Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Aug 11, 2016

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
TRAI’s new portal has provided information on call drops, network coverage and call quality of telecom operators across India

• This is a transparency portal where consumers will get information on all parameters of Quality of Service or QoS
• The information is available on the URL http://analytics.trai.gov.in.
• Consumers in a particular location can see the number of towers across the area, the call drop rate and the performance of ISPs on different parameters in the area
• This will bring about transparency in the network performance
• Portal also provides information on network performance
• It provides information on network utilisation trends, BTS density and call drop trends
• Data is being received digitally and electronically from service providers so there is less delay
• It is now being put up in visual form on the portal to provide a clear idea on quality of service parameters for service providers

ANSWER: Rakesh Singh

Explanation:
A Parliamentary committee suggested the removal of 2.5 percent duty on import of coking coal and scrapping of clean energy cess of INR 400 a tonne as measures stand in the way of competitiveness of domestic steel firms

• Standing Committee on Coal and Steel chaired by Rakesh Singh pointed that expenditure by Indian steel companies on research and development remained 0.05-0.5 percent of their sales turnover lower than 1-2 percent by those in China, South Korea and Japan.
• Committee also found at rate of per KWH in power in India, domestic steel producers are at a disadvantage of INR 800-900 per tonne as compared to steel producers in China, Japan and South Korea
• Certain levies and duties in the form of District Mineral Fund, National Mineral Expansion Trust, import on raw material such as coking coal and levy on clean energy cess are imposed on Indian steel producers.
• Investments in R&D, works of companies like SAIL and TATA Steel were lauded. Committee recommended that Indian steel companies should benchmark R&D spending with internationally prevalent best practices in the sector

ANSWER: Both of the above

Explanation:
A bill to provide tax incentives to the garment sector and enable the government to raise customs duty on marble and granite from 10 to 40 percent was approved by the LS after FM Arun Jaitley said these measures would help in creating jobs and protecting the domestic industry from import surge

• The Bill also seeks to expand the definition of demerger with a view to facilitate splitting or modification of PSY companies
• Changes in income tax act will give effect to conditions attached to transfer of shares by the government

ANSWER: Puducherry

Explanation:
Madhya Pradesh formally joined the centre’s UDAY scheme meant for debt ridden power discos

• Move will save INR 17515 crore during the period of turnaround
• Puducherry became the first UT to formally join the scheme and signed the MoU under UDAY or Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana
• With the two states joining the scheme, the number of states and UTs joining UDAY have gone up to 16
• CPSUs and discom debt will be restructured amounting to INR 2.51 lakh crore

ANSWER: Michael Phelps

Explanation:
Michael Phelps added 21 Olympic gold medals to his collection

• American swimmer crushed Chad le Clos to regain the 200m butterfly titlte
• Among the women, Katinka Hosszu and Katie Ledecky were winners
• Phelps also won the 4X200 m freestyle
• World record holder Phelps, the most decorated athlete in the history of the games, clocked 1.53.36 minutes to add to his title

ANSWER: Freshdesk

Explanation:
Freshdesk has appointed STS Prasad as senior vice president of engineering for accelerating technology development and overseeing infrastructure enhancements to support its growing customer base

• He has previously worked with Amazon, Kosmix, Junglee, HCL, Sybase and WalmartLabs.

ANSWER: CloudPay

Explanation:
Ramco Systems, leading HCM and payroll firm and CloudPay, a managed global payroll and payment services provider announced a strategic partnership to enable enterprises to take better advantage of cloud payroll solutions

• Partnership will combine the SaaS platform and expertise in managed payroll for MNCs

ANSWER: Intel

Explanation:
Intel Corp said it could acquire Nervana Systems as the world’s largest chipmaker works to boost its AI capabilities

• San Diego CA based startup will help Intel’s artificial intelligence portfolio and improve deep learning performance of Intel Xeon and Xeon Phi processors
• Investors in Nervana include Global Playground, AME Cloud Ventures and CME Ventures
• Apple recently announced acquisition of US machine learning startup Turi

