23 May 2016 Current Affairs
India, Iran and Afghanistan Signed Historic
Land Transit Trade Agreement
India, Iran and Afghanistan sign historic three-way land transit
agreement on Iran’s strategic southern port of Chabahar. It was on 23 May
signed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
and Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani in Teheran, Iran. Under the agreement,
India will invest up to 500 million dollars in a deal to develop a strategic port
in Iran. Chabahar port is strategically located in the Sistan-Balochistan
Province on the energy-rich Persian Gulf nation’s southern coast. It lies
outside the Persian Gulf and is easily accessed from India’s western coast, by
passing Pakistan.
India Successfully Launches Reusable Launch
Vehicle RLV-TD
“The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on 23 May
successfully test launched the first indigenous Reusable Launch
Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD). It was launched from the First Launch
Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. The launch
was part of a series of technology demonstration missions, which is considered
as a first step towards realising a Two Stage To Orbit (TSTO) fully re-usable
vehicle. After launch RLV-TD glided back onto a virtual runway in Bay of Bengal
and re-entered the atmosphere after reaching a height of over 70 km. RLV-TD is
winged body aerospace vehicle that operated in hypersonic flight regime. It is
capable of launching satellites into orbit around earth and then re-enter the
atmosphere It has been configured to act as a flying testbed to evaluate
various technologies, including hypersonic flight, autonomous landing, powered
cruise flight. It was launched using a nine-ton solid rocket motor (SRM) which
is designed to burn slowly to accommodate the vertical lifting of winged body
The RLV-TD was 6.5 meter long and has aeroplane like structure. It weighs about
1.75 tonnes and is very similar to the retired US space shuttle. It was built
by a team of 600 scientists over five years at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre
in Thiruvananthapuram.”
Jayalalithaa Sworn-in As Tamil Nadu CM for
Sixth Time
AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa was on 23 May sworn in as the Chief
Minister of Tamil Nadu for record sixth time after winning 2016 state assembly
election with absolute majority. State Governor Dr.K. Rosaiah administered the
oath of office and secrecy to her at oath taking ceremony held on 23 May at the
Centenary Auditorium, Madras University. Besides, Governor also administered
oath of office and secrecy to the 28 ministers of her government. This is J
Jayalalithaa’s second consecutive term as chief minister and sixth overall. She
is the second female Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu after Janaki Ramachandran.
S K Sharma Appointed CMD Of Nuclear Power
Corporation Of India
Famous scientist S K Sharma was on 23 May appointed the Chairman
and Managing Director (CMD) of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited
(NPCIL). Sharma will be responsible for design, construction, commissioning and
operation of nuclear power reactors. He has been appointed to the new post for
a period of five years.He is presently working as Distinguished Scientist and
Director (Operations) in NPCIL.
