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National Current Affairs December 4th Week 2017.
Category : National Current Affairs
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 1. Odisha Environment Congress 2017 kicked off to foster Sustainable River Basin Management

Odisha Environment Congress 2017 kicked off with an aim to foster ‘Sustainable River Basin Management’. OEC-2017 kicked off at Regional Museum of Natural History in Odisha. Inaugurating the event, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said, “I am delighted to be here to inaugurate the Odisha environment Congress 2017 that is poised to deliberate on Sustainable River Basin Management. I hope that the issues pertaining to the theme will reach larger public domain, especially the young masses”.
 
Rivers are integrally involved with the grown and development of human civilization. It is thus the responsibility of society to ensure that the rivers live in good health and continue to serve humanity in a sustainable manner. The gluttony for water, territorial approach to ownership over river water and utter disregard to environmental needs of the river system have most often led to water conflict.
“Unless all riparian State respect the basic philosophy and principles of equitable sharing of river water with due regard to its health and follow the territorial approach, such conflicts are bound to magnify in future and lead to disharmony in the country. Such attempts must be addressed by following judicious approach of the needs of each of the stake-holders including that of the river. None of the stake-holders be allowed to shy away from their mandated responsibilities towards healthy river system,” he added.
My government has launched several programmes for water conservation, rain water harvesting and ground water recharge in a sustainable manner, CM Naveen said.
 
Further said that “We have started an ambitious plantation programme for plantation of two crore trees within a radius of one kilometer along both the sides of Mahanadi and other major rivers of the State for water and soil conservation.”
 
“An integrated approach to river basin management is needed with focus on water-use-efficiency in both agricultural as well as industry. This may save adequate water for the river to serve itself. Conscious efforts by all to reduce pollution load on the river system would be beneficial to both human society as well as to the nature,” he stressed.
 
I expect that Odisha Environment Congress 2017 will provide implementable solutions for the best management of our water resources to meet the future needs of the people of Odisha. I wish this Environment Congress all success, the CM concluded.
 
2. India and Myanmar Ink MoU for Development of Rakhine State
 
India and Myanmar today inked an agreement on restoration of normalcy and development of the Rakhine State, from where thousands of Rohingya Muslims recently fled following incidents of violence against the community.
 
Signed between Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and Myanmar Deputy Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement U Soe Aung in Myanmar’s capital Nay Pyi Taw, this is the first government to government pact inked by Myanmar with a cooperation partner focused on socio-economic development and livelihood initiatives in the Rakhine State.
 
Jaishankar is on an official visit to Myanmar.
 
RESTORATION OF NORMALCY
“This is intended to help the government of Myanmar achieve its objective of restoration of normalcy in Rakhine State and enable the return of displaced persons,” the external affairs ministry said. Under this MoU, India proposes to take up, among others, a project to build prefabricated housing in Rakhine State so as to meet the immediate needs of the returning people, it said.
 
During the visit, Jaishankar called on State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, Union Minister in State Counsellor’s Office U Kyaw Tint Swe and Union Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Dr Win Myat Aye. “All matters relating to bilateral cooperation, including follow up on decisions taken during recent visit of the Prime Minister to Myanmar, as well as matters pertaining to Rakhine State were discussed during these meetings,” the ministry said in a statement.
 
3. Indian Navy Conducts Exercise Naseem-Al-Bahr with Oman Navy.
The Indian Navy deployed a submarine and the P8I long-range maritime aircraft for the first time for a bilateral naval exercise with the Omani navy. 
 
The 11th edition of the exercise, `Naseem Al Bahr` or `Sea Breeze`, was held on December 17 off the coast of Oman. 
 
The exercise is a biennial feature since 1993. 
 
The Indian Navy also deployed two naval ships - INS Trikand and INS Teg - for the exercise. The Indian ships entered Muscat on December 16 for the harbour phase. 
 
"Delegations from the Royal Navy of Oman embarked on the Indian Naval Ship Teg on December 18 for a briefing on basic anti-submarine warfare procedures," the Indian Navy said in a statement yesterday. 
 
