Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Feb 18, 2016

ANSWER: CEO

Explanation:
The CEO of NITI Aayog will be the part time member of Telecom Commission instead of the Secretary of the Former Planning Commission. Participation in the Telecom Commission meetings will ensure value addition as NITI Aayog is the chief think tank of the government. Telecom Commission was set up in the 1980s and previously comprised 4 full and part time members as well as a chairman. Following replacement, only 3 part time members are left in the Telecom Commission.

ANSWER: Next Generation Earth Monitoring and Observation and Aerosol Monitoring

Explanation:
Space Applications Centre of ISRO and Space Flight Lab of the University of Toronto’s institute for Aerospace Studies collaborated on the NEMO AM or Next Generation Earth Monitoring and Observation and Aerosol Monitoring satellite. This is one of the top performing nano satellite missions of the ISRO which will monitor suspended particles and aerosols in the air of the most polluted Indian cities. SAC will provide necessary software and the nano-satellite, which will be of 2x2x1 feet dimension and weight 15kg, will be placed 500 km above the earth. NEMO-AM will cover around 50,000 square km of the country’s 32.87 lakh sq km.

ANSWER: LeEco

Explanation:
Aston Martin has set up a joint venture with Chinese tech company LeEco to develop the Briths luxury car company’s first electric vehicle which will come to the markets in 2018. The partners plan to develop the new electric bar based on the Rapide S model. Alongside this, JV plans are on to collaborate with startup electric car venture led by Jia Yueting, Faraday Future.

ANSWER: Idea Cellular

Explanation:
Idea Cellular has announced the inking of an agreement with Swedish communication technology MNC Ericsson to deploy the 4G network across certain Indian telecom circles serving over 40 million subscribers. The existing mobile radio access and core network infrastructure across 9 circles for 2G and 5 circles for 3G is on the nail, according to CEO, India Cellular H. Kapania.

ANSWER: Au NPs/TiO2/Au

Explanation:
Much the way plants convert sunlight into energy, scientists from Korea have developed a new kind of multi-layered photoelectrode boosting the ability of absorbing visible light from the sun an using it to split H₂0 molecule into hydrogen and oxygen. The photoelectron is called Au NPs/TiO₂/Au. This photoelectron takes the form of 2 dimensional hybrid metal dielectric structures comprising 3 layers of gold or Au film, ultra think TiO₂ layer and golden nanoparticles (Au NPs). Researchers affiliated with Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology in S. Korea reported this promising new discovery demonstrates high light absorption of about 90% in the visible range 380-700 nanometre (nm), as well as significant enhancement in photo-catalytic applications.
Moreover, this photoelectrode uses approximately 95% of the visible spectrum of sunlight, which makes up a substantial portion (40 per cent) of full sunlight.Developed technology will improve hydrogen production efficiency.

ANSWER: Asterid

Explanation:
Scientists have discovered the first fossil specimens of the asterid, a family of flowering plants ranging from petunias to potatoes and tomatoes. The 20 to 30 million year old fossil flowers were found in piece of amber came from the darker side of the asterid family belonging to the genus Strychnos which is the base for famous poisons such as curare and strychnine. Asterids are among the most important and diverse plants with 10 orders, 98 families and 80,000 species representing one third of the earth’s diversity of angiosperms or flowing plants. There are now about 200 species of Strychnos plants around the world, in forms ranging from shrubs to trees and woody climbing vines, mostly in the tropics studied for medicinal properties.

ANSWER: Akbar Kakkattil

Explanation:
Well known novelist and short story writer Akbar Kakkattil has passed away after succumbing to lung cancer. He was the Vice-President of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi and member of Malayalam Advisory Panel of NBT and Malayalam Advisory Board of government of Kerala. He won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi awards in 1992 and 2004 and his work “Paadham 30” is the first Malayali teacher service story. He also won several other awards such as Ankanam Sahitya award, SK Pottekad award, State television award for best story writer and Rajiv Gandhi peace foundation award.

ANSWER: Gambia

Explanation:
The National Day of Gambia was celebrated on the 18th February 2016. President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee extended greetings to the people and government of this nation. The current president of the Republic of Gambia is His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh, and bilateral cooperation between India and this nation is considerable.

ANSWER: Flipkart

Explanation:
e-Commerce major Flipkart has announced the appointment of Nitin Seth as new Chief People Officer and will report to CEO Binny Bansal. Before joining Flipkart, he was MD and country head for Fidelity International in India and responsible for company’s offshore operations in Tunisia and India.

ANSWER: Environmental Information System

Explanation:
MoEF has launched the ENVIS or Environment alI information System Portal to discover new ways to reach people and make scene and sustainable practices popular. Ministry also awarded the best state ENVIS centre to Forests, Environment and Wildlife Management Department, Sikkim. Award for best thematic Envis centre went to IISC, Bengaluru. Knowledge products of the ENVIS Centre were also released namely an ENVIS Bulletin on ‘Ecology and Management of Grassland Habitats in India’ by WII ENVIS Centre, a book on ‘State at a Glance: Jammu & Kashmir’ Vol(1) 3, 2015 by GB Pant ENVIS Centre, a book on ‘Ecological Traditions of India - Gujarat - Vol. XI’ by CPREEC ENVIS Centre and a Compendium on "Environment in the Indian Parliament: 2011-2015" (CD format) by WWF ENVIS Centre. Mobile apps including the ENVIS App 2.2 was released regarding common medicinal plants by FRHLT ENVIS Centre.

About ENVIS

Environmental Information System (http://envis.nic.in) is a parallel initiative running with the Digital India Objective. ENVIS, a CSS scheme of the Ministry jas been implemented since the 1980s. The scheme aims to integrate nation-wide efforts in environmental information collection, collation, storage, retrieval and dissemination through ENVIS websites, which are dedicated to different interesting themes. The network presently consists of 69 Centres, of which 29 are hosted by the environment/forest department of State governments/UT Administrations and deal with “State of the environment and related issues”, while 40 Centres are being hosted by environment-related governmental and non-governmental organisations/institutes of professional excellence. Key users of this information system will be state and central governments.

ANSWER: Both a and b

Explanation:
National Thermal Power Corporation’s NETRA (its R&D Wing) will collaborate with German institutions DLR Cologne and ISE, Fraunhofer, Freiburg on Solar Energy Research. Contract agreements have been signed with DLR Cologne for Research in Solar Thermal and ISE Fraunhofer for Research in Solar PV," said the source. As part of this programme, NETRA will also set up excellent evaluation facilities for Solar PV, CPV and CSP under knowledge sharing programmes with the government of Germany. Programme is funded by the German government under the Indo German Research Cooperation. NTPC has already commissioned several solar and hydro power projects. It aims to reduce dependence on fossil fuels to 56% by 2032 from 85#. Power producer envisages renewable energy will contribute 28% to capacity of 1,28,000 MW by 2030s.

ANSWER: Trade Facilitation Agreement, National Committee on Trade Facilitation

Explanation:
Union Cabinet chaired by PM Narendra Modi has provided approval for the Proposal for Notification of Commitments under the Trade Facilitation Agreement of the WTO as well as ratification and acceptance of the Instrument of Acceptance of Protocol of TFA to WTO Secretariat and constitution of National Committee on Trade Facilitation. TFA contains provisions for movement, release and clearance of goods including transit goods apart from measuring effective cooperation between customers and appropriate authorities regarding trade facilitation and customs compliance issues. This matches with India’s Ease of Doing Business initiative. TFA shall come into force following acceptance by 2/3rds of the WTO members. NCTF will be established under the joint chairmanship of Secretary, Department of Revenue and Department of Commerce.

ANSWER: www.maritimeinvest.in

Explanation:
Mr. Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Shopping, Road Transport and Highways launched a website entitled www.maritimeinvest.in to commemorate the Maritime India Summit within the Make in India Summit. User friendly website will facilitate access to detailed information about the summit including registrations. Maritime India Summit 2016 is a global maiden summit being carried out by the Shipping Ministry in April. For MIS 2016, India’s partner country is the Republic of Korea. More than 50 maritime nations have also been invited to attend the summit.

ANSWER: Maritime India Summit

Explanation:
This is the flagship initiative of the Shipping Ministry. It provides an excellent platform for participants to fund business opportunities. The Maritime India Summit will showcase investment opportunities in the maritime sector for different activities such as port modernisation, shipbuilding, ship repair and cycling. The aim is to provide a platform for interacting closely with pioneering international maritime organisations and create awareness about trends and potential for maritime sector in India.

ANSWER: National Minerals Exploration Policy

Explanation:
Union Minister of Steel & Mines Mr. N. Singh Tomar released a report on identifying 100 mineral exploration blocks at the 55th Central Geological Programming Board (CGPB) meeting of Geological Survey of India, Ministry of Mines at A.P. Shinde Symposium Hall, Indian Council for Agricultural Research, NASC Complex, Pusa in New Delhi today. NMEP or Draft National Mineral Exploration Policy has outlined a host of measures for increasing mineral exploration in the country such as increasing private investment.

ANSWER: ReFlex

Explanation:
This smartphone enables users to feel the buzz by bending apps. ReFlex is the world’s first wireless flexible smartphone which combines multitouch with bend input and allows users to experience physical tactile feedback when interacting with their apps through bend gestures.
Based on a high definition 720p LG Display Flexible OLED touch screen powered by an Android 4.4 “KitKat” board mounted to the side of the display, ReFlex also features a voice coil that allows the phone to replicate forces and friction through intricately detailed vibrations of the display.

ANSWER: Operation Khanij Khoj/Uncover

Explanation:
Minister of Mines and Steel, Mr. Narendra Singh Tomar launched the Khanij Khoj/Uncover project of the Geographical Survey of India. This is one of the flagship programmes of the draft NMEP. The project will be carried out in two selected parts of the country to look for buried/concealed mineral deposits. The main components of this initiative are as follows:

• Characterising the geological cover of India
• Studying lithospheric architecture
• Resolution of 4D geofynamic and metallogenic evolution
• Isolating the distal footprints of ore despots

ANSWER: Both a and b

Explanation:
Cabinet has provided ex-post factor approval to as many as 13 MoUs in the field go agriculture, for cooperation in agriculture and allied sectors. The 13 countries are Cyprus, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Israel, Nepal, Netherlands, Bhutan, Mauritius, Chile, Tanzania, Suriname, Syria and Zambia. MoUs have been signed for capacity building, exchange of knowledge and genetic resources and development of suitable technologies and farm practices for increasing productivity.

ANSWER: SCE

Explanation:
Government has provided approval for an agreement with Singapore for cooperation in areas of urban planning and governance. The Union Cabinet chaired by India’s PM has just provided ex post facto approval to an MoU signed with Singapore Cooperation Enterprise to share experiences in the field of urban development, capacity building and governance.

ANSWER: Both a and c

Explanation:
WHO announced initial response to Zika virus outbreak, launching a funding appeal of 50 million euros for an operation to combat the outbreak. Zika was first discovered in 1947 in Uganda and has become a major health concern and has been implicated in Microcephaly and Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Brazil is the hardest hit by this virus.

ANSWER: 308

Explanation:
The 12th South Asian Games just concluded in Sarusajai, Guwahati Assam at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium seeing 228 events in 23 sports disciplines. 12th South Asian Games saw the participation of 2600 athletes from different SA countries and was co-hosted by Guwahati and Shillong. India finished at the top with a record 308 medals including 199 Gold, 90 Silver and 30 Bronze medals.

ANSWER: Manish Arora

Explanation:
Fashion designer Manish Arora on 16th February 2016 was awarded with the Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur by the French Ambassador Francois Richier. This is France’s highest civilian honour. Arora was earlier creative director at Paco Rabanne and was awarded the Best Women Pret Designer at Indian Fashion Awards. He also won the designer’s choice for Best Collection Award at Miami Fashion Week.

ANSWER: Ministry of AYUSH

Explanation:
Union Cabinet has given the approval for agreement for collaborations in the field of traditional medicine between Ministry of Ayush, GoI and WHO Geneva. Long term collaboration will work towards improving global acceptability and branding of Ayush systems, facilitate awareness generation regarding AYUSH systems of Medicine by means of education, skill development, workshops, publications and exchange programs between AYUSH and WHO. Traditional and Complementary Systems of Medicine (T&CM) include Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Homeopathy.