Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Jan 09, 2017

ANSWER: Hayden Cross

Explanation:
A British man, Hayden Cross has put his gender transition on hold to have a baby after finding a sperm donor on social media and is expected to become the first UK male to give birth.

Living as a man for three years, Cross is already part-way through hormone treatment to transform from a woman to a man. But the 20-year-old's full transition was paused after the UK's state-funded National Health Service (NHS) refused to carry out a 4,000-pounds process to freeze his eggs.

The ex supermarket worker found a sperm donor through FB and is now pregnant. He is expected to be the first UK male to give birth.

ANSWER: Peggy Whitson

Explanation:
When Peggy Whitson completed a spacewalk for NASA on Jan 7, 2016, the 56 year old became the oldest woman to perform one.

That's no mean feat because the spacewalk was six-and-a-half hours long. When she took off for the International Space Station in November, Whitson also became the oldest woman to travel to space ever.

When she finishes her current mission, called Expedition 50/51, Whitson will hold the record for the most time spent in space–377 days-by any American astronaut. This was her seventh spacewalk

On her current mission, Whitson will spend six months in space - in fact, she will turn 57 up there next month. The purpose of the mission is a power upgrade on the International Space Station.

This was the first of two power upgrade spacewalks. During the six-hour-and-thirty-two-minute spacewalk, the two NASA astronauts successfully installed three new adapter plates and hooked up electrical connections for three of the six new lithium-ion batteries on the International Space Station, according to NASA scientists.

Know More About NASA

• Formed : July 29, 1958; 58 years ago
• Preceding agency : NACA (1915–1958)
• Jurisdiction: United States government
• Headquarters: Washington, D.C.
• Employees: Around 17,345

Key Officers

• Charles Bolden, Administrator
• Dava Newman, Deputy Administrator

ANSWER: Mufti Tassaduq Hussain

Explanation:
At Indoor Stadium, many gathered for the induction of J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti's brother Mufti Tassaduq Hussain into PDP on 7th Jan 2016, the first death anniversary of their father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

Before the event, Hussain visited Sayeed's grave in Bijbehara. The Bengaluru-based cinematographer formally join the party. Tassaduq is likely to contest the bypoll for the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency that fell vacant after Mehbooba took over as CM last year.

Tassaduq has worked on hit films like 'Omkara' and 'Kaminey'. PDP youth chief Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra said Tassaduq's plunge into politics would attract more youths into the political mainstream.

Know More About PDP

• Leader/Chairperson: Mehbooba Mufti Sayeed
• Headquarters: 2, Circuit House, Emporium Lane, Residency Road, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India
• Founder: Mufti Mohammad Sayeed
• Founded: 1999
• Ideology: Self-rule in Jammu and Kashmir
• Alliance: National Democratic Alliance (2015-present), United Progressive Alliance (2002-2008)

ANSWER: Virat Kohli

Explanation:
Virat Kohli has taken over from Mahendra Singh Dhoni as India's limited-overs captain, becoming his country's skipper in all three formats of the game, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) said on 6th Jan 2016.

Dhoni has been named wicketkeeper in the squads for three one-dayers and three Twenty20 Internationals against England beginning on Jan 15.

The 35-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman gave up the limited-overs captaincy on 4th Jan 2016 after nine trophy-laden years, which included two World Cups and a Champions Trophy.

Having taken over the test captaincy from Dhoni in late 2014 and led the team to top the top of the ICC rankings, the 28-year-old Kohli was an obvious choice to skipper the limited-overs squads.

India's limited-overs stalwart Yuvraj Singh returned to both the one-day and Twenty20 squads after his impressive form in domestic cricket.

ANSWER: Norway

Explanation:
Norway is set to become the first country in the world to switch off its FM radio network.

The Scandinavian country’s parliament has approved a proposal to shift to Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB).

The shutdown of FM (frequency modulation) radio will begin on January 11, 2017 from the northern city of Bodoe.

