Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Apr 30, 2017

ANSWER: None of the above

Explanation:
This consulate covers TN, Kerala, and Karnataka. This consulate is headed by Suraj Shantakumar.

2017 marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan has expressed confidence that the establishment of the consulate in Chennai, which is a major industrial centre would promote the potential for economic cooperation in a number of areas like IT industry, engineering, tourism, transport infrastructure, as well as agricultural production.

Among the countries that made up the former USSR, Kazakhstan has emerged as the second largest economic partner for India.

Kazakhstan is natural resources, minerals, oil and gas and chemical products.

It is currently the largest exporter of Uranium to India. The prospectus of cooperation looms large in several areas.

The bilateral trade between the two countries was around 618 million USD in 2016.

India exports pharmaceuticals, tea, tobacco, and engineering equipment to Kazakhstan and imports oil products, metals and natural minerals from here.

ANSWER: US Trade Representative

Explanation:
Watchdog US Trade Representative’s (USTR) office has once again placed India on the ‘priority watch’ list in this year’s Special 301 report.

This is inspite of the country rolling out National IPR Policy last year.

India has been placed in ‘priority watch’ list owing to USTR’s view that India has not made adequate changes in its intellectual property (IP) laws and regulations.

India has been placed on the ‘Priority Watch List’ for decades now and is likely to remain in the ‘Priority Watch List’ category for having inadequate IPR laws and patent protection. Bac

Similar to USTR’s Special 301 Report, India is being ranked poorly in the IPR index being done by the US Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC).

United States Trade Representative (USTR): Know More

• This is an agency that is part of the executive office of the President of the US.
• USTR creates an annual Special 301 list since 1989.
• USTR places those countries that have either national laws or regulations that detrimentally affect US trade or the rights of IP holders on this list.
• USTR places these countries in three categories.
• The most egregious violators are featured as Priority Foreign Countries (PFC), serious offenders are featured on the Priority Watch List (PWL), and less serious offenders in the Watch List (WL).
• The Special 301 list has continuously placed India most often as a PWL country.

ANSWER: BSNL

Explanation:
A tripartite Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between BBNL, Department of Posts and BSNL to provide broadband connectivity of BharatNet to Post Offices in rural areas.

BSNL would provide broadband services.

The infrastructure expenses and the operational expenses would be paid by the Department of Posts. BBNL would facilitate and coordinate the entire project.

BharatNet is Centre’s rural internet connectivity programme which is implemented by Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL)and the world’s largest rural broadband connectivity programme using Optical fibre.

Bharat Net seeks to connect all of India’s households, particularly the rural areas, through demand, affordable broadband connectivity of 2 Mbps to 20 Mbps to realise the vision of Digital India.

The project is being funded by Universal service Obligation Fund (USOF) and is being implemented in 3 stages.

ANSWER: Bhilar

Explanation:
From May 4, Bhilar, a tiny hamlet in Satara district of Maharashtra is to become India’s first ‘book village’.

The concept of book village is based on Britain’s Hay-on-Wye, which is a Welsh town located in the United Kingdom, famous for its bookstores and literature festivals.

Under this initiative, tourists and locals can come and read books, magazines, newspapers stacked at 25 artistically decorated locations around the village.

The books on wide-ranging subjects and 15,000 books in Marathi would be made available on these premises.

Some of the books that will be available for the readers are very rare and out of publication, including novels, reference books about Maharashtra and Marathi culture written by prominent authors.

Bhilar: Know More

• Bhilar is a small village located near picturesque hill station Panchagani in Satara district of Maharashtra.
• The village is popular for its strawberries. Near the village exists the British-era hill station of Mahabaleshwar.
• Bhilar produces nearly 100 tonnes of strawberry every year.
• Around 90% of the village’s population of around 10,000 is involved in strawberry farming.

