Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Aug 15, 2016

ANSWER: 70th

Explanation:
After unfurling the tricolour at the RedFort, PM Narendra Modi addressed the nation on its 70th Independence Day on August 15, 2016.

• He stressed that India adopted the strategy of Reform, Perform and Transform and avoided populism.
• Onus is on 125 crore people of India to convert Swaraj into Surjya. From Parliament to panchayats, gram pardon to the PM, the dream of surajya will come true if people do their duty.
• Country will not stop combating terrorism and extremism; youth should shun violence and return to the mainstream.
• PM Modi also spoke of the need to promote Karya Sanskriti of the government.
• Inflation rate has been brought down below 6 percent.
• The PM also spoke of the need to fight social evils and support social justice.
• He also said transparency was very important to Surajya.

ANSWER: Fast Patrol Vessels

Explanation:
Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers/GRSE commenced work on the first in a series of Fast Patrol Vehicles built for the Indian Coast Guard.

• The order for the FPVs was placed in March 2016 and the first ship will be delivered in February 2018.
• These ships have a unique design in that they are cost effective, fuel efficient and ideally suited for patrolling, anti smuggling, anti poaching and rescue operations.
• They are an improved version of Inshore Patrol Vessel built earlier by GRSE for the Coast Guard.
• FPVs are designed and developed by the in-house design centre of GRSE for the Coast Guard.
• FPV is 48.9 m long, 7.5m wide and has a displacement of 300 tonnes.
• It is capable of attaining maximum speed of 34 knots- at 12-16 knots, these ships have endurance of 1500 nautical miles.
• They are fitted with three water jet propulsion systems powered by marine diesel engines, developing 2720 KW of power to be fitted with CRN-91 indigenous 30mm guns.
• The ship can accommodate 35 personnel.

ANSWER: Lt. Col. Niranjan

Explanation:
Lt. Col Niranjan EK, head of the NSG bomb disposal unit was killed while neutralising a dead terrorist during the Pathankot based terror attack in January 2016 has been honoured with the third highest peacetime gallantry medal of the country, Shaurya Chakra.

• Niranjan was a officer of the Army’s Corps of Engineer was part of the special NSG commandos unit.
• He was a senior counter IED officer and suffered a lung collapse due to a bomb detonation on the dead terrorist’s body; for this act of valour, he was awarded Shaurya Chakra.
• He had vast experience in anti sabotage and sanitisation checks on live bomb including IEDs.

ANSWER: Ashok Chakra

Explanation:
Havildar Hangpan Dada killed 4 terrorists before laying down his life at the height of 13,000 feet in the harsh and icy Himalayan range of North Kashmir, that won him the Ashok Chakra.

• He was honoured posthumously with the highest award to an army man during peace time operations on the eve of the Independence Day.
• Dada laid down his life for India on May 27, 2016 and hailed from Arunachal Pradesh.
• He was popularly known as Dada among his team members.
• He was enrolled in Assam Regiment of the Army in 1997 and posted with the 35 Rashtriya Rifles, force carved for counter insurgency operations.

ANSWER: 31

Explanation:
31 CBI officers have been awarded the President’s Police Medal and Police Medal on Independence Day with 2 IPS officers in the list.

• They were officers involved in probe of Agusta Helicopter scam besides securing successful prosecution of former Haryana CM Om Prakash Chauthal.
• 
  List of awardees include:
  
• Ashwani Kumar Chand (IPS Officer 2000 Batch Sikkim cadre)
• Navjyoti Gogol (IPS Officer 200 Batch Rajasthan cadre)
• Atul Hajela (DSP in ACB)
• Harish Chandra Sharma (SP Jodhpur)
• Vijay Kumar Shukla (DSP Special Crime Unit Agency)
• Ramesh Chand (Head Constable, HP)
• Sanjay Kumar Dhal (DSEP, STF, CBI)
• S. Balasubramony (ASP)
• Krishnaswamy Kumaresan (Inspector)
• Rawat Singh (ASI)
• Samir Kumar Karmakar (Constable)
• Sub hash Ramrup Singh (ASP)
• Nagesh Murlidhar Parab(DSP)
• Neeraj Agarwal (DSP)
• Surender Singh (DSP)
• Loverson Kuruvila (DSP)
• Maharishi Ray Hajong (DSP)
• Arvin Dadaji More (Inspector)
• Tej Prakash (Inspector)
• Detrain Sanjay Sharma (Inspector)
• Subhash Chander (Inspector)
• Kuljeet Singh (Inspector)
• Sandeep Kumar Sharma (Constable)
• Satnarain (Constable)
• Bani Singh (constable)
• Devashish Bose (steno Grade II)

ANSWER: Telangana

Explanation:
Telangana state has received the highest number of gallantry medals for police personnel in the nation on the eve of Independence Day.

