Aayog forms panel for ‘intelligent’ transport
COMMITTEE : National Level committee for developing Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) policy.
ITS POLICY AIMS TO : Reduce urban traffic congestion, improve parking for vehicles in cities, road safety and the security of passenger and goods traffic.
LEVEL OF IMPLEMENTATION : The committee will work towards setting uniform standards to implement the ITS in various parts of the country.
RELEVANCE : This policy will contribute to the government of India’s SMART City Program, the Make in India initiative, and to a host of other initiatives aimed at the economic and social development of India.
‘Why can’t hanging be stopped?’
Death penalty by hanging is being questioned by Supreme Court.
WHY>A human being is entitled to dignity even in death, it said. ADVICE TENDERED BY SC: The government should look to the “dynamic progress” made in modern science to adopt painless methods of causing death.
CLARIFICATION : It should be clarified that it was not questioning the constitutionality of the death penalty, which has been well-settled by the apex court, including in Deena versus Union of India and earlier in the Bachan Singh case reported in 1980
SKA Project : What is SKA ? Square Kilometer Array (SKA) is a global project with 12 countries including India. SKA is a large multi radio telescope project under development in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
It utilizes radio astronomy and has receiving stations at a minimum distance of 3,000 kilometers (1,900 mi) from a concentrated central core, enabling it to provide the highest resolution images compared to other sub-disciplines of astronomy.
It is being developed in the Southern Hemisphere with cores in South Africa and Australia, where there is least radio interference to observe the Milky Way Galaxy.
The project will address some of the most interesting scientific questions in Astrophysics, ranging from characteristics of early Universe to search for intelligent extra-terrestrial life.
SOURCE: PIB : 06/10/2017