Hay on Wye: Know More

• Hay-on-Wye is a village located in Wales of the UK and the world’s largest second-hand book centre.
• In 1972, a person named Richard Booth established a second-hand bookstore in an abandoned fire station and subsequently many followed, making Hay-on-Wye a book lover’s paradise.
• 30 bookstores catering to the needs of the village’s population of 1,500 people are there.
  Every year, the village hosts the Hay Festival, one of the world’s top literary festivals.

ANSWER: None of the above

Explanation:
North Korea has test-fired a ballistic missile defying global pressure and warnings from the United States and its main ally, China.

The test was conducted from the Pukchang region present in the north of the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.

The test has failed and it is North Korea’s fourth successive unsuccessful missile test since March.

The missile launched is expected to be a medium-range weapon known as a KN-17 and appears to have disintegrated within minutes of taking off.

In February, it successfully launched a new intermediate-range ballistic missile defying global pressure that is capable of carrying a nuclear weapon.

Similarly, it also successfully tested ballistic missiles on March 6. But since then it has caused a series of failed missile tests.

The reasons behind the failed tests are largely unknown.

ANSWER: MM Kalburgi

Explanation:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unveiled translated volumes of Vachana in 23 Indian languages on the occasion of Basava Jayanti.

The 23 Vachana volumes were edited by late M M Kalburgi and have been translated into other languages by more than 200 people. P

Prime Minister also released the digital version of the work.

This is the first ever celebration of Basava Jayanti at the national level.

The translated volumes of Vachana was commissioned by the Basava Samithi at a cost of INR 2.5 crore rupees of which the Karnataka government has contributed 1 crore rupees.

The celebrations also coincide with golden jubilee of Basava Samiti that was set up by former Vice President B D Jatti 1964 to spread in Basavannas message.

Vachana and Basavanna: Know More

• Vachana is a prosaic form very much popular in the Kannada literature.
• It propagates values of universal brotherhood.
• It was penned by Basavanna and other saints.
• The 12th-century social reformer Basavanna used this style of writing to spread social awareness and bring equality in the 12th-century society.
• Basavanna was a 12th-century philosopher, statesman, Kannada poet and a social reformer who lived in Karnataka during the reign of the Kalachuri-dynasty king Bijjala I.
• He served as the chief minister of his kingdom.
• Basavanna rejected gender or social discrimination, superstitions and rituals.
• During his tenure as Chief Minister, he introduced many new public institutions like Anubhava Mantapa (“hall of spiritual experience”) that would facilitate men and women from all socio-economic backgrounds to have a healthy and open discussion on various spiritual topics.
• A 13th-century sacred Telugu text, the Basava purana by Palkuriki Somanatha offers a full account of Basava’s life and ideas.
• In 2003, former President of India Abdul Kalam inaugurated Basaveshwar’s statue in the Parliament of India.
• In 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the statue of Basaveshwara along the bank of the river Thames in London.

ANSWER: Digi Yatra

Explanation:
The Ministry of Civil Aviation under the proposed “Digi Yatra” initiative is aiming to make boarding pass and security check-ins digital at airports using Aadhaar and mobile phones.

As per this initiative, a digital mode for airport entry and verification of passengers would be used.

The move is aimed to ease the security and boarding procedure.

Digi Yatra initiative aims to make the whole air travel experience completely digital.

The proposed initiative would not require any paperwork and the traveller will be securely identified through Aadhaar number, passport or other documents.

The ministry is now working on establishing a uniform set of standards and protocols which can be applied across the system.

The ministry expects to roll out the initiative in the coming months.

Alongside the ministry is also in the process of coming up with an approach to have a no-fly list based on safety.

The government has decided to come with a no-fly list in the wake of instances of unruly behaviour by air passengers that endanger the safety of all passengers in an aircraft.

By having a ‘no fly list’, the government wants to ensure that the unruly passengers are not able to fly and are appropriately dealt with.

ANSWER: May 2

Explanation:
May 2, 2017 will be observed as Ganga Swachhta Sankalp Divas by National Mission on Clean Ganga (NMCG) at 12 locations.