Norwegian government claims that Radio digitization will help to save money and allow national radio stations to invest more in radio content.

It will also open the door to a far greater range of radio channels, benefiting listeners across the country.

Know More About Norway

• Capital: Oslo
• Currency: Norwegian krone
• Population: 5.084m (2013) World Bank
• Official languages: Norwegian, Bokmål, Nynorsk, Saami, North

ANSWER: Graphene

Explanation:
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed 3D version of graphene by compressing and fusing flakes of graphene, a two-dimensional form of carbon.

Graphene is one of the strongest materials known to man, but so far because of its extreme thinness it was not able for practical use.

The 3D version of Graphene was produced using a combination of heat and pressure.

It produced stable structures called diatom.

This version is lightweight, only percent as dense as steel but is 10 times stronger.

This novel development could lead production of lighter, stronger materials.

ANSWER: Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope

Explanation:
Astronomers, using data from India’s Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT), have discovered two of the most powerful phenomena in the universe – a supermassive black hole and the collision of giant galaxy clusters about two billion light years from Earth.

The two phenomenon have combined to create a stupendous cosmic particle accelerator, researchers said and they found what takes place when matter ejected by a giant black hole is swept up in the merger of two enormous galaxy clusters.

This is the first time, however, that we see them clearly linked together in the same system and the cosmic double whammy is found in a pair of colliding galaxy clusters called Abell 3411 and Abell 3412 located about 2 billion light years from Earth.

The two clusters are both very massive, each weighing about a quadrillion - or a million billion - times the mass of the Sun.

The powerful electromagnetic fields associated with this structure have accelerated some of the inflowing gas away from the vicinity of the black hole in the form of an energetic, high-speed jet.

These accelerated particles in the jet were accelerated again when they encountered colossal shock waves – cosmic versions of sonic booms generated by supersonic aircraft -produced by the collision of the massive gas clouds associated with the galaxy clusters.

This discovery solves a long-standing mystery in galaxy cluster research about the origin of beautiful swirls of radio emission stretching for millions of light years, detected in Abell 3411 and Abell 3412 with the GMRT.

The galaxy clusters are known as Abell 3411 and Abell 3412, which are located about two billion light years from Earth.

Based on data obtained from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) in India, the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array, the Keck Observatory, and Japan’s Subaru Telescope, the team was able to capture this event.

It was captured in the optical, x-ray, and radio wave wavelengths.

ANSWER: Delhi

Explanation:
Under this scheme, monetary incentive of Rs 2,000 and appreciation certificate will be given to people who help road accident victims in the national capital.

Scheme is intended to encourage people to take accident victims in emergency situation to hospitals so that someone’s life could be saved.

The government had mooted a proposal in August last year after a road accident victim in West Delhi’s Subhash Nagar bled to death because no one had helped him.

The Deputy CM said that most of people are unwilling to help, mainly because they are scared they will land in trouble or be harassed.

In some cases, doctors also cite reasons behind the death of accident victim that if he or she could be admitted in hospital on time, his or her life could have been saved.

Under the same scheme, the AAP government had in April last year, had decided to provide basic life support training to all auto-rickshaw drivers in the city. The idea was to have help at hand in case of a road accident.

Road Accidents in India: Report

• In 2015, 8085 accidents had taken place in the capital.
• According to a Central government study, Mumbai is the city with maximum road accidents in the country.
• The number of deaths in road mishaps is highest in Delhi.
• Mumbai had the highest number of 23,468 number of road accidents during 2015.
• Delhi had the highest number of 1,622 deaths due to road accidents.
• This was according to the ‘Road Accidents in India’ report.
• It was unveiled in June last year by Road Transport and Highways Ministry.

ANSWER: 14

Explanation:
Billed as the largest convergence of Indian diaspora, 14^th edition of this fest began in the country’s IT hub today with the spotlight on the role of youth in transforming the society and India’s potential to play the role of a ‘Vishwa Guru’ again.

