Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Feb 05, 2017

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee opened the annual ‘Udyanotsav’ of the Rashtrapati Bhavan on February 04, 2017.

The Mughal Gardens will remain open for general public from tomorrow to March 12, 2017 (except on Mondays which are maintenance days) between 0930 hrs to 1600 hrs.

Members of the public will also be able to visit the Spiritual Garden, Herbal Garden, Bonsai Garden and Musical Garden. During this period, there will be no online booking for visiting the Gardens.

The Mughal Gardens will be open exclusively on March 10, 2017 to special category of visitors viz farmers, differently abled persons, defence/para-military forces and Delhi Police personnel.

The Tactile Garden will be open for visually impaired people on March 10, 2017.

ANSWER: Joginder Singh

Explanation:
Former CBI director Joginder Singh passed away after prolonged illness.

His cremation is scheduled to take place on February 4 at 1 pm at the Lodhi Crematorium in New Delhi.

An IPS officer, Singh was the CBI director between 1996 and 1997.

He served as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Sunil Healthcare Ltd. since January, 2000 and also served as the Director of Pamwi Tissues Ltd.

He investigated the Bofors and Bihar fodder scams.

The 1961 batch IPS officer of Karnataka cadre was chosen to head the premier investigative agency when H D Deve Gowda was the Prime Minister.

Singh, who joined Police Service at the age of 20, rose to take charge of CBI on July 31, 1996 when it was probing a large number of sensitive cases including Bofors, fodder scam, securities scam, the JMM MPs bribery scandal, Rs 133 crore urea scam, telecom deals by the then Union minister Sukh Ram, among others.

A prolific writer, Singh, penned over 25 books on various subjects after retiring from the service.

In the interview, he fondly admitted to being a "South Indian by adoption" (he had chosen chose Mysore Academy (now Karnataka cadre) while joining Police service in the 1960s.)

ANSWER: Automation technologies

Explanation:
German technology major, Bosch Rexroth-funded India’s first Centre of Excellence.

The i 4.0 Automation Technology opened at the Vishwakarma Government Engineering College under Gujarat Technological University in Ahmedabad.

The Center of Excellence will be open for students of engineering students from across the state and also for the industry to conduct research in automation and hydraulics.

ANSWER: Black holes

Explanation:
NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has identified the farthest gamma-ray blazars.

This is a type of galaxy whose intense emissions are powered by supersized black holes.

Light from the most distant object began its journey to us when the universe was 1.4 billion years old, or nearly 10 percent of its present age.

Experts say they could shed fresh light on how black holes form.

What is a Black Hole?

• A black hole is a region of spacetime exhibiting strong gravitational effects.
• Nothing - not even particles and electromagnetic radiation such as light - can escape from inside it.
• The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass can deform space time to form a black hole.

ANSWER: None of the above

Explanation:
China has tested a new version of a missile that can carry up to 10 nuclear warheads.

This is signalling a major shift in its nuclear capability as Beijing gears up for a possible military showdown with the US under Trump Presidency.

The flight test of the DF-5C missile was carried out last month using 10 multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles, or MIRVs.

The test of the inert warheads was monitored closely by U.S. intelligence agencies.

The DF-5 is a two-stage, liquid-fueled missile with a range of around 8,000 miles.

The missile was fired from the Taiyuan Space Launch Center in central China and flew to an impact range in the western Chinese desert.

The test of a missile with 10 warheads is significant because it indicates the secretive Chinese military is increasing the number of warheads in its arsenal, the website reported.

Estimates of China's nuclear arsenal for decades put the number of strategic warheads at the relatively low level of around 250 warheads.

U.S. intelligence agencies in February reported that China had begun adding warheads to older DF-5 missiles, in a move that has raised concerns for strategic war planners.

Uploading Chinese missiles from single or triple warhead configurations to up to 10 warheads means the number of warheads stockpiled is orders of magnitude larger than the 250 estimate.

Currently, U.S. nuclear forces - land-based and sea-based nuclear missiles and bombers - have been configured to deter Russia's growing nuclear forces and the smaller Chinese nuclear force.

