product) growth rate slid to 4.8 per cent in the fourth quarter (January-March) on account of dismal shows by the three major sectors agriculture, manufacturing and mining to end the entire 2012-13 fiscal year at the decades lowest expansion at 5 per cent. Having notched up growth rates of 5.4 per cent in the first and 5.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2012-13, the 4.8 per cent increase in the fourth quarter, which though a tad higher than the 4.7 per cent growth in the third quarter, was significantly lower than the 5.1 per cent expansion achieved in the January-March quarter of 2011-12 when GDP growth for the entire financial year was 6.2 per cent.

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PERSONS 1. Avinash Chander appointed as the New chief of Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) Avinash Chander, the principal architect of Indias long-range missile programmes on 31 May 2013 appointed Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) chief and scientific advisor to defence minister. Avinash Chander, will succeed V.K. Saraswat. He is an eminent missile scientist, who is considered the chief architect of the long-range Agni ballistic missile programme. As the Director-General of DRDO, Chander is supposed to hold the posts of Scientific Advisor to the Raksha Mantri (SA to RM); and Secretary, Defence R&D. He was also awarded with Padma Shri in 2013. Peter Higgs, Francois Englert received Award for God Particle Discovery The Asturias Foundation announced on 29 May 2013 that Physicist Peter Higgs and Francois Englert and the European organization for Nuclear Research won the 2013 Prince of Asturias

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Weekly Current Affairs (27th May to 2nd June, 2013) Award for Technical and Scientific Research in recognition of their work establishing the existence of the so-called God particle. Higgs and Englert - along with the late Robert Brout - formulated in 1964 the existence of a subatomic particle that came to be known as the Higgs boson. But it was only in 2012 that the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, was able to confirm the existence of this particle through experiments conducted with the Large Hadron Collider. This finding, which has been called the greatest discovery in the history of the understanding of Nature, enables a glimpse at what happened immediately after the Big Bang. 3. Vyas Samman to Narendra Kohli and Ramdarash Mishra Noted Hindi writers Prof. Ramdarash Mishra and Dr. Narendra Kohli were honored with the Vyas Samman 2011 and 2012 respectively, for their outstanding contribution to Hindi literature. Mishra (89) was awarded for his collections of poems Aam ke patte. Kohli (73) was honored for his Na Bhooto Na Bhavishyati, a historical novel depicting Swami Vivekananda and the pursuit of the sanyasi for national unity. About Vyas Samman: It is an annual award established by the KK Birla Foundation is given to extraordinary Hindi literary works of an Indian citizen published during the last 10 years and could belong to any genre of literary writing like poetry, plays, novels, short stories, critiques etc. The award carries a citation, a plaque and Rs. 2.5 lakh prize.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 1. Astronomers Revealed That Earth Was In Direct Line of Fatal Gamma-Ray Burst Astronomers revealed the recent potential risk of Earth being hit by fatal gamma-ray burst from the star called Wolf-Rayet star WR 104, which is around 8000 light years away. Astronomers revealed that when the gamma rays would hit Earth, it would devastate around one quarter of atmospheric ozone of the Earth. Wolf-Rayet star WR 104 would become supernova on any time and this would eventually lead to generation of gamma rays which could reach Earth any time. Astronomer Grant Hill explained that this supernova would explode from tomorrow to 500000 years from today itself. The astronomer also explained that gamma-ray burst as well as optical photons from this supernova could reach the surface of Earth simultaneously. The revelation about gamma-ray burst from WR 104 was discovered by the University of Sydney astronomer Peter Tuthill in 1998. But Astronomer Grant Hill explained that this burst was dependent on rotation of the star. On looking at the WR 104 as well as its pinwheel, it was found that this is in combat with an inclination of zero. This meant that the Earth was in line of gamma rays from the star. The gamma ray burst from this star would lead to a 50 percent increase in the UVB radiation.

Weekly Current Affairs (27th May to 2nd June, 2013) 2. Iinduced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSC) Scientists at the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, China have claimed that they have improved the efficiency of Shinya Yamanakas invention of producing induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSC) which won Nobel Prize in Medicine. What are iPSCs and how they are produced? iPSCs are body (somatic) cells which have been reprogrammed to function like embryonic stem cells, thereby sidestepping the controversial use of killing the embryos while harvesting the stem cells. This is done by introducing four regulatory factors (pieces of DNA) into the cells. What are the four regulatory factors? The four regulatory factors which are also called Yamanakas factors are Oct4, Klf4, c-Myc and Sox2. These factors when when introduced in somatic cells activate or repress target genes. Expressed together they can, at low- frequency, convert cells to a relatively stable state of gene-expression similar to that seen in embryonic stem cells. Magnetar; NASAs observatory finds Magnetar SGR 0418 Scientists at NASA have discovered exotic neutron star called Magnetar named SGR 0418 by using Chandra X-ray Observatory and other satellites. What are Magnetars? Magnetar are the dense remains of dead stars that erupt sporadically with bursts of high-energy radiation. It is a type of neutron star with an extremely powerful magnetic field (ten to a thousand times stronger than for the average neutron star), the decay of which powers the emission of high-energy electromagnetic radiation, particularly X-rays and gamma rays. Because the only plausible source for the energy emitted in these outbursts is the magnetic energy stored in the star, these objects are called magnetars. What is Neutron Star and how does it form? A neutron star is a type of stellar remnant that can result from the gravitational collapse of a massive star during a Type II, Type Ib or Type Ic supernova event. Such stars are composed almost entirely of neutrons, which are subatomic particles without net electrical charge and with slightly larger mass than protons. When a massive star runs out of fuel, its core collapses to form a neutron star, an ultra-dense object about 16 to 24 kilometres wide. The gravitational energy released in this process blows the outer layers away in a supernova explosion and leaves the neutron star behind. 4. ISRO unveils hub for its navigation fleet The brand new ISRO Navigation Centre (INC) at the Indian Deep Space Network will be the nerve centre of the countrys forthcoming navigational satellite constellation, ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan said after the centre was opened on May 28, 2013.

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Weekly Current Affairs (27th May to 2nd June, 2013) Located at ISROs saucer-like Byalalu sprawl some 40 km from Bangalore, the centre was ceremonially launched by Union Minister of State in the Prime Ministers Office V. Narayanasamy The centre will come alive in time to handle the countrys first regional navigational satellite, R1A, gets launched at midnight on June 12. The satellite will be launched on the PSLV vehicle from Sriharikota. 6 more spacecraft Six more navigational spacecraft (named R1B, R1C and so on) will follow in the next three years to form the IRNSS constellation, which is termed Indias own regional GPS. These satellites will give data on the position, navigation and time of persons or objects to a range of users. INC houses a high stability atomic clock to keep precise time and reference, pool and synthesize navigational messages and coordinate 21 ground stations across the country. The navigation fleet in space will give positional accuracy of within 10 meters. Its users will be from aerospace, military, all transport systems, geo information of the Survey of India and to an extent for personal mobility. 5. Rounded pebbles on Mars point to water flow For the first time ever, scientists have been able to collect unequivocal evidence that water had once flowed on Mars some three billion years ago. Observations by NASAs Mars rover Curiosity have revealed pebble-rich rock exposures that are so very characteristic of a riverbed. The round-shaped pebbles embedded in a matrix of coarse-grained sand are a telltale sign of fluvial transportation. Importantly, pebbles with a long axis of 10-40 mm can be rounded only when transported by river. The pebbles have smooth, rounded perimeter and an equant to tabular shape. Based on the roundness indices, pebbles have been classified as subrounded or rounded.