The ‘Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas’ was inaugurated as part of the PBD 2017 with an aim to connect with the youth, the new generation of Pravasis growing up all over the world.

An initiative to engage with young diaspora that provides forum to discuss issues that concern them was attended by political leaders. 2015 Youth PBD was about 3Cs - connect, celebrate and contribute, he said it will be 4Ts this year - Talent, Technology, Training and Teamwork,” he said.

About 300-400 overseas Indian youth are participating in the Youth PBD, including nearly 150 PIOs who are visiting India for the Know India programme.

The Youth PBD in 2017 includes plenary sessions on problems faced by Indian students abroad, problems faced by NRI students in India, and startups and innovation which have a social impact in India.

The Youth PBD 2017, with focus on ‘Redefining engagement with the Indian Diaspora’, is being attended by delegates from 72 countries and registration has crossed 7,200 as of yesterday, officials said.

The convention, being held biennially for the first time instead of earlier annual versions, will aim at redefining India’s engagement with its 3.12 crore strong diaspora in diverse spheres, including innovation, start-ups, tourism and education.

ANSWER: Paul Beatty

Explanation:
Attracted by the Zee Jaipur Literature Festival’s international reputation, writers come from across the world will take part in the 5 day celebration of literature including 2016 winner Paul Beatty. Beatty is the first and only American to have been awarded the prestigious prize.

A second Man Booker awardee Alan Hollinghurst, author of five novels, including The Swimming-Pool Library and The Line of Beauty, which won the Man Booker Prize in 2004 will also be part of the festival.

Other noted writers include International Man Booker prize nominated Indonesian writer Eka Kurniawan, Aussie author Richard Flanagan awarded Man Booker Prize in 2014 for The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Mei Fong who is believed to be the first Malaysian to win a Pulitzer.

Australian Sebastian Smee who won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2011 will also participate along with famous Hindi writer Hari Ram Meena has written eight books in Hindi, including collections of poems, travelogues and the novel Dhuni Tape Teer and Naseem Shafaie a noted Kashmir litterateur.

Also part of the event is S.L. Bhyrappa who has been the bestselling novelist in Kannada for the past 50 years. A facsimile of the Magnta Carta will also be displayed at the festival.

Know More About Magna Carta

• Magna Carta Libertatum (the Great Charter of Liberties), is a charter.
• It was agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on June 15, 1215.
• It still forms an important symbol of liberty today, often cited by politicians and campaigners.
• It is held in great respect by the British and American legal communities.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP), currently running in the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) area and other locations, will be dedicated to the nation in New Delhi on 9th January, 2017.

It is the world’s Largest Street Light Replacement Programme, which is being implemented by the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture under the Ministry of Power, Government of India.

The SLNP programme is presently running in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Tripura, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

A total of 15.36 lakh street lights have already been replaced in the country with LED bulbs, which is resulting in energy savings of 20.35 crore kWh, avoiding capacity of 50.71 MW and reducing 1.68 lakh tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per annum.

The energy efficiency market in India is estimated at US$ 12 billion that can potentially result in energy savings of up to 20 per cent of current consumption, by way of innovative business and implementation models.

Under the SLNP, SDMC area alone accounts for over 2 lakh street light replacements. The cumulative annual energy savings in SDMC through this programme is 2.65 crore kWh which has helped to avoid capacity addition of 6.6 MW, resulting in a daily reduction of 22,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases.

Additionally in Delhi, under Phase II of the street lighting programme, EESL has signed a tripartite agreement with BSES and SDMC to install 75,000 more street lights with more focus on installation in parks.

EESL SL Complaint App for SDMC, wherein users can now lodge complaints about faulty street lights will also be launched; These complaints will be addressed to within a period of 48 hours.

Consumers can also WhatsApp on the helpline numbers 7827999111/ 7827999222 or they can send their complaints to sdmc@eesl.co.in.