Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Apr 22, 2016

ANSWER: Spin around the earth’s axis

Explanation:
Groundwater depletion in India has now led to urgent measures for change. Earth’s spin around its axis is too sensitive to changes in mass of water beneath the surface of the Earth. According to the law of rotation, the 45 degree North and South latitudes will play a critical role in determining the spin. India’s groundwater depletion has caused a massive shift in the axis according to NASA scientists. Earth is still adjusting to loss of five in the last Ice Age. The reduced mass beneath North America is pulling the spin axis of Earth towards Canada at the rate of a couple of inches each year.

• Findings were available through the observations of twin satellites part of the GRACE or Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment - in this NASA collaborates with Germany to discover massive energy needed for shift in axis cannot be produced by loss of mass in Greenland alone.

ANSWER: New World

Explanation:
Seven little monkey teeth 21 million years old found during work on the Panama Canal are ripping up scientific theories on simian migration.

• The fossils, found by US and Latin American researchers suggest that so-called New World monkeys -- ones that made it across the Atlantic from Africa to South America -- made it to North America 18 million years earlier than previously thought.
• They are the first evidence of a monkey on the North American continent before the isthmus of Panama connected it to South America 3.5 million years ago.
• The team identified the teeth as belonging to a previously unknown species of monkey dubbed Panamacebus transitus, believed to be related to capuchin and squirrel monkeys found today in South and Central America.

ANSWER: Sentinel IB, Microscope

Explanation:
Europe is set to launch two satellites on Friday with very important missions: one will track environmental damage to Earth, while the other will test a mainstay of physics theory.

• Setting off on a Russian Soyuz rocket will be Sentinel-1B with its Earth surveillance radar, and Microscope, a French-built orbiter seeking to poke a hole in Einstein's theory of general relativity.
• They will be hoisted from Europe's launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana, at 2102 GMT on April 22.
• The Soyuz will also boost into orbit three so-called "CubeSats", tiny orbiters built by European science students.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
Scientists at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram indigenously manufactured the world's lightest synthetic material called ‘silica aerogel’ or ‘blue air’ or ‘frozen smoke’.

• The material is so light it can be placed on a flower’s head
• It has excellent thermal resistance
• The matrix of aerogel is made up of 99 per cent air. The material is likely to be used on moon rover in Chandryaan-2 mission of India.

ANSWER: Queen Elizabeth

Explanation:
The world’s oldest-serving royal, the longest-serving British royal, and now the longest lived British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II turned 90 on April 21, receiving the greetings of thousands of British citizens as well as wishes from all over the world.

ANSWER: Yearly

Explanation:
A team of Swiss scientists has developed a novel prediction approach that can forecast Indian monsoon's yearly onset and withdrawal significantly earlier than from previously available methods.

• Based on a network analysis of regional weather data, the team from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the University of Zurich has come up with the approach
• The summer rains are of vital importance for millions of farmers feeding the subcontinent's population.
• North Pakistan and the Eastern Ghats, a mountain range close to the Indian Ocean, changes of temperatures and humidity mark a critical transition to monsoon though conventionally the focus had been on Kerala
• In addition, the new scheme notably improves the forecasting of monsoon timing during years affected by the global weather phenomenon El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), particularly in its La Nina phase.

ANSWER: Infrastructure Debt Fund

Explanation:
RBI has allowed infrastructure Debt Fund to raise resources through bonds and commercial papers of less than 5 year maturity. Currently, IDF-NBFC was created for raising funds for primarily fund infrastructure projects. RBI has capped the average exposure limit for IDF-NBFC at 50 percent and maximum at 75% of the total capital fund apart from limits on issuance to only PPPs successfully operational at least for a year.

ANSWER: Private sector banks

Explanation:
RBI came out with a master direction for merger of private sector banks and between NBFCs and banks. Another master direction indicated that a compilation which consolidates instructions on rules and regulations framed by the RBI under numerous acts including banking issues and foreign exchange transactions.

• Scope of the master direction on the merger will cover the amalgamation of 2 banking companies and amalgamation of NBFC with banking company.
• In these cases, the voluntary amalgamation will become effective following approval from RBI.
• According to the direction, the decision of the amalgamation shall be approved by respective boards by a 2/3rd majority and not just members present and voting.

ANSWER: China

Explanation:
Ongoing military restructuring in China has appeared with President Xi Jinxing assuming the role of Commander-In-Chief of the Joint Battle Command of the PLA.

• Move showed the President has developed personal authority over troops at par with late leaders like Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.
• The new title adds to the other three that President Xi holds— general secretary of the Communist Party of China , President, and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC).

ANSWER: Prince

Explanation:
Pop superstar Prince widely hailed as one of the most inventive musicians of his era was found dead on April 21 in suburban Minneapolis

His birth name was Prince Rogers Nelson
• He was 5’2 in height and known for his well known albums like Sign O The Times, Graffiti Bridge and The Black Album.

ANSWER: Department of Investment and Public Asset Management

Explanation:
Union Government on 20 April 2016 notified that the Department of Disinvestment is renamed as Department of Investment and Public Asset Management or DIPAM.

• The decision is aimed at proper management of Union government’s investments in equity including its disinvestment in central public sector undertakings (PSUs).
• The new department has been mandated to advise the government in the matters of financial restructuring of central public sector enterprises and for attracting investment through capital markets.
• A comprehensive approach will be adopted for efficient management of government investment in Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) by addressing issues such as capital restructuring, dividend, bonus shares, etc.

