Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Apr 18, 2017

ANSWER: Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Park

Explanation:
Madhya Pradesh has signed project agreements with solar power companies on April 17, 2017 for Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Park.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the lead transaction advisor for this project that will mobilise USD 550 million in private investment and avoid a million tonnes of GHG (Greenhouse gas) emissions.

The project is led by Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited (RUMSL), a joint venture between the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (MPUVN).

The first year tariff for the project had dropped to an all-time low of INR 2.97 per unit under a competitive bidding.

The Rewa solar park transaction will have an enormous ripple effect, helping create new markets for large solar projects across India and the region.

MP has partnered state and national government agencies for years to develop the solar market in India - from rooftops to mega solar parks - and the agreements signed will help India be a global leader in renewable energy and secure a clean, sustainable future.”

The 750 MW capacity project was auctioned in three packages of 250 MW each, and will be one of the biggest single site solar project in the world.

The three winning bidders for the project are Mahindra Renewables, ACME Solar, and Solenergie Power.

The winning bidders signed two sets of power purchase agreements with the Madhya Pradesh Power Management Corporation Ltd (MPPMCL) and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.

About 24 per cent of energy from the park is being sold to the Delhi Metro which will meet about 80 per cent of its daytime energy requirement.

IFC Funding Rewa Solar Park: Know More

• The Rewa solar project will also receive financing from the World Bank, which is helping India deliver on its solar ambitions with more than USD 1 billion in lending over FY2017.
• It will also be supporting the India-led International Solar Alliance, which aims to promote solar use globally by mobilising USD 1 trillion in investments by 2030.
• India is IFC's top country in terms of exposure, globally.
• IFC's committed portfolio in India is over USD 5 billion as of June 30, 2016. In FY16, IFC committed USD 1.1 billion in new investments in the country.

ANSWER: MapMyIndia

Explanation:
During this conference, MapMyIndia, a domestic mapping and navigation services provider announced it will be creating the Digital Twin of the Real World.

This Real View Digital Map Twin will capture, recognize and publish real-as-life 3D and 360-degree maps of both outdoors and indoors through GPS, laser and panoramic camera sensors, embedded on top of ground-based vehicles, back-packs, trains, flying drones, and trolleys that can move quickly indoors.

MapmyIndia's Real View platform can be updated continuously using the company's IoT (Internet of Things) platform, called InTouch.

It's claimed to be capable of processing enormous streams of real-time video and data from vehicle sensors and other crowd reports based on traffic and road conditions.

The company will also be using the eLoc Digital Address System to simplify the identification and communication of every address, place and object in the real world.

To further its efforts in this direction, MapmyIndia announced that it has acquired Bengaluru-based VIDTEQ, renowned for its video mapping solutions.

VIDTEQ is claimed to have video mapped more than 20 cities in India.

The company uses its VideoMap technology to address location and direction information for builders, schools, colleges, resorts and other businesses.

ANSWER: Laser based 3-D bioprinting techniques

Explanation:
The discovery is a major step forward in treating patients with tissue damage after a heart attack.

During a heart attack, a person loses blood flow to the heart muscle and that causes cells to die.

Our bodies can not replace those heart muscle cells so the body forms scar tissue in that area of the heart, which puts the person at risk for compromised heart function and future heart failure.

Researchers used laser-based 3D-bioprinting techniques to incorporate stem cells derived from adult human heart cells on a matrix that began to grow and beat synchronously in a dish in the lab.

When the cell patch was placed on a mouse following a simulated heart attack, the researchers saw significant increase in functional capacity after just four weeks.

Since the patch was made from cells and structural proteins native to the heart, it became part of the heart and absorbed into the body, requiring no further surgeries.

The research is different from previous ones as the patch is modelled after a digital, three- dimensional scan of the structural proteins of native heart tissue.

The digital model is made into a physical structure by 3D printing with proteins native to the heart and further integrating cardiac cell types derived from stem cells.

Only with 3D printing of this type can researchers achieve one micron resolution needed to mimic structures of native heart tissue.

ANSWER: Reliance Defence

Explanation:
Anil Ambani-led Reliance Defence has entered into a strategic partnership with leading South Korean defence major LIG Nex1.

