Current Affairs Questions & Answers - July 18, 2017

ANSWER: Deloitte

Explanation:
Deloitte India board has approved a deal for merger of BMR's corporate tax practice unit with itself.

Deloitte in an internal communication has indicated that it would merge BMR's corporate tax practice with itself.

BMR Advisors offers a host of tax, risk and M&A advisory services for domestic and global business of all sizes.

It was formed in October 2004 by Mukesh Butani and Bobby Parikh, along with Rajeev Dimri.

In April this year, a team of 38 lawyers of BMR Legal, a sister firm, had joined the M&A practice of Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas.

Deloitte is one of the world's leading consultancy firms.

ANSWER: 6.9 percent

Explanation:
China's economy expanded faster-than-expected in the second quarter, setting the country on course to comfortably meet its 2017 growth target.

This is also giving policymakers room to tackle big economic challenges ahead of key leadership changes later this year.

The boost to growth was in part driven by firmer exports and production, in particular steel, which could heighten trade tensions as the United States and China begin economic talks this week.

US President Donald Trump has made the US trade deficit with China a top agenda item in bilateral talks and has also flagged the steel trade as a point of contention.

China's gross domestic product rose 6.9 per cent in the second quarter from a year earlier, the same rate as the first quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said on 17th July 2017.

That was higher than analysts' expectations of a 6.8 per cent expansion.

Economic data from the second quarter has prompted a number of analysts to upgrade their GDP forecasts for China for 2017.

Some moderation in growth is expected later this year as policymakers' efforts to rein in property and debt risks weigh on activity.

GDP growth will remain robust in the second half but slower than the first half, due to the high base.

The robust numbers kept world shares near a record high and briefly helped China's major stock indexes recoup earlier losses.

The second quarter numbers put the economy on a strong footing to meet China's growth target of around 6.5 per cent in 2017, which would give policymakers room to defuse financial risks.

While growth in the high-flying property sector has cooled this year, a rebound in exports after several years of decline has helped prevent any broader slowdown in China's economy.

Retail spending and factory output were also bright spots in the first half. Retail sales growth picked up to 10.8 per cent in the second quarter from 10.0 per cent in the first quarter, a Reuters calculation based on official data showed.

Factory output also picked up in the second quarter, though the 6.9 per cent growth for the first half was only a slight pickup from recent quarters.

ANSWER: Both a and b

Explanation:
One last opportunity to deposit the 500- and 1,000-rupee notes that were banned in November will defeat the whole point of demonetisation as well as the battle against black money, according to the government of India.

The top court had asked the centre to consider a final window to benefit those with a genuine reason for not turning in the outlawed notes by the end of last year.

The deadline that was set by the RBI after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's shock announcement on demonetisation.

Different citizens' appeals were clubbed together by the Supreme Court.

But the government complained today of “the gross misuse or abuse” of previous extensions or exceptions that allowed old notes to be used to book railway tickets or at petrol pumps among others.

Allowing a new opportunity to deposit the banned notes would result in “any number of benami transactions” and make it difficult for departments to distinguish “genuine cases from bogus ones”, the centre warned.

The PM said the short notice was vital to ensure that black money holders were deprived of the opportunity to launder their money.

However, the RBI says it has still not determined the exact figure of the returned notes. By the end of December, banks had received virtually all the currency notes that had been banned - which implied that no black money had been destroyed.

INR 15.5 lakh crore was the value of the outlawed currency - about INR 15 lakh crore was accounted for in deposits by the end of 2016, said several reports.

The last official estimate from the RBI, shared in mid-December, pegged the returned notes at Rs. 12.5 lakh crore.

ANSWER: Garbine Muguruza

Explanation:
Garbine Muguruza stormed to her first Wimbledon title and shattered Venus Williams’ history bid with a majestic 7-5, 6-0 victory in final.

Muguruza overwhelmed Williams with a supreme display of power hitting in 77 minutes on Centre Court to become only the second Spanish woman to win Wimbledon.

The Brazilian-Polish men’s doubles pair of Marcelo Melo and Lukasz Kubot took a marathon five sets to overcome Austrian-Croatian pair of Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic in the final of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships.

Russian women’s doubles pair of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina beat Chan Hao-ching and Monica Niculescu in the final of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London.

This victory was the first for Russian tennis players at Wimbledon, while Vesnina made her way to the Wimbledon final in pairs for the third time in her career, Makarova did it for the second.

ANSWER: ICAR

Explanation:
The 89th Foundation Day Celebration of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Annual Award distribution function was held on 16th July, 2017.

