Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Dec 02, 2016

ANSWER: Magnus Carlsen

Explanation:
Magnus Carlsen won the 2016 World Chess Championship on 30th Nov 2016 in NYC, United States.

Carlsen defeated Sergey Karjkin to retain the World Chess Champion title. This is the third time Carlsen won the championship. He reigned as world champion since the year 2013.

The Norwegian chess grandmaster became the third youngest grandmaster in history in 2004 at the age of 13 years. In Nov 2013, he became the World Champion by defeating Vishwanathan Anand in the World Chess Championship.

On May 2014 FIDE rating list, he reached his peak rating of 2882 which is the highest in history. He defended his title in Nov 2014 by defeating Anand again.

In 2014, he won the World Rapid Championship and the World Blitz Championship, holding all three world championship titles.

World Chess Championship

• The organization determines the World Champion in chess.
• Commenced in 1886.
• World Chess Federation/FIDE administered the championship from 1948-1993.
• In 1993, reigning world champion Gary Kasparov broke away from FIDE, leading to the formation of rival PCA Championship.
• The titles were unified at the World Chess Championship 2006.

ANSWER: 7.3

Explanation:
Central Statistical Office on 30th Nov 2016 announced India’s GDP accelerated to 7.3 percent in the second quarter of 2016-2017. This is up from a provisional 7.1 percent expansion in Q1.

Gross Value Added rose to 7.1 percent.

GDP growth accelerated in the second quarter from 7.1 percent, but GVA growth slowed 7.3 percent in that period.

Both GDP and GVA growth were slower in this Q2 compared to 2015-2016’s Q2. The Q2 of 2015-2016 showed a GDP growth of 7.6 percent and GVA growth of 7.3 percent.

The agriculture sector maintained the overall growth by registering a 3.3 percent GVA growth rate in Q2 of this financial year in comparison with 2 percent in Q2 of 2015-16.

The manufacturing sector saw considerable slowdown as it registered GVA growth of 7.1 percent in Q2 of this financial year as against 9.2 percent in 2015-2016’s Q2.

The mining and quarrying sector growth fell by 1.5 percent in Q2 compared with the contraction of 0.4 percent in the first quarter and a growth of 5 percent in Q2 of 2015-16.

Sectors like manufacturing, electricity, mining, services and others show a fall in the September quarter because they are not supported by demand.

Except for agriculture, public administration and construction, drop in outputs across all sectors took place.

Gross fixed capital formation equalled 29 percent of GDP in this Q2 compared to 32.9 percent in the previous year’s Q2.

Government final consumption expenditure was 13 percent of GDP in this Q2 compared to 12.1 percent in the earlier year. GFCE grew 18.8 percent in this Q1 and 15.2 percent in this Q2.

Government’s Capital Expenditure (Plan and Non Plan) fell 12.81 percent to INR 129459 crore as against INR 143329 crore a year back.

What is GDP?

GDP: Monetary value of all finished goods and services produced in a country in a certain time period. It is generally calculated on annual basis; it can be computed on quarterly basis as well.

It is a broad measurement of nation’s overall economic activity.

GDP = Private consumption+ Public consumption+ Government outlays+ Investments + Exports - Imports.

Where, GDP = C + G + I + NX

• C = all private consumption, or consumer spending
• G = sum of government spending,
• I = sum of all the country's investment, including businesses capital expenditures and
• NX is the nation's total net exports, calculated as total exports minus total imports (NX = Exports - Imports).

ANSWER: Dec 1^st

Explanation:
World AIDS Day was celebrated on Dec 1st 2016 across the world. The theme was HandsUp for #HIVPrevention.

The campaign #HIVprevention explores various aspects of HIV prevention and how they relate to specific groups of people such as young women and adolescent girls, key populations and people living with HIV. The Joint UN programme on HIV-AIDS (UNAIDS) hosted a special event on 30th Nov 2016 to observe the day.

The commitment to move forward and end AIDS epidemic by the year 2030 was also voiced as part of SDGs.

A report entitled “Get on the Fast Track: The Life Cycle Approach to HIV” by UNAIDS shows countries getting on the fast track, with 1m people accessing treatment in 6 months from January to June 2016.

The report was launched on 21 November 2016 in Windhoek, Namibia, by the President of Namibia, Hage Geingob and the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé.

By June 2016, around 18.2 million people had access to the life-saving medicines, including 910000 children.

If these efforts are continued and amplified, the world will be on track to achieve the target of 30 million people on treatment by 2020.

About World AIDS Day

• Conceived in 1987.
• Proposed by : Public information officers of WHO, James Bunn and Thomas Nette.
• In 1996, UNAIDS started functioning. It took over planning and promotion of World AIDS day.
• First World AIDS Day: 1988

Some statistics on AIDS


• 18.2m people: Accessing antiretroviral therapy (June 2016).
• 36.7m people: Living with HIV(2015).
• 2.1m people: Newly infected with HIV(2015).
• 78m people: Infected with HIV since start of epidemic (2015).
• 35m people: Died from AIDS related illness since epidemic began (2015).

ANSWER: Sutlej Yamuna

Explanation:
SC on 30th Nov 2016 ordered status quo on land acquired for the construction of the Sutlej Yamina Link canal stretch in Punjab.

Court also appointed Union Home Secretary, Chief Secretary of Punjab and DG Punjab Police as the receivers in the dispute between Punjab and Haryana.

It also sought a report on the present status of the land.

It was also declared that receivers cannot take over possession of land meant for the canal project. They have been appointed for submitting a report on the ground situation.