ANSWER: Both a and b

Explanation:
RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, tennis star Sania Mirza, actress Priyanka Chopra, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and founders of Flipkart Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal have been named by Time magazine in its list of the '100 Most Influential People in the World’.

ANSWER: CSIR-NBRI

Explanation:
Union Minister for Science & Technology & Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, launched the "CSIR-NBRI Herbarium Online" on the CSIR-NBRI website (www.nbri.res.in), thus making One Hundred Thousand Herbarium collections accessible worldwide.

• He also released a flyer "CSIR-NBRI HERBARIUM ONLINE" on the occasion.
• The Minister took keen interest in reviewing the detailed features of the new website like Mechanism to enter specimen label data, taxonomic upgradation data, descriptors, GPS Data & Specimen Images & Video Images and Link to Genomics Data and GIS Maps.
• Digitization of One Lakh specimens of higher plants has been completed thus making it a unique database of India in terms of Data Profile. This database has a future potential of linking the other 95 Herbaria of India.

ANSWER: Khelo India programme

Explanation:
Union Government in the third week of April 2016 has merged Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhigyan with Khelo India programme for the development of sports.

• Two other sport projects, Urban Sports Infrastructure Scheme (USIS) and National Sports Talent Search Scheme (NSTSS), launched by the Congress-led UPA regime have also been absorbed under Khelo India.
• Khelo India is based on Gujarat's model of Khel Mahakumbh, in which schools and colleges from different parts of the country participate in about 27 disciplines.
• RGKA is a CSS scheme.

ANSWER: Nagaland Science and Technology Council

Explanation:
The Union minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, launched the Twinning Network Programme on Chemical Ecology of North Eastern Region (NER) at the Nagaland Science & Technology Council (NASTEC), Kohima.

• This programme is the first of its kind in the country and is expected to bring about huge impact for the North-East researchers.
• It is a Twinning Network Programme that would link institutes from the North-East with Bangalore-based scientists.
• The programme is envisaged for human capacity building for the North-East region, especially in Chemical ecology.
• It is expected to produce at least 15 PhDs from the North-East region at the end of the 5 year programme.

ANSWER: RK Pachauri

Explanation:
Well known environmentalist R K Pachauri, accused of sexual harassment by his former women colleagues in the recent past, has stepped down as a member of the governing council of Teri "to get engaged in other interests”. Pachauri maintained that his term as a member of The Energy and Resources Institute's (Teri) governing council ended on March 31, 2016 and he felt it was time "for me to move away and get engaged in other interests which I have harboured over the past few years for activities at the global level”. TERI governing council did not confirm this.

ANSWER: OECD, IMF, UN, WBG

Explanation:
Four international organisation joined hands to form the Platform for collaboration in Tax Matters on 19th April 2016.
- The Platform has been created as their step to boost global cooperation in tax matter
- The institute/organisations that joined their hands to intensify their cooperation on tax issues include

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF)
• The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
• The United Nations (UN)
• The World Bank Group (WBG)

- Platform aims to meet UN SDGs

ANSWER: RBL

Explanation:
The RBL Bank on 19th April 2016 became the first private sector bank in India to open dedicated branch for start-ups.

• The dedicated branch was inaugurated at Koramangala, Bengaluru by Nandan Nilekani, noted entrepreneur and former chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
• The move came following the launch of first branch dedicated of the State Bank of India in January 2016 to serve the needs of start-ups in Bengaluru.

ANSWER: Twitter

Explanation:
In a major initiative to get administration of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry closer to people and changing the paradigm of Governance, the Minister of State for Commerce & Industry (I/C) Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman launched the “Twitter Seva” on April 21.

• Through this Twitter Seva, queries on matters relating to Department of Commerce(DoC) and Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion(DIPP) will be answered.
• Under this Seva, anyone who is desirous of assistance from the Ministry of Commerce & Industry can use the hashtag #mociseva .
• An institutionalized mechanism with a special Twitter cell has been created in the Ministry manned by a set of dedicated officers who will monitor and direct all the tweets to the concerned officers of the Department, keeping in line with government dictum of minimum government, maximum governance.

ANSWER: 21 April

Explanation:
The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi released two books namely: ‘The Change Makers’ and ‘Transforming India’ on the occasion of Civil Services Day on April 21.

• Another book ‘Recreating Excellence’, which details the replication of the Prime Minister’s awarded initiatives last year, was released by the Union Railway Minister Shri Suresh Prabhu and Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER).
• A Book on Citations of the Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in implementation of four Priority Programmes presented here today has also been issued by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG).

ANSWER: Alexander

Explanation:
The royal palace on April 21 said the newborn prince's full name will be Alexander Erik Hubertus Bertil.

• He will also receive the title of the Duke of Sodermanland, a province south of Stockholm.
• The prince is fifth in the line of succession for Sweden's royals.

ANSWER: PRSS-1

Explanation:
The Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) and the China Great Wall Industry Cooperation (CGWIC) signed an agreement for the development and launch of the "Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite (PRSS-1) System”

• Cooperation between the ountries in space domain would open new vistas of socio-economic and scientific cooperation, giving boost to the historic bilateral cordial relations in other fields.
• The minister said that the agreement would also transfer space technology to Pakistan and the PRSS-1 is yet another flagship project between China-Pakistan relations after CPEC. It would go a long way to redefine the bilateral relations, he said.