Daily Current Affairs – 16th August 2016
1) Padma Shri Noted Punjabi writer Gurdial Singh passes away.
Noted Punjabi writer and novelist Gurdial Singh passed away in Bathinda due to body illness.He was 83.
Gurdial Singh contributed towards the promotion of Punjabi language, literature and culture. One of his prominent works was ‘Marhi da Deeva’.
His first book was ‘Gangsar da Shahid’, a historical writing. He wrote his first story ‘Bhaganwale’ in 1957 and it was published in ‘Panj Dariya’.
He was awarded Padma Shri in 1998, Jnanpith in 1999, Sahitya Akademi Award, Nanak Singh Novelist Award (1975), Soviet Nehru Award (1986), an award from Punjabi Sahitya Akademi, Bhasha Vibhag among others.
He is the second punjabi writer after Amrita Pritam to receive the Jnanpith Award.
2) China launches world’s first quantum science satellite.
China has launched the world’s first satellite dedicated to testing the fundamentals of quantum communication in space.
The Mission was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northern China with the cost of $100m.
About Quantum Science Satellite:-
The satellite, dubbed Quantum Science Satellite, is designed to develop a ‘Hack-Proof‘ communications system in this age of global electronic surveillance and cyber attacks by transmitting uncrackable encryption keys from space to the ground.
The QUESS satellite will help China perform unprecedented levels of experiments in quantum communication by sending entangled photons from the satellite to relay stations in China and Europe.
The QUESS satellite will also test the possibilities of communication via quantum ‘teleportation,’ using an entangled pair of photons.
The payloads, designed to operate for two years, were developed by the National Space Science Center in Beijing under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
3) Bihar become the second state to ratify the Constitution (122nd) Amendment Bill for Goods and Services Tax (GST),
After Assam, Bihar will become the second state to unanimously passed the bill in its legislative assembly.
Thus Bihar became the first non-NDA state to ratify the Constitution Amendment Bill on GST.
The Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, 2014 on GST has already been passed by Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
GST Bill, has been seen as single biggest tax reform after Independence, needs to be ratified by at least 15 state legislatures out of a total of 29 before the President notify GST Council which will decide new tax rate and other issues.
Other states that have announced plans to hold a special assembly session include Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
4) Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the First National Conference of Investigating Agencies.
The two-day conference is being organised by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) in coordination with the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The conference offers sessions by investigation experts of national repute on themes of Combating Economic and Organized crime, Digital and Technology driven crime, Terrorist Crime Investigation, Legal issue relating to Investigation and Ideas from States: Sharing good practices.
The conference envisages to provide an annual national platform to all the officers of law enforcement agencies engaged in investigation tasks with the objective to discuss the latest laws and judgments.
5) First SAARC Young Parliamentarians Conference on Peace and Harmony for Development – Held in Islamabad, PAKISTAN.
The first SAARC Young Parliamentarians Conference will be held on August 15-17, 2016 in Islamabad to offer young parliamentarians’ narrative as a prelude to the 19th SAARC Summit.
Key Points:-
Parlimentarian delegates form 8 SAARC countries are participating in it.
Indian delegation is headed by MP of Lok Sabha Kalikesh Narayan.
This conference was hosted by the Pakistan National Assembly and was inaugurated by National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.
Aim of the conference is to conference is to build bridges between the future leaders of South Asia on a platform that supports continued engagement and cooperation.
6) Spiritual guru Pramukh Swami Maharaj passes away in Sarangpur,Gujrat.
Swami Maharaj, spiritual guru and head of Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) of Swaminarayan sect, passed away at Sarangpur in Gujarat’s Botad district due to illness.
He was 95.
For the last two years, old age and frail health had restricted Pramukh Swami to remain within the BAPS Swaminarayan temple at Sarangpur.
About Pramukh Swami Maharaj:-
Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the fifth spiritual successor of BAPS, was born as Shantilal Patel at Chansad village in Vadodara on December 7, 1921.
He was just 28 when he was appointed as BAPS pramukh (president).
He built more than 1100 Hindu temples, including the Swaminarayan Akshardham temples in New Delhi and Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
In 2000, he addressed the Millennium World Peace Summit of Spiritual Leaders at the United Nations and in 2004.
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