Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Aug 26, 2016

ANSWER: Only a and c

Explanation:
RBI has retained too big to fail status for SBI and ICICI Bank.

• The nation’s top two lenders by asset were assigned the status of domestic systemically important banks or the equivalent as “too big to fail” for the second consecutive year
• The two banks were assigned the status last year
• The central bank moved to this classification system for the first time in 2015.
• Being a systemically important bank imposed additional capital requirements for the two lenders
• SBI is India’s largest public sector bank and ICICI is its biggest private sector lender
• In compiling the list, RBI considers factors such as size, complexity, interconnectedness and international links among others
• Meanwhile, UNDP has agreed to assist Dharamshala as the Smart City for which it released funds of INR 50 lakh
• UNDP seeks to link Dharamshala with Japan and the US under the smart city project.
• It had earlier coordinated in capacity building programme and exerting manpower in urban local bodies of the state

ANSWER: Abhinav Bindra

Explanation:
India’s first and single Olympic gold medal winner Abhinav Bindra was on 25th August 2016 named as chairman of the 5 member review committee to probe the shooters’ Rio Games debacle.

• He rescued himself from the questioning as he was part of the team.
• National Rifle Association of India said the mandate of the committee was to identify in an objective way the causes behind shooters not securing any medals in the Rio Olympics
• Committee is also mandated to recommend concrete steps the NRAI must undertake to ensure the dismal performance is not repeated in future Olympics.
• Bindra who retired from the sport after a fourth place finish in Rio told the NRAI he would not question teammates.
• He said he was open to assessment by the review committee
• NRAI order states that only in matters specifically pertaining to the interview or findings/conclusions if any against or in favour of Olympic team athletes may then be examined by the committee, the Chairman of the committee shall be exempt in toto if he rescues himself though he should make himself available for interview by the remainder of the panel.
• For this specific issue, remaining members of the commission shall officiate jointly where majority view will prevail
• Other members of the committee include former tennis player Manisha Malhotra, appointed convener of the committee as well as NRAI Secretary Rajiv Bhatia and two journalists.
• Order empowers the committee to investigate a wide range of factors affecting the performance of the shooters.
• As per the order, the NRAI Review Committee has been asked to submit the report to the President with the maximum period of 4 weeks
• Committee is expected to hold its first meeting on August 30 or 31
• It has been allowed use of available technology to help conduct work smoothly.

ANSWER: Sakshi Malik

Explanation:

• Meanwhile Olympic bronze medalist Sakshi Malik was named Haryana’s brand ambassador for the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign.
• Malik was also awarded INR 2.5 crore rupees and a commendation certificate besides a class two level job in the state government.
• Her coaches Mandeep and Kuldeep also received cheques of INR 10 lakh rupees by the CM.
• Besides, the Chief Minister also announced that a sports nursery and a stadium would be set up at Mohra, the native village of Sakshi in Rohtak district.

ANSWER: nuTonomy

Explanation:
Autonomous vehicle software startup nuTonomy has rolled out the world’s first self driving taxis in Singapore.

• Cab aggregator Uber plans to offer such rides in Pittsburgh.
• Select members of the public can hail a free ride through smartphones in texts operated by nuTonomy
• Multiple companies including Google and Volvo began testing self driving cars on public roads recently
• But this startup is the first to offer rides to the public
• NuTonomy is operating 6 cars currently and plans to have a fully driven taxi fleet in Singapore by 2018
• Taxis now run only in 6.5 square kilometre business and residential district called one north.
• Each car if fitted with six sets of detection system Lidar that uses lakers to operate like radar including one that spins constantly on the roof
• There are also two cameras on the dashboard to scan for obstacles and detect changes in traffic lights
• This could reduce the amount of cars on the road.
• nuTonomy is a 50 person startup with offices in Singapore and Massachusetts
• It was formed in 2013 by Iagnemma and Emilio Frazzle
• These MIT researchers were studying robotics and making autonomous cars for the US defence department
• Company was the first to win approval from Singapore’s government to test self driving cars in one north
• The startup also announced a research partnership with Singapore’s Land Transport Authority
• Singapore is suited for self driving cars because of its suitable weather, adequate infrastructure and strict observance of traffic rules on the road
• Singapore is a landlocked island with 5.4 million people living here
• Auto supplier Delphi is also working on autonomous vehicle software for this nation
• NuTonomy hopes to establish partnerships with automakers, tech companies, logistics firms and others

ANSWER: Sir Anthony Jay

Explanation:
Writer associated with popular British satirical shows Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister, Sir Anthony Jay died on 21st August at age 86 after a lengthy illness.