This is to jointly explore opportunities in the supply of weaponry and ammunition systems to the Indian Army.

As part of the agreement, both companies will explore opportunities in the identified range of defence products required by the armed forces, according to a company statement.

LIG Nex1 is emerging as a leader in smart heavy weapons in the category of anti-ship missiles, anti tank guided missiles (ATGMs) and guided rockets, the statement said.

Currently, there are multiple programmes for the Indian armed forces that the two companies plan to address together.

This will potentially include improvements to the existing weapon systems which are part of LIG Nex1 portfolio to meet the specific requirements of the army.

The cumulative value of the programmes being targeted will exceed many billion dollars.

The two companies have also identified air defence and surveillance radar, that can be manufactured in India, as potential area for co-operation, the statement said.

The firms will also work on performance enhancement for various systems/platforms in the portfolio of LIG Nex1 to meet the specific requirements of the Army.

India and South Korea relations were upgraded to Special Strategic partnership during PM Modi's visit.

Skills developed and the experience gained through this collaboration will further add to Reliance Group’s capabilities and establish lead position in the Indian Market.

Reliance Defence: Know More

• Headquarters: Navi Mumbai
• Founded: 1997
• Number of employees: 4000
• Founders: Nikhil Prataprai Gandhi, Bhavesh Prataprai Gandhi
• Major Subsidiary: Pipavav Lighter than Air Systems Private Limited.

ANSWER: Godrej

Explanation:
Godrej Properties Lid (GPL), the real estate arm of the Godrej Group, has entered into an agreement with Taj Hotels Palaces Resorts Safaris.

This is to develop a Taj brand hotel at its flagship project, The Trees, in Vikhroli, Mumbai.

The Taj at The Trees will have 150 rooms and suites along with dining, entertainment, and conferencing facilities.

The Trees is a mixed-use development which contains a commercial precinct spread across 9.4 acres, which houses Godrej One, the Godrej Group’s global headquarters.

Taj Hotels: Know More

• CEO: Rakesh Sarna
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Parent organization: Tata Group
• Major Subsidiaries: Vivanta By Taj, TajAir.

ANSWER: Rayappa Ramappa Hanchinal

Explanation:
Chairperson of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority, New Delhi, Rayappa Ramappa Hanchinal, has been chosen for the sixth Dr. M.S. Swaminathan Award.

This is of the retired Indian Council for Agricultural Research Employees’ Association and Nuziveedu Seeds Limited.

The Swaminathan award, conferred biennially on eminent Indian scientists who worked on Indian agriculture and allied sectors, carries a cash prize of INR. 2 lakh, a medal and citation.

Dr. Hanchinal had earlier served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Agricultural Sciences at Dharwad in Karnataka.

He has been associated with the Government of Indonesia as an advisor for development of field crop research and instrumental in organising commercial seed industry in West Africa while serving as seed production specialist for USAID and ICRISAT.

President of the association M. V. R. Prasad said there were 21 nominations for the award which were scrutinised by a selection committee of six members.

ANSWER: Trupti Jain

Explanation:
An Indian environmental engineer has won this year’s prestigious ‘Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards’ here for providing women working on farms with water management solutions and protecting small farmers against droughts and flash floods.

Trupti Jain, 46, was one among the six winners chosen for the Asia-Pacific laureate from a pool of nearly 1,900 applicants from over 120 countries and were selected by an independent international jury.

Each recipient receives a USD 100,000 prize money as well as a year of mentoring.

Jain, an Indian government employee for two decades in the rural development, has worked for women farmers whose work frequently go unrecognised.

Jain started Naireeta Services in 2013, providing handmade water management solutions that enable small farmers to filter and store rainwater underground to protect them against droughts and flash floods.

Her Gujarat-based company has already implemented 232 systems in India, directly benefiting 18,000 small farmers and indirectly helping more than 100,000 of the rural poor.

Five other winners, representing Latin America, North America, Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East and North Africa, were also honoured at the awards ceremony.

ANSWER: DARPAN, Anti Corruption Cell

Explanation:
Manipur Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh has launched two web applications to check corruption and keep track of government activities.

The two web applications were Anti-Corruption Cell and Digital Application for Review by Public And Nation (DARPAN).

The two web applications would monitor all government funded projects and ensure transparency and accountability.

