Oxygenation by Sponges in the deep Ocean

• Life began by oxygenation in ocean and the atmosphere
• Oxygen at the upper layer of atmosphere >> bottom layer
• To sustain life the oxygen demand ~ oxygen supply
• At the botton: when demand gets high, lifeforms struggle to evolve

Role of Sponges: 

• Helped in reducing oxygen consumption and creating conditions suited for the evolution of more complex, multi-cellular life with higher oxygen needs 
• Also helped in “removing” phosphorus found in the ocean
• This led to a rise in oxygen supply in the deep ocean for the animals to evolve.

*Courtesy: Nature Geoscience

China's ASBM in the Pacific Ocean

What: ASBM (Anti Ship Ballistic Missile) + Onboard radar

Purpose: Can track and strike an aircraft carrier in  the Pacific from about 2000 km distance

Comment: "Has shaken the traditional view of the U.S. Navy’s unassailable superiority in the Pacific"

Note:

China currently has three clusters of ELINT (Electronic Intelligence)satellites that provide global surveillance. 

The People's Liberation Army (PLA). It is the world's largest military force, with a strength of approximately 3 lakhs.

The UNEP Minamata Convention

Type                United Nations treaty
Signed             10 October 2013
Location          Kumamoto, Japan
Signatories      94

The Minamata Convention on Mercury is an international treaty designed to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds.
*Minamata is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning.

Indo-Bangladesh Joint Power Transmission

• Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 5 October jointly inaugurated the India-Bangladesh Grid Inter-connection at Bheramara in Bangladesh.The joint venture was launched through video-conferencing.  
• Capacity: 500 MW of power from India to Bangladesh
• Both the Prime Ministers also jointly laid the foundation stone for 1320 megawatt Maitri Thermal Power Project, being developed by Bangladesh-India friendship power-company which is a joint venture of India’s NTPC and Bangladesh Power Development Board.

Gambia withdraws from the Commonwealth group

The Gambian government has announced that the former British colony is pulling out of the Commonwealth with immediate effect.Gambian President said: "Gambia will never be a member of any neo-colonial institution and will never be a party to any institution that represents an extension of colonialism"

Mr Jammeh, who is regularly accused of rights abuses, has ruled mainland Africa's smallest country with an iron fist since seizing power in a 1994 coup. He accused Britain of backing Gambia's political opposition ahead of the 2011 elections. Now 53 members are left.

Gujarati film 'The Good Road', and not 'The Lunchbox', India's entry for Oscar

• Debut feature filmmaker Gyan Correa's Gujarati film "The Good Road" has been chosen to represent India in the best foreign film category at the Academy Awards.
• It is said to be the first Gujarati film to have made it.
• Movie produced by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).
• Had clinched the National Award for Best Feature Film (Gujarati) earlier this year. 
• The movie left behind 21 other contenders, including strong films like "The Lunchbox", "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag", "English Vinglish", "Vishwaroopam", Malayalam film "Celluloid" and Bengali film "Shabdo", he said.
• So far in the history of Indian cinema, only three Bollywood films, including Mehboob Khan's "Mother India" (1957), Mira Nair's "Salaam Bombay" (1988) and Ashutosh Gowariker's "Lagaan" (2001), have made it to the nomination stage of the Oscar.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

• The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an international organisation that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957. Though established independently of the United Nations through its own international treaty, the IAEA Statute, the IAEA reports to both the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council.

• The IAEA has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria.

News:

• IAEA praises Japan's Fukushima clean-up operation.
• Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant: The plant suffered major damage from the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11, 2011.The disaster disabled the reactor cooling systems, leading to releases of radioactivity and triggering a 30 km evacuation zone surrounding the plant.

Extradition Treaty between India (Dr. Manmohan Singh) and Thailand (Yingluck Shinawatra)

• To exchange intelligence related to money laundering and terrorism financing.
• Ratified (approved) the Treaty on Transfer of Sentenced Persons.
• Provides the legal framework for seeking extradition of fugitives, including those involved in terrorism, transnational crimes and economic offences. 
• Enforcement of a sentence by one Contracting State and is found in the territory of the other. 
• The Treaty on Transfer of Sentenced Persons enables foreign nationals convicted of a criminal offence to serve the sentence in their own country. It also facilitates their social rehabilitation in their own countries. 
• Yingluck Shinawatra: She is the 28th and current Prime Minister of Thailand following the 2011 general election. Yingluck is Thailand's first female Prime Minister and at 45 is the youngest Prime Minister of Thailand in over 60 years.

300-day Mars of odyssey

From: Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO),Sriharikota
By: Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C25)

• It was a debut attempt to send a spacecraft to Mars, about 40 crore km away.
• On Tuesday PSLV had put the Mars spacecraft first into an earth-bound orbit after a flight duration of 43 minutes.
• The spacecraft will voyage for 300 days before it reaches the Martian orbit.
• This totally indigenous mission — the rocket and the five payloads come from various ISRO centres across the country.
• It is the silver jubilee launch of the PSLV (25th launch).
• K. Radhakrishnan, – Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

Bank Rate, SLR, Repo Rate, Reverse Repo Rate, CRR

Bank Rate is a tool, which central bank  uses for short-term purposes. Thus any revision in the Bank rate indicates that it is likely that interest rates on your deposits are likely to either go up or go down,  and it can also indicate  an increase or decrease in your EMI.

What is SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio)?  

It is Minimum percentage of deposits that the bank has to maintain in form of gold, cash or other approved securities.

What is CRR (Cash reserve Ratio)? 

Banks money to be kept with RBI to drain out excessive money from the system. If the central bank decides to increase the CRR, the available amount with the banks comes down. Maintained at 4% of the total of the Net Demand and Time Liabilities (NDTL), on a fortnightly basis.

What is Reverse Repo rate?
RBI borrows from banks at this rate. Banks are always happy to lend money to the RBI since their money are in safe hands with a good interest.An increase in reverse repo rate can prompt banks to park more funds with the RBI to earn higher returns on idle cash. It is also a tool which can be used by the RBI to drain excess money out of the banking system.

What is a Repo Rate?
Banks borrow from RBI at this rate.
It is an instrument of monetary policy. Whenever banks have any shortage of funds they can borrow from the RBI.
A reduction in the repo rate helps banks get money at a cheaper rate and vice versa. The repo rate in India is similar to the discount rate in the US.