Current Affairs - December 31, 2013

Current Affairs

December 31, 2013

1. Category-2 Tropical Cyclone Christine hits Australia’s north-west coast bringing high velocity winds (170km/hr.) and torrential rain.

close shave for Pilbara region known for iron ore mining.

Tracy (1974) which devastated Darwin region is held as the Australia’s most destructive cyclone so far.

2. Prime Minister lays foundation stone of Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre(HBCHRC) at Mullanpur Garibdas (Mohali, Punjab), near Chandigarh.

HBCHRC : aimed to be completed in 4 years, this centre would be a modern centre equipped with latest technology and infrastructure for cancer treatment (radiation,chemotherapy,surgeries) and post treatment follow up in country.

National Cancer Centre: to be set up by central government as part of its strategy to counter increasing number of cancer cases (11 lakh/yr.) and related deaths(9 lakh/yr) in India. It would be linked to all regional and State level Cancer centres to spread awareness and increase effectiveness in dealing with cancer cases.

3. Book Release: Courage and Conviction -Autobiography of retired Indian Army Chief General V. K. Singh (with Kunal Verma).

4. Army Chief General Bikram Singh takes over as the new Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC), succeeds Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne following his superannuation.

COSC : in-charge for looking after the higher defence management and joint issues of the three services and is, by convention, senior-most officer (age wise) of the three Services.

COSC is a stop-gap/ temporary office which is likely to give way to Chiefs of Staff Committee- proposed office which will oversee joint management issues of defence and ensure coordination among the three wings (recommended by the Naresh Chandra Committee after Kargil war).

5. India and US signs deal for procuring 6 more C-130J Super Hercules Special Operations aircraft for the Indian Air Force.

This Rs 4,000-cr deal through India's Foreign Military Sales route is in addition to 6 aircrafts already bought by India and based at Hindon air base, Ghaziabad, UP.

This new lot will be based at Panagarh, West Bengal - headquarters of the proposed Mountain Strike Corps of the army along the China border.

C-130J Super Hercules- Special operations (eg. landing on inhospitable air strips like Daulat Beg Oldie in Ladakh) , air dropping commandos, material and supplies (even in darkness due to its night-vision imaging) , can access mountainous terrain ; capable of low-level precision flying.