DARPAN would upload details of projects right from the initial stage till sanction of fund, progress of work and photos the work sites

It will stop the corrupt culture of non-completion of developmental projects after release of funds.

Anti-Corruption Cell has received a series of complaints of corruption and that the web applications would augment in the government's efforts to end corruption in the state.

The cases were been registered based on genuine complaints received through to dedicated telephone number.

Manipur: Know More

• Land area: 22,327 km²
• Districts: 16
• Formation: 21 January 1972
• Population: 2.722 million (2011)
• Capitals: Imphal, Guwahati (Judiciary)

ANSWER: HP

Explanation:
Himachal Pradesh is celebrating 70th “Himachal Day” function.

The hill state came into existence after the merger of 30 odd princely states in 1948. This time state level function would be held in Chamba which would be attended by chief minister Virbhadra Singh.

It is a huge achievement that Himachal Pradesh has progressed a lot since 1948. Himachal Pradesh is also the leader of hill area development in India and also one of the fastest growing economies.

HP: Know More

• Himachal Pradesh, the hill state was formed in 1948 after the 30 odd princely states got merged.
• Himachal Pradesh’s capital income in 1948 was INR. 240 crores and State Gross Domestic Product was INR. 26 crores. Now the capital income is INR 1,47,277 and the state gross domestic product income is INR 1,24,570.
• Himachal Pradesh’s literacy percentage has also increased in the last seven decades from 7% in 1948 to 83.78% now.

ANSWER: Robert Taylor

Explanation:
Robert Taylor, a computer scientist who was instrumental in the creation of the internet and modern computer, has died. He was 85.

Taylor, who had suffered from Parkinson's disease, died on April 13th 2017 at his home in Woodside, California.

While many people played a role in building the internet, few made as many contributions as Taylor.

As a researcher for the Pentagon's Advanced Research Projects Agency in 1966, Taylor created Arpanet, a single computer network to link each project with the others that would evolve into what we now know as the internet.

Taylor correctly predicted the network would one day become an efficient and necessary utility for the public.

In 1970, Taylor moved on to Xerox's famous Palo Alto Research Centre, where he oversaw design and creation of the Alto, considered a pioneer in personal computers.

Taylor's team also developed the networking technology Ethernet and a what-you-see-is-what-you-get word processing program called Bravo that would become the basis for Microsoft Word.

Taylor also played a key role in the creation of the computer mouse.

Taylor also developed AltaVista search engine in 1995, two years before Google was founded.

Robert Taylor : Know More

• Taylor was born in Dallas on Feb. 10, 1932.
• After serving in the US Navy Reserve during the Korean War, Taylor returned to his studies.
• He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in psychology at the University of Texas at Austin.
• In 1999, Taylor was awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation for visionary leadership.
• In 2004, he and other PARC researchers were awarded the National Academy of Engineering's Draper Prize for development of "the first practical networked personal computers."
• Taylor retired in 1996.

ANSWER: Harisal

Explanation:
Harisal village was adopted by Microsoft to be developed as India’s first ideal digital village.

Underpinned by public health initiatives of the state government, the village is now in the reckoning for the Prime Minister’s Award for excellence in Public Administration.

It may provide a replicable public-service delivery model for the whole state.

Two key initiatives began for the first ideal digital village turning the wheel,

Creating an approach of just increasing access to fair-price shops was not going to solve the problem.

In villages like Harisal, this never helped curb malnutrition.

Second, the government sought a comprehensive view of the population in the region to find a solution to the seemingly endemic health problem.

Villages like Harisal score significantly low in all the Human Development Index parameters, such as education, employment, and income levels.

The government’s next big initiative was, therefore, built around the granularity of data.

Both have benefited Harisal

Harisal: Know More

• Taluka Name : Dharni
• District : Amravati
• State: Maharashtra
• Region: Vidarbha
• Division: Amravati
• Language: English and Hindi, Marathi,
• Elevation / Altitude: 304 meters. Above Seal level
• Assembly constituency: Melghat assembly constituency
• Assembly MLA: Bhilawekar Prabhdas Babulal(2017)
• Lok Sabha constituency: Amravati parliamentary constituency
• Parliament MP: Adsul Anandrao Vithoba(2017)

ANSWER: Maarutha

Explanation:
A deep depression in Bay of Bengal has intensified into a tropical cyclone named Maarutha.