The Indian Navy ships and four Royal Navy of Oman ships - Al Rasikh, Khassab, Al Mubashir and Al Bushra - sailed for the sea phase of the exercise, in which an Indian Navy submarine and the versatile P8I long-range maritime aircraft participated for the first time, according to the statement. 
 
4. National Mathematics Day is observed on 22nd December.
Famed Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan’s birth anniversary on December 22 is celebrated as National Mathematics Day. Born in 1887 in Erode, Tamil Nadu, the story of Ramanujan’s tryst with mathematics is one of the most engaging tales read, depicted and performed through various works of art. Dev Patel-starrer ‘The Man Who Knew Infinity’ (2015) was the latest tribute to the mathematics wizard by the popular cinema. It was in 2012 that then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared  December 22 as National Mathematics Day.
 
orn into an orthodox Iyengar Brahmin family, Ramanujan’s strictly vegetarian diet and frugal eating habits took a toll on the genius’ health in London’s inclement winters where he couldn’t endure the off-shore climate, resulting in  his return to Tamil Nadu where he breathed his last in Kumbakonam at a remarkably young age of 32.
 
Ramanujan lived a life that was devoted to mathematics in all its passion. At a fledgling age of 11, Ramanujan began to show signs of an unfolding genius. British mathematician Godfrey H. Hardy was instrumental in supporting Ramanujan’s extraordinary calibre for mathematics. The mathematics wizard made a significant contribution to mock theta function that generalises the form of the Jacobi theta functions, while preserving their general properties.
Although Ramanujan received no formal education, by the age of 12, he had mastered trigonometry and developed many theorems on his own with no assistance. He was awarded a scholarship to study at Government Arts College, Kumbakonam, but he eventually lost it due to his abysmal performance in other subjects. He ran away from home and enrolled himself at Pachaiyappa’s College in Madras. Ramanujan devoted himself solely to mathematics but fared poorly in other subjects.
 
There were hard times in the genius’ life as he had no way of supporting himself. Mathematician Ramaswamy Iyer helped him get a position of a clerk at the Madras Port Trust.
 
His breakthrough finally came in  1913, when Ramanujan wrote to G H Hardy. The British mathematician, on realising Ramanujan’s genius wrote back to him, calling him to London. Hardy then got Ramanujan into Trinity College, Cambridge and what began was a captivating saga of success. In 1917, Ramanujan was elected to be a member of the London Mathematical Society. In 1918 he also became a Fellow of the Royal Society, becoming the youngest person to achieve the feat.
 
Ramanujan, however, had difficulty acclimatising in London. The English diet did not suit this orthodox Brahmin eatring habits. He was even hospitalised due to ill health in 1917. He returned to India in 1919 but his health deteriorated.  He passed away on April 6, 1920.
 
5. India`s First design University Opens in Haryana.
 
 India’s first and only Design University – World University of Design (WUD), opens it campus at Sonipat, Haryana.
 
Promoted by Om Parkash Bansal Educational & Social Welfare Trust of Mandi Gobindgarh, Punjab the university is currently located in a sprawling lush green picturesque campus with the state-of-the-art infrastructure and world class facilities.
 
The campus is situated on NH1 in Rajiv Gandhi Education City (NCR), Sonipat - the largest planned integrated city for education in India.
 
The University has International Collaborations with foreign Universities like UWS University of West Scotland, VFS the Vancouver Film School, and IAAD the Italian University of Design. Many other collaborations are in the pipeline including that with Huddersfield University, UK; Oxford Brookes University, UK; Emily Carr University, Canada.
 
Some of the prominent names in the industry including – AG Krishna Menon, Payal Jain, Peter D`ascoli, Amardeep Behl, Neha Kirpal. are on the Advisory board of the university.
 
World University of Design (WUD) offers country’s largest creative course catalogue - 23 specialized UG & PG programs in various design arenas such as Design, Fashion, Communication, Visual Arts, Design and Retail Management, and Architecture.
 
The University follows a unique curriculum that encourages Research, Academic Excellence, Industry Preparedness and Social Innovation. Experienced faculties qualified from the best institutions of India and abroad such as ‘FIT’ New York, ‘LCF’ London, NID, NIFT, SPA and TVB.