The SYL Canal Dispute

• Nov 2016: 5 judge bench set aside Punjab Termination of Agreement Act 2004.
• The act unilaterally terminated the 1981 water sharing pact with Haryana.
• Punjab govt than denotified the land acquired for the canal project and returned it to owners free of cost.
• 1981 water sharing agreement came into force when Haryana was removed out of Punjab in 1966.
• Haryana has constructed the portion of SYL canal in its territory.
• Congress Govt terminated the 1981 agreement for sharing waters of rivers Ravi and Beas in 2004.
• Punjab has stopped construction in SYL canal project presently.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
UNESCO on 30th Nov, added Yoga to its coveted list of intangible heritage, along with Cuba’s Rumba dance and Belgian beer to its coveted list of “intangible” heritage.

The UN body also included Portuguese pottery and Ugandan traditional music in the list

List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in India:

• Koodiyattam: Sanskrit Theatre, Kerala
• Traditional brass and copper craft of utensil making among the Thatheras, Jandiala Guru, Punjab (Inscribed in 2014)
• Ritual theatre Mudiyett of Kerala
• Sankirtana: Ritual singing, drumming and dancing of Manipur (Inscribed in 2013)
• The Tradition of Vedic Chanting
• Buddhist chanting of Ladakh: recitation of sacred Buddhist texts in the trans-Himalayan Ladakh region, Jammu and Kashmir, India (Inscribed in 2012)
• Ramlila: the Traditional Performance of the Ramayana (Inscribed in 2008)
• Chhau dance: a tradition from eastern India (Inscribed in 2010)
• Ramman: religious festival and ritual theatre of the Garhwal Himalaya
• Kalbelia: folk songs and dances of Rajasthan
• Yoga has now been inscribed in the UNESCO list during the 11th session in Ethiopia.
• India’s proposal for Yoga as an intangible heritage was unanimously supported by 24 members of the UNESCO committee.
• Yoga became the 13th intangible cultural heritage listed in India.

UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage


• Aims at ensuring better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and awareness of significance.
• List was established in 2008.
• This was the year 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage took effect.

ANSWER: State Bank of India

Explanation:
Competition Commission of India in Nov 2016 approved the merger of Bhartiya Mahila Bank Ltd with the largest lender of India, SBI.

The combination is through amalgamation whereby BMBL and its assets and liabilities will be acquired by SBI.

While SBI has international presence including offices in 27nations, BMBL is a fledgling bank set up in Nov 2013.

For BMBL, 44231510 shares of SBI will be swapped for every 100 crore shares of face value of INR 10 each.

Post merger, the six entitles added including BMBL, will add INR 8 lakh crore to assets of SBI.

SBI-BBML merger

On 17th May, 2016, SBI informed BSE it was seeking acquisition of 5 subsidiaries and BMBL, namely:

1. State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur
2. State Bank of Hyderabad
3. State Bank of Mysore
4. State Bank of Patiala
5. State Bank of Travancore

• 2008, SBI first merged associate State Bank of Saurashtra
• 2010, State Bank of Indore was merged.
• The SBI board cleared merger with 5 associate banks and BMBL with itself in August 2016.

ANSWER: Both a and c

Explanation:
United Nations Department of Field Support on 29^th Nov 2016 launched a new strategy to maximise its peace operations' efficiency in the use of natural resources.

The strategy will also help in minimising peace operations' risk to people, societies and ecosystems.

The step was to ensure environmental protection during peacekeeping missions.

The strategy aims to lower overall demand through increased efficiency, increase the proportion of energy from renewable sources such as solar arrays and reduce pollution levels.

Scheme aims at conserving water and reducing level of risk to personnel, local communities and ecosystems from practices linked to waste water management.

Six year strategy is in line with UN SDGs.

It identifies challenges based on 5 pillars

• energy,
• water and wastewater,
• solid waste,
• wider impact and
• environmental management systems.

The first phase of the strategy will be monitored in July 2020.

The aim will be on improving environmental analytics to monitor progress.

The UN Department of Field Support is for support of peacekeeping field missions and political field missions.

It aims to protect the fragile peace, and nurture it– a critical role of the UN.

DFS has been headed by Atul Khare since March 2, 2015.

ANSWER: Year when use of HFC will peak before being scaled down

Explanation:
The government on Dec 2^nd gave its ex-post facto approval to the India's position at recent negotiations at Kigali, Rwanda over the issue of phasing down the climate-damaging refrigerants hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

The Kigali meet occurred during October 6-14 where India had successfully negotiated the baseline years and freeze year for phasing down the use of HFCs.

The country's position is aimed at allowing sufficient room for growth of its domestic sectors using refrigerants.

Freezing year is the year when use of HFCs will peak before being scaled down.

Baseline years are the years for which the average production\consumption quantity of HFCs is taken as the upper limit (serves as a level).

Two set of baselines years are there for developing countries.

India along with nine other countries will have baseline years of 2024-26 while other developing countries including China (largest producer of HFCs in the world), Brazil and South Africa will have 2020-22 baseline.

The developed countries, led by the US, will on the other hand reduce use of HFCs over a 2011-13 baseline.

The freezing year for India will be 2028, with a condition that there will be a technology review in 2024/2025 and, if the growth in the sectors using refrigerants is above certain agreed threshold, India can defer its freeze up to 2030.

The freezing year of China, Brazil, South Africa and others will be 2024.

The Kigali amendments to the Montreal Protocol will also, for the first time, incentivise improvement in energy efficiency in case of use of new refrigerant and technology.

Kigali Agreement

• The negotiations at Kigali were aimed at including HFCs in the list of chemicals an phasing them out.
• This is under the Montreal Protocol.
• India will complete its phase down in four steps with cumulative reduction of:
a. 10% in 2032,
b. 20% in 2037,
c. 30% in 2042 and
d. 85% in 2047.
• Developed countries US, Japan and west EU will lower production and consumption of HFCs by 70% in 2029 and 85% by 2036.