This cyclone is expected to hit Myanmar on 17 April 2017 and bring heavy rains in parts of that country.

Tropical Cyclone Maarutha is the first named storm of 2017 Northern Hemisphere tropical cyclone season.

A Cyclone represents a rotating, organized system of clouds and thunderstorms that originates over tropical or subtropical waters and has closed low-level circulation.

Most large scale cyclonic circulations are centered on areas of low atmospheric pressure. Based on their latitude, the cyclones may be tropical cyclones or temperate cyclones (extra-tropical cyclones).

The tropical cyclones rotate anti-clockwise in the northern hemisphere and are classified into three types namely

• Tropical Depression (maximum sustained winds of 38 mph or lower)
• Tropical Storm (maximum sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph);
• Hurricane (maximum sustained winds of 74 mph) and major hurricane (maximum sustained winds of 111 mph).

Hurricanes are called typhoons in western North Pacific, while similar storms in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean are called cyclones.

Tropical Cyclones in Indian Ocean Tropical cyclones between east of the Horn of Africa and west of the Malay Peninsula are most common from April to December, with peaks in May and November in the Indian Ocean.

Vardah was the strongest cyclone of the 2016 North Indian Ocean cyclone season.

Other 2016 cyclones are Cyclonic Storm Roanu, Cyclonic Storm Kyant and Cyclonic Storm Nada.

Cyclone Maarutha is the first tropical cyclone of 2017 North Indian Ocean cyclone season.

It started forming under the influence of a persistent area of convection in South Bay of Bengal on April 13, 2017 and has been recently classified as a Cyclonic storm.

After giving heavy rainfall in Sri Lanka and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, it is expected to make a landfall in Myanmar.

ANSWER: Globalization Backlash

Explanation:
India’s gross domestic product is expected to spike to 7.2% in the 2017-’18 financial year from 6.8% the previous fiscal.

This is according to a new World Bank report titled “Globalization Backlash”, which was released on April 16, 2017.

The international agency forecast that India’s economic growth will rise gradually to 7.7% in 2019-’20, “underpinned by a recovery in private investments”.

The World Bank analysis, however, has warned against significant risks to India’s favorable growth outlook.

Among them, there are uncertainties in the global environment, an unclear picture of the impact demonetisation has had on small and informal firms, hindrances to private investment and rapid hikes in the prices of oil and other commodities.

A timely and smooth implementation of the GST could prove to be a significant upside risk to economic activity in FY17/18.

The World Bank’s “Globalization Backlash” report focuses on the gross domestic product climate in South Asia, predicting that growth in the region will maintain momentum.

South Asia remains the fastest growing region in the world and the strong performance in the eastern part of the region, in particular in India, Bhutan and Bangladesh, defied disappointing world growth in 2016.

The current globalization backlash should thus not dissuade South Asian countries from having a stronger outward orientation.

ANSWER: Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking Water

Explanation:
The World Health Organization (WHO) on 13 April 2017 published a report, Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS) 2017.

This report states that nearly two billion people currently use contaminated water.

The disclosure was by made in the new report published by WHO on behalf of UN-Water.

The report states that countries will not meet global aspirations of universal access to safe drinking-water and sanitation unless steps are taken to use financial resources more efficiently.

Contaminated Water and Health: Know More

• Contaminated drinking-water is estimated to cause more than 500000 diarrhoeal deaths each year.
• Contaminated water is also a major factor in several neglected tropical diseases, including intestinal worms, schistosomiasis and trachoma.
• Countries have increased their budgets for water, sanitation and hygiene at an annual average rate of 4.9 per cent over the last three years.
• 80 per cent of countries report that Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) financing is still insufficient to meet nationally-defined targets for WASH services.
• In many developing countries, current national coverage targets are based on achieving access to basic infrastructure.
• Planned investments have yet to take into account the much more ambitious Sustainable Development Goals targets, which aim for universal access to safely managed water and sanitation services by 2030.
• Water and sanitation official development assistance disbursements increased from USD 6.3 to USD 7.4 billion from 2012 to 2015.