Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Dec 19, 2016

ANSWER: Dr. Henry J. Heimlich

Explanation:
Dr. Henry J. Heimlich, the thoracic surgeon and medical genius who developed the anti choking technique that has been credited with saving an estimated 100,000 lives, died on 17th Dec 2016.

He passed away at the age of 96.

He developed and held patients on a score of medical innovations and devices, including:

• Mechanical aids for chest surgery well known in the Vietnam war
• Procedure for treating chronic, long standing lung diseases and methods for helping the stroke victims relearn to swallow.
• He also promoted a technique for replacing the damaged oesophagus that a Romanian surgeon has been using for years.

He was a professor of clinical sciences at Xavier University in Cincinnati and president of the Heimlich Institute.

The Heimlich manoeuvre was first proposed in the 1970s when choking on food or foreign objects were the sixth leading cause of accidental death in America. State and federal authorities endorsed the technique.

The Heimlich Institute holds that 50,000 lives were saved in the US alone.

The American Medical Association, which endorsed the technique in 1975 and gave it the name Heimlich manoeuvre, says it saves unknown thousands annually.

In 1984, Dr Heimlich won the Albert Lasker Public Service Award, one of the nation’s most prestigious medical science prizes.

About Henry Heimlich

• Full name: Henry Judah Heimlich
• Born: Feb 3, 1920.
• In 1955, Dr. Heimlich proposed a method of restoring a patient’s lost ability to swallow.
• In the early 1960s Dr. Heimlich invented a device to drain fluid from an open chest wound.

Written works:

• “Dr. Heimlich’s Home Guide to Emergency Medical Situations” (1980),
• “Heimlich’s Maneuvers: My Seventy Years of Lifesaving Innovations” (2014).
• His animated series for children, "Dr. Henry’s Emergency Lessons for People," won an Emmy in 1980s.

ANSWER: President, Mumbai Cricket Association

Explanation:
Veteran political leader Sharad Pawar tendered his resignation from the president’s post of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), in Mumbai on 17th Dec.

The former ICC and BCCI president is one of the biggest names in BCCI administration and he has stepped down adhering to the age-cap of 70 years prescribed by the Lodha panel.

He was also stating that he is “hurt” by the perception that people stick around in BCCI as it is “lucrative”.

Pawar was in his second innings as president of the MCA after being elected last year for a two-year term. He had been MCA’s president between 2001-02 and 2010-11.

Pawar also noted the development that happened in the game around the country during his stint as the president of the Cricket Board.

During his tenure as ICC Chief, India successfully conducted the 2011 World Cup in India.

Mumbai Cricket Association

• MCA is the governing body for cricket in Mumbai.
• It also administers surrounding regions like Navi Mumbai and Thane.
• Association was established in 1930.
• It has a constitution.
• The Mumbai cricket team is the team for The Mumbai cricket association in the Ranji Trophy.
• The team has won over 41 titles, the most recent being in 2015-16.
• The Mumbai Cricket Association does not have a system of individual membership.
• It has 350 ordinary members and 25 Associate members which are affiliated to the Association.

ANSWER: Lt. Gen. Bipin Rawat

Explanation:
GoI on 17th Dec announced Lt General Bipin Rawat would be the new Army Chief, superseding two senior-most Lt Generals, Praveen Bakshi and P M Hariz.

The only other time the senior-most officer has not been appointed Chief was in 1983, when Lt Gen S K Sinha was overlooked for the post in favour of Gen A S Vaidya.

Lt Gen Rawat, who is currently Vice Chief of Army Staff, will take over as the 26th Chief after Gen Dalbir Singh retires on December 31.

Lt Gen Rawat is an Infantry officer, having been commissioned in the Fifth Battalion of the Eleven Gorkha Rifles.

Lt Gen Bakshi, who heads the Kolkata-headquartered Eastern Command, is from the Armoured Corps. The Armoured Corps and Infantry are both fighting arms.

Gen Shankar Roy Chowdhury was the last Armoured Corps officer to be Army Chief (1994-97).

Lt Gen Hariz, who is from the Mechanised Infantry, heads the Pune-headquartered Southern Command.

Commissioned in the Army in December 1978, Lt Gen Rawat commanded an Infantry battalion along the Line of Actual Control in the Eastern Sector, a 5 Sector Rashtriya Rifles, and 19 Infantry Division in the Kashmir Valley.

As Brigadier, he also commanded a multinational brigade in the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he was twice awarded the Force Commander’s Commendation.

Prior to taking over as the Vice Chief, he was GOC-in-C, Southern Command, at Pune.