These include Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna, Bhagalpur, Sahibganj, Kolkata, Raj Ghat (Hardoi), Bithoor, Srinagar ( Uttarakhand), Vidhur Kuti (Bijnor) and Devprayag.

Apart from these locations, with the help of Ganga Vichaar Manch, local NGOs and volunteer support, the event is slated to be organized at more than 30 other locations.

The objective of the event is to spread awareness and promote active involvement of the masses in Swachh Ganga.

The event envisages developing a sense of stewardship among masses and to actively support for Namami Gange programme.

Ganga Vichar Manch which is a volunteer wing of National Mission on Clean Ganga (NMCG) would execute the event in close coordination with State Programme Management Groups, State Government Departments/Agencies, District Administration and other key stakeholders.

In March 2017, NMCG observed 16 days long ‘Ganga Swachhta Pakhwada’ along with five Ganga Basin States.

NMCG is organizing ‘Ganga Swachhta Sankalp Divas’ by considering the overwhelming success with active participation of various communities in the pakhwada.

NMCG: Know More

• National Mission for Clean Ganga(NMCG) is the implementation wing of National Ganga River Basin Authority(NGRBA) set up under Min. of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in 2011.
• It now works under the control of Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, as per revised allocation business rules of 2014.
  The aim is to clean Ganga and its tributaries in a comprehensive manner.
• Uma Bharti is the present Minister for Ministry for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India.
• Namami Gange a program led by the Modi’s government undertaken in July 2014 Budget with an estimated budget of INR 20,000 Crores.
• Namami Gange focuses on abatement of pollution with a radical approach to ensure pure water quality and sustainable development.

ANSWER: 5

Explanation:
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is going to launch five communication satellites by the end of 2017.

The main aim behind the launch is to improve the communication system within the country.

The specific use of the satellites would be to improve the number of available transponders for communications.

The move is expected to significantly enhance India’s communication capability.

An overview of the number of satellites launched by the space organisation and the purpose of each satellite in the areas of disaster management, weather forecasting, space exploration, education, agriculture and geo-spatial applications was also provided.

India is the only country to achieve the feat of having a large number of satellites.

ISRO along with the government has made it mandatory for all aircrafts to have a GPS-aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) system by 2019 to ensure safety and precision landing.

Apart from this, ISRO plans to make an inventory and site management plan for 4000 heritage sites in India.

The organisation also helped India break the record for launching most satellites from a single rocket by launching 104 satellites in one go in February 2017.

GAGAN: Know More

• The GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) is an implementation of a regional satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) by the Indian government.
• It is a system to improve the accuracy of a GNSS receiver by providing reference signals.
• Project cost?: ?INR 7.74 billion (US$120 million)
• Fully operational by?: ?2013-14
• Launched?: ?2011-2012

ANSWER: Mann Kaur

Explanation:
101-year-old athlete, Mann Kaur, on 27 April 2017 became the oldest person to sky walk around Auckland’s famous landmark Sky Tower.

Having set a new world record on the field, Kaur stepped out 192 metres above Auckland city to achieve the feat.

The athlete from India held her 79-year-old son Gurdev Singh’s hand as she inched along the narrow platform towering high above the city centre.

On 26 April 2017, Kaur broke the Guinness World Record for javelin with a throw of 5 m 12 in her final competition at the Trusts Stadium in Waitakere, west Auckland.

Earlier on 24 April 2017, the athlete clinched the 100 metres sprint at the World Masters Games held in Auckland, New Zealand. The World Masters Games is an international multi-sport event.

World Masters Games: Know More

• It is held every 4 years.
• The event is governed by the International Masters Games Association.
• The World Masters Games is open to sports people of all abilities and most ages.
• Anyone can participate in the games so long as they are over the age of 35 though some sports will allow athletes who are younger than that.
• Participants compete for themselves as there are no country delegations.
• In 1985, Toronto had staged the first World Masters Games.