Daily News

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ISRO working on green propellent

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is developing an environment ­friendly propellant to power satellites and spacecraft.

To replace the conventional hydrazine rocket fuel, a highly toxic and carcinogenic chemical, with a greener propellant for future missions

Initial tests are performed by the research team at the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) which have shown promising results in the formulation and associated tests of a propellant blend based on hydroxylammonium nitrate (HAN).

Did you Know

The ISRO, formed in 1969 is the space agency of the Government of India headquartered in Bangalore. Its vision is to "harness space technology for national development while pursuing space science research and planetary exploration.

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Centre proposes to link Godavari, Cauvery

The Centre has proposed the linking of Godavari and Cauvery rivers to facilitate optimum utilisation of surplus water going waste into the sea.

Under the proposed project, the surplus water would pass through Telangana and Andhra Pradesh before reaching the Mayanur barrage across the Cauvery in Karur district. This will subsequently help Tamil Nadu to get as much as 125 tmc of water and will benefit the farming community immensely.

Did you Know

Godavari is India's second longest river after the Ganga & Cauvery is the third largest river after Godavari and Krishna in South India.

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China’s first indigenous aircraft carrier begins sea trial

China’s first domestically manufactured aircraft carrier started sea trials from a port in Northeastern China. The carrier, known as “Type 001A” was set out for the trials.

China’s sole operational aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, is a repurposed Soviet ship bought from Ukraine, which went into service in 2012.

The possession of a home­grown aircraft carrier has eventually placed China among the few military powers with such vessels, including the United States, Russia, and Britain.

Did you Know

An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft.

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Barclays seeks patents around e-currency tech

Barclays, a British multinational investment bank and financial services company has filed two patent applications relating to transfer of digital currency and data storage with the Indian Patent Office.

Titled ‘secure digital data operations’ for transferring digital currency from a payer to the recipient and a separate patent titled ‘data validation and storage’ and the abstract pointed to ‘cryptographically signing data corresponding with the data describing the first entity using at least a private key of the second entity’.

Did you Know

E-Currency technology is meant to enable security mechanisms in digital currency/digital money/electronic currency/electronic money transaction.

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Paytm targeting the bank transfers of ₹60,000 crore per month

One97 Communications, owner of Paytm brand, is targeting the processing of bank transfers of ₹60,000 crore per month by end 2018.

The new ‘My Payments’ feature will be added to the app which would enable Paytm users to make recurring, high-value payments in an instant beside other monthly payments.

Using the Paytm app, bank transfers can be done from any bank account to any other bank account, making it easier for customers to make payments at 0% charge.

Bank transfers can be used in instances like house rent, business payments, fees and salaries among others.

Did you Know

Paytm is an Indian e-commerce payment system and digital wallet company, founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma.

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Historian Purandare given ₹5 crores for Shivaji project

The Centre has given a cheque for ₹5 crores to nonagenarian right-wing historian Babasaheb Purandare for his Shivshrushti project proposed to come up in the city’s Bavdhan.

The project proposes a thematic exhibition on the life of Shivaji, replete with models of his forts and scenes from his life.

Purandare is a controversial figure as his opponents claim that his writings on Maratha warrior Shivaji have distorted history by casting aspersions on the latter's parentage.

Did you Know

Larson and Turbo (L&T) are set to execute the ambitious Shivaji Memorial project proposed to be built in the Arabian Sea.

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DNA data banks to be set up to store DNA profiles

According to a draft bill on DNA technology finalised by the Law Ministry DNA data banks will be set up at the national and state level to store profiles national and regional DNA data banks for maintaining a national database for identification of victims, accused, suspects, undertrials, missing persons and unidentified human remains.

The draft bill also stated that all DNA data including DNA profiles, DNA samples, and records, will only be used for identification of the person and not for any other purpose.

Did you Know

DNA banking is the secure, long-term storage of an individual's genetic material. DNA is most commonly extracted from blood.

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Gagan Narang clinches gold at the International Shooting Championship

Indian ace shooter Gagan Narang bagged the gold in men’s air rifle in the International Shooting Championship on Sunday. He shot 249.6 in the final to beat Swede Marcus Madsen by two points. Gagan had qualified fourth place with 622.4.

Did you Know

Gagan Narang is an Air rifle shooter. He was the first Indian to qualify for the London Olympics and won the Bronze Medal in the Men's 10 m Air Rifle there.

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Reliance Jio files complaint against Bharti Airtel

Reliance Jio has filed a complaint to the department of telecommunications (DoT) alleging that Airtel is violating the government’s license norms and posing a threat to national security by not setting up within India certain network infrastructure that it uses to sell Apple Watch Series 3.

Bharti Airtel on 24th April announced a partnership with Apple for the India launch of the Apple Watch Series 3. This comes enabled with built-in cellular through an electronic SIM which will be used with customer’s existing Airtel number.

Did you Know

Jio is an Indian mobile network operator. Owned by Reliance Industries and headquartered in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra.

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Tata Power plans $5 billion push to boost renewable capacity

Tata Power Co., one of India’s largest private power utilities, has planned to invest as much as $5 billion to ramp up its renewable capacity fourfold, which will result in the increase of its clean-energy capacity to 12,000 megawatts by 2028.

The utility is expected to soon break even on its flagship 4,000-megawatt Mundra power plan of Gujarat.

Smart metering, Home automation services, and power transmission, between cities and between states, are another focus area for the company.

Did you Know

As per recent reports, the Indian electricity sector produces energy from renewable sources (excluding large hydro) which accounted for 20% of the total installed power capacity (69.02 GW).

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WPI inflation rises to 3.18% in April on costlier fuel, fruits

According to data released by the government, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation shot up to 3.18% in April on increasing prices of petrol and diesel as well as fruits and vegetables.

Inflation in ‘fuel and power’ basket rose sharply to 7.85% in April from 4.70% in March as prices of domestic fuel increased in line with rising global crude oil rates. Inflation in fruits was in double digits at 19.47% in April, up from 9.26% in the previous month.

Did you Know

The Wholesale price index is an index that measures and tracks the changes in the price of goods in the stages before the retail level.