Since 1951 foodgrain production in the country has increased five times, fish production 14.3, milk production 9.6 and egg production 47.5 times.

In the Horticulture Sector, there has been a threefold increase in fruits and vegetable production as compared to1991-92.

This type of development has a direct effect on the nation's food and nutritional security. The scientists have also played a key role in furthering excellence in higher education.

At the event, 122 awards were presented for excellence in 19 various categories. It includes 3 institutes; 2 AICRPs; 12 Krishi Vigyan Kendras; 19 farmers and 80 scientists, including 30 women.

The ICAR is the premier organisation that had started Green Revolution in the country and today, the country has not only come out of a food deficit situation but also has become self-sufficient in foodgrains and now it has surplus foodgrains.

The contribution of agriculture and allied sectors to Gross Value Added (previously known as GDP) is 18%.

There has been a record production of about 274 million tonnes of foodgrains in the country and it has been possible due to the availability of technologies, quality seeds and related services being made available to the farmers.

This achievement has been possible due to the contribution of institutions of ICAR and State Agricultural Universities and hard work of farmers.

While emphasising the importance of agriculture sector, the Agriculture Minister said the government has taken several steps for sustainable development of agriculture.

Several measures have been proposed for the farmers’ welfare and improvement in agriculture such as bringing 2.85 million hectares under irrigated area by 2012-2018; providing assistance of Rs.2,87,000 crore (42.1 billion US dollars) to the village panchayats and municipalities and to provide electricity to all the villages.

Soil Health Card Scheme and Organic Farming Scheme ‘Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana’ have been initiated to improve soil fertility on a sustainable basis.

Other initiatives include improvement of irrigation through Pradhan Mantri Gram Sinchai Yojana; increasing the effectiveness of water under Per Drop More Crop; and to increase the income of farmers, e-NAM has been started.

For the growth of agriculture and to cover the risks of farmers from climate adversities for agricultural development, the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana has received a widespread approval as a major landmark policy.

Government Soil Health Card Scheme has been made successful by the institutions of ICAR, Agricultural Universities and various development departments.

ANSWER: Matunga

Explanation:
The Indian Railways have taken a major step towards the empowerment of women by handing over a station to an all women crew for the first time in the history of Indian Railways.

Matunga, located in the heart of Mumbai city, on Central Railway now have an all women crew which includes ticketing staff, security staff and other personnel required to operate the station.

The station master too is a woman.

Ms Kulkarni, holds the credit of becoming first woman station master in Mumbai division when she joined Central Railway in 1992.

Even women ticket checkers deployed at Matunga station have learnt how to deal with male passengers.

A total of 30 women staffers, including 11 booking clerks, five RPF personnel, seven ticket checkers are working under the supervision of station manager Mamta Kulkarni since last two weeks.

DK Sharma, general manager of Central Railway, who floated the idea of all ladies station, indicated this was a tool for empowering women.

Matunga is an important railway station on Central Railway suburban network located between Dadar and Sion and many railway passengers use the station.

This is including several railway employees who work at the railway workshop situated adjacent to the station.

ANSWER: Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India

Explanation:
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has powers to start probe against service providers registered with it without intimating them, according to new regulations.

IBBI, which is implementing the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), has notified the regulations for inspection and investigation of service providers registered with it.

Insolvency professional agencies, professionals, entities and information utility are considered as service providers under the Code.

The Code, which provides for a market-determined and time-bound resolution of insolvency proceedings, became operational in December 2016.

As per the regulations, the investigation authority has to serve a notice intimating the entity concerned about the probe at least ten days in advance.

However, the requirement could be done away with on grounds such as apprehensions that the records of the particular service provider might be destroyed before the probe starts.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
Scientists from the Geological Survey of India (GSI) have discovered the presence of millions of tonnes of precious metals and minerals deep under the waters that surround peninsular India.

The huge presence of marine resources was first identified off Mangaluru, Chennai, Mannar Basin, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and around Lakshadweep in early 2014.

The amount of lime mud, phosphate-rich and calcareous sediments, hydrocarbons, metalliferous deposits and micronodules that geologists came across was a clear indication that deeper and more extensive exploration could lead to a larger treasure trove.

After three years of exploration, GSI has generated 181,025 square kilometres of high-resolution seabed morphological data and established the occurrence of more than 10,000 million tonnes of lime mud within the Exclusive Economic Zone of India.