It has been a convention that the new Army chief is announced 60 days before the incumbent retires.

ANSWER: Birender Singh Dhanoa

Explanation:
Air Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa, a Kargil war veteran, was announced as the next Air Force chief. He will succeed incumbent Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha who relinquishes the office on December 31.

Commissioned in the IAF in June 1978 as a fighter pilot, he is a Qualified Flying Instructor and has flown various types of fighter aircraft in his distinguished career.

During the Kargil operations, he commanded a fighter squadron and himself flew numerous night strike missions over mountainous terrain.

Air Marshal Dhanoa has the distinction of having held a number of important operational appointments including Station Commander of a fighter base and leader of an Indian Military Training Team abroad.

He has also served as Chief Instructor (Air) at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Intelligence) at Air Headquarters, and Senior Air Staff Officer of two operational Commands.

Prior to being appointed Vice Chief, he was Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the South-Western Air Command.

Know More: Air Marshall Birender Singh Dhanoa

• Commissioned in the IAF in June 1978 as a fighter pilot.
• Dhanoa is an alumnus of Rashtriya Indian Military College, National Defence Academy and Defence Services Staff College, Wellington.
• Born: Sept 7, 1957
• Prior to moving in as Vice-Chief, he was Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, South Western Command.
• Led a fighter squadron in Operation Vijay 1999.

He was awarded:

• Yudh Seva Medal (YSM),
• Vayusena Medal (VM) in 1999
• Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) in 2015.

ANSWER: Rajiv Jain

Explanation:
Anil Dhasmana and Rajiv Jain were appointed as the next chiefs of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Intelligence Bureau (IB), respectively.

Dhasmana and Jain will succeed Rajinder Khanna and Dineshwar Sharma. Both the officers will have a tenure of two years.

Considered to be an expert in Balochistan affairs, Dhasmana will take charge as the new chief on January 30, 2017.

The 1981-batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IPS has expertise in domain of Balochistan, counter-terrorism and Islamic affairs.

He also has a vast experience on Pakistan and Afghanistan. He has served in key capitals, including London and Frankfurt and has also handled SAARC and Europe desks.

Jharkhand cadre IPS officer Rajiv Jain was appointed as the new chief of Intelligence Bureau (IB). Jain, who is at present serving as the Special Director in the IB, will take over on January 1 after the incumbent Dineshwar Sharma completes his two-year tenure on December 31.

He was earlier state intelligence bureau head for Delhi and Ahmedabad.

He is a recipient of President's Police Medal.

The 1980-batch officer has served in various departments of the IB including the sensitive Kashmir desk.

ANSWER: Both of the above

Explanation:
The Union Finance Ministry on 17th Dec clarified that there are provisions in the Income Tax Act to scrutinise the accounts of political parties.

He said news that parties registered with Election Commission cannot be scrutinised with regard to deposit of demonetised currency notes, was incorrect.

Exemption from Income Tax is given to only registered political parties subject to conditions like
maintenance of books and other documents to enable the assessing officer to deduce the their income.

Political parties have to maintain record of voluntary contributions made by persons in excess of Rs 20,000 including the names and addresses of the donors.

The political parties have to submit a report to Election Commission about donations received within the prescribed timeframe.

The accounts of each such political party is to be audited by a chartered accountant, the ministry said.

ANSWER: Muscat

Explanation:
The 5th edition of the India-Arab Partnership Conference concluded on 15 December 2016 in Muscat, Oman.

The two-day conference focused on devising strategies to boost economic partnership between India and Arab League.

The theme of the conference was - "Partnership towards innovation and cooperation in Information Technology."

Organised by the Oman Foreign Ministry and Arab League Secretariat in partnership with the Union Ministry of External Affairs of India, the conference deliberated on means and ways to enhance the flow of investments, accelerate the investment projects of prioritised sectors and export promotion.

Also discussed were technology, innovation, health, pharma sector, clean technology, renewable energy, food security, education, skills development and tourism sector.

500 participants of the conference include officials from the Arab League, the Indian Government, businessmen, investors and academicians.

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Oman Chamber of Commerce coordinated the conference.

Other partners of the conference were Federation of Arab Businessmen (FAB) and the General Union of Arab Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Agriculture (GUCCIA).

About the Arab League

• Administrative centre: Cairo, Egypt.
• Arab League comprises Arab nations in: North Africa, Horn of Africa, Arabia
• Formed: 1945
• Founding countries: 6
• Membership- 22 nations
• Role: Coordinating the foreign policies of the member states.

