Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Feb 06, 2017

ANSWER: Information Technology Amendment Bill 2017

Explanation:
The Union Cabinet on 1 February 2017 approved the introduction of the Indian Institutes of Information Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2017 in the Parliament.

The amendment Bill provides for inclusion of Indian Institute of Information Technology Design and Manufacturing (IIITDM), Kurnool along with the other IIITs in the Indian Institutes of Information Technology Act, 2014.

Subsequently, IITDM Kurnool will be declared as an institute of National Importance with the power to award degrees to students.

The Indian Institute of Information Technology Design and Manufacturing Kurnool (IIITDMK) is an autonomous institute.

At present, the institute is operating from the campus of the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing (IIITDM) Kancheepuram. After the creation of the necessary infrastructure the IITDMK will be relocated to Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh.

It aims to set up IIITs to improve quality of human resources, at par with global standards, within the information technology sector.

It accords ‘Institute of National Importance’ status to four IIITs. They are -

1) Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, Gwalior

2) Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad

3) Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing, Kancheepuram

4) Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing, Jabalpur

ANSWER: Suman Saxena

Explanation:
Former Deputy CAG Suman Saxena and two others have been appointed as whole-time members in Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI).

Besides Saxena, Mukulita Vijaywargiya and Navrang Saini have also been appointed as the new members.

Vijaywargiya, an officer of Indian Legal Service, is working as Additional Secretary in Ministry of Law and Justice.

Saini, who belongs to Indian Corporate Law Service, is Director General in Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

They have been appointed to the board for five years or till completion of 65 years of age, an order issued by the Personnel Ministry said.

The board is mandated to regulate the functioning of insolvency professionals, insolvency professional agencies and information utilities under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

The code is meant for insolvency resolution of corporate persons, partnership firms and individuals in a time-bound manner.

ANSWER: Arun Kumar

Explanation:
KPMG India board has elected Arun Kumar as chairman and CEO to lead the India operations of the consulting and accounting major.

He succeeds Richard Rekhy, who stepped down in November last year following a large scale exodus of key people from the advisory team.

In Jan 2016, Rekhy had been re-elected for a four year term.

Kumar, who spent the majority of his career with KPMG in the US, will take charge from February 5 for a five-year term.

He joins the firm at a time when the Big Four accounting and audit firms are jostling for market share following mandatory rotation of auditors as prescribed under the Companies Act 2013.

In 2016, Deloitte, the market leader in the audit space, had turned away key people from KPMG’s advisory team.

Deloitte is in the process of strengthening its advisory practice in India.

Arun Kumar brings a wealth of international leadership experience to KPMG India, including his tenure in public service in the United States for the last three years as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and Director General of US and Foreign Commercial Service in the Obama administration.

KPMG: Know More

• Headquarters: Amstelveen, Netherlands
• Revenue: 25.42 billion USD (2016)
• Founded: 1987
• Number of employees: 188,982
• Founders: Klynveld Main Goerdeler, Marwick Mitchell & Co., Klynveld Kraayenhof & Co., William Barclay Peat & Co.

ANSWER: Afzal Amanullah

Explanation:
The GoI has formed a six-member committee to give a report on ways to improve India’s Haj policy and also look into issue of subsidy to the pilgrimage.

This is in light of 2012 Supreme Court order on gradually reducing and abolishing it by 2022.

Former Consul General of India (CGI), Jeddah, Afzal Amanullah has been appointed as convener of the high-level panel,

The panel will examine implications of various directions of the apex court with regard to the existing Haj policy, and suitable amendments in it.

The committee will also review the effectiveness of Haj Committee of India’s management of pilgrims’ accommodation and air travel.

It will also assess the aspects of transparency, consumer satisfaction and disclosure requirements for private tour operators to protect interest of the pilgrims with a view to make the policy of greater assistance to the pilgrims.

ANSWER: Alastair Cook

Explanation:
Ever since making his Test debut in India in 2006, skipper Alastair Cook has produced some brilliant knocks.

He struck his maiden Test century in the very second innings that he played.

Last year, he became the youngest batsman to reach the 10000 run mark in Test cricket.

He remains to be the leading run-scorer for England in the longest format of the game.

Recently, Alastair Cook was given one of the top 5 British honors.

He received the Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) from Prince Charles at the Buckingham Palace in London.

ANSWER: SC

Explanation:
For the first time since the Supreme Court recognized transgender people as a third gender in 2014, as many as 18 students in Bihar have been allowed to appear under the third-gender category for the Board exams conducted by the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB).

The exams for Class 12 begin on February 14 and for Class 10 from March 1.

According to board officials, 10 third-gender students will be taking the Class 12 exams and eight would be writing the Class 10 exams.

So far, the BSEB did not allow students to take Board exams under the ‘third gender’ category because the examination form specified only two categories, male and female.

Monika Das had to appear in the Board examination under the male category with the name of Gopal Kumar.

She is a law graduate from Patna University and proudly claims to be the first third gender banker of the country.

ANSWER: Planet Labs

Explanation:
American startup Planet Labs, that launches small satellites into orbit and sells the imagery, has announced its acquisition of Google’s Terra Bella satellite business.

As part of the agreement, 60 Google employees will join the startup founded by ex-NASA scientists. Terra Bella, formerly Skybox, was acquired by Google in 2014 for $500 million.

As per the agreement, Planet Labs will acquire the Terra Bella business including the SkySat constellation of satellites, Alphabet said.

Google will enter into a multi-year contract to purchase Earth-imaging data from Planet Labs after the deal closes.

Google had acquired Terra Bella, originally known as Skybox Imaging, for $500 million in 2014.

The deal will help Planet Labs broaden its available data and add new customers.

Planet Labs is one of several startups aiming to harness technology allowing satellites to become smaller and less expensive.

It aims for making it easier to deploy large networks of satellites at less risk and lower cost than previously.

Planet Labs: Know More

• Planet Labs, Inc. is an American Earth imaging private company based in San Francisco, CA.
• The company designs and manufactures Triple-CubeSat miniature satellites called Doves.
• Headquarters: San Francisco
• Founded: 29 December 2010
• Type: Private

ANSWER: Both of the above

Explanation:
Despite the change of guard at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the Indian board continued to oppose the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) new changes.

This include to the financial model and governance structure on 04th February 2017.

The ICC Board on Saturday met to discuss the changes pertaining to revenue model where India, England and Australia were supposed to get the major share of revenue as the ‘Big Three’ - a move that was opposed by other Test playing nations, and also by England and Australia themselves.

Limaye who had the first look at the official ‘base document’, expressed his apprehension terming it a financial model based on “faith and equity”.

Although the BCCI was expected to still gain in excess of INR 2000 crore, it can be surely said that the commercial hub of cricket faced stiff opposition from majority of the board members.

While seasoned investment banker Limaye, in between now and April, can spot the anomalies in the official base document, it is unlikely that the ICC board led by Manohar would accept those changes.

ICC: Know More

• Abbreviation: ICC
• Motto : Great Sport Great Spirit
• Formation: 15 June 1909
• Type: Federation of national associations
• Headquarters: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• Membership: 105 members
• Chairman: Shashank Manohar
• President: Zaheer Abbas
• CEO: David Richardson
• Website: www.icc-cricket.com

ANSWER: Achamkulangare Gopinathan

Explanation:
Achamkulangare Gopinathan, a top Indian diplomat, has been re-appointed by the UN General Assembly to the Joint Inspection Unit.

This is the only independent external oversight body of the UN system.

Gopinathan, along with Sukai Prom-Jackson of Gambia, Jean Wesley Cazeau of Haiti and Nikolay Lozinskiy of Russia were appointed members of the Joint Inspection Unit for a five-year term beginning January 1, 2018.

The Joint Inspection Unit is the only independent external oversight body of the United Nations system mandated to conduct evaluations, inspections and investigations system-wide.

Gopinath’s re-appointment follows his nomination by India and endorsement as the sole candidate of the Asia-Pacific Group.

Gopinathan was first appointed to the UN body for a term from January 2013 to December 2017.

At that election, he had secured 106 votes out of 183 votes and had defeated Ambassador Zhang Yan of China.

He was serving as Chairman of the Joint Inspection Unit.

All About the Joint Inspection Unit

• The Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) is a United Nations unit established by resolution 31/192 of December 22, 1976 of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
• Its objective is to enhance the efficiency of the administrative and financial functioning of the United Nations system.
• For this, it may make on-the-spot inquiries and investigations.
• The Joint Inspection Unit is the only independent external oversight body of the United Nations system mandated to conduct evaluations, inspections and investigations system-wide.
• It is based in Geneva, Switzerland.

ANSWER: Argentina

Explanation:
In place with immigration restrictions put in place by the Trump administration, President Mauricio Macri has issued a decree curbing immigration to Argentina.

His government declaring that newcomers from poorer countries in Latin America bring crime.

The measures announced by Macri made it much easier to deport immigrants and restrict their entry, prompting comparisons to President Trump.

Argentina's president, the son of an immigrant, has echoed some of Trump's "America First" theme, making it clear that his "first concern" should be "caring for Argentines, caring for ourselves."

"We cannot continue to allow criminals to keep choosing Argentina as a place to commit offenses," Macri said.

His decree has also rekindled criticism of his ties to Trump, whom he calls a friend.

Argentina Government

• Government: Federal presidential constitutional republic
• President: Mauricio Macri
• Vice President: Gabriela Michetti
• Legislature: Congress
• Upper house: Senate
• Lower house: Chamber of Deputies

ANSWER: Queen Elizabeth II

Explanation:
Queen Elizabeth, the world's longest-reigning living monarch, celebrated her Sapphire Jubilee on 6^th Feb 2017.

This is commemorating 65 years since she took the British throne.

A 41-gun royal salute will take place in central London to mark the occasion.

The queen's office released a 2014 portrait showing her wearing a suite of sapphire jewellery she received from King George VI as a wedding gift in 1947.

The Queen, 90, has cut back on international tours but still regularly performs official duties around Britain.

In December she said she would reduce the number of her patronages, passing on her role at dozens of charities, academic institutions and sporting groups to other members of the royal family.

She will spend the day at her residence in Sandringham, eastern England.

Queen Elizabeth II: Know More

• Born: 21 April 1926, Mayfair, London, United Kingdom
• Spouse: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (m. 1947)
• Siblings: Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
• Parents: Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, George VI

ANSWER: MicroHammer

Explanation:
Researchers have created the world's tiniest hammer to measure how force affects brain cells.

This will pave the way for better cure of traumatic brain injuries and Alzheimer's.

University of California researchers have built a tiny machine called microHammer.

Far from being isolated units of life, cells stem cells in particular take cues from their environment.

This, for example, direct them to differentiate into one type of cell or another, or to start healing processes.

However, a major limitation to understanding the reactions of individual cells to forces has been the inability to reliably apply impact or pressure to them.

MicroHammer, a cellular-scale machine built to tap, strike, squeeze and poke individual neural progenitors elicits responses that will then be studied and recorded to add to a body of knowledge that can help unlock the mysteries of the brain.

ANSWER: Measles rubella

Explanation:
Adding a new vaccine to its flagship Universal Immunisation Programme, the Union health ministry launched measles rubella (MR) vaccination campaign on 5th Feb 2017.

The campaign will soon be followed by roll out of the vaccine in routine immunisation, an official said.

The single vaccine will come in place of the currently given two doses of measles vaccine at 9-12 months and 16-24 months of age.

The new single shot vaccine will be provided to all children aged between 9 months and less than 15 years irrespective of their previous measles or rubella vaccination status or measles or rubella disease status.

MR vaccine will be provided free-of-cost across states at schools as well as health facilities and outreach session sites.

The awareness campaign targets around 41 crore children across the country, the largest ever in any campaign.

In the first phase, the campaign will cover five states — Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Goa and Lakshadweep.

It will be covering nearly 3.6 crore children.

Partners for the programme include states, NGOs and development partners such as WHO, Unnicef, Gates Foundation, Lions Club, IPA, IMA.