It was the only State Unit to secure President’s Police medal for gallantry.
• Other units to receive the award were Central Reserve Police Force, ITBP and IB
• Sub Inspector Duddekula Siddaiah and Constable Chougoni Nagaraju included the list of awardees.
• Telangana also got the President’s Police Medal for distinguished service to Fire Services DG Rajiv Ratan.
• Police Medal for meritorious service was announced for 11 police personnel.
• 24 more police medal were awarded the Police Medal for Gallantry including DIGs T. Prabhakar Rao and Rajesh Kumar.
• Other awardees included Additional Superintendent of Police Mutakoduru Chandra Shekar, Inspectors Kaitha Ravinder Reddy, Annareddy Chinna Bala Gangi Reddy, Ch. R.V. Phaneendar, and Vemula Bhaskar; Deputy Superintendent of Police Mada Dayananda Reddy, Head Constables Syed Abdul Kareem, Mohd. Mujeeb, and Syed Sarwar Pasha; Constables Md. Taj Pasha, S. Rajavardhan Reddy, Md. Musharaf Baba, N. Anil Kumar, Vemdadi Ramesh, Konatham Madhusudhan, Thodeti Shiva Koteshwar Rao, Muthineni Srinu , Janaki Ram, Golanakonda Narender, and Md. Quadeer; Reserve Sub-Inspector Gangani Satyanarayana, and Assistant Sub-Inspector Soni Lal Amrit.

ANSWER: Only a and b

Explanation:
President announced the Certificate of Honour to the following scholars in the disciplines of Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, Arabic and Persian:

Sanskrit

• R. Venkataraman
• VG Krishna
• JL Kamboj
• B Jha
• PC Shastri
• Grumped K Hedge
• ST Nagaraja
• Santan Mishra
• Shrishti Lakshmi Prasannanjaneya
• SLP Sarma
• L. Sharma
• B. Bhattacharya
• Ramnarayan Das
• R. Awash
• HR Sharma
• Janice Prasad Dwivedi
• Fernando Tola

Arabic

• Abdul Musabbir Bhuiya
• Sayad Asad Raza Hussaini
• Bard-E-Jamal Islahi

Persian

• Syed Ghulam Mehdi Raz
• Chowdhry Wahhaj Ahmad Ashraf
• H. Rehman Qabli

Pali

• Bela Bhattacharya

Prakrit

• Damodar Shastri

Additionally, the President honoured young scholars in these disciplines awarded Maharishi Badrayan Vyas Samman

ANSWER: Lt. Cdr Vikash Kumar Narwal

Explanation:
Lt.Cdr Vikash Kumar Narwal displayed utmost competence and complete disregard to safety by choosing to land a malfunctioning MiG-29-K aircraft instead of ejecting from it.

• Landing the aircraft safely at INS Hansa with structural damages onboard, the officer saved civilian lives on ground.
• The incident, which took place on 3rd August 2015 earned the officer a Nau Sena Medal for gallantry

ANSWER: Squadron leader Bhavesh Dubey

Explanation:
Squadron leader B.K. Dubey was awarded the Vayu Sena for valour on field while battling terrorists on 2nd Jan 2016 despite injuries.

• He is the Commanding Officer of the Indian Air Force Special Forces Unit since May 2013
• Squadron Leader AS Tanwar was also awarded the Vayu Sena Medal for gallantry when he stayed on a flight despite fire in the engine of the Sukhoi 30 MKI squadron.

ANSWER: Corporal Gursevak Singh

Explanation:
Corporal Gursevak Singh, Indian Air Force (Security) was deployed as Special Forces Operative at an IAF Garud Special Forces Unit since September 30, 2013.

• He was inducted for special operations at Air Force Station Pathankot as part of the Garud team on Jan 1, 2016 and lost his life fighting terrorists who attacked the base till he died.
• Due to this actions, the base remained safe from infiltration.
• For this act of exceptional gallantry, Corporal Gursevak Singh was awarded the Shaurya Chakra posthumously

ANSWER: 82

Explanation:
President and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces approved the following gallantry awards to armed forces personnel and members of the paramilitary forces.

• Ashok Chakra- 1
• Shaurya Chakra- 14
• Sena Medals - 63
• Nau Sena medals- 2
• Vayu Sena Medals- 2.

ANSWER: 67

Explanation:
67 personnel have been awarded Fire Service Medals on the occasion of Independence Day
President’s Fire Service Medal for Gallantry has been awarded to 4 personnel. Fire Service Medal for Gallantry has been awarded to 4 personnel, President’s Fire Service Medal for Distinguished Service to 10 personnel and Fire Service Medal for Meritorious Service to 49 personnel.

• 59 personnel have been awarded Home Guard and Civil Defence Medals on Independence Day in 2016.
• President’s Home Guard and Civil Defence Medal for Gallantry have been awarded to 4 personnel, Home Guard and Civil Defence Medal for Gallantry has been awarded to 1 personnel, President’s Home Guard and Civil Defence Medal For Distinguished Service to 4 personnel and Home Guard and Civil Defence Medal for Meritorious Service to 50 personnel
• 948 personnel have been awarded Police Medals on occasion of Independence Day.
• President’s Police Medal for Gallantry has been awarded to 7 personnel and Police Medal for Gallantry has been awarded to 170 personnel.
• President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service was conferred on 88 personnel and the Police Medal for Meritorious Service to 683 personnel.
• 19 personnel have been awarded the President’s Correctional Service Medal for Distinguished Service to 2 personnel and Correctional Service Medal for Meritorious Service to 17 personnel

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has extended greetings and felicitations to the Government and People of the Republics of Korea, Congo and Liechtenstein on their National Day’s eve (August 15, 2016).

• President of the Republic of Congo is Denis Sassou N’Guesso
• President of the Republic of Korea is Park Guen-hye.
• Prince Alois of Liechtenstein is the current president of this nation

ANSWER: 12th August

Explanation:
International Youth Day was celebrated across the world on 12th August 2016.

• Theme of the 2016 International Youth Day is The Road to 2030: Eradicating Poverty and Achieving Sustainable Consumption and Production.
• This year’s day is about attaining the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.
• The day focuses on the leading role of young people in ensuring poverty eradication and attaining development that is sustainable through sustained consumption and production.
• UNGA endorsed the recommendation by World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth in 1999 that August 12 be declared International Youth Day.

ANSWER: Dipika Pallikal

Explanation:
India’s leading squash player Dipika Pallikal on 13th August 2016 won the Australian Open Square Women’s Singles Title in Melbourne.

• She defeated eighth seed Mayar Hany of Egypt to win the 40 minute match.
• She also won the Winnipeg Winter Open in Canada in 2015
• Dipika is the first Indian to break into top 10 in the PSA Women’s rankings
• In 2014, she won the women’s doubles title at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with Joshna Chinappa
• She has also been awarded the Padma Shri and is the first squash player in India to receive the Arjuna award

ANSWER: Both of the above

Explanation:
Arun Jaitley, India’s Finance Minister launched two important MSME initiatives: MSME Databank Portal and Online Finance Facilitation Web Portal at the sidelines of the 14th Meeting of the National Board of MSME.

• MSME Ministry is also making an online census of the MSMEs in the country for the first time by launching a comprehensive databank ; This will save effort and resources for census
• Databank will provide information and be used for public procurement purposes.
• No grant or subsidy will be given to any MSME until the data is captured on the MSME databank.
• Portal will also allow MSMEs to apply for loans from various banks on the NSIC portal and MoUs have been signed with 33 banks, 14 of which are going to work with the online Finance Facilitation Web Portal

ANSWER: SP Sarguna Pandian

Explanation:
Former TN social welfare minister and DMK deputy general secretary SP Sarguna Pandian passed away on early hours of 13th August 2016 at the age of 75

• Sarguna Pandian was elected from RK Nagar Constituency twice in 1989 and 1996 and was social welfare minister between 1996 and 2001 when DMK President M. Karunanidhi was CM

ANSWER: Na Muthukumar

Explanation:
Two time national award winning lyricist Na Muthukumar died from jaundice in Chennai at the age of 41.

• He is survived by his wife and a son and daughter
• He first won the national award for Aananda Yazhai Meetukiraj in the film Thagameenkal and Azhage Azhagu in Saviam.

ANSWER: NE

Explanation:
Central Agricultural University (Amendment) Bill 2016 was introduced in LS by Sudarshan Bhagat, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

• Bill proposes to amend the Central Agricultural University Act 1992.
• Act provides for the establishment of a university in the NE region for the development of agriculture and advancement of research in agriculture and allied sciences.
• University will also expand teaching and research in the field of agriculture for the NE states

ANSWER: Caterine Ibarguen

Explanation:
Triple jumper Caterine Ibarguen won the first Olympic gold medal in athletics for Colombia on 14th August 2016.

• She performed the best leap of the season at 15.17 m
• Two time world champion Ibarguen was a favourite for the Rio Games and soared past Yulimar Rojas who took silver
• She was unable to break Ukraine athlete Inessa Kravet’s world record of 15.50m set in 1995.
• The 20 year old Ibarguen also became the youngest female winner of a triple jump Olympic medal and Kazakhstan’s Olga Rypakova secured bronze.

ANSWER: Wayde van Niekerk

Explanation:
South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk ran the fastest single lap in history to win the 400m gold medal in 43.03 seconds in the Rio Olympics.

• He broke Michael Johnson’s 17 year strong world record while doing so
• Johnson had achieved a 1999 mark of 43.18 seconds
• South African also spoilt Kirani James chance of gold; the 2012 champion Hames took silver in 43.76
• LaShawn Merritt of the US, the 2008 Olympic champion claimed brazen in 43.85, marking the first time the top three have run under 44 seconds in a one lap Olympic final.

ANSWER: Andy Murray

Explanation:
British player Andy Murray beat Argentinian player Juan Martin del Potro to win the Olympic tennis final on 14th August 2016.

• He became the first player to successfully defend the title in the history of the Olympic games
• It was the World Number 2’s 18th successive victory after clinching the second Wimbledon title in July
• It was the second Olympic medal for del Potro after he won the bronze in London
• Japan’s Kei Nishikori beat Spain’s Rafael Nadal to clinch bronze.

ANSWER: Venus Williams

Explanation:
Williams’ record equalling fifth Olympic tennis medal was silver rather than gold as she lost to Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jack Sock with her partner Rajeev Ram.

• Williams looked on course for gold, but settled for silver instead
• She has also won the women’s doubles three times with Serena and a singles gold.
• He Olympic haul matched the medal tally of Britain’s Kitty Godfree in the 1920s.

ANSWER: Hasanboy Dusmatov

Explanation:
Uzbekistan’s light flyweight Hasanboy Dusmatov won the first gold medal for the nation at the Olympic boxing competition on 14th August beating Colombia’s Yuberjen Martinez who settled for silver.

• Bronze was awarded to Joahnys Argilagos of Cuba and Nico Hernandez of the US
• Gold was Uzbekistan’s first in Rio with Hernandez’s medal being the first in the run for the US since 2008
• Dusmatov is only the second Olympic boxing champion after lightweight gold medallist Mahammatkodir Abdullayev to win the medal for his nation.

ANSWER: Both a and b are the same

Explanation:
Cuban cigar Maker Jose Cairo better known as Cueto, broke his own record on 12th August 2016 by rolling the world’s longest cigar at 90 metres or 295 feet which is the length of the soccer field.

• Cueto has broken the world record 5 times before.
• Cueto eclipsed his previous record of 82m with a new creation which took 10 days to roll.

ANSWER: Kerala

Explanation:
A first of its kind tactile and feel garden for visually impaired people in the country was inaugurated at Kerala near Calicut University Campus.

• Garden has 70 aromatic, herbal and medicinal plants that are from various parts of the country.
• Garden is arranged in such a way tat visually impaired get inputs by touching and smelling plants and also receive audio inputs
• The name of the plants are written in English, Malayalam and Braille and are set on a higher level apart from Sonic Labeller in pen shape on the nameplate according to which visitors can listen to complete details about plants