ANSWER: Vishal Salvi

Explanation:
Infosys has hired Vishal Salvi as the new Chief Information Security Officer

• This post was previously occupied by Prabhakar Mallya who retired in July 2014
• Salvi has worked as a partner at PwC since 2014 and also worked as CISO at HDFC Bank for 8 years

ANSWER: NITI Aayog CEO

Explanation:
Government has decided to take up issues such as FDI norms in the rapidly growing e-commerce sector

• The committee to investigate the same will be chaired by NITI Aayog CEO. Other members in the panel include officials from DEiTY and Ministry of Commerce and Industry
• Committee will look into issues such as FDI pertaining to e-commerce sector and further promote growth of the sector

ANSWER: Bigelow Aerospace

Explanation:
NASA has selected six US companies to develop prototypes and concepts of deep space habitats for manned missions to Mars

• Habitation systems provide a safe place for humans to live as the movement is beyond earth
• Next human exploration capabilities needed apart from SLS rocket and Orion capsules are deep space, long duration habitation and in space propulsion
• Selected companies are Bigelow Aerospace, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Orbital ATK, Sierra Nevada Corp’s Space Systems and Nano Racks
• The six companies will have 2 years to develop ground prototypes and conduct concept studies for deep space habitats

ANSWER: NBFC

Explanation:
Cabinet has approved a proposal to amend rules for foreign investment in non banking finance companies

• Amendments in existing FEMA regulations on NBFCs will enable flow of foreign investment in other financial services on automatic route provided such services are regulated by financial sector authorities like SEBI, RBI and PFRDA
• Foreign investment in other financial services that are not under regulators or government agency can be made by the approval route
• Minimum capitalisation norms under FDI policy have been eliminated as most regulators have fixed maximum capitalisation norms
• Present regulations on NBFCS holds that FDI will be permitted only for 18 specified NBFC activities

ANSWER: Advanced Ultra Super Critical

Explanation:
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the one time grant of INR 900 crores over three years for R&D projects for the development of Advanced Ultra Super Critical Technology for thermal power plants

• Estimated cost of the project is INR 1554 crore
• INR 900 crore will be provided as plan gross budgetary support to BHEL for implementation of the research and development project
• Project was proposed by a consortium of three government entities: BHEL, NTPC and IGCAR

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
Cabinet provided ex-post facto approval for the amendment of Sections 64, 65 and 115 of the Factories Act 1948 via the Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in Parliament.

• Amendments relate to increase in over time hours from 50 hours per quarter to 100 hours (Section 64) and 75 hours per quarter to 125 hours (Section 65)

ANSWER: Croatia

Explanation:
Cabinet gave approval for the signing and ratification of an agreement between India and Croatia on economic cooperation

• An earlier agreement had been signed in 1994 to develop bilateral trade and economic relations
• Average bilateral trade growth was 17.44 percent during the past three years and stood at USD 205.04 million in 2014-2015

ANSWER: August 10

Explanation:
National Deworming Day is a flagship initiative of the GoI’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

• It was conducted across 27 states and UTs on August 10, 2016
• National Deworming is a nationwide school based deworming programme for preschool and school based interventions for children between 1-19 years
• On this day, deworming tablets were administered to children in anganwadis, government, government aided and private schools as well as out of school or unregistered children
• Parents were also encouraged to take their children to schools and collect the tablet

ANSWER: Twitter

Explanation:
Editorial teams of Times of India and Navbharat Times have teamed up with the social media major Twitter to create Twitter Moments from the Rio Olympic Games

• Twitter Moments is a feature launched in 2015
• The two newspapers are the first to create and curate content for it
• Twitter Moment is a feature that integrates info in tweets, photos, auto playing videos and other multimedia to provide detailed coverage of single news theme

ANSWER: Chinnar

Explanation:
16 frog species and 3 snake species were spotted in Chinnar Wildlife Sanitary during the first phase of the reptile amphibian survey carried out from August 5-8

• Survey conducted in Idukki under Mummer Wildlife Warden was carried out 24/7 on 11 differing habitats including rain shadow areas, high altitude grasslands and thorny shrubberies
• 31 species of amphibians and 29 reptiles were spotted during the survey including ghat tree go, Gunther’s vine snake and Anamali gecko.
• Due to its varying climatic conditions, the sanctuary reportedly has one of the richest biodiversities in Kerala

ANSWER: Dinesh Kumar Khara

Explanation:
State Bank of India appointed Dinesh Kuma Khara as the MD

• ACC appointed Khara for three years extendable by two years after performance review
• Khara is currently working as MD and CEO of SBI Funds Management Pvt Ltd
• Ashok Kumar Garg and Raj Kamal Verman have been appointed as ED of Bank of Baroda and Union Bank
• Gopal Murti Bhagat and Himanshu Joshi have been appointed as EDs of Corporation Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce respectively
• SBI is a PSU bank which offers financial services across nations

ANSWER: K M Hanumantharayappa

Explanation:
Hanumantharayappa is the 25th chairman of the Central Silk Board succeeding NS Bissegowda

• He is a sericulturist and weaver
• A senior political leader from BJP, he is a Karnataka based politician
• He was Member of the Central Silk Board from 2000 to 2002
• He was also President of Karnataka State Nekarara Horate Samithi
• He has served as Chairman, Karnataka Silk Marketing Board during 2010-2013

ANSWER: Max Hypermarkets

Explanation:
Rajeev Krishnan was on 9th August 2016 appointed MD of Max Hypermarkets in India w.e.f August 1, 2016

• He succeeds VIney Singh as the MD
• Singh will also be on the board of the company as Non ED
• Krishnan previously worked for McKinsey and Bharti Retail

ANSWER: MP

Explanation:
PM Narendra Modi on 9th August 2016 launched the 70 Saal Azaadi, Yaad Karo Qurbani celebrations in Alirajpur, MP, the birthplace of freedom fighter Chandra Shekhar Azad

• This is a 15 day programme celebrating 75 years of the Quit India Movement and 70 years of independence
• People will learn about heroes and history of freedom struggle through this movement

ANSWER: Jyothilakshmi

Explanation:
Veteran Tamil actress Jyothilakshmi died on August 9, 2016 in Chennai at the age of 63

• She was famous for dance numbers and negative roles in Bollywood and South Indian film industry
• She debuted in Periya Idathu Penn and was a trained dancer
• Her Telugu movies which were bits include Gandharva Kanya and Prem Nagar
• She also starred in Hindi movies like Rani Aur Jaani and Jawab
• She has over 300 movies to her credit

ANSWER: Panchu Arunachalam

Explanation:
Veteran film producer, script and screenplay writer Panchu Arunachalam passed away on 9th August 2016 following an illness at the age of 75

• He is survived by a wife as well as two daughters and sons
• Panchu Arunachalam is famous for introducing Illayraja as music director in Annakili and made many films starring noted stars like Rajnikanth and Kamal Hassan

ANSWER: Russia and Turkey

Explanation:
Russia and Turkey have agreed on 9th August 2016 to work towards restoring full relations

• Agreement was reached at a meeting between Russian president Putin and Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan
• Both leaders agreed to restore economic relations and resolve the crisis in Syria
• The two countries will restore annual bilateral trade target of USD 100 billion

ANSWER: Baristha Bunakar Sahayata Yojana

Explanation:
Government of Odisha launched an assistance scheme called Baristha Bunakar Sahayata Yojana’ for elderly handloom weavers

• This was on the occasion of National Handlooms Day observed on 7th August 2016
• It was launched by State CM to improve condition of 8000 weavers
• Odisha produces handloom fabrics worth INR 160 crore and there are nearly 1.5 lakh weavers including 78 percent women engaged in handloom products

ANSWER: South Africa

Explanation:
Union cabinet chaired by PM Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto approval for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and South Africa for cooperation in the field of Tourism. The MoU was signed on 08.07.2016.

• The main objectives of the MoU are expanding bilateral cooperation in the tourism sector and promoting information exchange
• Apart from this cooperation between tourism stakeholders including hotels and tour operators and exchange program for HRD cooperation and investments in the sector were also promoted

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
President Mukherjee emphasised the use of the National Knowledge Network and spoke on ‘Innovation: A Way of Life’.

• 9 sutras were proposed to promote innovation namely:
  i. We should not snub children when they ask questions to which we have no answer;
  ii. We should promote and reinforce a scientific temper by questioning our beliefs which are not compatible with scientific way of thinking;
  iii. Innovation clubs and tinkering labs should be set up in schools, colleges and research institutions;
  iv. We should build viable and sustainable bridges between formal and informal knowledge systems;
  v. We must give due recognition to cultural, technological and traditional skills while implementing our employment guarantee schemes and skill development programmes;
  vi. We should bring our educational system in line with contemporary societal expectations;
  vii. We need to overcome the deeply-embedded inertia in our psyche and constantly ask ourselves: how can I solve this problem? Can I still try, no matter if I fail a few times?;
  viii. We must develop a sense of immediacy as time and tide waits for none;
  ix. We must not tolerate inefficiency, shabbiness and poor quality work.
• The President said India is the world’s largest youth-populated nation.
  Over 600 million people in India out of a total population of 1.28 billion are below the age of 25 years and must utilise this.

ANSWER: Chad

Explanation:
President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee extended greetings and felicitations to people and government of Chad on their national day August 11, 2016

• His Excellency Mr. Idriss Deby Itno, is currently the President of the Republic of Chad,

ANSWER: Both of the above

Explanation:
Union Cabinet has approved amendments to the Maternity Benefit Act 1961 by introducing the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in Parliament.
The amendments to Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 are as follows:

• Increase Maternity Benefit from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for two surviving children and 12 weeks for more than two childern.
• 12 weeks Maternity Benefit to a 'Commissioning mother' and 'Adopting mother'.

ANSWER: Technology Acquisition and Development Fund

Explanation:
Government has notified the scheme for Technology Acquisition and Development Fund under the National Manufacturing Policy to provide funding support to SMEs for acquiring clean energy technologies

• Scheme is applicable for MSMEs and NIMZ
• The fund provides subsidy of upto 10% of capital expenditure incurred on new plant and machinery (on procuring plant and machinery) for manufacturing units for controlling pollution, reducing energy consumption and for water conservation, subject to a maximum of INR 50 lakhs.

The incentives consist of:

• Five percent interest reimbursement of the nominal interest charged by lending agency;
• Ten percent capital subsidy;
• 25% grant to SMEs for expenditure incurred on Environmental and Water audits subject to a maximum of INR1 lakh in NIMZs;
• Units practicing zero water discharge are eligible for 10% onetime capital subsidy on the relevant equipment/systems subject to actual usage for one year and third party certification; and
• Access to the patent pool and/or part reimbursement of technology acquisition costs upto a maximum of INR 20 lakhs for acquiring appropriate technologies patented upto a maximum of 5 years generally, prior to the date of submission of the project.

ANSWER: National Corridor Development Authority

Explanation:
Government has planned to set up National Industrial Corridor Development Authority

• Proposed NICDA will integrate development of Industrial Corridors through India
• It will channelise central and institutional funds for projects like DMIC which seeks to create corridors in Gujarat, UP, MP and Maharashtra namely:
  i. Ahmedabad-Dholera Special Investment Region in Gujarat.
  ii. Shendra-Bidkin Industrial Park in Maharashtra.
  iii. Integrated Industrial Township Project in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
  iv. Integrated Industrial Township Project in Vikram Udyogpuri in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.