• Writer and producer died peacefully and is survived by his wife and children.
• Jay began his career in the BBC Current Affairs department
• He was the founding member of the Tonight team
• He also scripted numerous documentaries on the British Royal family and Queen Elizabeth II.
• He is best known for the two political comedies he co-wrote with Jonathan Lynn.
• Yes Minister ran for three series between 1980 and 1984
• It tracks the problems of fictitious British MP James Hacker, the minister for administrative affairs and battles against Whitehall civil servant Sir Humphrey Appleby
• Yes Prime Minister broadcast for two seasons between 1986 and 1988 showed Hacker’s life after his entry into 10 Downing Street
• Former British PM Margaret Thatcher was known to be a great fan of the series
• Jay also wrote several management books.
• He founded a management and sales training film company alongside British actor John Cleese and two other coworkers in 1972.

ANSWER: Conventional powered submarine

Explanation:
Scorpene is a conventional powered submarine weighing 1500 tonnes. It can reach depths of 300m and was built by DCNS France.

• In October 2005 India signed a deal of USD 3.75 billion to get six submarines built at the Mazgaon Dock Limited in Mumbai with the transfer of technology.
• Additional deals were signed by the Indian company with Thales and MBDA for systems and weapons.
• Following repeated delays over 4 years, the first submarine began sea trials in May 2016
• Remaining 5 submarines are at various stages of construction
• Submarine is the quietest and most potent military platform and influences second strike capabilities
• Every military platform shows up on the radar by which adversaries can be tracked; so stealth technologies like Scorpene that are virtually undetectable command a premium
• As submarines operate under the water, they use sonar or sonic waves for communication and detection
• An Australian newspaper has leaked 22,400 pages of documents from the DCNS manual detailing technical specifications of the submarine
• This includes combat and stealth capabilities, what frequencies they gather intelligence it, their diving depths range, endurance and level of noise they make at numerous speeds
• It also discloses magnetic, electromagnetic and infra red data as well as specifications of the submarine torpedo launch system and the combat system.
• The question remains whether such information leaking poses a danger to stealth capabilities of the submarine
• The manufacturer’s technical manual has been revealed on public domain and the operation and tactical procedures to be used once the submarine is inducted could be the only thing unique about it now
• It is possible submarines under construction could be tweaked to change their signatures
• Government of India has said the reported leak of documents have been examined and do not pose a security compromise as vital parameters have been concealed
• Indian Navy has also taken up the matter with the DG Armament of the French government and investigate the matter
• An internal audit of procedure to rule out security compromise is also being undertaken
• Indian Navy is also conducting a detailed potential impact, which is being taken by a high level of committee constituted by MoD.

ANSWER: Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan

Explanation:
Union Government on 24th August 2016 launched the accessible e-library.

• It is called the Sugamya Pustakalaya for Divyang
• It has been launched under the Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhigyan).
• Sugamya Pustakalaya is an online platform that makes accessible content available to print disabled people
• It has more than 2 lakh books in diverse subjects and languages and multiple accessible formats
• e-Library was created by Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in collaboration with organisations of Daisy Forum of India and powered by TCS Access.
• E-Library is a nation wide campaign for attaining universal accessibility for persons with disabilities
• This initiative is in line with Article 9 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• India is the signatory to this article from 2007

ANSWER: AR Kidwai

Explanation:
Akhlaq Ur Rahman served as Governor of many states including Bihar, West Bengal and Haryana.

• Kidwai passed away on 24th August 2016 following a brief illness at the age of 96.
• He is survived by two sons and four daughters.
• Born in 1920 in Barabanki District in UP, Kidwai served as governor of several states for 17 whole years
• Bihar (1979 to 1985,1993-1998)
• West Bengal (1998 to 1999)
• Haryana (2004 to 2009)
• He has been held the temporary charge of the Governor of Punjab and Rajasthan and administrator of Chandigarh and Delhi
• He has served as Chairman of the UPSC from 1974-1978
• He also served as the chancellor of AMU
• In January 2011, he was awarded Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award for outstanding contribution towards public affairs in India.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
National Payments Corporation of India said the Unified Payments Interface is live and currently accessible for customers of 21 banks.

