Important Extracts from The Hindu: 5 June 2017

Hello Readers,
This is our new initiative "Extracts from The Hindu". With this, our aim is to provide short, relevant and important material for Bank and SSC Exams. It will help you to learn
(1) Important current affairs, and
(2) Some Vocab
from The Hindu

India to take up road and highway projects abroad: Minister Nitin Gadkari

• The government is planning to launch a dedicated international subsidiary of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to take up road and highway projects abroad
• NHAI is a nodal agency of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
• In the Union Budget 2017-18, the central government allotted Rs. 64,000 crore ($9.55 billion) to NHAI for roads and highways and Rs. 27,000 crore ($4.03 billion) for the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) that is focused on rural roads.

Vocab from the article

Gloom: partial or total darkness; a state of depression or despondency
As used in the Article: “There was an atmosphere of gloom and disillusionment. Contractors were unwilling to continue with the projects and bank NPAs (non—performing assets) were piling up,” Gadkari said.

Four jawans scale Everest without oxygen support

• A team of four Indian Army jawans successfully climbed the Mt. Everest without using oxygen cylinders, the first team to scale the world’s highest peak without supplementary oxygen.
• The four climbers are Kunchok Tenda, Kelshang Dorjee Bhutia, Kalden Panjur and Sonam Phuntsok.

Vocab from the Article

Peak: the pointed top of a mountain; a projecting pointed part or shape; at the highest level; maximum.

India’s protocol on Zika followed: Ministry

• Three laboratories confirmed cases of Zika Virus are recently reported from Ahmedabad.
• Zika virus disease is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes.
• There is scientific consensus that Zika virus is a cause of microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome. 

India has 31% of world’s poor kids: report

• About 31% of the world’s “multidimensionally poor” children live in India, according to a new report by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI)
• Name of the Report: Global Multidimensional Poverty Index [MPI], 2017

Vocab from the Article

Deprivation: the damaging lack of material benefits considered to be basic necessities in a society; the lack or denial of something considered to be a necessity; the action of depriving someone of office, especially an ecclesiastical office
As used in the Article: As for the intensity of poverty, the average percentage of deprivation in terms of the 10 MPI categories was highest in Sub-Saharan Africa

Aadhaar must for kerosene subsidy, Atal Pension Yojana

• Aadhaar has now been made mandatory to get subsidy on kerosene and benefits of the Atal Pension Yojana by the Union Government.
• The last date to get Aadhaar or enrol for getting it is September 30 in the case of the kerosene subsidy. For the pension scheme, the deadline is June 15, they said.

Vocab from the Article

Furnish: be a source of; provide
As used in the Article: Those getting kerosene subsidy or subscribing to the pension scheme will be required to furnish proof of possession of the unique ID or undergo the enrolment process to get the benefits, officials said on Sunday.

Facts you need to know about ISRO’s GSLV-Mk III

The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV-Mk III), the heaviest rocket ever made by India and capable of carrying large payloads, is set for launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on June 5, 2017

Facts:

• GSKV-Mk III is capable of launching four-tonne satellites in the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).
• The rocket is also capable of placing up to eight tonnes in a Low Earth Orbit (LEO), enough to carry a manned module.
• GSLV-Mk III D1 will carry the GSAT-19 satellite — developed to help improve telecommunication and broadcasting areas.
• This is India’s first fully functional rocket to be tested with a cryogenic engine that uses liquid propellants — liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen.