Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Dec 16, 2015

ANSWER: 11

Explanation:
Overall remuneration that directors of public companies can receive has been fixed at 11% of its annual profit recorded in a particular financial year. Under the Companies Act, Corporate Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley has announced that total remuneration payable to directors shall not exceed 11 percent of the net profits of that company for that financial year. Firms that will be considered public companies would be those with minimum paid up capital of INR 5 lakh or more. When there are losses or inadequate profits, remuneration may be paid as per the limits perceived and conditions specified in the Act.

ANSWER: World Championships

Explanation:
In a massive boost for 4 Indian boxers, the International Olympics Committee conferred scholarships on the sportsman namely World Championships bronze medallist Shiva Thapa, Commonwealth Games silver medalist Mandeep Jangra, and Sumit Sangwan as well as Gaurav Bidhuri. While Bidhuri finished with an impressive performance at the World Series of Boxing, Sumit won a silver medal at the 2010 Asian Championships. A sum of USD 800 per month will be given to them as part of the scholarship along with USD 5,000 provided they qualify for the Olympics.

ANSWER: Alibaba

Explanation:
Chinese internet company Alibaba will pay USD 266 million for the South China Morning Post of Hong Kong. The business had been valued at half the amount and some observers indicated that the hefty price tag reveals Alibaba’s intent to control the media. Alibaba also owns the Hong Kong editions of magazines Cosmopolitan, Elle, Esquire and Harper’s Bazaar.

ANSWER: Work for Human Development in Ethiopia

Explanation:
This report was released on 14th December 2015 with the title “Work for Human Development in Ethiopia”. This report also said that 2 billion people were lifted out of low human development within the past 25 years. As per the 2015 report, India attained a score of 0.609 thereby ranked 130 of 188 nations in terms of the HDI. In the 2014 report, India’s report was 135 out of 187.

ANSWER: Snapdeal

Explanation:
For overcoming language barriers and shopping online in the regional language they prefer, Snapdeal users can now try its multilingual interface. Snapdeal’s user interface on mobile will soon be available in English and 11 regional languages w.e.f January 26th. Snapped has now expanded the reach to 130 million smartphone users in the country.

ANSWER: The tilt of the earth

Explanation:
Researchers have discovered a connection between earth’s tilt called obliquity and shifts every 41,0000 years and the movement of a low pressure band of clouds that is the largest source of heat and moisture for the earth namely the ITCZ or Intertropical Convergence Zone. Study reveals that earth’s tilt plays a much larger role in ITCZ migration than previously determined. This will enable climate scientists to better predict extreme weather events.

ANSWER: New Education Policy

Explanation:
GoI has undertaken a collaborative and multi-pronged consultation process for formulating a NEP or New Education Policy that includes the following thematic deliberations: online, grassroots and national level. NEP consultation process has been initiated with CABE/Central Advisory Board of Education officials.

ANSWER: 900

Explanation:
Pakistan on 15th December 2015 successfully test fired a nuclear capable ballistic missile with a range of 900 km. This comes after testing a similar missile capable of hitting targets as far as 2750 km away bringing many Indian cities under its range. Shaheen 1A ballistic missile was also fired from an undisclosed location impacting the Arabian sea. It can deliver different types of warheads to the range of 900 kms.

ANSWER: ism

Explanation:
Merriam Webster has picked the suffix ism as the most powerful word of the year.The isms which scored on the dictionary’s company website include racism, feminism and communism.

ANSWER: 34

Explanation:
Saudi Arabia has on 15th December 2015 announced that 34 nations have joined hands to form a Islamic military alliance to fight terrorism with joint operations in the capital city of Riyadh. The alliance will be Saudi led and aims to fight terrorism by all means to eliminate it. Coalition includes nations with large and established armies such as Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt as well as war-torn countries with embattled militaries such as Libya and Yemen. African nations which have been targeted by terrorists are also part of the network such as Mali, Chad, Somalia and Nigeria.

ANSWER: Eurasian Economic Union

Explanation:
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation has set to showcase alignment between China and Russia through integration of Beijing marshalled Silk Road Economic Belt and Moscow driven Eurasian Economic Union. SCO is part of the emerging Eurasia-centred Silk Road geopolitical architecture pillared by China and Russia, along with the Central Asian Republics.

ANSWER: 6

Explanation:
ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle is set to launch 6 Singapore satellites from Sriharikota on Wednesday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. The 59 hour countdown of the PSLV began on 14th December 2015. Of the 6 satellites, TeLEOS-1 is the primary satellite weighing 400 kgs whereas the other five satellites comprise two micro-satellites and three nano-satellites. TeLEOS -1 is the first commercial earth observational satellite.

ANSWER: Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana

Explanation:
Government has launched the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana for providing end to end solutions in irrigation supply chain and it has been formulated keeping the following schemes in mind: Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) of Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation; Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) of Department of Land Resources; and On Farm Water Management (OFWM) component of National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) of Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare. Moreover, a Farmer’s Portal with Kisan portal to serve as a one stop shop for farmers for accessing information on agricultural activities has also been launched.

ANSWER: Bahrain

Explanation:
Indian president Shri Pranab Mukherjee extended greetings and felicitations to the people of Bahrain on their national day on December 16, 2015, apart from the King Hamad bin lsa Al-Khalifa, the King of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The president also extended greetings to the government and people of Republic of Kazakhstan on the same day which was the 24th anniversary of their independence day.

ANSWER: INS Vikramaditya

Explanation:
PM Narendra Modi chaired the Combined Commanders Conference abroad an aircraft carrier for the first time on board the INS Vikramaditya off the coast of Kochi. Indian naval and maritime capabilities were on display following the conference which was held on 15th December 2015.