Under the 2010 U.S.-Russian arms treaty, the United States is slated to reduce its nuclear arsenal to 1,550 deployed warheads.

A boost in the Chinese nuclear arsenal to 800 or 1,000 warheads likely would prompt the Pentagon to increase the U.S. nuclear warhead arsenal by taking weapons out of storage.

ANSWER: Both a and c

Explanation:
The Right to Information (RTI) Act came into force in Sri Lanka.

This is a piece of legislation aimed at restoring transparency and good governance in a country that has been plagued by corruption and misrule.

The government has gazetted the categories of public authorities that fall within the purview of the RTI.

The authorities are bound to respond to these requests as per the specified guidelines, within a maximum period of 28 days.

“From today the public can apply for information which they want,” Sankhitha Gunaratne, RTI Manager of Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) was quoted as saying.

TISL said it will be filing several public interest RTI requests with the relevant public authorities, seeking information like that pertaining to the assets and liabilities declarations of the President and the Prime Minister.

It will also put in a request for financial reports of political parties.

ANSWER: Apple

Explanation:
Apple will start making iPhones in India this year.

The company seeks to tap into a booming Indian middle class while sales in China slow.

Karnataka’s IT minister said Apple had agreed to assemble its hugely popular phones in the southern State.

Its capital Bangalore is India’s technology hub.

Apple's Tim Cook: Know More

• Born: 1 November 1960 , Mobile, Alabama, United States
• Residence: Palo Alto, California, United States
• Education: Duke University (1988), Auburn University (1982), Robertsdale High School, Fuqua School of Business

ANSWER: Both a and b

Explanation:
UK Prime Minister Theresa May has received Parliament’s approval to begin the process of Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU). This comes after winning a crucial vote in the House of Commons.

British MPs voted in favour of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill after two days of debate. They voted by a majority of 384-498 votes in favour to 114 against.

The bill now faces further scrutiny in the Commons and the House of Lords before it can become law.

Government of the United Kingdom: Know More

• Government: Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• Monarch: Elizabeth II
• Prime Minister: Theresa May
• Legislature: Parliament
• Upper house: House of Lords
• Lower house: House of Commons

ANSWER: Visa ban on 7 Muslim states

Explanation:
The Trump administration has been forced to back down from the presidential order selectively restricting entry into United States.

This is setting up a potential confrontation between the executive and the judiciary.

It is also pitting liberal, immigrant-welcoming states against a federal government accused of shutting doors.

A Federal District Judge in Washington state in the Pacific Northwest matched similar rulings in New York, California, and Massachusetts (all liberal, Democrat-leaning states) while temporarily blocking President Trump's executive order from being enforced nationwide.

The ruling immediately re-opened US doors to travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries.

These were barred by the Trump executive order.

The government complied with the court ruling for now, communicating to airlines that they could board passengers with valid travel documents, even as the President himself railed against it.

The State Department too announced it was reversing the cancellations of visas for nearly 60,000 travellers from seven majority-Muslim countries.

These travellers had their visas "provisionally revoked" to comply with Trump's order blocking them from travelling to the United States.

The Washington court ruling came from Judge James Robart, a Bush administration appointee, after the state had challenged the executive order.

It was arguing it was separating families, damaging the States' economies, and undermining "states' sovereign interest in remaining a welcoming place for immigrants and refugees."

States which have won injunction against the Presidential order are all typically:

• Better-educated,
• Higher-income,
• More open immigrants, and
• Have a more diverse population.

Meanwhile, a legislation has been introduced in the US House of Representatives.

This among other things calls for more than doubling the minimum salary of H1B visa holders to $130,000, making it difficult for firms to use the programme to replace American employees with foreign workers, including from India.

The High-Skilled Integrity and Fairness Act of 2017 introduced by California Congressman Zoe Lofgren prioritises market-based allocation of visas to those companies willing to pay 200% of a wage calculated by survey.

This eliminates the category of lowest pay. It also raises the salary level at which H1B dependent employer are exempt from non-displacement and recruitment attestation requirements to greater than $130,000.