Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Apr 26, 2016

ANSWER: Mairaj Ahmed Khan

Explanation:
Mairaj Ahmed Khan on 25 April 2016 won silver medal for India in the men's skeet event at ISSF World Cup in Rio de Janeiro.

• This will be the first skeet medal for India at a World Cup.
• Mairaj lost gold medal to Marcus Svensson of Sweden. Tamarro Casandro of Italy won the bronze.

ANSWER: Operation Sulaimani

Explanation:
The initiative Operation Sulaimani in Kozhikode district will ensure food for the needy in its jurisdiction.

• It was initiated by the Kozhikode district collector N Prasanth with an objective to avoid food wastage in the district.
• The project is named after Sulaimani as the Kozhikode is famous for food and ‘Sulaimani’ is one of such iconic items of the district.

ANSWER: Coordinated Patrol

Explanation:
Indian Missile Corvette, INS Karmuk along with a Dornier Maritime Patrol Aircraft participated in the 22nd Indo-Thai Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) on 25th April 2016 in the Andaman Sea.

• India’s indigenously built Missile Corvette is based at the Andaman and Nicobar Command.
• The 22nd edition of CORPAT would boost the already strong bilateral relationship between the two nations and contribute significantly to enhancing maritime security in the region.

ANSWER: 8.8

Explanation:
Finance Ministry has approved 8.7 percent interest on PF deposits for close to 5 crore subscribers of retirement body EPFO lower than 8.8 percent decided by the Central Board of Trustees. EPFO’s apex decision making body at this meeting has proposed an interim rate of interest at 8.8 percent to be credited to accounts of EPF subscribers for 2015-2016. Ministry of Finance has ratified interest rate of 8.7 percent marking the first time that Finance Ministry has not given concurrence to rate of interest on EPF as decided by CBT led by labour minister.

• EPFO has provided 8.75 percent rate of interest in 2013-2014 and 2014-2015. This was higher than 8.5 percent in 2012 and 8.25 percent in 2011
• Revision will be in keeping with the economic trends in the country

ANSWER: Sun Pharma

Explanation:
Shri J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare announced India’s first public-private-partnership (PPP) agreement for research and innovation in preventive health between ICMR and Sun Pharma, on April 25th.

• malaria eradication is the goal of this partnership

ANSWER: Mouamba Clement

Explanation:
Mouamba Clement, the former Congolese Finance Minister, has been appointed as the Prime Minister of Congo.

• He was appointed to the post by Congo’s President Denis Sassou Nguesso. Clement will be responsible for forming a government in consultation with the president in accordance with the 25 October 2015 constitution.
• Also, his major task after being appointed as Prime Minister would be to help in creating jobs for the youth

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
All phones sold in the country in 2017 will have provision for panic key that will help users to raise an alarm about emergency situations. Measure associated with women safety will also observe a provision for installation of the GPS navigation system from January 1, 2018 to track location of person in crisis with accuracy.

• Move has been ordered by the government through official notification date d April 22nd
• No mobile handset company in India is permitted to sell feature phones without a panic button to involve in emergency call
• Moreover, no smartphone should be sold in India without the facility of an emergency call button.

ANSWER: Tanzania

Explanation:
A Burundian activist credited with saving thousands of children's lives during a 12-year ethnically charged civil war is the first recipient of a new humanitarian prize called Aurora Award for awakening humanity presented by Hollywood actor and campaigner George Clooney.

• Marguerite Barankitse, a former teacher, founded the Maison Shalom (the house of peace) orphanage in eastern Burundi in 1993 to house a growing number of children orphaned during the conflict that devastated the country until 2005.
• The award was presented as the small central African country faces its worst crisis since the civil war ended with hundreds killed and thousands forced to flee abroad.
• Armenia based 100 Lives has instituted the award

ANSWER: Nomadic Elephant

Explanation:
’Nomadic Elephant - 2016’ to promote military associations between India and Mongolia has commenced on April 25 at Mongolia

• The exercise will culminate on 08 May 2016.
  The aim of this exercise is to develop synergy and inter operability between the two armies to fight in Counter Insurgency and Counter Terrorism environment under the United Nation mandate.

ANSWER: John Kasich and Ted Cruz

Explanation:
Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and John Kasich have said they will coordinate with each other in an effort to stop frontrunner Donald Trump from becoming the party nominee which the real estate tycoon dismissed as an act of “desperation”.

• Texas senator Cruz and Ohio governor Kasich issued statements that they would not compete with each other in several states to try and stop Mr. Trump from securing the necessary 1,237 delegates before the Cleveland convention in July which they hope would make it a contested convention and thus open up their paths to the White House.
• Currently, Mr. Trump had 845 delegates to Mr. Cruz’s 559.

ANSWER: 26

Explanation:
The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has extended his greetings and felicitations to the Government and people of the United Republic of Tanzania on the eve of their Union Day (April 26, 2016).

• Dr. John Pombe Magufuli is the President of the United Republic of Tanzania,
• India and Tanzania have strong bilateral relations

ANSWER: Bangladesh

Explanation:
Bangladesh has introduced a law with the provision to impeach SC judges if allegations of misconduct or incapacity are proved

• The Cabinet, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair, approved in principle a draft of the ‘Supreme Court Judge (Investigation Act) 2016’, that, once passed, will empower the Parliament to impeach a judge.
• The approval was made under a constitutional obligation as Parliament in September 2014 had unanimously passed the 16th constitutional amendment bill, empowering the Parliament to remove Supreme Court judges.
• A 10-member parliamentary body will investigate allegations. The Speaker will then form a high-powered committee with former a Supreme Court judge, a former Attorney-General and noted jurists to review the primary report.
• The committee’s findings will be placed before Parliament which will forward its recommendations to the President for necessary action.

ANSWER: Water

Explanation:
Scientists including an Indian origin researcher have unveiled unique and unexpected behavior of water molecules not matched by known gas, liquid or solid states.

• A new tunnelling state of water molecules confined in hexagonal ultra small channels- 5 angstrom across- of the mineral beryl
• Agostrom is 110 billionth of a metre and individual atoms are associated with one angstrom in diameter
• This demonstrates features of water under ultra confinement in rocks, cell walls and soil.
• The neutron scattering and computation chemistry experiments showed that in the tunnelling state, water molecules are delocalised along a ring so double top like shape is assumed.
• First principle stimulation show that tunnelling behaviour is coupled to the vibrational dynamics of the beryl structure
• Kinetic energy of water protons obtained from the neutron experiment is a measure of their motion at absolute zero temperature and around 30 percent less than in built liquid or solid water.