• UPI is a payment solution
• It empowers the recipient to initiate the payment request from a smartphone
• It facilitates virtual payment address as a payment identifier for sending and collecting money and works on single click 2 factor authentication
• Real time sending and receiving money through such a mobile app on interoperable basis has been attempted for the first time in the world
• UPI empowers the establishment of a hi-tech payment interface
• The current CEO and MD of NPCI is AP Hota
• Some of the banks going live with UPI are Andhra Bank, Axis Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Bharatiya Mahila Bank, Canara Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Union Bank of India and Vijaya Bank
• The smooth operation led to immediate pay and collection with Virtual Payment Address
• NPCI decided only banks with 1000 pilot customers, success rate of 80 percent and 5000 transactions would be permitted to go live

ANSWER: PD Gupta

Explanation:
Well known scientist PD Gupta was appointed as VC of Mumbai based Homi Bhabha National Institute.

• He has been appointed to the post for five years according to an order issued by DoPT
• HBNI is an aided institution of DAE and is a deemed university according to the UGC Act
• Institute is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in sciences including engineering and maths.
• This institute aims to further indigenous nuclear technological capability
• It is one of the institutes of excellence as per section 4b of the Reservation in Admission Act 2006
• It has been placed by MHRD task force in category A institutes

ANSWER: Bengali listeners

Explanation:
President Pranab Mukherjee launched the Akashvani Maitree channel for Bengali listeners and its multimedia website which provides a platform for blending content from India and Bangladesh and preserves Bengali culture.

• The channel is a unique initiative of AIR for Bengali listeners living in different parts of the globe.
• The channel will be broadcast from a state-of-the-art brand new high power 1000Kw DRM transmitter with a capacity to reach the entire length and breadth of Bangladesh through medium wave and will be also available globally on its website and mobile app.

ANSWER: FICCI

Explanation:
GPS enabled mobile app of the Telangana Aaroyasri Healthcare Trust bagged FICCI’s healthcare excellence award.

• This is the second award for the app.
• It has also won the Elite Smart Healthcare Conclave award for being the most important mobile app in the nation
• Mobile app was launched by Laxma Reddy in June 2016
• It was made by the project monitoring unit of the Trust that enables any patient to locate the network hospital within 10 km radius through a map
• It will also show the nearest routes to hospitals networked under Healthcare Trust
• This has been helpful during emergencies and road accidents
• App provides complete information pertaining to specialities available in each hospital district wise, phone numbers of the network hospitals, mail ids etc.

ANSWER: None of the above

Explanation:
BRICS film festival is to explore cooperation in cinema, culture and cuisine

• India will host the 1st BRICS Film Festival
• Malayalam movie Veeram will be the opening film for the festival
• The Film festival will act as a platform for those in film industry of BRICS nations to explore areas of cooperation in cinema, culture and cuisine
• Festival will also reward film makers, actors, producers and directors
• India’s BRICS Chairmanship is also scheduled to commence in Goa on 15-16 October, where a five-pronged approach had been adopted keeping in view the theme of the summit which is “Building Responsive, Inclusive and Collective Solutions”.

Here is the jury of the film festival

• Mr. T S Nagabharana (India) - Chairperson: A Kannada director, writer, actor, pioneers of the Parallel Cinema, served as the Chairman of Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy and founder of a theatre organization called “Benaka”. Winner of 9 national awards and 14 state awards
• Mr. Francis Vogner do Reis (Brazil) - A journalist, producer and curator of film shows, professor of theory, history and film criticism, he co-founded electronic magazine Cine Imperfect.
• Mr. Kirill Razlogov (Russia) - A graduate from the Moscow State University Lomonossov, Historical Faculty, Arts History, holds Ph.D. in arts and cultural studies. He served as a special adviser for 11 years on film history and international affairs.
• Mr. Hou Keming (China) - A professor of the direction department of Beijing Film Academy. He is also the chairperson of the China Children’s Film Association and the president of China International Children’s Film Festival.
• Ms. Xoliswa Sithole (South Africa) - Founder and director, of Nayanaya Pictures, she is also a member of the BAFTA and is the founding member of Filmmakers against Racism.
• The Closing film would be the Chinese movie, Skiptrace, starring Jackie Chan directed by Renny Harlin.
• The BRICS Film Festival will be held at the Sirifort Auditorium Complex, New Delhi, from September 2nd to September 6th, 2016.
• In the course of 5 days of the event, 20 movies will be screened in the competition section, 4 from each of the countries.