It has also confirmed the presence of phosphate sediment off Karwar, Mangaluru and Chennai coasts, gas hydrate in the channel-levee system of Mannar Basin off the Tamil Nadu coast.

Additionally, it found cobalt-bearing ferro-manganese crust from the Andaman Sea and micro-manganese nodules around Lakshadweep Sea.

Three state-of-the-art research vessels - Samudra Ratnakar, Samudra Kaustabh and Samudra Saudikama - carried out the 'High Resolution Seabed Mapping and Natural Resource Evaluation'.

The main objectives were to identify potential zones of favourable mineralisation and evaluate marine mineral resources.

GSI: Know More

• The GSI was established in 1851 and is one of the oldest of such organisations in the world and the second oldest survey institution in the country.
• It is the prime provider of basic earth science information to the government, industry and the general public.
• Its main functions is related to creation and updation of national geoscientific information and mineral resource assessment.

ANSWER: Water

Explanation:
Scientists from the University of Cambridge have developed super-stretchy and strong artificial (synthetic) spider silk, almost entirely composed of water.

The synthetic spider silk mimics properties of spider silk, one of nature’s strongest materials for a range of applications such as making eco-friendly textiles and sensors.

The fibres of the synthetic spider silk are spun from hydrogel, a soupy material which is 98% water.

The remaining 2% of the hydrogel is made of naturally available silica and cellulose.

These materials are held together in a network by barrel-shaped molecular “handcuffs” known as cucurbiturils.

The chemical interactions between the different components enable to pull long fibres from the gel.

The water from hydrogel evaporates after it is stretched for 30 seconds, leaving a strong fibre which is both strong and stretchy.

Spider Silk: Know More

• The fibres of the synthetic spider silk are extremely thin threads and are of few millionths of a metre in diameter.
• They resemble miniature bungee cords and can absorb large amounts of energy. They are sustainable, non-toxic, less energy-intensive and can be made at room temperature.
• The fibres are capable of self-assembly at room temperature, and are held together by supramolecular host, where atoms share electrons.
• They can support stresses in the range of 100 to 150 megapascals, which is similar to other synthetic and natural silks.

ANSWER: A low cost hearing screening device for newborns

Explanation:
The Union Ministry of Science and Technology has launched SOHUM, an indigenously developed low-cost hearing screening device for newborns.

The innovative medical device has been developed by the School of International Biodesign (SIB) startup Sohum Innovation Labs India Pvt Ltd under Department of Biotechnology (DBT) supported (SIB).

The Sohum aims to make this battery-operated non-invasive screening device available across the country to minimise or reverse the hearing loss damage.

It is a low cost portable device which uses brain-stem auditory evoked response, a best screening choice recommended by the American Association of Pediatrics and National Health Services of UK.

It measures auditory brain waves via three electrodes placed on the baby’s head. When stimulated, electrodes detect electrical responses generated by the brain’s auditory system.

If there is no response, it indicates child cannot hear.

Once it is detected at quite an early age, measures can be taken to prevent other problems such as impaired communication skills and even possible mental illness.

It is battery operated device and is non-invasive, it doesn’t require babies to be sedated, which is risky, testing in process at present.

It has in-built algorithm that filters out ambient noise from the test signal. This is important because health clinics can be crowded and noisy.

SIB: Know More

• School of International Biodesign SIB is a flagship Program of the DBT aimed to develop innovative and affordable medical devices as per India’s unmet clinical needs and to train the next generation of medical technology innovators in India.
• It is implemented jointly at All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and IIT Delhi in collaboration with International partners.
• Biotech Consortium India Limited manages techno-legal activities of the Program.
• It serves as a valuable contribution to the Make in India campaign of the Government.

ANSWER: Lilly Singh

Explanation:
UNICEF on July 16 2017 appointed Indian-origin Canadian YouTube star Lilly Singh as its newest Global Goodwill Ambassador at a special event here.

Lilly was in the capital to support UNICEF’s Youth4Change initiative, a programme for youth that brings them together to support their peers and communities.

She will encourage communities in taking action on issues such as health, hygiene, child labour and gender equality.

The YouTuber, famous as ‘Superwoman’, said she would come up with few videos in Hindi and would try to put Hindi subtitles in her English videos to increase the reach of her vlogs and channel.

As the UNICEF ambassador Lilly, who has 11.9 around million subscribers on the video sharing website, will use her channel to showcase the organisation’s work.

She will also urge millions of her followers to work for children’s rights.

The 28-year-old star has also started a new initiative on social media - #GirlLove - which aims to end girl-on-girl hate.