Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Dec 03, 2015

ANSWER: 2909

Explanation:
EPFO has invested INR 2909 within a span of 4 months in Exchange Traded Funds to maximise earnings. As per approval of CBT, EPFO is said to invest only 5% of its investment in ETF during this financial year. The EPFO has invested Rs 2,322.10 crore in ETFs during August-October on which it earned an annualised return of 1.52 percent.

ANSWER: INR 6000 crore Bank of Baroda forex scam

Explanation:
A forensic probe has been ordered into irregularities in outward foreign remittances to the value of INR 6000 crore from the Bank of Baroda. CBI and ED have registered cases on the basis of complaints filed by banks pertaining to irregularities in outward foreign remittances. Department of Financial Services has ordered a probe into 11 companies involved in the transaction.

ANSWER: Carriage by Air (Amendment) Bill 2015

Explanation:
LS has passed a bill entitled Carriage by Air (Amendment) Bill 2015 for enhancing the compensation airlines must give to passengers in the event of flight delays, death, injury or lost baggage. Death in an air accident will now fetch compensation of INR 1 crore as against 89 lakh earlier. Bill also gives GoI the capacity to revise liability limits of air carriers in line with Montreal Convention.

ANSWER: Paris Pact on Water and Climate Change Adaptation

Explanation:
A massive coalition of nations including India, river basin organisations and business as well as civil societies from around the world have announced the Paris Pact on Water and Climate Change Adaptation to make water systems more resilient to climate impacts. This represents USD 20 million in technical assistance and USD 1 billion in financing. India has committed improvement in the ground water management of the nation as part of this pact. The announcement was part of the "Water Resilience Focus" event under the Lima to Paris Action Agenda (LPAA) on climate change which is a joint undertaking of the Peruvian and French COP (conference of parties) presidencies, the Office of the secretary-general of the United Nations and the UNFCCC Secretariat.

ANSWER: Alcatel Lucent

Explanation:
Shareholders in a Finnish telecom company Nokia have approved purchase of French American rival group Alcatel Lucent. The shareholders backed the merger plan sans a vote as none of the shareholders present raised objections. Nokia is currently a leading mobile telephone maker and the combined revenue with Alcatel Lucent stands at USD 26.5 billion.

ANSWER: Wipro

Explanation:
The third largest software services company Wipro will acquire German IT consulting company Cellent AG for INR 518 crore. The all cash deal will conclude in March 2016, according to a BSE filing by the company. The agreement has been signed with Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg (LBBW) to acquire Cellent AG for 73.5 million euros. Wipro subsidiary Wipro Cyprus is making the acquisition which will provide significant scale for the company in the DACH region (Austria, Germany and Switzerland). The German company founded in 2002 has 8 offices in Germany, 2 in Austria and 1 in Switzerland.

ANSWER: TASL

Explanation:
In a major step forward for the Telangana aerospace sector, Minister of IT K. T. Rama Rao has announced the setting up of a facility on the outskirts of the city to create fuselage for Apache helicopters in a collaboration between Boeing India and TASL.

ANSWER: 2.5

Explanation:
In seven out of 10 monitoring stations of the Central Pollution Control Board, PM 2.5, particulate matter having the size equal to or less than 2.5 micron, came out to be the major pollutant. PM 10 had greater presence in some areas such as Anand Vihar. Air Quality Index (AQI) of System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) stations, located across the city, also remained between very poor and poor. Permissible levels of PM (particulate matter) 2.5 and PM 10 are 60 and 100 micrograms per cubic metre respectively and consistent exposure to any value above this is harmful as particles embed themselves deep inside the lungs.

ANSWER: 6

Explanation:
6 more Indian Institutes of Technology will be established in Chhattisgarh, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka and AP as per a Union Cabinet decision taken on 3rd December 2015. A cabinet meeting also accorded approval for operationalisation of these IITs initially by forming of Societies under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 in order to give them legal status till the amendment for their incorporation in The Institutes of Technology Act, 1961 is enacted. At present, there are 16 IITs in the country. Every new IIT will have an intake of 180 students within the first year which will increase to 450 in the second and 928 in the third year of operation.

ANSWER: IIT Bombay

Explanation:
IIT-Bombay and NIT have signed an MoU which will enable the former to initiate new degree programmes in NIT Goa and students of the latter institute to visit the former for research purposes. The MoU was signed by NIT Goa director G R C Reddy and IIT Bombay director Devang Khakhar for R&D activities.

ANSWER: Margi Sathi

Explanation:
Koodiyattam and Nangiarkoothu exponent Margi Sathi passed away on December 1st at Thiruvananthapuram at the age of 50. She is survived by a daughter and a son. Considered as a doyenne of the Koodiyattam and Nangiarkoothu dance forms, an ancient temple art form, she was appointed as faculty at Kerala Kalamandalam where she taught the discipline. Sathi was a recipient of Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Academy award (2002), Kaladarpana award (2008) and Natyarathna Puraskaram (2008).

ANSWER: Venkatraman Ramakrishnan

Explanation:
Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan assumed Presidency of London’s Royal Society and was elected to office in March 2015. He became the 61st president of this society joining an elite club including scientists like Isaac Newton and thinkers like Christopher Wren. An Indian American scientist, he received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2009 and was also a professor of biochemistry at University of Utah. Founded in 1660, Royal Society is a fellowship of well known scientists.

ANSWER: December 2

Explanation:
International day for Abolition of Slavery is observed to focus on the elimination of human trafficking, child labour and other forms of modern-day slavery. As per ILO, currently there are 21 million forced victims of slavery and labour across the globe, creating USD 150 billion in illegal profits. 2004 was also proclaimed as the International Year to commemorate struggle against slavery and abolition.