Member States of the league include:

• Algeria
• Bahrain
• Comoros
• Djibouti
• Egypt
• Iraq
• UAE
• Oman

ANSWER: CM’s Startup Scheme

Explanation:
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on 17th Dec 2016 launched ‘CM’s Startup Scheme.’

The scheme seeks to exempt the new units from inspection for upto three years.

Chief Minister Singh said that in order to promote new ideas, products and processes suitable for commercialisation and industry, the Government will provide liberal assistance to incubator organisations designed to promote growth of start–up units and having physical space, coaching and mentoring facilities.

Around INR 30 lakh per incubator per year upto a period of three years will be provided for this purpose.

Self-attested certificates will be accepted for all official purposes so that the start-up units could sustain and work without formalities and obstacles.

Stamp duty had been significantly reduced to three per cent for start-up units along with allotment of plots on 50 per cent of rates as fixed by the industries department.

ANSWER: Both of the above

Explanation:
Months after the discovery of gravitational waves created by the merger of two black holes, scientists from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have identified another celestial object that could be generating gravitational waves namely the neutron star.

Scientists say there is strong indication that a population of neutron stars can generate continuous gravitational waves, making their detection possible.

Neutron stars, created by the death of a giant star, are the densest observable objects in the universe, with a star of a city’s size, having a mass about 1.4 times that of the sun.

The finding comes 10 months after the discovery of gravitational waves created by the merger of two black holes, different by 7 times the mass of the Sun.

As gravitational waves are not absorbed or reflected by matter, they carry information on the motion of objects as stars and planets in the universe. This helps understand the creation of the universe and its history.

In the 1970s it was believed there was no chance of this.

Previously, gravitational waves were found only from black hole mergers.

What are Gravitational Waves?

• Albert Einstein first predicted gravitational waves in 1916.
• Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Scientific Collaboration of 1,006 members from 15 countries announced the discovery of gravitational waves in February, 2016.
• Created by massive movements in the universe, such as:
• Two black holes colliding,
• Massive stars exploding, or
• The Birth of the Universe some 13.8 billion years ago

ANSWER: Ontario

Explanation:
Scientists have stumbled across water dating back to 2 billion years, as Canadian scientists uncovered what seems to be the oldest water discovered on planet Earth, which they say could open new doors in order to gain an insight into how life emerged on our planet – and possibly elsewhere.

Located in Timmins, Ontario, researchers from the University of Toronto found the primordial water at a depth of 2.4 km in Kidd Creek Mine.

The same team of researchers, co-headed by geoscientist Oliver Warr discovered 1.5 billion-year-old water in the same active copper, zinc, and silver mine, but at a shallower depth, 3 years before.

The earth was 2.5 billion years old when this water got collected. Also, the volume of the water is much larger than anyone anticipated.

Traces of helium, argon, neon, krypton, and xenon were found after a chemical analysis of the water was conducted.

Gases accumulate in the water over time, allowing the researchers to calculate its age. The water also contains trace metals and salt (about eight times the amount found in seawater).

The researchers describe the water as an interconnected fluid system deep in the Canadian Shield that’s billions of years old and capable of supporting life.

Further analysis could reveal the state of the Earth’s atmosphere two billion years ago.

The ancient water could also shed light on earlier life that existed during the time.

ANSWER: Brown

Explanation:
Everyone has brown eyes and there are no blue or green colour eyes in real sense, a scientist has said.

There is only one pigment for eye colour viz. brown. Eye colours like blue, green, hazel, etc are what people might call an optical illusion.

Pigments in our body are determined by something call melanin.

Irises are made up of a miniature version of melanin called melanocytes, which only come in one colour– brown.

Even though all eyes are technically brown, the amount of melanocytes varies from person to person. However, people with lighter eyes have less melanocytes allowing light to be more easily absorbed and reflected, making their eyes appear lighter in colour.

Brown-eyed people have more melanin, less light. The opposite is true for people with "blue" eyes.

Those with less melanocytes cannot absorb as much light, so more light is reflected back out of the eye. This is called scattering and when light is scattered, it reflects back at shorter wavelengths.

On the colour spectrum, shorter light wavelengths correspond with the colour blue.

ANSWER: Lanura

Explanation:
Lanura becomes first cashless village of Jammu and Kashmir.

At least one member of each household in Lanura is trained to use Electronic Payment System.

The village in central Kashmir's Budgam district has become the first village in the state to go ‘cashless'.

Lanura village, about 30 kms from the summer capital here, has become the first village in Jammu and Kashmir to go cashless, an official spokesman announced.

150 persons have been provided training to use EPS at Lanura which falls in Panchayat Bugroo-B in block Khansahab of the district.